382: Naked?
"..."
"..."
"..."
The sound of water, lucky enough to reach the floor without freezing as it minutely dropped with almost a rhythmic beating. Each drop, however, made a bridge that seemed to want to connect the grimy ceiling to the dirty floor.
It was a good thing it was cold, though; as the smell that threatened to destroy one's lungs would probably be even worse if the slightly sticky and muddy floor was condensating.
"Fuck! Who the fuck farted again!? I'll kill you!"
"Shut up, man. Nobody cares!"
"What did you say!?"
The sound of metal, clanging as voices of anger started roaring in the dimly lit corridors made of stone. Once even a single whimper manages to escape through the iron bars that block each of the roaring people from tearing each other, it never ends-- almost like an echo; at least not until the loudest clang reverberates in the air, followed by the words;
"Shut your traps, scum! I am not being paid enough to listen to all of your whinings!"-- A heavy hit on one of the iron bars, and the prisoners all calm down and return to the back of their cells.
"Tch, bunch of pussies," the guard then spat on one of the cells that were on his way; his saliva managing to go through between the iron bars,
"What are you looking at, brat? You looking for a fight?" The guard breathed out as he noticed the tenant of the cell staring at him; the guard returned the stares, however, when the prisoner did not flinch even as he hit the iron bars with his baton, the only thing he could do was once again click his tongue before leaving, "...Fucking mages, acting so tough even in this situation."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Ho, you have quite the spirit in you, boy."
And after a few moments of silence after the guard returned to his post, a man emerged from the darkness from the cell opposite of the cell that the guard spat on. The man chuckled, resting his arms on the horizontal bars of the iron gate as his eyes somberly reflected the dancing fires that dimly lit the hallway.
"You're new, I give it a few days and you will break just like the rest of these folks," the man then said as he scratched the huge scar plastered on his chin, "Everyone breaks, especially magicians like you that could no longer use their powers because of the dungeon's seal."
"The name's Arthur, by the way," the man continued to speak, "Got caught smuggling some witches some time ago. What's your name, lad?"
"Van… and I'm not a mage."
"Oho, he finally speaks, and is that an accent I hear? Where you from, lad?"
"Far away."
"Far away? Are you an immigrant?"
And finally, the jail's newest tenant, who had been keeping quiet for almost an entire week now, emerged from the shadows of his cold, damp cell. His hair, almost reaching his knees even as it waved in the air as he approached the gates that hindered his freedom.
"Well…
...something like that."
***
Weeks?
Months?
Maybe even a year?
Van had been running almost without pause, disturbing the expanse of space that had probably not tasted the blessing of light for millions of years. He no longer had any idea how long he had been running, but the only rest he had throughout this journey was whenever a large enough Fragmented World caught his eyes.
He had also lost count on how many of those he found, but not even one contained any signs of sentient life. But the fragmented worlds no longer mattered
Instead, they have been replaced with planets-- spherical and still intact. If his assumption was right, then he had probably already passed the breadth of Hermes's explosion. He had initially wanted to return, as he could not help but feel slightly nervous from the fact that the planets were getting farther and farther away from each other, unlike the Fragmented Worlds which were at least somewhat near each other.
If it wasn't for the sun that was still somewhat in view in the form of a very small dot, then he probably would have returned from fear of being lost in space.
And so, he just continued to run.
Days.
Weeks.
Maybe another month. He continued to run until an unfamiliar feeling breezed through his entire body-- a sound. Finally, a sound that did not come from his own body; causing him to completely stop running in the darkness.
But how so? He thought. It was already ingrained in his mind that no sound lived in space; but here it was, almost a rumbling, almost a hum that drummed in the air.
"..." He tried to speak, but alas, only murmurs trapped inside his body whispered from within.
"..." Van then stretched his arm in front of him, and as soon as he did so, the darkness in front of him rippled, almost like an ocean that threatened to swallow him whole. A hum once again drummed, going farther and farther away as the ripple spanned as far as Van could see.
This only momentarily distracted Van, of course; as his hand was currently missing in view, perhaps immersed in the ocean of darkness in front of him.
A Portal?
No. This one felt completely different, he thought. Was this the edge of the universe? But Athena had told her that the universe is almost boundless, that even no matter how long Van runs, he would never reach the end of it as it continues to grow even now.
If so, then what was this invisible wall in front of him?
A second.
It only took a second for Van to decide to stick his head inside the ocean of darkness. It was reckless, but this was the only semblance of change he had encountered for a very long time.
But considering the only thing he felt was a weird mixture of warmth and heat twirling around him, it would seem he was still alive.
"..." Weird, he once again thought as he retracted his head and looked back towards the sun. And as soon as he confirmed that it was still there, he once again placed his head inside the darkness.
Another sun. There was another sun that awaited him deep into this ocean of darkness.
This could only mean one thing, Van thought. He was sure of it… he could feel it-- this is where he will find another sign of life. And so, with no longer delaying anything, he passed his whole body through the invisible wall separating the two suns.
Van could not help but shake his entire body as the weird sensation crawled all around it. It was like passing through mud, except none was stuck on his body.
"..." He then turned back, only to once again see nothing but darkness. Van made sure to remember where this wall was, as forgetting it would probably mean that he won't be able to return to his own world.
He couldn't help but wonder how many invisible walls there are, separating different suns from each other.
"..." He was probably thinking too much. The important thing to do right now was to search for signs of life, or better yet, signs of an actual working civilization. It would irk him truly to find out that he ran all the way here, only to find people carrying sticks and stones.
And so, not allowing the excitement to grow inside him even further, Van once again started to run. If he was going to find something, it was probably rotating around the sun.
And so, he ran. He ran with all of his might until the white small dot in his eyes grew bigger and bigger.
Until finally, he found a planet. Filled with almost a glowing hue of blue. He did not even think twice, his body almost thinking on its own as it quickly shifted trajectory towards the blue chunk of a sphere.
His laughter would probably litter the entire expanse of space if it could, as the wide opening of his mouth showed the almost frenzied excitement as the blue reflected in his eyes grew bigger and bigger.
It then turned red as a heat so intense it threatened to burn him down. But alas, he couldn't even be bothered as his eyes quickly scanned any signs of life-- and he did not even need to look long, as movement similar to that of ants instantly caught his eyes.
And so, with the excitement within him threatening to burn him down more than the heat that previously surrounded his body, he rushed towards the village in his view.
A gentle rumble then echoed through the air as his feet and fist made contact with the ground. He never thought that the feeling of damp earth sticking to his skin could feel so satisfying, but here he was, almost on the verge of tears as all sorts of sounds rushed through his ears.
The sound of the wind flowing in the air, the rustling of the leaves, the birds singing in the skies… as well as the familiar screams of the people.
"...Hm?" Van then opened his eyes as soon as he noticed voices screaming around him, only to see several… humans in armor pointing weapons at him.
"..." Perhaps it wasn't the best decision to suddenly appear from the skies, Van thought. He was about to say something, but before he could do so, a huge net was suddenly thrown over him.
"Do not try to resist…
...naked mage!"
"....Naked?"