A Wanderer
Shortly after going through a 'portal' of sorts he created with Voidrip, Cain ca to an abrupt halt and 'sat down' helplessly -- he had consud all of his Mana in one go. And what's more... he had no clue exactly where he landed. He knew that he was sowhere on the outskirts of Limbo, a transgressional place of sorts where folks often landed if they lacked skill necessary to bore entirely through dinsions. Though he didn't lack skill, per se, he did lack resources to complete the jump in one go.
There was hardly an easy way to describe Limbo, as it was one of the concepts that transcended description; Limbo was a reflection of one's inner self, for the most part. Though it had universal latches and places everyone shared, what orbited those was a tapestry of individually-woven dreams and nightmares. The reason why millions upon millions every year got lost in Limbo wasn't because it was so sort of a labyrinth that was difficult to escape; rather, as long as a person just continued traveling forward, they would leave it sooner rather than later.
The problem was that the inner demons would materialize and haunt like personal ghosts; entire lifetis, on occasion, would be lived through here as people would forget what was real and what was fiction. Though Cain read so books on the Limbo, he hardly had the answers for what exactly it was; so supposed it was a pre-orderly remnant, a vestige of Chaos before the Divine, a place where order ca to die. Others garnered it was the testing grounds left by those very sa Divine to test new Conquerors.
Regardless of which theory was true, or if any of them were, Cain could hardly care less at the mont. He had no intention of staying here for long, yet, deep down he knew that he had to be extrely careful; of the many demons that he had gnawing at his soul, he wouldn't be very comfortable dealing with any of them directly.
Unfortunately, there was no other way to reach Underworld as it was, for all intents and purposes, 'not part of this world'; it was a quasi-dinsional pocket of space resting nestled between higher dinsions. He had the misfortune of visiting it a few tis in his previous lifeti, with each experience being worse than the last. While true that the land seethed with potential rewards to reap, one was far likelier to get stabbed through the back of their skull by sothing they couldn't even see rather than obtaining any of the rewards.
What made Limbo the only way to reach Underworld was that the forr broke down the dinsional barriers -- though Cain didn't really understand physics behind it -- not due to the lack of trying, however -- he did at least know that Limbo was akin to a theoretical device that could play around with dinsions, be it of space or ti or any of the higher ones.
"Who the heck is Moru'gh?" Cain mumbled as he patiently waited for his Mana to restore, alarmingly observing his misted surroundings, hoping to not see a single silhouette slither out. The reason Cain knew the Shopkeeper sent them to Underworld wasn't the creature, but the 'affix' -- almost without exception, any creature whose na had an added 'gh' after an apostrophe was a prisoner of Underworld. It was a sort of a permanent mark that they could never get rid of.
The problem was simple -- Underworld had a literal innurable number of prisoners. And, for all intents and purposes, that wasn't an exaggeration; there were literal expeditions into the place to try and determine its size, but all failed without exception, with each group having t an untily end by accidentally walking in on the territory of one or another abomination they had no chance of defeating.
Even Cain was risking it at the mont as he hardly recalled the 'official paths' and 'safe routes' and would mostly have to wing it and hope for the best. What complicated the issue further is that it would be very difficult to sense his Mana imprints on them. Underworld restricted most of the skills like these to a bear minimum, which would likely force him to be within ten or fewer miles of them.
Sighing, he quickly lit up a cigarette to calm his nerves; just as he took the first puff, mist in front of him moved and dispersed, startling him. Oh, great. What will it start with?! Maybe that boy, uh, what was his na? Leeny? The one I had jump into fire to see if the snake was still alive?
However, one quick glance at the 'person' who walked out of the mist confird it certainly wasn't Leeny -- or whatever his na was. For starters, the newcor had a doe's head -- and there really wasn't any need to look any further as this was the first ti Cain had seen anyone of the Apprecon Race. It wasn't due to lack of trying, however; rather, searching for mbers of their races beca sowhat of a sport as they were perhaps one of the most exotic, non-killing-machines races of the Tower.
The creature beca just as startled when it noted there was soone else there; it perked its ears and began sniffing the air, warily looking at Cain.
"... sorry," Cain smiled lightly. "I was in a rush and forgot to bathe."
"Ah, a creature of swift wit," the woman, Cain assud entirely on the basis of high-pitched voice. "Nary a rarity in these parts."
"Ah, a creature -- a real rarity in these parts."
"Do you not know it is dangerous to sit idly by in here?" she asked.
"I'm recovering Mana," Cain said. "Depleted everything by opening a tear to get in here."
"... and why in Divine's na did you want to get in here of all places?" the creature asked with a slightly exaggerated expression -- well, as exaggerated as a doe's head could make one.
"It's the only way to the Underworld."
"..." the creature paused as its eyes looked at Cain as though he was a madman.
"I'm certain you will yield to the reasoning," Cain chuckled.
"I hardly think so."
"I'm going to save my friends."
"... a noble cause, indeed," the creature sighed as she suddenly sat down, opposite of Cain, and took out a flagon of sorts, drinking a few sips of liquid from within it. "Neither Limbo nor Underworld ought stand in the ways of friendships. I admire you, Conqueror."
"Cain."
"Conqueror Cain," the creature nodded. "Adeena, this one's na is. Tell , Conqueror Cain -- what misfortune befell your friends for them to end up in Underworld?"
"A--dar," Cain replied. "Compelled them to take on a Quest."
"Well, that was their first mistake -- listening to that old rat," Adeena scoffed. "It is common knowledge he has rcantile channels in Underworld; in exchange for exotic resources from within, he will on occasion yield a few promising souls to beco fertilizer."
"... what?" Cain gasped as his heart stopped; he, certainly, did not know that.
"Oh, yes; however, there is no concrete evidence. Otherwise, he would have long since been beheaded. Mostly chatter and rumors, though, as I know him personally, I am fully inclined to believe them -- and I care not for the personal bias that statent implies."
"... he sent them to Moru'gh," Cain mumbled swiftly. "Do you know who that is?"
"... M-Moru'gh?" Adeena stumbled over her words for a mont, clearly startled. "Perchance... it might be Morudel Kadaal," she added. "Though... he had been sent to Underworld many Cycles ago. A disastrous monster he was, indeed; he would slay innocents with wanton abandon, reaping their souls and using them to craft Soulbound Items and puppets. I'm afraid to say, if your friends were tasked with attacking him... they have likely perished already."
"No..." Cain mumbled, feeling the weight of the world crash upon him while, at the sa ti, the one under him gave in. He felt as though he was both falling into a deep abyss and being ejected into frigid space at the sa ti. "No... no... I need to go there, imdiately. There's still ti; there must be..."
"Even if you could -- you would be killing yourself too. Even if he hadn't recovered to his past self's strength, at his worst, Morudel... still outmatches fledgling Conquerors by a mile, likely more."
"Please--please, if you know a way... any way to get there as quickly as possible... I--I'll do anything. I'll trade anything! Just na your price!"
"... I do not mind helping you," she said after a brief thought. "Nor do I require anything from you -- there is a saying among my peoples: Akdasha annure -- Friends in life as in death. I shall assist you in getting to Underworld, but I cannot ddle any further; I only hope you shall embark alive from your endeavor, and visit us if the chance presents itself in the future."
"--Sheyla sent you here, didn't she?" Cain suddenly realized sothing and asked with a strange look in his eyes.
"She did note you would lack Mana for the complete transport," Adeena said, smiling briskly. "And had asked to help you. Though, for the life of , I cannot understand why a Queen would help a fledgling Conqueror."
"... I guess I owe her," Cain sighed. "Even more than before. How long until we get there?"
"Ti... is of affluence," Adeena spoke. "Like a tender string that those endowed can play. Inside Limbo, you are in three places at the sa ti -- past, present, future. While it is impossible to physically travel into any tiline outside your own without permission, tilines are morphed and bent by the forces of beyond; for you, you shall have arrived instantly -- as for your friends, it is outside my abilities, I'm afraid. Even We are unable to inquire into Underworld's laws."
"... yeah, I'll just pretend I understood any of that," Cain shrugged. "Point is, you can instantly transport there?"
"Hold on for a mont," she said as she stood up. "Though short, the journey won't be easy -- you best be prepared."
"..." Cain remained silent as he tried to quell the dread and anxiousness festering in his heart. However, he let the seed of anger bloom and grow like a flower, allowing it to burn his veins alight and keep his hatred alive.
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