Garden Of The Abyss

"--What?"

Getting his answer, Ren's grip on his blade only tightened, nearly unveiling it from its holding before the man raised a finger to stop him.

"I assure you that you have a misunderstanding in mind when it comes to my race, Ren. I am not some monster that gobbles up bad children, or good ones for that matter. In fact...It was humans that wiped out the majority of my people, forcing us to isolate ourselves to a remote island. Worry not, I don't hold such grudges--you would be wise to do the same."

For the first time, there was a hint of malice beyond the usual frivolity of the man's tone. Meeting eye to eye for a solid moment, Ren decided to trust this answer--releasing his hold on Belus as he relaxed in his seat.

"Good! I'm glad to have such an understanding companion!"

"Companion?"

"Obviously as your attendant, I will be with you during your trial! I thought I had mentioned that already, perhaps not? Ah, well, now you know!"

Once again, Ren found himself being thrown into the darkness with this abundance of sudden news. After he had finished every last scrap of sauce from his dish, Bifrons had insisted on bestowing a new wardrobe onto him--which he graciously accepted as the biting air didn't sit well with his skin.

"Give it a go! You'll be happy to see it fits perfectly."

"Okay...Can you turn around though?"

"Ah...Of course, I forgot about human's shyness of their genitalia, quite an odd cultural aspect, I might say."

Responding to Ren's wishes, the lanky demon turned himself away as Ren took a look at the clothes placed on the table for him.

"How did you know I needed clothes anyway?"

"It is a pretty good guess when speaking of one going through the trial."

"...Fair enough."

Ren accepted the answer with a slight shrug before undressing himself to swap outfits.

A thick, all-black gambeson coat fit nicely over his torso, using the straps to adjust it to a taut fit to himself. With it came matching gloves, holding a more durable form than the ones he had brought into the trial with him.

Paired with this black, heat-retaining attire were beige breeches, covered with straps of leather armor to protect his vitals. This new fit was finished with a silken, black cloak that was held to him by a pair of laces that hung near his collar.

"How do you like it?"

"It's...great. The cold is finally gone, it feels pretty sturdy too!"

Ren tucked the amulet under his armored coat, swinging his arms to test the flexibility within this attire. The attendant snapped his fingers, manifesting a full-body mirror in front of him to check how it looked on him.

"What the…"

Looking at his reflection, he ran his armored fingers through his snowy-white locks with a perplexed expression.

"Is something the matter?"

"No…"

Deciding to ignore it for now, Ren finished adjusting his belt around the new coat, making sure all of his materials were still where they should be.

"Do you have any further questions before you proceed? Once you walk through that door, there is no returning."

Bifrons asked, standing beside the ominous door formed of blackened, rough wood. Looking up at the almost freakishly tall demon, Ren squinted his eyes before giving the only question he had in mind to the purple-suited attendant.

"Can you tell me anything about Iris?"

"The girl, right? I'm afraid I can't disclose any information about other participants."

"I expected as much…"

Seeing the disappointed look on his companion's face, Bifrons chuckled a bit before continuing on, "How about asking me what lies beyond that door? That much I can answer, though it may be vague...Or absent of a few things."

"Fine. What's waiting behind that creepy-ass door?"

"I'm glad you asked! You see, the second floor is truly where Purgatory begins. There will be a host of other participants, as well as many treasures to be found. A healthy supply of crimson coins is advised to be gathered, as there are multiple vendors that require such currency. I should add...The floor itself is very different from the labyrinth you're familiar with."

The way Bifrons explained the contents of the next floor, waving his hands away, snapping his fingers and nearly dancing on the tip of his toes--it all came off very sadistic to Ren, but found it to be a needed source of light.

"Different how?"

"Oh, I can't ruin the surprise, now can I?"

"Right…"

Dropping his shoulders, Ren approached the door with a quiet sigh, preparing himself for the next round of hell awaiting him.

--Iris, I'm coming for you.

As he pulled on the handle, a small flash of light met his left side--turning to see that Bifrons had disappeared.

"What the hell?!"

"Right here, Ren."

It was the same eloquent voice yet he couldn't place a body to it. Shifting his gaze side to side, in front of him and behind him--he then felt a weight on his left shoulder.

A feline of jet-black fur with sharp, magenta irises in the form of slits stared up at him from his shoulder, holding a smug cat smile in response to his confused gaze as its tail flicked side to side.

"It's I, Bifrons-nya."

"Don't ever "nya" again, please."

Hearing such a cute noise come from a deep, refined voice sent a shiver of unknown emotions along his spine, causing him to scrunch his nose as the noise hit his ears.

"I can't help it in this form-nya."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't trust this cuteness-nya? Come on, give my fur a pet--it's silky, I promise-nya."

The cat-form of Bifrons raised a single paw to the air, wiggling it as if attempting to coax the man into petting him.

"Listen, I admit you're pretty damn adorable in that form, but for personal reasons, I don't want to pet a grown man!"

Accepting yet another case of weirdness within this world, Ren gently shook his head before fully opening the sealed door, releasing a deathly breeze against his skin. Out of instinct, he raised his arms to shield his body from the sudden burst of cold, slowly stepping forward through the door as it slammed shut behind him the moment his body passed its threshold.

"I guess that's that, huh?"

"It is-nya."

Awaiting past the door was another room similar to the one that preceded the dining hall, holding a colossal fountain of resurrection, this time the statue took the form of a malicious dragon formed of pearlescent obsidian.

As much as he hated it, he dipped his spotless gloves into the abhorrent liquid, feeling the thousands of unseen hands within the fountain run against his fingers before he pulled away. Touching the fountain for the first time always rejuvenated him, refilling his body of its lost mana.

It felt as if every ounce of exhaustion was gently caressed out from his pores, filled in with vigor.

"What happens to you when I die anyways?"

"You sound pretty confident that you'll die-nya."

"Just answer the question."

Following his persistent questioning, Bifrons jumped from Ren's shoulder and into the palm of his hand, looking up at him with his bewitching, magenta eyes.

"If it is paramount that you must know: I simply vanish until you return from the fountain."

"I see…"

Getting his answer, he set the cat-demon back onto his shoulder before moving forward towards the mouth of the small cavern, seeing nothing past the darkness that inhabited it. Each step against the gravel beneath his boots filled his ears, cementing into him the choice he made to move forward.

--There is no road left but the one that leads forward. Even if it's a demonic cat that I can hardly trust, I'm not alone for now.

"You're basically my helper, right?"

Ren looked over at the cat sitting on his shoulder as he stood before the utter darkness that loomed through the passageway.

"...I suppose that's technically correct-nya."

"Can you use a spell to create some light?"

"I cannot-nya."

The answer came quick without any sense of hesitation behind it, watching as Bifrons simply laid on his shoulder in a napping position.

"You can't or you won't?"

"Both-nya."

It was worth a shot in his mind, inhaling in the stale, musky air to fill his lungs with a burst of bravado before stepping into the shadowbound tunnel. The sensation was subtle, but he was clearly traversing an incline.

Keeping his hand against the left wall, he marched forward through the silent, empty tunnel of stone until light was met. It was subtle; not inhabiting a ferocious white that blinded him, but a serene glow that pulled him forward with a sense of curiosity.

As he stepped onto the threshold that separated darkness and light, it finally came into view.

What lies beyond his eyes as far as he could see was a boundless cavern, illuminated in some areas by glowing veins of verdant and lapis rocks and an abundance of floating creatures resembling fireflies. It was the nature of this floor--a boundless number of paths awaited, seemingly endless choices resided within this domain, all of which likely led to challenges of their own.

Even so, something about this floor was serene; almost tranquil in comparison to the gruesome first domain.

"Holy…"

He felt like nothing more than a spec within the vast land, looking on at awe as he tried to comprehend the sheer size of it. From what he could see, the stretch of the cavern at least matched that of the capital of Mastorn itself.

What made itself peculiar to him was the presence of grass beneath his boots, kneeling down to run his hands through the smooth, natural feathers of the world.

It wasn't just grass—shifting his gaze to the side to side at last, he realized he was surrounded by massive, slumbering trees that took a form different from the ones on the surface. The bark was completely coated in overgrowth, fuzzy with a mixture of green and blue as layers of vines draped from their jagged limbs.