My words didn’t seem to sit very well with the others. While so were still trying to catch their breath after nearly plunging into the abyss before us, bracing themselves on trembling knees, others narrowed their eyes, straining to see sothing, anything, beyond the absolute darkness below.
No sound echoed back, no shape revealed itself. There was only a deep, silent void. I have to say, the sight was anything but inviting, more like an open invitation to ruin.
“Oh! How aweso!” Rupert remarked, wearing a crooked grin and barely concealed sarcasm: “I’ve always wanted to try bungee jumping anyway... so why not now?” He shot a quick glance toward the abyss before adding: “Right into a canyon with no visible bottom, which definitely doesn’t scream danger at all”
No one responded to Rupert’s words. Still, it was impossible not to notice the discomfort written all over their faces. The re thought of leaping into a pitch-black abyss made stomachs churn and the air feel heavier. The silence that followed spoke louder than any spoken objection.
That said, there really wasn’t a choice. Either we jumped into the unknown, relying solely on instinct and luck, or we faced that immortal lunatic again, an enemy whose attacks, in so twisted way, rebounded onto with the sa brutal force. As if that weren’t bad enough, Tenebrya was down there... probably.
“Are you really sure about this?” Arthur asked beside , tilting his head slightly. His voice was low, carrying a poorly concealed confusion as his eyes scanned the emptiness ahead: “That she’s... down there?”
I nodded without saying a word. Arthur remained thoughtful, eyes locked on the darkness below as if silently forming so theory, most likely sothing related to Tenebrya. I had no idea what was going through his mind. Still, I decided not to worry about it. At least, not right now.
“I’ll admit I’m not exactly great at giving advice” Victor began, rubbing the back of his neck while staring into the abyss: “But I’m pretty sure jumping into that terrifying canyon is a terrible idea” He paused briefly, frowning as if a chill had run down his spine: “That’s what my instincts are telling ” he finished, an odd mix of apprehension and distrust etched across his face.
Victor’s words were followed by footsteps coming from behind us. Instantly, several pairs of eyes snapped toward the sound, weapons raised and aid directly at its source.
For a few seconds, a heavy, suffocating silence settled in, until the owner of the footsteps finally erged. It was the sa man. Plain-looking, almost forgettable, wearing glasses that gave him a nerdy, or sothing close to it, appearance. The kind of person who would normally fade into the background of a crowd.
Yet the knife remained steady in his hand, its blade faintly reflecting the little light around us. His eyes were still empty, cold, and fixed squarely on .
I won’t lie, it was deeply unsettling to be stared at with such intensity, as if he were trying to pierce straight through my skin with nothing but his gaze.
“He seems to have a particularly strong interest in you” Arthur comnted beside . He studied my profile from the corner of his eye, attentive to every reaction, wearing an analytical, cautious look, as though trying to decipher sothing I myself hadn’t yet noticed.
(Really? I hadn’t noticed until now) I replied, directing the thought specifically at him, a faint smile laced with irony: (Should I be feeling flattered?)
Arthur gave a wry smile in response. Then we both turned our attention back to the human holding the knife. I noticed his eyes studying us carefully, scanning every detail, but inevitably, after a few seconds, they always returned to .
Up until that mont, I still couldn’t understand what exactly this guy wanted. And honestly, who was the bastard that thought it’d be funny to pull a sick prank like this, putting a killer in my path whom I simply can’t kill? Seriously... the situation is so absurdly ironic that I don’t even know what to think about it.
“I don’t know why he seems so hesitant now... He’s acting very differently from before” Victor remarked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he analyzed the man in front of us.
“You an” Rupert began, wearing a crooked grin and a voice dripping with irony: “when he was trying to kill us with a knife?” He made a vague gesture with his hand, as if it were trivial: “Yeah, I agree” he continued, rolling his eyes: “He’s acting really weird now... especially since he’s not trying to do that” The last part ca out as a low mutter, almost to himself, as Rupert crossed his arms in visible irritation.
I ignored Rupert’s muttering and focused all my attention on the man before . As always, the more I watched him, the more familiar he seed. His features, his posture, even the way he held his gaze, everything stirred an unsettling sense of recognition.
At that point, I wasn’t even trying to deny it anymore. I definitely knew him. I didn’t know from where, or how, much less why. It was simply a quiet, persistent certainty, hamring away in my mind, that at so point in the past, our paths had already crossed.
(Sohow...) I began, catching Victor’s attention. Rupert was Arthur to , others probably heard it too, but they were far too busy staring at a terrifying lunatic holding a knife to bother paying attention to : (He looks familiar... sohow)
Arthur parted his lips slightly, as if searching for the right words. A flicker of understanding crossed his gaze, making his eyes shine for a brief mont before he finally asked, his voice low and heavy with caution: “You... recognize him?”
Still skeptical, I nodded in silence, confirming his thought. Arthur’s eyes widened just a little, and he began shifting his gaze between and the ard man in front of us. I wasn’t entirely sure why he was doing it, but I had the distinct sense that he had realized sothing, and apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed the change.
“What is it?” Victor asked, casting Arthur a sharp sideways glance: “Did you figure sothing out?”
Arthur nodded slowly, though his expression carried the sa disbelief I felt. When his lips finally moved and the words left his mouth, the sound seed to echo through the area. The place fell into absolute silence, and by silence, I an sothing beyond the re absence of noise. Even the breathing around us seed to stop: “I think... I think that man is the [Angel of Death]”
I felt dozens of piercing stares turn toward , looks filled with confusion, disbelief, and above all, skepticism. The air itself seed heavier under that silent scrutiny. Arthur appeared to notice the collective reaction and hurried to correct himself... or almost.
“Of course, I an ntally” he said quickly, nearly tripping over his own words. After a brief pause, his voice steadied, calr and more controlled as he continued: “That man was most likely created within the subconscious of the [Angel of Death]. At least physically speaking, he’s probably the closest representation of how the [Angel of Death] sees himself... or at least how he saw himself in the past”
A heavy silence settled over the area for several seconds, as though even the air hesitated to move. Then Rupert broke the quiet with a soft sigh, tilting his head to the side before comnting: “Well... that definitely explains a lot”
With that, Rupert turned to and studied in silence for a few seconds, his head slightly tilted as if assessing from top to bottom. Wearing an expression that mixed genuine curiosity with a hint of irony, he finally asked: “Why a nerd holding a knife? That’s... weirdly normal?”
I wasn’t sure what he was trying to imply, but I felt like I should be offended by that. Could I hit him already? The thought crossed my mind for a mont.
Either way, I ignored him and focused on what Arthur had said. And... I had to admit, it made sense. Maybe that really had been what I looked like back when I was human.
I knew I was plain. That had never been a problem. But even by my own standards, this was plain tis two. Literally.
“So...” Rupert began again, pulling out of my thoughts as he crossed his arms and cast a wary glance toward the abyss behind us: “Does anyone here have a brilliant idea that doesn’t involve... jumping into a creepy, apparently bottomless canyon?”
I turned my gaze toward Rupert, and the instant he looked back at , I let my lips move into sothing that could almost be called a smile. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t friendly. Just subtle. Calculated.
Rupert’s body tensed the mont our eyes t, as if a chill had run straight down his spine. His eyes widened briefly before he muttered, his voice tight: “Creepy”
I shrugged: (I figured as much)
While we were distracted with each other, the man stepped forward. Everyone’s attention snapped back to him. Then he took another step.
Instinctively, we all retreated at the sa ti, edging even closer to the abyss. It was obvious that everyone wanted to shoot, but it was just as obvious why they hesitated. Any shot could end up hitting instead.
This silent exchange of steps continued for a while, slow and suffocating, until there was nowhere left to retreat. We were standing right at the edge of the canyon. One more step back, and we would truly plunge into the darkness below, toward an infinite, oppressive void.
“What do we do now?” Rupert asked again.
I felt Victor’s gaze settle heavily on . He was clearly waiting for so kind of reaction. In silent response, I looked past them, toward the canyon stretching out behind us, carving through the land as far as the eye could see.
Its jagged walls dropped into an abyss of uncertain depth, where the bottom seed to vanish into endless emptiness, as though the earth itself had been torn open there.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this...” Rupert muttered, running a hand through his hair as he stared into the abyss ahead of us: “But I think jumping down there is our best shot. There’s no point shooting that thing if it can regenerate indefinitely... and we can’t keep running forever”
Everyone seed to share the sa unspoken understanding, silently agreeing with Rupert’s conclusion. Still, that didn’t make the idea any easier, to leap into the terrifying abyss yawning just behind us, dark and impossibly deep.
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