Garden Of The Abyss

He tried his best to avoid looking directly up as the rain would pelt against the fabric over his eye, hitting his sensitive, foreign organ repeatedly.

Upon ascending the lengthy, rail-less stairs, he found himself at the top ledge of the sky-reaching, mud wall, which acted as a battlement; protected by walls with special windows just for the archers to use.

"Heave-"

"Heave-"

"-Ho!"

"-Ho!"

In unison, a pair of giant gorillas clad in unrefined, silver plating, tossed large rocks down from the walls.

After a few seconds, the rocks could be heard crashing against the jungle floor below with a massive thud. Supplying the rocks were robe-wearing baboons, who arduously rolled the weaponized rocks up steep ramps.

"More arrows! Faster! Aim for their mages! Rocks--bring the rocks faster! Faster, faster, faster!"

Barking commands at seemingly every moment, without any breaths, Goroba stood tall, slick in the passing rain, turning and pointing in every direction.

"Urr'¦"

He couldn't get a word in as Goroba shouted as if bolstered by a megaphone; by the volume of his own voice, he likely blended in with the rainfall.

"Elder Goroba!" He finally shouted.

The crimson-furred gorilla finally noticed his presence as he looked down at the white-haired human with bag-ridden eyes.

"Oh, Ren! Joining the fight at last, I take it?" Goroba asked, "I heard you slept for two whole days--you should be more than ready for battle!"

It didn't take very long for Goroba's greeting tone to shift back into his gravelly, commanding voice he carried with the soldiers.

Just before he could open his mouth to reply, a sharp impact exploded against the wall, shaking it aggressively as the stationed soldiers yelled out in surprise, though some seemed better adjusted than others.

"Ghh'¦!" He caught himself before nearly slipping.

Goroba grunted, holding onto the wall, "Another fire blast! Do they ever run out of mana?! They'll outlast Yon's group at this rate!"

There's no way I can just hop over the wall when there's spells being flung, and any number of Stormfallen waiting beyond the walls. I have to go around, he thought.

"I'm going outside the walls," he told Goroba.

"Huh? Are you insane? Got a death wish or something?! One step beyond those walls and they'll mince you, clean!" Goroba roared.

Combating the constant pain that imbued his body, the constant yells of the crimson gorilla finally got to him as he decided to bark back.

"Listen up! If somebody doesn't take down those abyppoes out there, the walls will fall! You know that, don't you?! I'm a whole lot damn stronger than you think, so let me do me!" He yelled in return.

His shouts aimed right at the snout of the gorilla left the elder commander baffled for a moment before he huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"You're right, I know that well. But, you may be strong, but the Stormfallen operate by bypassing strength. Listen! If you really intend to embark on a suicidal mission like this, then at least know what you're going into!" Goroba placed a hand on his shoulder while talking with a yell that seemed to be his normal volume.

Goroba brought him to one of the small peepholes made into the wall, letting him look through alongside him.

Now that he could see it, he realized the nature of the Stormfallen's unfelled attack on the walls.

Directly north of the front wall, three cloaked goblins stood with their hands outreached to the stars while two others were conjuring flames between their hands.

Like the ones he had met in his first encounter, they were cloaked in garments that hid every inch of their skin.

Around all of them, a yellow, energy-made sphere surrounded the squadron.

"You see that?" Goroba asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Those barriers might as well be unbreakable. And while they're up, their fire mages are allowed free reign in attacking our walls," Goroba told him.

It was the same setup surrounding most of the walls; squadrons of mages assaulted the walls from all sides'”that much was clear by the constant explosions resounding through the village.

"You can't break them with arrows?" He asked.

Goroba grumbled, "You can, but they've also got that under lock. Their archers are able to counter our arrows with their own'¦it's immensely frustrating."

He saw that much with his own eyes himself as one of the chimpanzee soldiers launched an arrow, only for it to be shot from the air by an archer hidden in the trees.

"Where is their main group'¦? You know, the hobgoblins, raiders, all of that? All I see are mages and archers," he asked worriedly.

Goroba stayed silent for a moment before answering, "'¦Likely hiding in the foliage'¦waiting for the walls to fall. They aren't allowing us to dwindle their numbers at all in this siege."

Even watching through the small hit poked through the battlement made him uneasy as he knew firsthand the accuracy of the invading goblins.

"How many do you think there are out there?" He asked.

Goroba stayed silent for a moment while mumbling to himself as if trying to rack his brain for the answer he had.

"Roughly two hundred, I'd say," Goroba answered.

"That's not that much, is it?" He added.

Goroba shook his head, "Maybe, but that's how the Stormfallen prefer it. Goblins are infamous for rapidly reproducing and using their large numbers to overwhelm their foes. However, the Stormfallen adopted the opposite belief. At birth, they cull the infants they deem as "weak and unfit", leaving only the strongest to join their numbers. "

He was revolted at this information that spilled from Goroba's stern lips without any sense of doubt.

"That's horrible'¦"

"Well, that's how they came to be the most feared clan of goblins throughout Purgatory," Goroba said as he returned to his feet, "that is the enemy you will face beyond those walls. Do you understand that?"

For a moment, he stood there before nodding his head as he returned to his feet as he exhaled slowly.

"I've got this," he assured the elder.

Goroba stared at him for a moment with his stern gaze before begrudgingly letting out a sigh, "I'd recommend leaving from the eastern wall. From what my men have reported, there isn't much activity there due to the environment. If you go that way, you should be able to work your way around to the northern side and flank their forces."

His eyes lit up as the gorilla commander gave him the necessary information he was seeking, fervently nodding his head.

"Thank you!" He said in gratitude.

He didn't waste any time as he immediately began to sprint across the battlement pathway, though Goroba shouted one last time.

"You better come back alive, or I'll kill you!" Goroba called out.

All he did was wave back to the red-furred gorilla as he moved with swiftness guiding each step he took.

In the midst of his path, he had to watch his step as many injured and resting soldiers filled the mud-made walkway. As he passed by the gloomy soldiers of Umber Cloud, their eyes looked up at him; some with hope, and some devoid of such things.

Nonetheless, he pushed on without stopping before he reached the eastern wall, stopping for a moment as he stood atop its ledges, letting the rainy air brush against him.

He clenched his fists tightly with resolve coating his singular gaze. Atop there, he remembered how he felt in that dream; the warmth of the one he loved, and missed.

Though he didn't feel the burning rage that persisted in him like a hellfire before.

What he felt was light; hope--a hope that illuminated within him. It was a belief in himself that he had forgotten, a reignition of the "Ren" he had chosen to abandon to pursue what he believed to be true strength.

But, he realized--it was wrong. In his heart, he yearned for something beyond just the salvation of his fallen comrades.

"I want to help them," the thought in his mind pertaining to the village he stood behind.

I'm starting to remember. I was so cornered in this place...beat down, stabbed, cut, and burned repeatedly...I forgot who I was. Even if I'm in over my head, I don't give up. Even if my fingers are so frail I can't hold onto anything, I try to grab it all.

I'm not weak, I never was. Weakness is giving in, and strength is moving forward. That's all there is to it; a fact I've only recently come to realize. If I was weak, I wouldn't have been able to walk this path. All that's changed is I can hold what I want in my hands--I can grab it.

I don't compromise.

I won't accept just saving one person, two, or three. I won't accept saving them if it means discarding others, either.

These people...they've helped me. No...a lot of people have helped me, so many that have been there for me, many that are to thank for me being here today. It's that single truth...that glimmer of light in this dark world that has reminded me of who I really am.

I couldn't accept it before, I believed I was too frail, too weak...but I want to be a good person. It may be a childish dream, but...if I have the power to save someone, then I want to save them.

If someone dies, even while I have the strength that I do, and I could've done something'“it might as well be me that killed them.

I'll do it my way: with complete, and utter greed. I'll save everyone, and lose nothing else in the process, he thought, you wouldn't want to be saved any other way, would you, Iris?

Without any further hesitation, he hopped from atop the colossal walls without any semblance of fear persisting through his hot veins.

There was nothing but air filling the ten dozen meters between him and the jungle ground that sat beyond the wall.

Alright, it shouldn't be much of a tall order to remain sneaky in a dense jungle like this.. All I'll need to do is find the abyppoes, he thought.