"Waaaah! It's sooo good!" Mina exclaimed as she took another spoonful of Bakugou's curry.
"As expected from Bakugou!" Denki cried as the katsudon crunched when he took a bite.
"Tch. Shut it. It's just that you extras suck at cooking." Bakugou growled at Denki and Mina as he sat down on a chair.
Ochako pursed her lips as she passed them holding her own plate of Bakugou's curry topped with a katsudon. Her stomach growled when she made it to the other table where Deku and the others were.
It was Saturday once more and the week passed by pretty quick. The whole week was spent with their quirk training and hero lessons. Even if it was harder than before and took up most of their energy, they all still have to make sure to do their chores.
That's why now, they were all eating dinner after cleaning around the place.
She placed her plate on the dining table carefully and then sat down on a chair.
"Uraraka-san! I've been wondering if you've done the English homework?" Deku asked who was seated in front of hers.
"Oh yeah! Momo helped me with it this afternoon after cleaning around" She pressed her hands together with the pinkies up.
"Ah t-that's good" He stuttered with pink tinting his freckled cheeks. His lips opened and he scratched his cheek turning to her.
He looked like he still wanted to say something but decided not to.
Ochako's stomach growled and she blushed furiously. Deku let out a small laugh and smiled at her.
"Let's eat." Todoroki nodded besides Deku.
"Thank you for the meal!"
She took her spoon and fork to get a spoonful of rice, curry and the breaded katsudon. The smell of the savory curry filled her senses as she took a bite.
The savoriness of the curry followed by the crunch from the tender chicken in her mouth was perfect. The rice just melted in her mouth and she moaned in satisfaction.
"...It's good" Todoroki stared at the rice after he swallowed.
"Bakugou-kun's cooking is one of the best I've ever tasted" She happily nodded before greedily taking another scoop of the delicious meal. Her cheeks puffed as she enjoyed the burst of flavors.
Deku took a potato in his mouth and actually sort of teared up as he held his forearm to his face.
"Midoriya? Are you okay?" Iida perked up besides her.
She licked her lips and heard a yelp from the other table. Blinking from the sound, she turned to her right.
"So fucking spicy!" Kirishima stood up from his chair with a screech and ran to the kitchen.
"Oi bakugou! Did you give him the spicy one?" Denki pointed at him accusingly.
"The fuck no! He took some on his own so don't blame his stupidity on me!" Bakugou growled at Denki before shoving his spoon in his mouth.
"Poor Kiri! There's some milk in the fridge, hun!" Mina yelled towards the kitchen to him.
Kirishima was leaning on the sink who quickly turned on the running water on his tongue.
Ochako giggled at this.
"Bakugou! You should've warned me that the left one was the spicy one! My tongue is burning like shit crazy" Kirishima's lips were indeed red from the spice.
"I'll get it instead!" Mina stood up to help him get some milk.
"I already told you twice bird brain! It's your fault for not remembering!" Bakugou sneered at Kirishima.
"I pity Kirishima-kun" Iida spoke behind her as they ate.
"Kacchan's meaning of spicy is the word death itself" Deku spoke after as Ochako watched Mina help Kirishima wipe himself off.
"His taste buds are probably fried if he can't tell between normal spice and deadly spice." Todoroki huffed.
Bakugou snapped his eyes towards them with gritted teeth.
"What do you mean you shitty nerds? I can tell you damn well that my tastebuds are fucking fine. You all just can't handle some good spice!" He grunted angrily.
"Ah shit. It's not going away" Kirishima coughed in the kitchen.
"Here drink some more, Kiri" Mina's voice followed afterwards.
"Riigghhhht" Todoroki replied to Bakugou.
Ochako snickered at this and turned to the fuming blonde.
"But even though your taste on spice is deadly, your cooking is really good Bakugou!" She munched happily.
Bakugou huffed and turned away from her drinking some water.
Everyone had finished up eating and gathered up in the common room. Ochako stretched her arms glancing at the clock.
It was 8 pm already. She needed to log in today.
She yawned and stood up straight. Her gaze fell towards Tsuyu who was braiding Momo's hair.
"I think I'm going to bed now" She hummed at the girls.
"Huh? But did you forget? It's girls night today and I already have our snacks ready!" Mina puckered her lips as she was holding a jar filled with baked cookies from Sato.
Ochako puffed her cheeks resisting the temptation. She closed her eyes frustratingly annoyed why she skipped this logging in on wednesday.
Right, she wanted to focus on concentrating her quirk on a certain part rather than the whole object itself. The whole training was exhausting and took up a lot of time but she needed to get stronger.
She shook her head at them with a frown.
"Sorry mina but I really need to sleep. The day wore me out." She let out a soft sigh.
"Well, we can have girls night tomorrow" Tsuyu spoke up placing a finger near her lips.
"Yeah, we can ask Sato-san to make us some more tomorrow. I will be funding it to lessen the trouble" Momo hummed and smiled at her.
"You better not decline tomorrow because we seriously need those" Mina went to hug her with a pout.
Ochako smiled at how considerate her friends are while she hugged back.
"I promise" She giggled.
"Goodnight!" Mina pulled away and the other girls went to say theirs as well.
"Goodnight!"
-
Ochako's avatar was squeezed into a tight embrace.
“I’m really sorry kocha but duty calls!”
“It’s okay Lilu”
“Let’s go to the Distracted Globe next time” The purple strands of her friend's hair grazed her as she pulled away. She grinned, her orange tainted skin glowing still while she swiped to her palm to the left.
"Sure! Besides, I haven't explored every world in the oasis" She watched her friend press the logout button.
"I'm free on Monday 10 pm!"
Ochako waved goodbye with a smile at her friend as her avatar dissipated. It’s been a week without something new in the oasis but everything still felt too big to explore.
Slowly, her smile faded noticing she was alone again.
She was in this world called 'Fleuri' where her and Lilu decided to explore. Soft petals of sakura flowers fell onto her hair as she leaned on the bark of a tree. The place was like an endless field of falling sakura flowers around with the soft stream of the riverbank besides.
“Ah, I just logged in for only 30 minutes though..” She pouted as she watched a couple of avatars walk by her.
A notification popped up.
She perked up and she glided her hand to the left opening the menu. She tapped on the notification icon and the message displayed.
Update:
New World: ‘Orth’
Bug fixed where users can turn their head backwards in the Nether Realm World on . . .
Perking up, her eyes fixated on the name of the new world. She didn’t really care about the bug fix.
"Orth?"
Clicking on the world’s tab, she quickly pressed on the world named ‘Orth’ with excitement gleaming in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
-
A gasp left Ochako’s lips as she felt the air in her lungs tighten. Her eyes wide as she stared at the bottomless darkness from the abyss in the middle of Orth.
It was enormous. As if it was swallowing the earth around her into it.
A chilly draft of wind blew harshly behind her, making the strands on her nape stand up. Like it was trying to call her in with a whisper. She stared at the pit which looked like it was breathing.
She was lost in a trance the more she was looking at it. It seemed like the huge void was speaking to her. Telling her the depths inside the darkness she was seeing.
It was calling her.
The small puffs of cloud hovering above the abyss drifted down looking like it was being sucked inside.
Even though she was in a far distance between her and the dark void, it was overwhelming as she stood on the slightly slanted ground. No words left her lips.
It was scary.. and amazing at the same time .
She couldn't help but feel her balance stumble as she forced herself to blink a couple of times. Her fingers felt cold when she placed them on her cheeks. Shaking her head lightly, she breathed out this baffling feeling.
“Get yourself together..” A breathless voice escaped her lips.
She was strong and she knew that she shouldn't give in to the prickling eerie feeling. Her brows furrowed in a determined manner as she tore her gaze away from it.
Dropping her hands back to her sides, she looked around the world with a much more relaxed stance. Her feet taking small steps down the slightly steep earth.
Thuds of doors opening and clinks of metal chimed in her ear as she glanced at the village around her. The path started to have stones plastered on them the farther she went down the road.
She immediately noticed the rough walls of houses that were painted with such warm colors. And cutely topped with a maroon colored roof.
"Welcome to Orth!" A tall skinny woman greeted her as she walked by. Her voice was automated in a way distinct from other players.
She immediately perked up at the mere sight of an NPC. There were NPCs in this world?
"Ah thank you" Ochako smiled passing her by only to be greeted by more of them. There were a lot of human NPCs in the world. It actually felt like she was in a town with people living in it.
Guess the support course was taking this up a notch.
She quickly is reminded of how everyone in UA strived to become the best, even the support course. A spark of determination fired her up as she continued to walk down the pavement.
Everyone was doing their own thing like opening their stores, talking to each other and even communicating with other users. The emotions on their faces adding to them seem like they're real.
And everything felt so simple. No villains. No school. No stress. No heartbreaks.
"I wish I could live in such a simple world like this" She let out a small hum imagining what it was like to live in such a fairly simple life.
Ochako took note that most of them wore an amber jacket over a shirt or leotard paired with some shorts or pants. She low-key wanted to wear their clothes. It seemed adventurous and free.
And among those, had colorful whistles dangling around their neck. Almost all of them wore red whistles while some would have either blue or black.
"I can't wait to go down!"
"Me too!"
She perked up as a bunch of children ran by her echoing laughter and happy chatters. Her lips curved upwards as a big chubby man excused themselves to her.
"Sorry for that miss! Hey kids! Stop running sheesh.." He sighed to himself chasing them with a small smile.
For some reason, she felt like she was back at home with her family in this hearty environment. A sense of nostalgia washed over her when she remembered herself as a kid.
"Papa catch me!"
The slightly chipped-off paint of the cream walls in their small hallway flashed through her mind. Remembering how fast she ran around the living room as her dad chased her. The aroma of her mother's cooking that welcomed her when she settled by the kitchen.
Hiding behind her mom with a giggle while her dad entered the small kitchen.
It felt so long ago.
Her heart ached at how time flew so quickly and she missed them so much. She wondered when could she finally have a heartfelt family dinner again. One where they could actually spend time with each other rather than her parents constantly answering calls from work or hurrying to finish so that they could work on their night shifts.
They were so busy with their jobs that it rarely happens.
Even so, she kept her smile soft. The atmosphere was so warm in the city that she almost forgot about the abyss in the center of it. It definitely felt like two different aura that shouldn't go together.
"Come on! The delvers are back!"
She was snapped out of her thoughts to see everyone stopping what they were doing.
"Oh! We must welcome them!" A woman holding a basket of food nodded at the town.
"Yes, they've brought my life back together and I want to be grateful" An old man started to scurry inside his small house with a groan.
All of the citizens started to gather some gifts and walked towards the direction where the abyss was. They even looked excited.
What was happening?
"E-Eh?" She blinked and saw a brown haired boy walk by her who was holding some sort of machine.
"Excuse me" She tapped his shoulder with a soft call.
"Yes?" The boy stopped and turned towards her with a questioning look.
"Where are you all going?" Ochako quickly asked as more and more people disappeared down the road.
"Oh! The welcoming ceremony" He nodded with his eyes sparkling in enthusiasm.
"It's where the top 5 delvers are welcomed and awarded for bringing artifacts to us here! Ah, excuse me but I think it's starting-" He quickly ran towards where the others were.
"Oh I wonder if I can come.." Her feet moved from her curiosity and followed behind the boy.
She was now a few blocks away from the abyss and she could see how the houses started to clear out. It was a wide area around the abyss when she neared and there were a bunch of trucks around. There were also people who had backpacks and wore an explorer attire walking.
They seemed to be walking towards this gate around the abyss. She hasn't really noticed until she focused her eyes because of the huge darkness that followed through.
She took notice of the fenceless bridge connecting the edge of the hole to the somewhere. She couldn't really see because of the clouds and mist swirling downwards.
"Good afternoon everyone! Let's all welcome back our delvers of the abyss!"
Her head quickly turned to her left where a ceremony was being held.
She saw a small stage at least 4 blocks away from the abyss and below the stage were all the citizens gathered.
"Our top 5 delvers of the abyss are back and continue to support our needs with the artifacts they've brought back.." The host spoke highly of them through the mic as everyone clapped.
Delvers?
Five people started to walk up the stairs to the stage. Three of them wore personalized adventurer clothes compared to the villagers paired with a cape that enclosed their frame. And they all had a whistle around their neck just like some citizens. This time, it was purple and black.
She watched as the people thanked them and offered their gifts as the delvers genuinely smiled crouching down to accept their gifts.
This world was very different from the others and there was a story to it. She wanted to find out more.
A harsh blow of the cool breeze behind her made her shiver, the ends of her pink hair whirling in a mess. Her head turning back to the gates watching delvers walk towards the entrance.
"I wonder what's down there.." She muttered to herself as she started to walk towards the metallic gate that separated her and the unknown depth.
"Sorry, you cannot go beyond anymore miss" A middle aged looking man, who spoke in a techy voice, closed the gates as the last pair went inside.
She perked up and turned to look at him who had a deadpan look. His lips formed in a thin line and his eyes almost squinting down at her.
"Oh I'm sorry, I was wondering what's past there" Ochako glanced behind him to see some children were disappearing in the mist as they walked to the other side of the bridge. Her brows scrunched up together and her cheeks puffed.
"What can possibly be interesting in such a scary.. yet fascinating big hole in the middle of the world?" She muttered loudly looking at the abyss as if it was calling her in.
"The depths of this abyss has secret artifacts and advanced technology hidden in its layers. Delvers, who wear whistles, are allowed to go down and retrieve these to help the people..."
Ochako couldn't help but be more drawn to it as she intently stared further into the darkness. The voice of the man tuning out as she took another step forward to the void.
"I'm sorry, but you simply cannot go alone. The abyss is extremely dangerous." His snappy voice cutting through her head. She looked back at him confused.
"Huh? So are you saying I need to have a party?" She tilted her head as she blinked.
"Yes. And you also need to change in a..." The man glanced at her outfit "more suitable attire. The ecosystems and environment below are harshly brutal" He nodded.
"What?" She frowned and took a step back. Her hands shoving themselves inside her pockets on the jacket she was wearing. She looked back at her attire and thought.
"Well...where can I get some clothes here?" She lifted her head to the man with a pout.
"There are folkstown around who are willing to give you clothes and necessities needed. You can store them up in your inventory." He explained lifting a finger and opening the gates.
His eyes darted behind her quickly opening the gates with a wave of his hand. The magic of VR.
"Enjoy your descent" He gave way and Ochako turned to look.
A scaly reptile avatar wearing a brown knacky vest and dark baggy pants walked inside who was quickly followed by a small elf avatar dressed in a long sleeved shirt and fitted black pants with boots.
The two nodded at him with a small grin. It was like he could see if they were in a party or not.
"Alright! Thanks mister!" She smiled as soon as he closed the gates with a small clank of the metals.
She spun around to walk back where she saw the stores from earlier. As she took steps upwards the slanted road, her mind was thinking of a way to get a party with someone.
Maybe she could ask a stranger?
A couple of users passed her by, it was a girl avatar and the other was a big-headed alien sort of avatar.
"You got the map? I wanna be jumping off of that cliff." A deep voice sounded from the girl avatar.
"Yeah man, I heard there's also a curse to it" The other one said with a tight voice.
"I got some supplies anyways if ever some shit happens. Besides, you told me you wanted to get some girls right?" The girl shrugged, flipping her blonde hair. Their voices thinned out and she blinked there...
Ochako felt her face distort uncomfortably. She was definitely not planning to ask strangers now. Looks can be very deceiving especially here where no one really knows each other.
She was glad to at least meet 4 decent people- wait 3 decent people. She shook her head at the thought of Akashi who pushed her back in the lake before leaving her. But he could be a candidate to party with, well.. he's tolerable.
Besides, it's been a week since she last saw him. The odds and chances of meeting him again we're 0.10% in this huge world.
And they didn't even add each other, so she put all the hope down the drain and continued to walk up the pavement.
-
"Thank you so much!" Ochako tapped her inventory close before she turned to look at the old lady with her white hair in a messy bun. The crinkly skin of her cheeks stretching as she smiled back.
"Oh dear me, I almost forgot" The lady spun around slowly and walked to the oaky wood dressers in her small shop. She opened the first drawer with a pull on the knob, pulling out something from it.
"Huh?"
"Here" She walked back with slow steps lifting up her hand. It was a folded old fashioned paper and she glanced at it with a confused expression.
"This will be your guide down there, this contains everything up to the 7th layer and the curse of the abyss.."
"Thank you again!" Ochako lifted both her palms and accepted the gift with a small nod. She was now walking back towards the entrance of the abyss as the old lady waved to her.
"Okay! Time to find a party" The gleam of her eyes couldn't be tossed away yet she frowned knowing, she needed someone to be with. It could've been easier if she had more online friends.
A sigh left her lips.
"I really wish Tsu-chan was here with me" she pursed her lips walking down the road dipping her head down. Her eyes looked down at her set of clothes given to her. She wore brown boots that went up to her thighs paired with red stockings. In front of the boots was a cross stitch that ended before her knee.
A brief show of her white creamy skin and then the frilly ends of her puffy white shorts came next. She glanced at her thighs with a squint as she pressed down on it.
She pouted in realization.
"Am I getting fat?"
The avatar she wore retained her physical body in the real world but allowed her to alter the skin and face so no one could recognize her.
So seeing her thighs this big made her feel very insecure. She was thinking of cutting off on eating snacks in between meals but how could she? Sato makes them mochi and other sweets every afternoon that tastes so good.
Diet can suck.
She huffed crossing her arms, lost in thought of how unfair it is to gain weight. She didn't even notice where she was.
"Sorry sir. You cannot enter the abyss alone." A familiar automated voice spoke and she snapped her head up to look.
Oh, she was already at the entrance. That was quick.
"Why the fuck not?" A man who wore a familiar black snapback and black jacket snarled at the curator.
Ochako had to blink twice making sure she was seeing the familiar red head. It's been a week since she last saw Akashi but she couldn't help but think of a terrible idea.
That she might regret later.
"You must be in a party of 2 or more to go down. The abyss is-"
"I'm his party!" Ochako spoke before she could think thoroughly. Her brain slowly processed what she just said. It wasn't technically a bad idea, it was a very very terrible idea.
Akashi snapped his head towards her with wide eyes before it narrowed down realizingwho she was.
"What?" He hissed as he stared at her face.
She swallowed her doubt on backing out. She already said the words so she might as well stand her ground.
"You wanna go down as well right?" She walked right besides him and whispered. Her right hand cupped near her lips as if the curator can't hear them.
"There's no way in hell I'm gonna pair up with you, cakes" he retorted and she squinted at him.
"If you both aren't in a party, I'm sorry but it is restricted" The curator closed the gates and eyed Akashi's clothing.
"And both must wear a delver's outfit." He added as he faced away from them.
Ochako sighed at the closed gates seeing more people disappear past the bridge.
"Fucking hell." Akashi let out a snort beside her.
"I wouldn't have bothered you that much" She pouted as she faced him. He glared at her and she sensed a familiarity about his expression. It's like she's seen it before.
"Tch. Yeah right, says your loud whiny ass" His upper lip twitched in annoyance.
"What? That was one time" Her brows furrowed at him.
"You heard me." Akashi's golden eyes rolled at her. Her irritation grew from his response.
"Well, at least it’s better than being with you. Every time I'm with you, I always end up wet"
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Ochako had processed what she just said for like 3 seconds. Before realizing that.. sounded wrong.
"LIKE physically- I mean virtually! Aaah" She raised her hands furiously blushing.
"Really? I'm flattered" He spoke with sarcasm dripping from his tone.
She turned to glare at him with a frown. It was pretty sure that this idea was terrible but she didn't think he'd be this rude. It's like she's a parasite whenever he sees her and then annoys the living hell out of her.
A sigh left her lips as she calmed herself down. She was mature.
"Come on! Let's party together and I won't bother you the whole time we're down there." She reasoned out pointing her hand, that held the map, towards the abyss. His eyes glanced at the map with a curious look.
A harsh blow of wind grazed them, his eyes looking back at her.
"Tch." He let out a scoff and started to walk back to the city.
“H-Hey!” She pouted at how he didn't even answer and just walked away. Her feet quickly followed behind his frame as they walked up towards the city.
“Are you scared of it?” She blurted out.
Akashi stopped walking and snapped his head towards her. She felt herself gulp as he strode towards her. The intensity of his demeanor wasn’t quite a good feeling but she stood to her ground.
His golden eyes glowed as he sneered down at her.
“I’m not scared of that shitty abyss.” He said in all seriousness. The low tone of his voice was menacing but she only stared at him.
“Then let’s pair up and go down” Ochako felt her voice so small compared to what she intended it to be.
Akashi towered over her as his eyes narrowed. She looked up at him hoping he would agree.
“No” He hissed and gritted his teeth. She took a step forward returning his sharp gaze.
“Why not? I know you don’t have any friends-”
“Because you only cause me trouble and I’m not gonna be responsible for your ass if you get lost.” He dipped his head down to face her as if she's a bug or something.
“Well, you don't have friends, my friends aren’t online and I really wanna go down..” She perked up remembering something.
“You need to go write a feedback..right?” She pointed at his nose pressing on it. He scowled at her finger digging on his nose. He took a hold of her wrist, pushing it away and she raised her brows at him.
She knew she was right just by his eyes who bore holes into hers.
“Don’t make me regret this, cakes.” He rolled his eyes and took her wrist as he dragged her back to the entrance.
Ochako’s lips turned into a smile as she happily got dragged. She was so drawn into going down and even though her partner was a hothead, she didn’t mind it.
Soon enough, they both stood in front of the curator and he let go off her wrist. He swiped his palm to open his menu, tapping on the friends tab. She quickly opened her menu as well, her eyes glancing as his fingers typed Kocha.
"Username." His head tilted to her with a raised eyebrow.
“Kocha27” She nodded at him. In an instant, a friend request popped up on her notification and she quickly accepted. She read his username with curiosity and her lips pursed.
Akashi04
It was followed by the party invite and she also tapped on the accept button. She can clearly see how she was the only user on his friend list and she snickered. No one would really want to be friends with someone so rude. But her? She didn't know yet something about his rudeness and vulgar words seemed strangely familiar at the same time it wasn't.
He was easy to be with despite the constant insults. She had learned this back at the falls when they sat in comfortable silence.
"You need to have a proper attire sir" The curator coughed, interrupting her thoughts as he pointed at Akashi's attire.
"Why the fuck is that necessary?" Akashi hissed at the curator.
"It's simply the rules." The man replied poshly.
"Where the hell do I get those clothes then?"
-
Ochako was waiting for Akashi to get some clothes as she looked at some keychains near the store. She was always intrigued with small things like this. Especially those unique lucky charms that she buys every year.
Her eyes darted to the mirror besides the store and she went in front of it. Her reflection appeared where she could see her full outfit. Her puffy cream-colored sweater with long sleeves under the brown corset made her curves pop out. She also had a brown belt that had a pocket on the right side. A deep red mantle around her and a pair of goggles on her rose pink hair finished the look.
"Come on, cakes" The familiar rough voice took her attention away from the mirror.
She turned to look at him and his clothing. He wore a black fitted shirt underneath a brown delver jacket that was only up to his forearms. He wore some fitted pants that partnered with his jacket that stopped below his knees. The look was finished with a pair of heavy brown boots.
She couldn't help herself but let her gaze linger a bit. His avatar was like very..hot.
"Tch. Let's go" Was all he said as she checked him out. She quickly stopped herself feeling embarrassed, heat rising up to her cheeks.
"R-Right!" Ochako shook her head as she followed behind him.
Once again, they were in front of the curator who now had a small smile on his face.
"Enjoy your descent, delvers" He waved his hand as the gates creaked open. A chill ran up her spine as she felt like she was going to fall seeing the abyss without any gates.
“Oi” Akashi turned to face her. He had his hands shoved inside his pockets with his upper lip twitching.
“Oh sorry” She tore her gaze away and walked inside with him following behind.
Everything behind them felt empty as they stood a few meters away from the opened ground in front of them. She had a better look now and the wall below had some water falling down as well as vines crawling down.
It was like a huge earthy mouth that was constantly open on the ground.
"Hello!" A chirpy automated voice echoed eerily from the mist making Ochako look up at the bridge. A small girl with blonde hair in pigtails emerged and ran over to the two of them.
“Welcome to the chasm of the Orth! I'm Riko and I will be the one who will descend you both down the abyss." She stopped in front of them with her hands clasped together in front of her. She was also wearing a delver's outfit and some round-rimmed glasses.
"Though I can only drop you 500 meters below in the first layer. This way!" She started to walk towards the fenceless bridge. The two quietly followed the little girl side by side.
She wasn't going to lie, her feet went cold the moment she stepped on the bridge. The darkness of the void seemed like it was going to swallow her and for some strange reason, the desire to go down fueled even more.
"The abyss naturally draws people to descend down if you look at it, it's known as the Call of the Abyss . So please refrain from looking down unless you want to die by jumping into it."
Fingers gripped her wrist as she snapped out of the trance. She realized that she stood close to the edge of the bridge and her throat felt dry.
"Snap out of it!"
Her head turned behind and her eyes found those fierce orbs. She got tugged to him with a pull of his hand.
"Fuck, cakes. I agreed to this shit but don't die on me without even going down." He growled lowly at her as he let go of her wrist.
"Sorry, I stared too much." She pursed her lips looking to the side. Ochako bit her lip and turned to look at Riko who was waiting for them.
"No shit" He faced away from her as well.
The air started to feel weird as it grew into a spine-chilling sensation around them. She let out a small huff as Riko started to walk once more.
"You two will not be guided once descended inside the abyss but you will need to stick together no matter what! The abyss itself has a curse.” The small girl hummed as they disappeared into the clouds.
"Curse? What curse?" Ochako was confused and she could see in the corner of her eyes Akashi was thinking the same thing. The surroundings were covered in clouds and she found herself walking closer to him.
"Oh, the curse is called the strains of ascension!" Riko spoke as they all passed through the mist. And there a few blocks away from them was a golden gondola. It had a golden flat disk on top with metal pillars that supported it on the end of the bridge. It's cylinder-like base had an automated door facing them.
The fog was now below the bridge as they walked almost to the center of the abyss and the air felt a bit lighter.
"The map guide will tell you all about the curse that was given along with the clothes" Riko pursed her lips as she turned to look at them. Ochako remembered the piece of paper given to her inside her inventory and nodded.
“You and your partner will be experiencing a lot of dangerous creatures and will experience pain. If you get poisoned or stabbed or amputated, you will be feeling it and possibly die in the abyss...”
“But we will respawn right?” She asked wearily.
“Of course!” Riko nodded as she turned to look at them.
“But beware, if one of you dies the other will be automatically logged out and you both will wake up in real life. You may respawn by logging in again.” The girl spoke once more.
"Thank fuck I was there before you fell." He muttered beside her with a small huff.
"What? I didn't even mean to walk there. How come you're not affected by the call?" Ochako’s eyes furrowed as she turned to her partner. He glanced back with a squint and seethed at her to stop looking. But she didn't and kept her stare.
"Tch. I realized it when the old geezer stopped me from entering. And you.." He turned to her fully as he raised his palm.
"Better get a grip unless you want to die, cakes"
Smack!
She winced at the flick and puffed her cheeks at him. Lifting her own fingers to massage the spot that stung.
"Stop that, it hurts."
"Make me" He challenged her with a feral grin as he craned his neck down to look at her. Oh he was asking for it.
"I wouldn't need your help anyways" She put her hands back to her sides and shot him a dirty look.
She definitely wasn't planning to die. She wasn't a weight to be carried. She can handle herself without anyone's help.
"I know you don't." He rolled his eyes as he turned away from her. His face was calm and lips formed into a straight line.
Ochako blinked at his.. compliment?
"You just need a fucking reality check every time you get lost in your own shitty thoughts. It's annoying."
He was right about that one, she gets too occupied in her thoughts so much and mostly gets lost into it. She even forgets about her surroundings when she does so.
She needed to get a grip.
Her lips pursed and eyes relaxing as she looked away. She should do that in real life.
But for now, she wanted to just enjoy whatever awaits below them.
"We're hereee" Riko's voice interrupted the two and they both turned to her.
Riko guided them to the ledge of the bridge where the door of the gondola was. Her small fingers adjusted her glasses before taking a hold of the lever for the controls she assumed so.
There was a faint sound that echoed from the machinery's gears turning inside with a crank.
Ochako felt her breath hitch in her throat and glanced at Akashi. His shoulders were tense and she knew it was because of the sudden realization that they were about to go down.
What was down there? Oh right, she had the guide in her inventory. Her hand lifted and quickly swiped to open her inventory. She saw the small piece of paper in one of the boxed-shaped slots and nudged inside to get the 2 inch sized paper.
Once she got it out, the map slowly regained its original size as she closed her inventory. She unfolded it while sounds of paper crinkling filled the silence.
The first thing she saw on the map was the drawing of the abyss and it's depth. It was a side view so she could see the small opening on the top of the entrance of the abyss where they were now. Below the entrance was like inside a human's anatomy of an esophagus that was thinning or thickening as it goes lower.
The drawing ends unfinished past the 7th layer with a smaller width from the others. It had a small note below.
Unexplored area .
There were layers. Layers of this depth and it continued.
She shook her head and quickly focused on finding the 500 meters. She went to the middle of the drawing expecting to find it on the 4th layer but she was wrong.
4th layer
Depth: 7000 - 12000 meters
Her gaze darted upwards where she saw the first layer that was on the very beginning.
1st Layer
Depth: 0-1350 meters
She noticed as well how this island or world was nothing compared inside the abyss. It would take days or weeks to get to the next layer. At least in real life that is, in here it would probably take an hour or so.
Plus, she wasn't going to technically explore every crook and cranny of a layer. She just wanted to skim on a layer and then go down to the next.
She didn't even know if that's what she wanted or if the call was stronger in her thoughts.
Her fingers grazed at the drawn art of the abyss and her gaze fell below it. With a stare, she saw more writings below.
It was a warning.
The curse of the abyss: One who goes back up from the abyss will experience the strains of ascension.
Layer 1: Light Dizziness and Nausea
Layer 2: Heavy nausea, headache and numbness of limbs
Layer 3: Vertigo combined with visual and auditory hallucinations.
Layer 4: Intense full-body pain, dizziness from pain and varying amounts of internal and external bleeding across the body.
Layer 5: Complete sensory deprivation, confusion and self-harming behavior.
Layer 6: Loss of humanity or death.
Layer 7: Certain death.
Everything paused for the moment. She was unsure to go now. Were they actually going to experience all of these if they ever wanna go back up?
Wait how do they even go back up? Or what if they wanted to take a break? Exploring all of this may take at least 10 hours or so.
“If we wanted to go back up, how can we go back?” Ochako asked with a tone of unsureness in her voice.
“Then you will go back the same way you went down” The small girl perked up as she prepared the gondola.
“Will we actually bleed and experience the curse?”
“Yep.” She cheerfully said.
"What if we need a break? Like log out?"
"Oh! There are checkpoints below the abyss, you can save your location and progress there. But if you die, it will be erased" Riko nodded at them encouragingly.
Ochako stared at her with lips pressed together. She looked hesitant even though she was the one who wanted to go down.
A snort sounded besides her and she saw him raising a brow.
“Who’s scared now?” He chuckled.
-
~ Author's Notes ~
So this was longer than I initially thought and wrote and I had to edit this a bunch of times just make sure some scenes were right
It actually went too long and I had to cut so that makes the first part on Chapter 4
I really had fun writing this!
Thank you for reading !!