"How many miles do you suppose we've walked already? Is it enough to cover the sa amount of ground between the northernmost and southernmost points of the Empire? It definitely feels like it... especially since we're well over a week in..."
"Can't believe it's been a week already... this is so damn boring I thought we'd already been walking for a month..."
Lady Fenyras continued to push for the idea of having an hour or two out of each day be dedicated to 'saving' the herbs we had and allow us to keep our skills sharp as we dealt with whatever monsters ca our way, but each ti she suggested it we all told her off and continued on our way.
"To answer your question, Jahi, I believe we've covered the Empire's longest stretch yesterday afternoon, so before the night is out we should be approaching the edge of the Labyrinthian's centermost area. Is that right, Lady Lilith?"
Mom glanced over at the older Demoness and received a nod, her blazing red eyes filled with an abundance of mirth as we continued to navigate through the overgrown crystalline plains like a bull in a terracotta shop; we just had Anput or Lady Fenyras carve us a path forwards with their tal Magic, not even bothering to attempt to find paths for the carriage that were naturally occurring.
The longer we were with the Demoness the more I found her to be soone that I knew I would want to continue being around but also knowing that being around her for long periods of ti like this would drive mad.
She always had a smug, proud aura around her while the way she always seed so happy to walk around whatever question or concern you had got on every single one of my nerves, and yet she a damn good 'teacher' and a veritable diamond mine of information that was waiting to be extracted.
"The edge of it, certainly, but... ah, you shall see shortly. You shall see what is within the depths of the Labyrinthian and why I called for you all to co join . It is incredibly fascinating, and I cannot wait to share it with you!"
That was all we got from her yet again, and while it was wearing thin on all of our patience we really couldn't be damned to spend more effort on an impossible task, so we just fell back into the quiet conversations and our own thoughts, which left us in quite the spot.
I was mulling over the week or so we had spent here, going over the things we might have gained while also being quite... conflicted on what had happened so far; the entire thing with Cali had left a sour taste in all of our mouths as we learned to get over it, and while it was definitely better now it was still... sothing that made genuinely angry at Cali.
She had kept clear of us ever since then, but I could feel her smugness just as much as I could feel Lilith's, and it was never more apparent than when Jahi and I had to go and take our 'breaks' at the end of each day; I couldn't see her, but I could feel her as she extracted what she needed - what she was owed - right after we were done, leaving feeling sowhat cold and unfulfilled.
Perhaps there was so sort of retaliatory point that she was trying to make with because of this, or perhaps I was finally coming to realize just how serious she was about this deal we had, shedding the carefree and mirthful attitude and leaving behind what I can only assu was another facet of the real Arch Fiend.
What had happened had joined the list for things that made feel rather... conflicted or concerned about how little I really knew and understood of this world since now soone I had co to... 'trust' was slowly being tested, and I was being put into quite the precarious situation.
The skill was being satiated, Cali's hunger was being satiated, but my own needs were barely being t since the pleasure I was accustod to wasn't being given to ; just a quick round or two each night was barely enough to even make feel... subpar, even when Jahi put in great effort to pleasure us both.
I was so used to sex aning my needs would be t that having to experience this now in this life was just... not acceptable, and yet there was nothing that could be done if I wanted to keep this equilibrium that we had found; I could ask her to give more, ask for Anput and Leone to seek out as well, but that would invite jealousy and lust from the others as they watched the others have their dessert while they were left with empty plates...
Coming to terms with this was just not as easy as I wanted it to be, but what could I do besides accept it and move on?
Especially when we were so close to the center, which ant we were going to be here for a long ti no matter what... and as we pushed through the crystalline plains for another few hours we eventually saw what had caused Lilith to call for us.
All of the bios we had co across so far were like many different patches sewn together to create a tapestry; yes they were different - so radically so - but they flowed together rather seamlessly when it ca to the world itself.
Different places connected together because that was the way it was; lava might flow into the snowy expanse of a tundra, or a dry dessert might just scratch at the edge of a moist jungle, but they were still shoulder to shoulder, hands clasped together as they ca together to create the Labyrinthian.
When we erged from the border of the crystalline plains, that rule was challenged and dashed away as we were shown a gigantic portion of the world itself had been ripped away... by the world.
Hundreds of miles of rock and dirt floated high above our heads, the bios we had co to expect as being stitched together now being held aloft by thick, potent mana that was visible to the eye even in its untapped state pushing upwards and ensuring that what was above us was separated from the rest of the Labyrinthian.
What was truly bewildering though was the fact that the rocks above us were not just ripped from the ground and cast into the sky; no, they were carved and refined, molded to be sleek and clearly touched by mortal hands.
To further that point, connecting the edges of the floating landmass to the ground below were gigantic chains made from crystal and tal, and two of them were just close together enough to support a pseudo bridge leading up onto said floating landmass.
The once thought uninhabited Labyrinthian was clearly not always barren of mortal life, and that revelation was one that made it abundantly clear why Lilith was so certain we were going to be here for quite so ti.
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