Heart of Demise.

39.

Unforgiving. This staircase was nothing but unforgiving, working me to the bone like a drill sergeant.

I know that I fell quite a distance, but I couldn't have dropped to the bottom of the earth, right? I've lost count of how many steps I've taken, and even the amount of times I've stopped for rest.

All things considered, Marie, and even Simon, were light. But they were still luggage I had to carry along with everything else I don't have the damn energy to mention. If I had to guess, this was the fifteenth time I dropped Marie off my shoulder, just so the poor thing could catch a break.

But this time, I ended up dropping too, and not in a pretty way either.

"Ack! Damn it..."

I hit myself right on the forehead on one of the steps. I spent the next five minutes rubbing it while sitting down. After that time passed, I didn't get up. I decided to just sit and stare at the ceiling above me: steps I was sure to cross soon.

"Of all things... it had to be a spiral staircase."

It didn't start like this. It was just a wide set of stairs at first, but then it began to shrink in width, and then it slowly started turning to the left, and all that came after was a blurry memory of spirals.

"Haaa... damn it. Maybe that's why my head's hurting."

I wanted to so badly, so very badly to just keep sitting there and stare at the ceiling, maybe even take a nap. Every nerve of my body was begging my brain to stop me from moving. But I just retaliated with the "just gotta do this" phrase and ignored it.

"Come on, Lewis. Get up. Goldhood won't be going down herself."

So, reluctantly, I rose to my feet, holstered Marie over my shoulder, and grabbed Simon by the arm.

–

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It takes a special type of hell to make someone like me find nothing witty to say about it.

I felt ill. I felt like my entire body wasn't even there, and honestly, I wish it wasn't, because I've been so overloaded with sensations that feeling nothing sounds like a blessing right now.

Of course, I can't be so lucky. But my fortune wasn't non-existent either. Because I took my final step.

"...Ha... is this, is this really happening?"

I dropped my sapient luggage without a second thought, then turned my head in every direction. No stairs. Finally, no stairs.

"No stairs... finally! No stairs!"

I raised my hands in triumph. My journey through hell was finally over. I was finally free, and as a cherry on top, I had such a nice view, too.

I collapsed to my knees facing that view. It was an opening; a really, really big opening. I thought I was at the entrance of some cavern, but looking back, I just saw a rocky wall.

Looking back at the view, I began to theorize. I saw a distant mass that vaguely resembled a triangle. And then it hit me.

"Is that... a mountain?"

I narrowed my eyes as if that would make my vision zoom in, and then I became even more sure of myself. That is a mountain. And it was just about at my level too.

"So, this must be the side of the mountain we scaled earlier."

Well, that made sense. It's not like the Undergarden was some different dimension. That'd be ridiculous.

"But how far away am I from that city?"

"Not far at all, mate."

All of a sudden, someone or something started to speak to me. His voice echoed and dug into my ears, which made me recognize it.