When Evans finished eating the last Anomaly, his entire being looked as if it had been fully charged.
The color of the black liquid had grown richer, and its flow beneath his skin was noticeably faster.
“I feel much better,” he said with satisfaction.
No sooner had he spoken than the Sword-man's voice came from outside the door. “Finished eating? I'm coming in.”
Without waiting for an answer, the door was pushed open.
The Sword-man leaned against the doorframe, sizing Evans up and down, and nodded with satisfaction. “Hmm, your complexion looks good. Since you're better, let's head out.”
“Head out? Where to?” Evans stood up.
“What you ate isn't enough, right?” The Sword-man tilted his head.
“Just like Pops said, come with me to the deeper levels of the Deep Abyss. There's plenty for you to eat down there.”
Evans raised an eyebrow. “Huh? I recall that even you People of the Abyss rarely go down there. Is this how you treat your guests?”
The Sword-man made a face as if he had a toothache, reaching up to rub his face.
“Look, I'll handle the fighting. You just watch from the side, Young Master. Besides—”
He glanced at Evans with a look that clearly said, Have you no self-awareness?
“What danger could possibly be more dangerous than you?”
Evans opened his mouth, only to find himself completely unable to refute.
Ren Yi had already silently drifted behind Evans when the Sword-man opened the door, slipping back into the lining of his collar.
“Let's go,” Evans said.
The Sword-man turned to lead the way. Of course, he was still flying ostentatiously ahead while Evans walked behind him with a disgruntled expression.
They wound through twisting corridors and descended flight after flight of stairs.
The lights on the walls gradually thinned, but their vision wasn't affected at all. Instead, even the air seemed filled with a dazzling, brilliant white quality.
At the end of their sight was a cavern entrance completely flooded with white light.
The moment they stepped out, the moisture in the air seemed to evaporate instantly, and white light filled their surroundings.
Ren Yi released his perception and found that they were now right next to that massive Heliocenter.
Behind them was the massive, barrier-like structure where they had previously conversed with Pops.
The glowing orb before them radiated a soft white light. Shining on them, it felt warm and cozy, like a winter sun.
Yet, even in such a bright environment, shadows still existed.
Ren Yi's perception followed the edge of the massive ball of light, probing all the way down to its base.
His perception suddenly plunged, detecting a downward passage.
He suddenly realized something.
This ball of light was actually a perfect sphere. How did the People of the Abyss secure it to ensure it wouldn't roll away?
The answer was that it had a “base.”
Beneath it lay a massive vertical shaft. The Heliocenter was wedged right above this shaft, plugging it up.
However, because the opening of the shaft was not a perfect circle, some parts of the hole were still exposed, not completely sealed.
The Sword-man pointed at the opening. “Down there is the deeper levels of the Deep Abyss. Let's go.”
He jumped down first.
Evans walked to the edge of the opening and glanced down.
Except for a small area near the top illuminated by the Heliocenter, everything further down was pitch black.
It was a pure, light-devouring black. The shaft resembled a massive mouth, gaping wide from the depths of the earth.
He took a deep breath and then jumped in after him.
The sensation of falling lasted for only a split second.
The Sword-man, who was waiting below, caught him in one swift motion, dangling him in his grip.
“Don't squirm,” the Sword-man said.
His longsword had already been unsheathed and was beneath his feet, emitting a sharp green light that pierced the surrounding darkness.
Evans stabilized himself, watching the surrounding light rush upward—or rather, they were descending rapidly.
The light above grew more and more distant, shrinking until it became a tiny speck of light, like a distant star.
The light around them faded, leaving only a faint, thin glow to accompany them.
Descending.
Ren Yi sent his perception downward.
When he tried to probe further, he discovered that even with his perception range, he couldn't find the end of this passage for the time being.
Evans, on the other hand, couldn't see that far.
The descent was taking so long that he grew a bit bored, and Ren Yi's words from earlier drifted back into his mind.
The Sword-man isn't from this world.
He probably isn't even human.
He stole a glance at the Sword-man standing beside him, who still wore that same carefree expression, even humming some tune out of key.
Evans didn't know how to start the conversation.
He thought about it back and forth, wasting several minutes in the dark descent before finally deciding to—
Make small talk.
“Hey, Sword-man,” he cleared his throat. “Once the New Era is over and you're free, what are your plans?”
The Sword-man's humming stopped.
He tilted his head and glanced at Evans with a rather peculiar look.
“No plans,” he said, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather.
“Besides, I probably won't ever get my freedom.”
“Or rather, I'm not all that interested in freedom.”
Evans was taken aback.
“Why?”
The Sword-man's descent seemed to slow down slightly, and the sound of the rushing wind around them quieted.
In this near-absolute silence, the Sword-man's voice sounded somewhat ethereal.
“Because I made an oath.”
His tone suddenly grew resolute. “Whoever can destroy that whole setup of S-003 and S-001, I will...”
“Pledge myself to them!”
“...Huh?”
Evans froze for two seconds, searching his mind for the meaning of that idiom, and successfully grasped it.
His expression gradually shifted from curiosity and confusion to stiff, blank bewilderment.
He swallowed hard. “Are you saying that after I agreed to help Pops, I still have to face this kind of disaster?”
The Sword-man gave him a dry look.
“You have absolutely no sense of humor. I don't mean marrying them—I mean recognizing them as my master, alright!”
Then he gave an ambiguous laugh. “Anyone, as long as they help me sever this damn shackle, will do.”
“So,” Evans spoke with some difficulty, “is this the... long story you mentioned?”
The Sword-man nodded.
“Oh right, we still have some time before we reach the bottom. I can tell you the story now.”
Evans looked completely bewildered.
Why was everyone suddenly looking to tell him stories lately? First Wu Erhun, now the Sword-man.
What was he... some specially invited listener for the Deep Abyss Story Hour?
He looked at the Sword-man.
The Sword-man wasn't looking back at him, his eyes holding only a faint, quiet melancholy.
“...Go ahead and tell it,” Evans said.
The Sword-man smiled.
“A long, long time ago,” he began, slowing his voice down, “there was a young boy.”
“He was a fool.”
“He lived in a village. That village... wasn't a very nice place. It was remote and poor.”
“The boy had been a fool since childhood. His mind was slow to work, and he couldn't react to what others said, so he was often bullied.”
“One day, he accidentally fell into the water.”
The Sword-man's voice paused.
“After being pulled out of the water, he suddenly became smart.”
The Sword-man hesitated at this point.
“Uh... as for this part, I don't really understand it myself.”
“Anyway, according to his own words, it seems he was struck by some divine object called 'Great Fortune'.”
“He also obtained something called a... golden thumb? Well, I've never seen it myself anyway.”
Rate on N.U.
