I huffed, as I grabbed on to the surface of the platform, then pulled myself up with the help of Zeke reaching out with his hand, grasping it, I managed to get my feet on the platform, looking around carefully.
This was the area exposed by the explosion and where Zeke and Nico found themselves in fighting number one. Right above us, was the faint light and where number one had escaped to— where the Abyssal Heart was. To think we had been trying to search for something hanging right above our heads…
Instinctively, I summoned my Screen. The faint glow illuminating my face, the holographic game-like interface appearing before me after a second delay. Without bothering to check unnecessary details, I quickly clicked the mission interface and waited for it appear.
When it did, my eyes fixed on one single thing;
Timelimit: 18:06:34
My eyes widened.
'Six hours….will Cassie even be okay being away from us this long? We need to end this quickly.'
As I turned off the screen, I saw a grim look on Zeke's face. He must have been religiously checking the time ever since the start of the Dreadful Tunnels. The fights, the torturously long walking and everything else we have experienced here ended up costing us six hours of time. However, as a reward for our efforts, we managed to reach the Abyssal Heart. Not reach, technically, but found where it was.
Isabella was the last one to climb up. She didn't require much help, as she was able to easily climb using her control over the wind, that reduced her chances from falling by losing grip. Grasping on to the surface, she lifted herself up and got on her feet.
As all four of us hurled up on the area exposed by the explosion made by Zeke earlier, we looked around, observing the surrounding area carefully.
It wasn't the cave we originally fell into. Rather, the exposed area above the tunnels was just a vast, desolate void. Something like a glitch in the matrix. It felt so alien, to think that the tunnels was so realistic on the inside, but that just nothing more than a wasteland existed just above it.
However, it also made sense to note that we couldn't see much. The torch barely gave off enough light to see what truly laid exposed above the tunnels, as everything around us was dark. We had to stay close to each other, so that we couldn't get lost.
Dusting off my torn tunic, I turned to the team and inquired.
"So, any plans on how we are gonna be reaching the Abyssal Heart?"
Nico sighed, running a hand through his hair, as he shook his head.
"No, I don't have any."
Zeke shrugged.
"Neither do I."
Isabella shook her head, as well.
I bit my inner cheek, frustrated at our lack of tools. But I also knew that I was just becoming too impatient. The longer we stayed here, the more uncertain the fate of Cassie will become. We left here back at camp because she wished it, but now, im beginning to doubt if that was the correct decision. What if she had come along with us? Even if this may be dangerous, it's still a kind of danger we could handle.
Nothing has really be life-threatening for us yet. Besides number three's assassination attempts and the mysterious bow-user who still haven't revealed themselves. Despite the struggles we have faced, we have managed to pull through by the skin of our teeth and have gotten so close to our destination. I might even say that it has been quite easy for us.
Would bringing Cassie along ensured her safety? Or would she have been in more danger and been nothing more than a liability to the team?
Shaking my head out of these thoughts, I heard Zeke relax against a rock and speak up.
"Come here. Y'all need to be fully healed up before fighting that Lord Tanmi."
All three of us snapped our heads towards Zeke in surprise, making him let out his usual obnoxious laugh. Without the mask he always wore, I can see the face he always made while laughing. It was safe to say that it was exactly how I imagined it.
"Morgz, buddy. You first."
I blinked, startled. Then, I looked down at myself and realized how truly wounded I was. Suddenly, at that moment, I felt the adrenaline that has been pumping me slowly fade. A scream tore through my throat as I felt the inexplicable pain rise so suddenly. The pain and exhuastion from pushing myself has caught up with me.
My chest was torn with slice wounds, there was even some holes here and there. I could of easily bled to death, if the wounds had been just a tiny bit more serious. The battle with my duplicate definitely wasn't easy— even though I gained valuable insights from the battle, such as refining my techniques with the [Fool's Rapier] and learning an exploitable weakness in [Probability Pryer] that I should never share.
After checking out my wounds for a few seconds, I looked back up at Zeke and took a few steps forward, stopping right by him.
Zeke gave me a nod, then placed a hand on my shoulder. Immediately at that moment, I felt the same strange sensation fill my body. Everything was being reversed. Every single damage done to my body was being reversed. The stab wounds closing in on themselves, missing flesh magically coming back and being placed back to where it was, even my tattered tunic was being returned back to normal, as my exhuastion faded, replaced by the energy I had at the start of this mission.
Even after seeing it at work once, I am still stunned into place by the workings of Zeke's blessing. From the corner of my eye, I managed to spot Nico chewing on his lower lip, regarding Zeke with a sour, bitter expression that I couldn't quite make of clearly.
Eventually, the healing— no, time reversal process was finished. My hands wandered over my newly healed up body. With a smile, I looked up and met Zeke's gaze.
"You're a real miracle worker, you know that?"
Zeke laughed, then patted my back a bit roughly than intended, pushing me to the side playfully.
"Better not start worshipping the ground I work on, Morgz."
I laughed back lightly and walked away, as Isabella stepped up behind me to get herself a heal. I turned my head over my shoulder and our eyes briefly locked in place, but I tore my gaze away.
I don't know what to make of the current status of our relationship and that terrified me, really. Emotional intelligence has never been my strong suit, nor do I ever expect it to be. It's always been much easier focusing on my self and instead of others. So, ever since I have started hanging with her, I have started becoming afraid that I may have begun to see her as a friend.
The whole point of The Mulligan is to murder each other in the end. A battle royale for a second chance at life, it's been emphasized that there could only be one victor.
So, why exactly am I trying so hard to get close with people here? Aren't I just setting myself up for being hurt in the long run? After coming to this realization, I have knowingly started distancing myself from the others, even Isabella, the one who has been with me from the start of this cruel game.
'It's for the best.'
I consoled myself, leisurely strolling over and sitting down on a rock. Nico was beside me, the strange and cunning little kid, who's goal has been a mystery for me.
I had alot to ponder. Alot has happend and so fast. I haven't stopped to think about much and that's not really a good thing. Succeeding in this without really understanding what's really going on underneath all the conflict is not how I want things to end.
This brought me to the question, why did Mova warn me about Nico? And what was up with Mova's behavior when the bow-user attacked us?
At the time, due to how fast-paced everything was happening — atleast seemed fast-paced to us— I had not thought about these questions much. Now that I have begun to ponder them, I have grown really confused and concerned. Who Is Movarathos, really? He had mentioned himself being a spirit and spirits are Species that exist within The Mulligan where players could bind themselves to, after satisfying requirements they had.
He also said that he was someone cursed with immortality, but that's not really something I could reach a conclusion to, not without any clues. I forgot to ask about it at the time, lost in my own excitement of possibly binding Movarathos, thus making myself significantly stronger.
From the force I felt when I called him weak, I was able to easily tell that Movarathos wasn't weak. No, he was the opposite of weak. Possibly one of the stronger spirits? If so, why is he caged?
So many questions and mysteries, it made me want to pull my hair out searching for an answer.
But what really bugged me was his attitude arrow the bow-user. He acted like a different person. The skull for some reason, didn't want anything to do with me and called me an unworthy master. Or, atleast from the tone, he made it seem like it. Is my chances of binding him gone now? Has the bow-user binded Movarathos before I could, satisfying some sort of condition?
I would like to assume that's not the case. Mova mentioned that his condition was freedom. And when I went to get him, he clearly wasn't free. To free him, I need to find a key. To find the key, I need to destroy the Abyssal Heart, which would reveal a river that has some sort of connection to the key.
All this is very intriguing, but where does Nico tie into this? Why did Mova warn me? Was it just a passing concern? Or is something much bigger at play here?
As these doubts arose, my suspicion towards Nico has suddenly been heightened. All this time, I haven't even seen him use his blessing ability once. Why is he hiding it from us? That man Nico….he definitely had some sort of intention pulling us into this mission. Was us falling through the hole even an accident? Could it have been orchestrated by Nico?
Before my thoughts could wander, making me suddenly become a crazed conspiracy theorist, I rubbed my temples and allowed a tired sigh to escape my lips. All that pondering, yet I wasn't even able to reach a single answer. All that I was left with was more questions than answers.
But still, taking the time to just sit around and think about all this has helped me refresh my mind ever so slightly, even helping me stay more vigilant, especially around Nico. I had started growing relaxed around him, that was dangerous, if he harbored ill intentions to the group, he could of struck.
But clearly, he doesn't. His ambition lay within the Dreadful Tunnels themselves. Something much bigger than simply getting the reward of finishing this mission.
As I thought that, my eyes widened. A new thought entering my head. I placed a hand on my chin, ready to think of over— until, I heard a soft gasp. Then, light.
Light hit my face. Not from a torch. The glow was warm, even ethereal.
Looking up, I saw Isabella, Zeke and Nico staring into the distance in shock. Not the horror kind of shock, but shock one felt when staring at something in wonder. In disbelief and awe.
Following their gaze, I turned towards the horizon.
From it, a sun was rising, enveloping the darkness with a brilliant glow, finally revealing what the darkness hid.
My eyes widened, as I stood up, unable to believe my eyes at what i saw.
In front of me, stretching seemingly into infinity, were the ceiling of the tunnels, formed together in such an intricate manner, it looked as if they were forming some sort of pattern, when observing it from outside, from this height. This was what the outside of the mission area looked like.
The tunnels stretched out like a maze, beyond the horizon. There were so many of them, I couldn't even bother counting. It was a miracle we didn't waste time walking around like Fool's, hoping to run into the Abyssal Heart. But that begs the question, couldn't the Nihileth just waited us out to die, considering it's literally impossible to find the Abyssal Heart in this endless maze?
Why did they seek us out?
"Look up…."
My thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand on my shoulder. Looking down, I saw the beautiful face of Isabella, her gaze fixed on something above us. Even Nico and Zeke seemed to be looking up.
So, I slowly turned my head and saw what they were staring at.
My mouth went agape.
It was….
"A floating island!"