Things Remain, People Change

Having slain countless spiders, Erich was no longer the person he once was. The two men in black lasted only a few rounds against him before turning into corpses on the ground.

Erich flicked the blood off his sword and stepped out of the cave entrance.

The Abyss had no distinction between day and night. A chaotic, grayish-yellow light blanketed the entire land like a perpetual haze, dyeing everything in the hues of an old photograph. Yet, compared to the suffocating darkness deep within the mine shafts, this grayish-yellow light was already a blessing.

Erich stood at the entrance, letting the light fall upon his face. His biological instincts brought him a sense of joy, but he then remembered that the person who used to enjoy the sky's light with him was no longer there.

Now, she was in his inventory, reduced to a pile of shattered flesh and bone.

Erich took a deep breath. The air was thick with the scent of dust and sand, choking his throat dry, but the smell kept him clear-headed. He allowed himself to stand there for a few more seconds before packing these emotions away into his inventory.

Leonora leaned against the rock wall as she stumbled out of the mine shaft. She looked so haggard she might have just crawled out of a grave, her bright golden short hair covered in dust and blood. Squinting, she raised a hand to shield her eyes; she had been in the darkness for too long, and her eyes couldn't adapt.

Erich waited for her to slowly lower her hand. “Let's go,” he said.

The mana wings on his back unfolded. Having killed so many spiders, his mana wings had become more solid, with even the veins of the feathers clearly visible.

Leonora didn't move. She twirled her hair around her fingers, wrapping a golden strand around and around. Her pale face flushed a suspicious shade of pink.

“What is it?” Erich asked.

The little princess's voice was almost inaudible. “I... I don't know how to fly.”

Erich felt like a fool. The little princess of the Radiant Empire had lived a life of luxury since childhood; why would she ever come to a place like the Abyss? Since she had never been to the Abyss before, how could she possibly condense her own wings on her very first visit?

“My mistake,” Erich said as he retracted his mana wings. He walked over to her, bent down, and scooped her up in a princess carry. Leonora's body was incredibly light—so light it reminded Erich of the other person he had just held.

Leonora let out a sharp, brief cry like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her body stiffened instantly, only to slowly soften. Her face turned bright red, but she didn't struggle. Her hands honestly wrapped around Erich's neck to secure her hold.

Erich unfurled his mana wings once more and took to the air. This time, his wingspan stretched nearly three meters to offset their combined weight. His destination was the Return Platform.

It was a high platform made of an unknown material. Its full name and origin were a mystery, and they were sparsely scattered throughout the Abyss. As long as one ascended a Return Platform, placed any kind of monster core on it, and waited for a moment, they would be teleported out of the Abyss. No one could explain how these platforms worked; they were likely some sort of ancient ruins, but the adventurers didn't care about the mechanics.

Meanwhile, Ash City outside the Abyss was widely recognized as a peaceful zone. Anyone who started a fight would be ganged up on and attacked, so safety was likely the least of their worries there.

Erich adjusted his direction and flew toward the nearest Return Platform.

Down on the ground, the men in black stationed to block the various cave entrances spotted the two figures in the sky. Their leader pulled out a black stone, whispered a few words into it, and the stone crumbled into powder.

The remaining men in black began to give chase in the same direction.