Abyss's Embrace

Chapter 15: Conversations

"How is he doing?" Jaxith asked in a concerned tone, part of his body still being covered in burn marks from the transformation. "I was right, the scar will stay but he will be okay in the end. I have no idea what will happen to you on the other hand" Alora said as her hand stopped glowing. "What do you mean you don't know what will happen to me?" Jaxith asked, "truth is you are the only person I have ever encountered that transformed into one of those things and came back from it. I have no idea what effects this will have on your body or your mind" Alora answered. "Well is there a way to find out? Because traveling with what might be a ticking time bomb doesn't seem like a good idea" Nerezza asked from a bit further away, her necklace that she had gotten from her girlfriend a while back was damaged and she was trying to repair it. "There might be someone who knows, do you remember that one time we got split up a bit deeper down than this?" Alora asked in a questioning tone. "I remember it very vividly, how could I not. It was hell, I didn't know whether you were okay or not." Nerezza answered. "Well during that I stumbled across a small village, the things that live there aren't human but aren't total monsters either. They seem to be similar to that Jester, just not hostile" Alora explained "and how exactly is that supposed to help us figure out whats wrong with me?" Jaxith interrupted. "Shut up and listen" Alora said while throwing a small piece of wood at him. "Their village elder seemed to know a lot about how the Abyss works, maybe he can tell us whats going to happen with you" Alora suggested. "Well we don't have much of a choice so might aswell give it a shot" Jaxith said as he grabbed Pyke who was still unconscious and carried him over his shoulder "how long will it take to get there?" "Probably about a day or two, its still quite a way" Alora replied. "Well lets start heading out tomorrow, its getting late and travelling at night is even more dangerous than usually" Jaxith said. They ate Dinner and then went to bed for the night.

As Jaxith woke up, he realized that it was still dark but he could not fall back asleep "Guess I will go and scout the area" he thought to himself. After looking around for a bit, he saw a familiar person sitting on top of one of the trees. He went a little closer towards the tree, "Nerezza, is that you?" He said. Nerezza jumped up, almost falling out of the tree in a process. "Jesus you scared me to death, never do that again you hear me?" She almost yelled. "Understood, mind if I join you up there? I can't sleep." Jaxith asked. "I don't mind having company" Nerezza said and Jaxith climbed into the tree on a branch next to Nerezzas. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Jaxith finally spoke up, "why are you even up at this time?" Jaxith asked while getting more comfortable on the branch. "I am still trying to fix this stupid necklace that you broke after you went crazy" Nerezza said in a passive aggressive tone. "I am sorry, I can guess that it means a lot to you" Jaxith said in an ashamed voice. "Its okay, I know it wasn't actually you that broke it but I am just frustrated, you are right, this necklace and especially the ring around it mean a lot to me. They were a gift from Alora from back when we first met and our lives were still normal and not whatever this is" Nerezza explained, "I'm sorry. Do you mind if I see the necklace for a second? I think I might know how to fix it." Jaxith asked while stretching his hand out. "Sure, I am willing to try anything to get this thing fixed at this point" Nerezza said while handing the necklace over. After a few minutes of trial and error, Jaxith managed to fix the necklace. "There you go, good as new" he said as he gave the necklace back to the girl in the sunset cloak. "Thank you, I appreciate it" Nerezza said while giving a faint smile. "Nerezza, may I ask you why you and Alora are down here? I know I already asked her the same question but I have the feeling that what she said was wrong." Jaxith asked in a curious tone. "Well, I suppose it's only fair since we know why you're here as well. Basically, our village was small and poor. My family situation was horrible, my father abused me in every single way imaginable and my mother just stood there and watched, too paralyzed by fear to do anything. One day when I was eleven years old, I had decided that living like that simply wasn't worth it anymore. I had decided that, that night was the one I was going to take my life. I went out in the middle of the night and was about to run off into the woods with a rope in my hands when I heard a soft voice from behind, asking me what I was doing. When I turned around, I was looking at a girl with the most beautiful, amethyst eyes I had ever seen staring at me along with a warm expression that I couldn't help but feel safe around. I couldn't bring myself to tell her what I was doing so I told her that I was going to the woods to catch something and she asked to come along. I just couldn't help it and took her with me. After that night, I didn't mind the abuse from my family anymore. That was the night I had found a person that I seemed to be made for. Alora saved me and to this day she doesn't know what was going to happen that night and I intend to keep it that way. A few years after we met, we became a couple and ended up running away together since she desperately wanted me to get away from my family. In the process, we stumbled across the Abyss and figured that no one would look for us down here so we just stayed here." After Nerezza was done explaining, Jaxith noticed a singular tear rolling down her cheek. He gave the girl a smile, "I'm glad you're here, you already helped so much" Jaxith said. "Thank you, it means a lot to me" Nerezza said while giving another faint smile. "We should head to bed soon, we have a long way ahead of us tomorrow" Jaxith said while hopping off the tree. "You're right, I totally forgot" Nerezza replied while also hopping down, and with that, the two of them went to bed.