Chapter 161

A Wanderer

Shortly after going through a ‘portal’ of sorts he created with Voidrip, Cain came to an abrupt halt and ‘sat down’ helplessly -- he had consumed all of his Mana in one go. And what’s more... he had no clue exactly where he landed. He knew that he was somewhere on the outskirts of Limbo, a transgressional place of sorts where folks often landed if they lacked skill necessary to bore entirely through dimensions. Though he didn’t lack skill, per se, he did lack resources to complete the jump in one go.

There was hardly an easy way to describe Limbo, as it was one of the concepts that transcended description; Limbo was a reflection of one’s inner self, for the most part. Though it had universal latches and places everyone shared, what orbited those was a tapestry of individually-woven dreams and nightmares. The reason why millions upon millions every year got lost in Limbo wasn’t because it was some sort of a labyrinth that was difficult to escape; rather, as long as a person just continued traveling forward, they would leave it sooner rather than later.

The problem was that the inner demons would materialize and haunt like personal ghosts; ¸entire lifetimes, on occasion, would be lived through here as people would forget what was real and what was fiction. Though Cain read some books on the Limbo, he hardly had the answers for what exactly it was; some supposed it was a pre-orderly remnant, a vestige of Chaos before the Divine, a place where order came to die. Others garnered it was the testing grounds left by those very same Divine to test new Conquerors.

Regardless of which theory was true, or if any of them were, Cain could hardly care less at the moment. He had no intention of staying here for long, yet, deep down he knew that he had to be extremely careful; of the many demons that he had gnawing at his soul, he wouldn’t be very comfortable dealing with any of them directly.

Unfortunately, there was no other way to reach Underworld as it was, for all intents and purposes, ‘not part of this world’; it was a quasi-dimensional pocket of space resting nestled between higher dimensions. He had the misfortune of visiting it a few times in his previous lifetime, with each experience being worse than the last. While true that the land seethed with potential rewards to reap, one was far likelier to get stabbed through the back of their skull by something they couldn’t even see rather than obtaining any of the rewards.

What made Limbo the only way to reach Underworld was that the former broke down the dimensional barriers -- though Cain didn’t really understand physics behind it -- not due to the lack of trying, however -- he did at least know that Limbo was akin to a theoretical device that could play around with dimensions, be it of space or time or any of the higher ones.

“Who the heck is Moru’gh?” Cain mumbled as he patiently waited for his Mana to restore, alarmingly observing his misted surroundings, hoping to not see a single silhouette slither out. The reason Cain knew the Shopkeeper sent them to Underworld wasn’t the creature, but the ‘affix’ -- almost without exception, any creature whose name had an added ‘gh’ after an apostrophe was a prisoner of Underworld. It was a sort of a permanent mark that they could never get rid of.

The problem was simple -- Underworld had a literal innumerable number of prisoners. And, for all intents and purposes, that wasn’t an exaggeration; there were literal expeditions into the place to try and determine its size, but all failed without exception, with each group having met an untimely end by accidentally walking in on the territory of one or another abomination they had no chance of defeating.

Even Cain was risking it at the moment as he hardly recalled the ‘official paths’ and ‘safe routes’ and would mostly have to wing it and hope for the best. What complicated the issue further is that it would be very difficult to sense his Mana imprints on them. Underworld restricted most of the skills like these to a bear minimum, which would likely force him to be within ten or fewer miles of them.

Sighing, he quickly lit up a cigarette to calm his nerves; just as he took the first puff, mist in front of him moved and dispersed, startling him. Oh, great. What will it start with?! Maybe that boy, uh, what was his name? Leeny? The one I had jump into fire to see if the snake was still alive?

However, one quick glance at the ‘person’ who walked out of the mist confirmed it certainly wasn’t Leeny -- or whatever his name was. For starters, the newcomer had a doe’s head -- and there really wasn’t any need to look any further as this was the first time Cain had seen anyone of the Apprecon Race. It wasn’t due to lack of trying, however; rather, searching for members of their races became somewhat of a sport as they were perhaps one of the most exotic, non-killing-machines races of the Tower.

The creature became just as startled when it noted there was someone else there; it perked its ears and began sniffing the air, warily looking at Cain.

“... sorry,” Cain smiled lightly. “I was in a rush and forgot to bathe.”

“Ah, a creature of swift wit,” the woman, Cain assumed entirely on the basis of high-pitched voice. “Nary a rarity in these parts.”

“Ah, a creature -- a real rarity in these parts.”

“Do you not know it is dangerous to sit idly by in here?” she asked.

“I’m recovering Mana,” Cain said. “Depleted everything by opening a tear to get in here.”

“... and why in Divine’s name did you want to get in here of all places?” the creature asked with a slightly exaggerated expression -- well, as exaggerated as a doe’s head could make one.

“It’s the only way to the Underworld.”

“...” the creature paused as its eyes looked at Cain as though he was a madman.

“I’m certain you will yield to the reasoning,” Cain chuckled.

“I hardly think so.”

“I’m going to save my friends.”

“... a noble cause, indeed,” the creature sighed as she suddenly sat down, opposite of Cain, and took out a flagon of sorts, drinking a few sips of liquid from within it. “Neither Limbo nor Underworld ought stand in the ways of friendships. I admire you, Conqueror.”

“Cain.”

“Conqueror Cain,” the creature nodded. “Adeena, this one’s name is. Tell me, Conqueror Cain -- what misfortune befell your friends for them to end up in Underworld?”

“A--dar,” Cain replied. “Compelled them to take on a Quest.”

“Well, that was their first mistake -- listening to that old rat,” Adeena scoffed. “It is common knowledge he has mercantile channels in Underworld; in exchange for exotic resources from within, he will on occasion yield a few promising souls to become fertilizer.”

“... what?” Cain gasped as his heart stopped; he, certainly, did not know that.

“Oh, yes; however, there is no concrete evidence. Otherwise, he would have long since been beheaded. Mostly chatter and rumors, though, as I know him personally, I am fully inclined to believe them -- and I care not for the personal bias that statement implies.”

“... he sent them to Moru’gh,” Cain mumbled swiftly. “Do you know who that is?”

“... M-Moru’gh?” Adeena stumbled over her words for a moment, clearly startled. “Perchance... it might be Morudel Kadaal,” she added. “Though... he had been sent to Underworld many Cycles ago. A disastrous monster he was, indeed; he would slay innocents with wanton abandon, reaping their souls and using them to craft Soulbound Items and puppets. I’m afraid to say, if your friends were tasked with attacking him... they have likely perished already.”

“No...” Cain mumbled, feeling the weight of the world crash upon him while, at the same time, the one under him gave in. He felt as though he was both falling into a deep abyss and being ejected into frigid space at the same time. “No... no... I need to go there, immediately. There’s still time; there must be...”

“Even if you could -- you would be killing yourself too. Even if he hadn’t recovered to his past self’s strength, at his worst, Morudel... still outmatches fledgling Conquerors by a mile, likely more.”

“Please--please, if you know a way... any way to get there as quickly as possible... I--I’ll do anything. I’ll trade anything! Just name your price!”

“... I do not mind helping you,” she said after a brief thought. “Nor do I require anything from you -- there is a saying among my peoples: Akdasha annure -- Friends in life as in death. I shall assist you in getting to Underworld, but I cannot meddle any further; I only hope you shall embark alive from your endeavor, and visit us if the chance presents itself in the future.”

“--Sheyla sent you here, didn’t she?” Cain suddenly realized something and asked with a strange look in his eyes.

“She did note you would lack Mana for the complete transport,” Adeena said, smiling briskly. “And had asked me to help you. Though, for the life of me, I cannot understand why a Queen would help a fledgling Conqueror.”

“... I guess I owe her,” Cain sighed. “Even more than before. How long until we get there?”

“Time... is of affluence,” Adeena spoke. “Like a tender string that those endowed can play. Inside Limbo, you are in three places at the same time -- past, present, future. While it is impossible to physically travel into any timeline outside your own without permission, timelines are morphed and bent by the forces of beyond; for you, you shall have arrived instantly -- as for your friends, it is outside my abilities, I’m afraid. Even We are unable to inquire into Underworld’s laws.”

“... yeah, I’ll just pretend I understood any of that,” Cain shrugged. “Point is, you can instantly transport me there?”

“Hold on for a moment,” she said as she stood up. “Though short, the journey won’t be easy -- you best be prepared.”

“...” Cain remained silent as he tried to quell the dread and anxiousness festering in his heart. However, he let the seed of anger bloom and grow like a flower, allowing it to burn his veins alight and keep his hatred alive.