Garden Of The Abyss

Nearly falling over, he was caught by Iris as they both momentarily forgot the condition his body had fallen to. There was hardly an inch of clear skin to be seen; from head to toe, his body was covered in lacerations, laden in blood.

"Hold on, I'll heal you…!"

"...No need."

--Ren held onto her hand, moving it away from his leaking chest as his rejection of her help left the girl confused.

"Huh?"

Iris looked at him with trembling eyes, though her answer came as she matched the direction of his exhausted gaze--a large tremor resounded.

Behind the lavish, engraved throne that sat atop a few, small steps, a large door revealed itself--hidden previously as it blended perfectly with the cobalt wall.

"...Just beyond that door," Ren coughed up a mixture of crimson and black, "...there should be a fountain."

His words weakly met her ears, but Iris knew what he wanted; together, with the young man held close to her for support, they entered the enigmatic keep beyond the throne room.

As expected, it was a different domain altogether from the castle; a lair decorated with walls of black steel that glistened with a star-like pattern. Lining the walls were torches holding verdant flames, illuminating the engravings of humanoids across the metallic walls.

In the center, the relieving sight of a fountain represented by the statue of a praying maiden waited for him.

"There it is…"

Ren smiled with his diced lips before stumbling forward on his own, sinking himself into the crimson pool that inhabited the mystical fountain.

Being swallowed up by the lukewarm liquid, he could feel the aching of his bones settle as they were mended; the same result met the many cuts on his body, floating about in the crimson pool as his flesh closed and healed.

...Not too long ago, this fountain scared the hell out of me. Now I'm thankful for it...it's comforting, even. While I'm in here, I don't have to worry about anything; I won't be attacked, hurt, or killed again.

For just a few moments in this hell, I can feel safe, he thought.

--But, eventually, he had to resurface. By the time he popped his head out of the holds of the mystical, crimson liquid--and luckily regenerating his precious outfit due to the benevolence of the fountain--he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

It wasn't just Iris in the mediary chamber, but quite a few, familiar figures that seemed to have just arrived.

"You guys…!"

Ren smiled wide at the sight of his companions, though most of them didn't look in quite tip-top shape.

"Looks like you already handled the Big Bad, bastard."

Macheo teased as he approached the fountain, dipping his hands into it as his wounds began to close up.

It wasn't a few seconds longer before the others dipped their hands into the fountain that served as the confirmation of their triumph.

After a few minutes, they all gathered around in the in-between chamber; though it became slightly claustrophobic with everyone being tucked in.

"You really managed to handle that huge dragon? I gotta say...I wasn't that confident in your chances."

Ren placed his hand on his chin as he said this, averting his gaze as he felt the insulted stares of his companions.

"...Well, I can't really blame you for thinking that. We only won by a hair, really."

Macheo scoffed as he folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the colossal fountain.

"That's true; it was quite the fearsome opponent," Fedrin added, seating himself on a stone bench present in the chamber.

"Hongse got swallowed up."

The draconic woman added in a piece of information, with utmost leisure, that met both Ren and Iris with a bit of irony to the gluttonous panda.

"Don't make it sound so trivial! It was a traumatic experience, you know!," Hongse barked.

After they shared a laugh, Ren's eyes lingered to the green-haired stranger in the room, who was awfully quiet.

"What's the deal with him?"

His tone took a more serious approach as he stared past the others, straight at the uniquely-dressed man.

Hongse was the one who chose to answer, "Mencius was already on his way to challenge the floor guardian himself when I bumped into him. He helped defeat the dragon."

"I can attest to that; it was a glorious sight--they both swooped in like a pair of heroes, those two," Fedrin added with a tiny smile.

"...I don't know what would've happened if those two didn't show up when they did," Aiko added while fiddling with her gauntlets.

Still, Ren was hesitant as he squinted his eyes against Mencius, who nervously scratched his cheek being under such a scrutinizing glare.

"Ren…" Iris nudged him while whispering, "isn't this for the better? If we're heading into the final floor, we should have as many allies as possible."

"I know that. I just want to hear it from him," Ren whispered back.

He maintained his stern gaze as finally, the verdant-haired scholar from Jinyue spoke up on his own, clearing his throat softly.

"To be honest with you, I'm not particularly fond of any of you. I'm not looking for "friends" or "comrades" here."

Mencius' stinging words spoken with a lavender voice immediately sparked a fiery gaze from a few of the group.

But, he continued before any others could speak up first, "However...I'm not arrogant enough to believe I'm at a level in which I can survive the final floor alone. The second floor would have swallowed me up whole eventually...and I'm sure we can all surmise the final domain of Purgatory is surely something else entirely. So, I ask of you: become allies with Mencius The Spring."

As Mencius asked this, he bowed down, placing his forehead against the cold steel that made up the flooring.

Looking between one another, most eyes naturally fell on Ren--it was unspoken, but somehow during their travels together, he assumed a leader position.

Well, I can't say no to that...He thought.

Ruffling his snowy locks, he sighed, "Alright then."

"Really?"

Mencius raised his head, though Ren was already standing above him, extending his hand down to the verdant-haired scholar.

The hand was accepted, helping Mencius stand as Ren smiled, "Just don't let us down."

Settling down, Jae-Seong told of his own battle, though the frivolous way he explained it with only a single, insignificant scratch on his body rubbed the others the wrong way.

"If it was that strong, then you're telling us you beat it with just a scratch?" Macheo asked, looking noticeably perturbed by the idea.

"That's right! I mean, that's just what it means to be a Heavenly King of Lucrauv, right?" Jae-Seong confirmed, sliding his fingers through his curly locks.

"Eh…" Aiko sighed quietly.

"It's just beyond this door, huh…?"

Ren looked up at the ominous, sable gate that was embedded into the cold, smooth, metal walls; a colossal door engraved with an ancient language unrecognized to him.

"The final floor."

Aiko gulped, feeling a primordial air linger around the massive gate as only the sound of the running fountain of crimson filled the midway chamber.

"Hey, check this out. Looks like there's some sort of shop over here."

Gathering the group's attention, Macheo stood in front of a peculiar, unfitting door made of rich wood that sat against the leftmost wall. What gave him the idea was the small, easily missable sign with the symbol of a crimson coin drawn onto it.

"Isn't the door kind of...tiny?" Iris asked, kneeling down in front of it.

"Now that you mention it, yeah...Hongse, you might have to sit this one out," Ren replied.

Hearing his name be used in such a way, the crimson panda huffed and grumbled, "I'm not that large!"

What kind of mirror is he looking at? Ren thought.

Inspecting the door built half of his own size, he realized there wasn't a door handle, but only a peculiar door knocker in the form of intertwined, copper fingers.

"...Give it a knock," Macheo said, standing behind with his arms folded.

"It's kind of creepy though," Ren chuckled wryly.

Hesitantly, he gripped onto the knocker, lightly knocking it against the door three times before releasing it.

Silence; empty silence followed.

"Maybe it's abandoned?" Aiko asked.

"I doubt that, for better or worse, this place is actively and meticulously ran," Jae-Seong responded, stepping closer to the door as he squatted beside Ren.

"Try giving it another shot, maybe?" Valerie said.

With all of them gathered around him, he didn't feel much of a choice but to reach for the skin-irking knocker again—but before he could touch it, the door suddenly swung open.

"Greetings!"

—A face suddenly protruded from the other side of the door, greeting him first and foremost without any inclination for his personal space.

"Huh?!" Ren naturally leaned back to create some room between him and the stranger.

It definitely wasn't human, the face that accompanied the shrill, nasally voice. In fact, their pale, almost green skin seemed rotted, with strands of colorless locks that stood lifeless.

Despite that, their eyes were as lively as could be; their entire sclera taking a cobalt glow.

"Who the hell are you?" Macheo was the first to speak up in the face of the enigmatic visitor.

"Oh, forgive me," The mysterious man said," I'm the shopkeeper!"