Garden Of The Abyss

"Welcome to the Tower of Balam! This is the first floor: the lounge hall! It is the paradigm of relaxation!"

Gerund introduced the initial floor that housed comfortable looking furniture, paired with a warm fireplace, snug rugs, and the overpowering aroma of savory delicacies. The bulk of the enticing aroma came from the window clearly leading to the culinary quarters, as workers dressed in white uniforms retrieved and delivered dishes.

Naturally, Ren scanned the wide lobby, finding what he was looking for as he noticed a few, sparse other challengers resting in the lobby.

One particular person caught his eye: a large, hulking man with unkempt hair as intense as flames. He only wore a sleek, dark-leather vest that was studded with what looked like magic gemstones, strapped in tandem with pouches that Ren surmised probably housed tools made for violence.

Though his appearance was wild, he sat quietly at a table by his lonesome, eating his dish with proper etiquette.

He looks strong, he thought, I guess it makes sense when I think about it: everyone in this tower has defeated Arthur. I don't know if I could do it again if I tried…

A large, jagged scar stretched across the large man's right eye, leaving his eye with corneal scarring--creating one, light blue eye while his other, intact eye, was black and stern.

...I shouldn't stare too much, he caught himself.

It was mostly out of self-preservation when seeing just how big the massive greatsword strapped to the man's back was.

"It's pretty busy," Jae-Seong spoke as he placed his hands on his sides.

"As you've noticed, it's our utmost goal to serve our guests," Gerund smiled.

Walking forward, the small, well-dressed man wearing a golden-accented suit of ivory gestured towards the side of one of the round, bulbous chairs.

What he pointed to exactly were the circular, white gems embedded in the side of the furniture.

"What's that?" Aiko asked.

"Great question! You've got a good eye on you, young lady! Each piece of furniture on this floor is custom fit with magic runes that cast a comforting spell to any who occupy them!" Gerund answered.

"Huh? Is it really all that great?"

Macheo muttered as he inspected the piece of cushiony furniture that was unorthodox, though the golden-haired prince's inquisitive nature sparked a smile from Gerund.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Gerund offered.

"...Fine."

Macheo huffed, slowly lowering himself onto the furniture before dropping completely into its soft embrace.

"...?!"

The moment his body was wrapped in the pillowy holds of the cushiony chair, his eyes widened before softening, taking a relaxed, half-lid stare as his expression soothed.

"So? How is it? To your liking, Sir?"

"It's...it's not half bad…"

He's totally loving it! Ren's thoughts shared what the others perceived.

Without saying a word, the soft-spoken high elf took to the matching seat across from the young prince, sinking into the comforting cushion wordlessly, closing his eyes. After a few moments, a light snore resounded from the usually refined-and-proper elf's position.

"Is he asleep?! Already?!" Ren asked in a sharp whisper, "that is some high-level magic...I need it."

"Goodnight, Fedrin!" Jae-Seong playfully waved at the closed-eyed elf.

--Before any of the others could be tempted by the sly comfort of the enchanted furniture, Gerund coughed as if dragging away any plaguing thoughts.

"We can move along now, if you'd like," Gerund smiled, "Oh, they'll be fine to rest here. I'll show them to the rooms myself later."

"Alright, then," Ren nodded his head.

Moving on, the not-slumbering bulk of the group followed behind the small manager of the bazaar, traversing a flight of spiraling stairs.

"Hold on, I'm coming--!"

Suddenly, Macheo's voice followed as he caught up in a sprint, clearly having forced himself from the comfort of the furniture as he wiped away a spot of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"You could've stayed back, you know," Ren chuckled.

"Yeah, if you need the rest, then--" Aiko began to say before being promptly interrupted.

--Macheo abrasively shot his words between the girl's, "I'm perfectly awake, alright?!"

Knowing it was best to avoid arguing with the very young man who represented a brick wall, the group moved along the slightly claustrophobic stairs.

"This place is pretty huge, isn't it?" Jae-Seong muttered, looking directly up.

"...Watch it!"

Mencius hissed as he bumped into the curious, curly-haired man--nearly dropping his own hat as he glared at the back of the man's head. Holding a playful, almost mischievous smile, Jae-Seong snickered.

"My bad," Jae-Seong apologized without any inkling of guilt.

"Cut it out, would you?" Ren sighed as he softly elbowed the golden-eyed man behind him.

He's even more immature than me, damn it. I feel like I'm chaperoning a field trip, he thought.

Though a simple strike like that had no effect on the steel-like abs of Jae-Seong, the man quit his antics.

After ascending what felt like a thousand steps, Gerund finally guided the band of challengers to the second floor, stepping off of the high-reaching staircase.

Unlike the bustling floor below, the next one was immediately felt as different by the lack of rushing servers and overall noise.

There was an obvious reason for the lack of overall noise; it was quick to realize by the towering stands formed of chiselled ivory that were stocked full of books that it was a library of sorts. Compared to the first floor, it held a certain, grand mysticism to itself; pieces of art scoured the domain of knowledge--decorating it with an evocative scenery.

"This is the second floor, the Library of Purgatory! As a reward for getting this far, every book you see is at your disposal," Gerund announced.

Perhaps most different from the floor below, only a few walls closed in this shining, ivory room as bridges connected outside the tower, lined with more bookshelves.

"All of these books?" Mencius spoke.

"All," Gerund affirmed.

The emerald eyes of the effeminate scholar from Jinyue lit up at the scenery of shelved text around him.

Wordlessly, the young Jingpohuai approached one of the many shelves housing endless text, running his lithe fingers across the spine of the resting novels.

"I assume you're going to stay here for a bit?" Ren asked.

Mencius stayed silent for a few moments before nodding his head as his straight, verdant locks bounced slightly, "I shall. One who dedicated himself to the truths of this world simply can't pass on a chance such as this...the lost texts housed within Purgatory--I must read them."

"You're free to stay as long as you'd like, but I'll come back later to show you to the rooms," Gerund informed him.

Once more, Mencius simply nodded his head as his eyes were anchored to the books, retrieving a large book protected by white cloth and rope. It could be seen only slightly, but a smile inhabited the man's lips.

"...I must thank you for lending me this opportunity, all of you," Mencius spoke, "I should apologize for my harsh words earlier...I am in your debt."

"Don't mention it! You saved our butts back there!" Hongse bellowed.

"Yeah, you're one of now--so you don't have to thank us," Macheo added with his arms folded across his chest, "it's natural for comrades to aid each other."

It was a warming sight to see the previously taut man release his cold exterior in the sight of his in-reach dreams; moving forward once more, the group followed behind Gerund as they traversed the length of the expansive library.

Great columns etched from unblemished marble supported the wall-free chamber as a brisk wind gently strolled across those who walked near the edge.

"The books aren't edible, Hongse," Valerie said without warning.

"Huh?! I wasn't thinking that!" The red-furred panda quickly defended himself.

Sparking a chuckle from those walking in the group, the panda's insulted frown caused Ren to laugh before his eyes moved over to a figure tending to one of the colossal shelves.

It was a girl, that much was obvious from the unique angle given as she stood on a high-reaching ladder, placing books in their rightful place. Most prominent was the long, bushy, tufts of nightly blue hair that scaled down her back.

Gazing at her, he noticed the ladder begin to tremble--causing the girl to lose her balance.

"Kyaa…!"

She yelled out as her feet slipped from the holds of the ladder.

Without any hesitation while the others could only react to the scream, he dashed forward with a quick, unhindered shadow step that brought him mid air--managing to capture the airborne girl in his arms.

"Safe."

Ren muttered with a smile to himself as he was successful, landing on his feet. He gently set the girl down, only then realizing her stature.

She's pretty...short. Is she a kid? He thought.

"Thank you…" She thanked him meekly, fidgeting with her hands as she lowered her gaze.

From what he could tell, she was only barely taller than Aiko, who already bordered on looking like a kid. Before he could ask for her name, or even speak another word for that matter--he noticed a peculiar, red marking on the girl's tan wrist--something she covered quickly from his eyes.

"Splendid save, Sir," Gerund clapped.

"Oh, that was nothing," Ren chuckled bashfully.

Catching up, the rest of the group looked worried, though the glasses-wearing girl with hair nearly the length of her body was quick to get back to her task, bowing a few times with gratitude.

"He's totally gloating in his mind right now," Valerie sighed.

"Whatever. I could've done the same," Macheo snarked.

As they continued to move along the immaculate library, Ren briefly looked back at the girl--catching her swiftly shifting her gaze away as she continued her task of organizing the bookshelf.

Was she looking at me? Ren thought.

"Nice one, buddy!" Hongse suddenly complimented him.

The massive paw of the crimson panda patted his head, though he accepted it with a small smile as they moved forward as a group.

Walking directly beside him, Iris was intently staring at his face--something that sparked a slight blush from his cheeks.

"Ren...is something wrong?" Iris asked.

"N-no, what makes you ask that?"

"Well...you look like you're worried about something," Iris replied.

"...I'm fine," he assured her.

Moving along, he gave her a smile as they all followed behind Gerund, passing by a peculiar, round-shaped bookshelf that was decorated with a silver veil.

"Are all of these books lost in Gaia?" Ren asked as he looked around at the plentiful shelves.

"Yeah, what's so special about this library?" Valerie added, aiming her words towards Gerund.

Without stopping, the eccentric keeper of the bazaar turned around, walking backwards as he answered, "A fine question! You are correct, Sir Ren! Each and every book you see here doesn't exist in Gaia, whether it be text lost to time, brought here from Gaia, or books originating from the very realm you stand in--it is all exclusive to this chamber."

Given this information, a new light was shed over the importance of this library and what it meant to have free reign within it.