Chapter 33: In Five Breath’s Time.
Just like that, the days passed by, and before long, it was time for us to continue with our harrowing journey.
...It was time to head for the Human Acropolis.
***
On the fourth day since the crimson haired lady had made the decision for the cohort to rest, and have a moment of reprieve from the endless horrors of the world of nightmares, the crimson constellation rose from the depths of the endless void, the sky’s cracked surface emitting a bright immolating light. Beneath, ancient sigil-etched structures protruded from the ground. Along with this change were the more harrowing horrors that came with it.
...However, on the bright side of things, as the crimson constellation rose even higher, shimmering with a bright incandescent light, the worst of them all retreated at an astonishing pace. And with its disappearance emerged the dark maze- an endless labyrinth teeming with nightmarish horrors of all kinds.
With grim expressions, we began our descent down the dune structure. Livia, as always, was backed by her twin as they both made their way down the ancient sigil-etched structure. The crimson haired lady could be said to have had it quite well, as she descended at a rather rapid pace, despite the strenuous pain that came with each clangor of steel and stone.
However, the same couldn’t be said for me. Backing the makeshift vessel like any other day, the descent down the dune structure wasn’t the least bit pleasant, and was instead strenuous in every possible way. However, with gritted teeth and a grim expression darkening my features, I was able to complete my descent just around the same time as the others.
Finally done with the arduous descent, we pressed forward.
The journey was anything but smooth. It had its rough moments, and its calm moments- situations we could handle without the need to bleed and curse in the throes of pain. But so far so good, it had been nothing short of a gruesome journey.
...Behind us, from where we had descended down the dune structure, to the endless paths we had walked through, piles of nightmarish corpses, and a pool of bright crimson liquid could be traced back to us.
Everywhere we passed by was imbued with a harrowing sense of carnage and destruction. However, on numerous occasions, we made sure to avoid a horde of nightmarish creatures. And sometimes, we chose to clash with them, to better temper ourselves, and sharpen our battle prowess under the onslaught of the nightmarish aberrations.