My Last Dive [Made in Abyss Fanfiction]

00| Threshold of the Unknown

What does it feel like to stand on the threshold of the unknown?

That was a question I never thought I'd be faced with. I'd stood at the entrances of locations I'd never been to before, but they were known to many others. They weren't the unknown, someplace where few to none had set foot and even fewer had returned to tell the tale.

Still, I didn't think I'd never be able to ponder this question myself, even if I wished I could. To me, and to everyone else, there was nothing left in this world to discover. Hundreds had set foot on every bit of soil on this planet. From there, those hundreds had multiplied into thousands who could leave and spread the word, the word that humanity had done it. There was nothing left.

For the first twelve years of my life, I lamented this fact. Despite having my life's path virtually laid out for me, my thoughts were instead drawn to the books lining the shelf in my room. Tales of explorers discovering the continent my family dwelled on among others and the explorations that would then take place... Deep forests hiding crystalline lakes, scorching deserts that seemed endless, frigid wastes, and so much more was brought to life in my mind. I indulged in these tales, putting myself in the explorers' shoes.

Of course, all of these places had been explored or simply didn't exist. It still didn't stop me from dreaming, though. My parents would say my head was so far in the clouds that I could see above them. I would've loved that, since nobody knew what lay above the clouds. While I would have welcomed the fame and glory that would come from discoveries like those, I mainly wanted to satiate my own desire for discovery. Fame was a byproduct, a means to further spread stories.

That was before I knew about the Abyss.

I now grip a small package in my hands, taking one last, long look at it. It's bound in string and attached to a balloon fashioned from cloth. The faint green light radiating from the shallow pool of water surrounding me outlines the bundle with an otherworldly glow. Soon this package will be rising back up to the surface, to the world I'm leaving behind.

My gaze rises, following the stems of the massive plants that sprout from the ground like the petrified trees of the First Layer, reaching for the precious bits of sunlight that are able to make it down this far. No, they're even larger than those trees. If they weren't, they couldn't hold small ponds and lakes in their tops, like cups offering water to unseen deities. But I suppose that's why they call this layer the Goblet of Giants. Even then, the cups overflow, and the water flows and cascades down to the depths. Always down, never back up.

Set aloft, the balloon tugs at the package, trying to pull it from me prematurely. If it had sentience, it wouldn't have to worry whether I would release it or not. I have to, and I'm ready.

But I can't let go.

Confusion strikes me. A minute ago, I was more than happy to let it go. After all, this package contains written reassurances of my safety to those who cared along with rough sketches of what I've seen down here. I doubt that they were things that haven't been discovered yet.

Thinking of the drawings, I frown slightly. I really wish I was a better artist. Despite the numerous dangers I'd encountered on my way down, the beauty of the sights around me was worth it. It always has been. A dear friend of mine had taught me how to draw, but even with practice, my drawings were nothing compared to his. They never would be.

Sweat drips down my forehead and builds up on my palms, making my gloves feel clammy. The humidity of the Fourth Layer is awful, but I won't have to deal with it for much longer. From what I've researched, the humidity is supposed to let up closer to the bottom of the Fourth Layer, and the icy wastes of the Fifth Layer's Sea of Corpses will be the perfect respite. And from there...

I'll continue my descent. I take a deep breath. I cannot afford to linger here for much longer. While I haven't encountered any of this layer's dangers, I'm not about to push my luck. Yet I can't bring myself to let go of the balloon.

I smile in spite of myself, a metallic taste rising in my throat. I can't tell if it's bile or more blood. I had to climb back up a ways so I could reach a more open spot to release the balloon, and I'd paid the price. My eyes still sting from the blood that had streamed from them, and the scent fills my nose, thick and nauseating. Even now, my gloves are streaked with the stuff from when I'd futilely tried to wipe it away, but it didn't work out so well. Leather gloves aren't the best at cleaning blood, they aren't absorbent.

Deep down, I know why I don't let go. Because once I do, there truly is no turning back. While I barely have anything left on the surface, I would be leaving that little bit behind. The pain in my heart is worse than the pain that had gripped me not five minutes ago, ripping at my muscles and organs like dull claws; I prefer the bleeding to either of those, really.

What I hope are real tears well in my eyes and begin to trickle down my cheeks. Choking back a sob, I grasp the hunk of white stone hanging around my neck. It's all the comfort I have at the moment.

   "Y-you're with me, that's all that matters. Together, all the way to the bottom of the Abyss," I mutter, my throat cracked with pain. Even if I do have something to leave behind, what awaits me below will surely be worth it. And if it isn't, I'll at least die happy knowing I did what I always wanted to. My curiosity is what brought me here in the first place all those years ago, and yet again it'll be my downfall.