Chapter 42. Down into the forest of void

Chapter 42: 42. Down into the forest of void

"When I was a kid, I quickly realized I was different from others. Bigger, stronger, more powerful. And got bullied for it. Somehow I ended up in a relationship, he said he liked big girls. Dates, picnics, normal teenage stuff. It made me very happy."

Seraphine paused, the smile disappearing into sadness, pulling her hands together, thinking about how to get through the rest.

"But when we got intimate for the first time, he didn’t like it and told me the exact same words you did... he said women shouldn’t be the dominant one."

Her fidgeting with her braid didn’t stop, but it slowed. She took her time, lips opening and closing.

"I found out he was only with me because of my body. I started to hate that type of man, and I thought you were the same. If anything I said hurt you, I’m sorry."

"No, no, don’t apologize. I said it twice, it was my fault."

Both of us were busy fidgeting, with no idea what to say afterward. We’d definitely made up, that much was clear. So I thought we could finally move on.

"Seraphine–"

"Silver. You can call me Silver."

She paused, the word having come out of nowhere. Seraphine’s face stayed straight while I sat stunned. I’d been thinking that if I called her Silver, she might attack me for it. And suddenly I’m getting this privilege? Why?

Seraphine blushed, realizing what she’d said, and waved her hand comically in a "no."

"Wait, on second thought, don’t call me Silver. Maybe later, when we’re more comfortable. Or whatever you like. I don’t want Rhiannon making fun of me."

I nodded, because that was the only thing I could think to do in that moment.

"I’m guessing you only let people who are close to you call you Silver–"

My thoughts and my mouth connected at the worst possible moment, making the situation a lot more embarrassing for her. She hadn’t expected it, but she didn’t seem to mind.

"Yes. Rhiannon, slut or not, is close to me. She has the same thoughts about men as I do, but she doesn’t take them seriously. And unlike me, she sleeps around way too much."

"Ohh, I can tell."

After that embarrassing exchange, we were back in a state where neither of us knew how a conversation worked. I rubbed my head; Seraphine fidgeted with her braid.

"Sorry I took so long. Did you two make up? I’m guessing yes."

Dr. Rhiannon arrived just in time to save two introverts from ending each other with silence. She was dressed now, good.

"Yeah. Anyway, I want you to tell me what you found in here. You mentioned a weakness."

Seraphine jumped right into mission mode. Fine by me, we don’t have much time. More accurately, I don’t have time. Dr. Rhiannon straightened her mini dress and thigh-highs before joining the conversation.

"Yes. I’ll keep it simple for you. If you manage to hit her ear, that’s victory. And that should be easy for you, since you use ranged attacks, right?"

Seraphine rested her hand on her waist, disappointed. Dr. Rhiannon had made it sound way too easy.

"No, I can’t. The beetle bitch has the strength to dodge it. Even if I get close enough to hit her with my polearm, she can use her vibration attack to deflect it. Fighting and winning against her isn’t an easy task."

"What do we do, then?"

Seraphine smiled wildly, pointing a thumb at herself with confidence, pumped up at the mention of a fight.

"No need to worry. We’ll figure it out during the fight. That’s my way. I talk with blades."

Very on-brand for Seraphine. Dr. Rhiannon didn’t like the idea and made a face, then seemed to understand, she was back to her usual self.

"Seraphine, you mentioned running into the beetle bitch and Wendel."

Seraphine turned to me, her fighting spirit swapping places with seriousness for a moment. I braced for the worst.

"It was when gravity shifted. Your friend Wendel was in her claws like some lifeless puppet. And she was sucking the life force out of him."

The reveal made my spine stiffen, and suddenly I had ten more questions that needed answers. Dr. Rhiannon gave me a pat on the back.

"Don’t worry. She’s keeping him alive. Sucking the life force out of someone is a slow process that requires full attention."

My hand found my chest, holding it tight. That was good to hear, but Wendel still had a real chance of losing his life.

"So where did she take Wendel?"

"The third stage of the dungeon, my bet."

"They’re definitely in the artificial habitat."

Dr. Rhiannon said, stepping closer to the data hub’s main door. It was time to get Wendel back.

"Wait, but Elias, you can’t actually fabricate potions anymore. So–"

I almost laughed at Dr. Rhiannon, not out of malice, just overconfidence. Under my crazed smile, I felt even more ready to kick ass.

"Ah, don’t worry. I still have 3 instant damage potions left. And I showed what I can do with two of those. Oh, I have Crimson Vigor too."

Seraphine liked my craziness and gave me a one-armed hug. Dr. Rhiannon gave us both a look that said "why am I stuck with these two," then it turned into a smile. Then suddenly something hit her.

"What! Crimson Vigor? Are you dumb? That potion is insanely powerful. If you’d used that against the undead creature, we wouldn’t have had to pull off those crazy throws."

Dr. Rhiannon was more than frustrated, squinting at me, trying to figure out if I was serious. It revealed a real problem, I can buy a potion, but I have no way of finding out how well it actually works. Maybe I could ask the system, who cares, I’m going to die anyway.

"I think you’re the dumb one, Rhiannon. It’s because he didn’t use it, now he can use it in the main fight."

Seraphine pointed out warmly. Nice of her. I gave her a smile, and my brain shifted toward possible ways to use the Crimson Vigor.

We charged forward, making our way down through the dungeon, toward the end of the second stage. On the layout, there were several staircases at the corners and edges of the second stage, leading to the third stage.

But those only led to the small rooms around the artificial habitat, sure, there were other entrances, but we weren’t choosing the easy way.

We found a heavily sealed gate connecting the second stage directly to the artificial habitat and decided it was the winning route.

Even though it was at the bottom, and the other side of the gate was a huge drop, the artificial habitat covered most of the third stage. So you can imagine how terrible that fall would be.

The heavily sealed gate had many markings carved into it. You could tell it had never been opened just by looking at it. Its joints and the gate itself fit so tightly with the frame, it looked like they’d been molded together.

It took the combined effort of both Seraphine and Dr. Rhiannon to break the magic seal on the gate. When we first tried to open it, it didn’t budge at all. Then, with almost twice the force, it moved. It was heavier than anyone expected, but we managed to open it fully.

Then my instincts warned me to step back, sensing the invisible horror of the fall. Seraphine had no trouble looking down; Dr. Rhiannon was more careful.

Overcoming my fear of heights, I looked down. At first I saw nothing but void, then my eyes adjusted, and I saw plants, tree trunks, and moisture clinging to them.

No, I’m not talking about the bottom, the bottom was way deeper. I’m talking about the ceiling of the artificial habitat. The plants and trees were growing upside down?

On closer look, I could see a thick layer of soil beneath them, in this case, above on the ceiling. Weirdly, I didn’t see any branches on the trees, they slowly faded into the dark void.

The blue soul fires moved down to light the area, but the void made it very difficult. A few meters in, we realized we couldn’t get a better look at this.

"I can sense the beetle bitch, down below. And I’m sure she knows we’re here."

"I’m never going dungeon hunting after this."

Seraphine put her senses in place for the fight, while Dr. Rhiannon stretched her arms, complaining.

"So we go in now?"

"Yes, of course!"

Seraphine held me tight, and Dr. Rhiannon cast the levitation spell, lifting Seraphine along with me and lowering us into the void. Let’s just say someone was getting a cramp today.

The void of the artificial habitat made our range of vision messy. On top of that, at first we only saw long tree trunks, and the start of the descent was very slow going.

After what felt like an hour, we reached the middle, where the trees ended in a canopy of green, but ahead of us was only void. There was still so much farther to go.

I looked up to check on Dr. Rhiannon, she was doing fine, surprisingly not struggling. My eyes shifted, and a chunk of the upper forest came into view. It definitely extended in all four directions.

I found it beautiful and terrifying.