Shades of the New World

Evin was listening to Ssatsko talk about the lore of how the Cataracts and the Great Cliff came to be. Most historians agreed that it was a byproduct of the fight between the Fourteen Heroes and the Mad Dragon. While some say that it was the byproduct of a fight between the Final Empress and one of the Fourteen.

Obviously, the historians couldn't tell exactly how such a thing came to be. Was it a powerful attack from a mage? Or did the dragon do something unfathomable? Some tried to ask the Empress, but she wasn't one to explain things.

All that the people were left with were speculations of what might have happened.

But all in all, Ssatsko's story seemed a bit lackluster to Evin. They were only speculations in the end, after all.

After that little story time section, the group decided to begin their ascent. The stairs upwards were located on the eastern side of the Third Cataract and ascended westwards. It continued on behind the huge waterfall, making the journey much more memorable that it should have been.

Ssatsko and Arza walked upwards, while Evin and Rith floated nearby. The old man seemed used to the walk, while Arza was just Arza.

They couldn't talk with each other due to the noise of the waterfall, but Evin didn't have such a problem since he had Karan with him.

[I can't believe one dragon was strong enough to fucking level an entire country. How strong are The Lau of today, then? And to think that some humanoids reach that height… What kind of monsters live in this World?] Karan was grumbling.

Evin didn't get why the concept of strong individuals irritated the man so much.

[By the way, what's your end plan here? Going to stay with me for my entire life as a weapon, or are you going to search for some other female metal skinshifters and have babies? How would that even work?] Evin asked inside his head.

[I don't know how it works, but I'm pretty sure it works asexually. You noticed how I become slightly bigger when I absorb metal inside me, right? I feel like I'm going to divide into to two parts some time,]

[Yeah? Are your instincts telling you that you're going to divide into two pieces like a cell?]

[A cell? What's that?] Karan asked, confused.

[It's what most organic life forms are made of. Look at my skin here, it's made out thousands of little cells connected together and each of them divide into two when they need more of them. I'll show you if I ever manage to learn how to,] Evin replied.

The boy didn't know how Karan could see or hear, but the man himself explained that he just could. Perhaps a blessing from the Empress on his accursed race, he said.

[Sure you do that. As for my end plan, I just wanted to become strong enough, so I don't get caught by those organization assholes. I don't want to live in constant fear that there's someone out there to get me, you know? I know you're thinking that we weathered the worst for the time being. We've been fine for two years already, so they must've given up. But I just know that it's not yet over. Those fuckers will definitely send someone after us if they ever get a clue]

Evin didn't know what it was like for the man, but he definitely agreed with him. Even if the organization won't come for him, Evin himself might go to find them one day. They knew some information that might be useful for Evin's immortality quest. Obviously, that was far in the future.

[Is that why you feel so pressured by the ones at the top?] Evin asked.

[Something like that. Hearing these stories about heroes and mad dragons, making me feel like I want to be them, you know? I know it's a bit childish, like how a little boy wants to become a hero of the ages, but we live in a World where those heroes exist, you know?] Karan said wistfully.

Evin realized something about the man. Even though he died when he was in his thirties, he was still an orphan boy when he was abducted. The man's whole life was spent as a lab rat. He still had childish dreams, and he still had these longing moments. Evin also understood how easily the man adapted to his new state. Such things happened to him once before, with his abduction.

Unfairness was all that he got from life up to this point, and Karan was used to it.

[It's okay, I'm thinking something along those lines myself. I want to become immortal. After living for three centuries, you'd think that I'd be tired of life at this point, but no. I'm just like you, striving for the top] Evin chuckled.

As the two joked around, their dull little trip was reaching the halfway mark.

Ssatsko shouted at the group to follow him, walked towards a seemingly normal boulder and phased through it. Everyone in the group was shocked, but realized that something interested was going to happen soon. Arza ran inside the boulder without a care.

Evin floated through the same rock and got on the other side. Complete darkness filled his vision and the noise from the waterfalls died out completely. A creeping silence filled the area, and the boy suddenly felt what he always did in the World of Time. But somehow, this fear seemed fake, compared to the one in the World of Time. It seemed artificial, while the other one felt primal.

Even though he couldn't see anything Evin could sense the others from his group nearby him. They seemed to be making a lot of noise, but it all sounded muffled in Evin's ears. He soon realized that he couldn't even hear Karan inside his head.

There was something wrong, and it was only happening to Evin. Realizing this, Evin immediately tried to grab a lodestone and channel the World of Thoughts. Unfortunately, he couldn't move his hands. He seemed to be stuck in time without even knowing how it happened.

'This is so shit… Wait, didn't I follow Ssatsko into a boulder? Maybe I'm stuck inside it?' he thought and tried to move forward.

His feet were also stuck, so he could finally give up.

'Help me, guys. I'm dying or something,' he could only think jokingly.

He knew his situation was bad, but it wasn't uncomfortable either. The total darkness and complete silence gave him a feeling of safety, somehow. He couldn't quite explain it well, but the darkness seemed to be on his side, and having such a strong ally gave him confidence?

As Evin was pondering about matters in his head, a female voice pervaded his consciousness.

[How interesting?] it said, and Evin was released from the spell that he was held in.

He finally got his sight and hearing back. He looked around to find Ssatsko and Rith with a worried face and Karan asking about his well-being inside his head. But Arza looked at him with pity. Evin didn't know why.

"What happened?" he asked in confusion.

"We don't know… You went through the boulder like us, but you seemed to be struck under a spell,"

Evin explained what happened to him to the group and Ssatsko concluded that it was the work of the owner of this place. He led the group deeper into the cave behind the boulder. Contrary to what Evin experienced, the cave was lit plentifully with some glowing purple crystals and the group didn't have any problems traversing. Evin felt that this place gave off a similar vibe to the Serpent Beast Lord's den, with its ancient and overbearing aura.

And sure enough, some dark blobs of World Energy started appearing around the cave. They came to check out the visitors and gave them a slight revelation about the Dark World. And one more thing to take note was that they were gathering on Evin's body much more compared to the rest.

Evin was constantly experiencing Eureka moments while walking, and he was doing his best to remember all of them.

Some of the World Sprites got on top of Evin and started clinging on to him from his hands or his feet. Their silhouettes looked like little children and it would look cute from afar, but a closer look showed that these children were made from the purest dark with no eyes or any other facial organs. It was quite a creepy sight, in all honesty.

The group went further into the cave and found what seemed to be some sort of a monster with many tentacles waving around in the air. Evin couldn't get a clear view on the thing, due to the lack of natural light. Evin could only conclude that it was a blob of darkness with tentacles.

He knew that it was the Beast Lord of the area, so he could only kneel on the ground and hope it wouldn't eat him.

"Vulpine Mother of the Deep, I have brought you two young mages that showed some talent," Ssatsko introduced.

'A fox?!' Evin couldn't help but hurriedly steal another glance at the creature. Sure enough, with him knowing what to look for, it did start to look more like a fox. The many tails threw Evin off. He couldn't help it.

The Vulpine glanced at the group and nodded with satisfaction. One of the World Sprites around the group started making a jarring noise that resembled raw bloody meat rubbing on some rough texture. Evin glanced at it and a mouth had appeared on its tiny little face. The thing grinned and a sharp row of teeth appeared behind its lips.

"Indeed you did. I especially like this one. I was considering turning him into my host, but unfortunately, he is just a bit off. Even if I forcefully assimilate myself into his body, it will be more likely that he will die, than take on my powers," the World Sprite smiled mysteriously and licked its lips with a bloody red tongue.

It closed towards Evin and latched onto him firmly. Cold sweat rolled down Evin's body, the transformed World Sprite forcing him to feel primal terror in his little heart.