Thomas expected Selene to explode. A scream, an insult, maybe even a punch to the chest—but nothing ca.
Selene said nothing.
She just stood there, staring at the ground for a few seconds, her light-blue hair plastered to her face and neck. Then she brought both hands to her shoulders and began rubbing them slowly, as if checking they were still in place.
Thomas blinked at her strange calm.
’...What?’
She lowered her gaze to her hands. She opened and closed them. Flexed her fingers. Then she ran her palms slowly over her arms, as if searching for invisible wounds.
There was no fury on her face.
Only... sothing restrained. Sothing tightly coiled beneath the surface.
Thomas felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
’Maybe... this ti I really went too far.’
He didn’t touch her. He didn’t try to speak. For the first ti since he’d t her, he had no idea what to say.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do when he couldn’t handle sothing emotional.
Think. Retreat into logic.
He stood up with so difficulty and looked over the valley of stalagmites stretching before them. Tall, sharp, irregular formations—like a forest of stone spears rising from the ground.
He walked over to one barely a foot and a half tall and kicked it. It was solid.
He picked up a loose rock and used it for leverage, prying at the tip of one of the thinner stalagmites until it snapped. The dry crack echoed louder than he would’ve liked.
He froze.
He looked around. Nothing reacted. He slipped the fragnt into his pants pocket. Then he grabbed another, smaller tip, tore it free with effort, and opened the system inventory.
The object vanished in a blue flash. Thomas held his breath.
’Now I just need to see whether either thod works.’
"What are you doing?" Selene finally asked.
Her voice was lower than usual. Thomas turned his head slightly toward her.
"Testing sothing."
"What?" she pressed, annoyed at having to ask sothing so obvious.
He nodded toward the ground.
"I want to know if I can take things out of the Abyss."
Selene frowned.
"Take... things?"
Thomas nodded.
’If this works outside... then this place isn’t just a punishnt. It’s a resource.’
She stared at him. Then at the stalagmites. Then back at him. The next question ca directly, without hesitation.
"How did we get here in the first place?"
The air between them seed to grow colder. Thomas went still.
"We were in a café," Selene continued. "Sitting. Arguing. And suddenly I’m inside a spatula... and then in the Abyss."
Her gaze hardened.
"Explain that."
Sothing tightened in Thomas’s chest. Concern. The system wasn’t sothing he could reveal. He didn’t know the exact consequences, but he sensed they wouldn’t be minor. Besides... he would lose the only real control he had left.
Thomas turned fully toward her. His expression was no longer nervous—it was serious.
"I’m not going to answer that."
Selene blinked.
"What?"
"Don’t ask that again," he said firmly. "And by order, do not question it again."
The silence that followed was heavier than any roar of the Abyss. Selene’s eyes widened slightly—not in fear, but in disbelief.
"By order?" she repeated, feeling the pressure tighten in her chest.
She stood up, her voice trembling slightly.
"Did you seriously just say that?"
Thomas held her gaze. He didn’t answer.
"Do you know the bare minimum I expected?" she said, holding back sothing deeper than anger. "An explanation. You almost got killed bringing here!"
Thomas exhaled through his nose.
"I’m sorry."
"That’s not an explanation."
Thomas turned his back to her.
"I’ve made myself clear. Don’t ask again."
Selene stared at him for a few more seconds, as if searching for a crack in his expression—sothing that would betray a lie, a doubt, any fracture. She found nothing.
She huffed, unable to contain her anger, and sat back down, this ti with her back to him.
"You’re impossible."
Thomas didn’t respond.
He sat down as well, positioning himself between two larger stalagmites that offered so natural cover. The tir continued counting down.
[Ti remaining: 00:39:12]
The next few minutes were a test of ntal endurance. They didn’t speak. They only listened. The Abyss never truly knew silence.
Far away, sothing heavy dragged across the stone. Closer, the beating of massive wings crossed the open expanse of the cavern. Screeches that sounded almost childish... but weren’t. The cracking of stone, born and dying in the darkness.
At one point, a shadow passed over them. Thomas lifted his gaze slightly.
A flying creature cut through the air. It was enormous. Its wings looked like torn mbranes, and its elongated body carried multiple dangling limbs, as if it hadn’t finished deciding on its final shape.
’Heroines co down here... willingly.’
A chill ran down his spine.
’How many have died? How many tis has this place opened to the world? Does Ark’s main tournant really use beasts captured from here? Do they... actually manage to ta sothing like that?’
From a distance, he watched the imposing creature. He drew his legs in and rested his forehead against his knees.
’I’ve never been to a tournant or even watched one; this year will be the first ti I do. If heroines can ta beasts like these... could I bring them here and have them ta them for ?’
He glanced at Selene over his shoulder. She was still sitting with her back to him, rigid and silent.
’Of course... one who actually knows how to fight and defend herself.’
Ti crawled at an unbearable pace. Every five minutes, he checked the tir. Whenever a sound ca too close, they both held their breath, perfectly still.
Neither of them ntioned what had happened again until the very end.
[Ti remaining: 00:00:03]
’Finally.’
He let his back rest fully and, for the last ti, looked up at the ceiling of the Abyss. A deep exhale slipped from his nose.
[00:00:01]
The cavern distorted.
The ground vanished.
◇◆◇
The faint glow of a streetlamp flickered above their heads. The sll of coffee replaced the damp air. They both appeared sitting on the café floor.
Dark. Silent. Dead. The lights were off. The chairs were stacked on the tables. The interior sign was lifeless.
Thomas looked at the wall clock.
23:47.
Thirteen minutes to midnight. His body reacted before his mind could catch up. He shot to his feet.
"Damn it."
"What now?" Selene asked, exhausted.
Thomas checked his own watch. The debt he had to pay was due that night. He should have already been ho.
"I have to go," he said, already moving toward the door.
"Calm down," Selene replied, getting up more slowly. "It’s closed. Let’s wait until they open tomorrow."
"No." His answer was imdiate. "I have to be ho right now."
Selene frowned.
"Why?"
Thomas clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt.
"Because if I don’t make it... my life will be worse than the Abyss."
He lunged at the door, secured with an iron bar, and shook it hard. The crash shattered the silence of the café. He grabbed the edge and pulled horizontally, trying to force it open. It didn’t budge.
Selene crossed her arms and asked with dry irony,
"Finished? It’s designed so no one can get in or out, by the way."
Thomas dropped to his knees, his hands gripping the tal gate.
"Damn it..."
This ti it didn’t sound like anger, but defeat.
Selene noticed the crack in his voice, and sothing uncomfortable stirred inside her. It annoyed her to feel empathy for the one who had dragged her into all of this, but she gave in to the impulse anyway.
She stepped closer and crouched beside him.
"Tell what’s going on. Why is it so important to get ho?"
Thomas rested his forehead against the cold tal. His breathing grew uneven.
"Because if I didn’t go today... they’d throw our things out onto the street."
He swallowed.
"And my little sister would be there to see it."
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