Downspire, that was the name of the bunker hidden somewhere inside the colossus bridge.
Apparently, it was one of the first, being shut down due to the Queen's troops getting too close; what was developed inside was unknown to even the knights.
Standing, if he had to guess, approximately, five hundred meters high over the river, you only saw ice and water looking down.
Made out of weathered steel and grey concrete, its length seemed chilish compared to its height.
It gave an awful feeling, as if it were about to fall even if many wide pillars supported it.
Due to its colossal size, it was easy to hide something, which was probably why they had chosen it to be the place for their research center.
It seemed impossible for it to have moved, because what monstrousity could have lifted it, and dragged it to another part of the outskirts?
'And... why here?'
It made no sense. If it had been moved, why was there another river perfectly placed under it?
It was more plausible to say that they had somehow appeared on the other part of the outskirts than it was to move an inch.
But more importantly, how did you get inside?
Aether stared at Elpis, who was still dumbfounded, with his jaw open.
But as he noticed Aether staring at him with a disapproving look, he shook his head and regained himself.
"The entrance... It's inside one of its pillars."
"You're joking."
Aether said calmly, but inside he was regretting his decision to continue those damn fools' research.
Elpis sighed, almost as if dreading being saved from the hands of the arbor.
"I'm not. Luckily, there's an emergency exit on top of the bridge; we can enter through there... we just have to take the stairs down."
Aether almost cursed himself, looking at his poor feet, which would get no mercy.
Stepping on the many tiles of the bridge, he admired the pure size of one; it was half his height, and while he wasn't the tallest ever, for his age, he wasn't short.
He strolled near the end of the bridge, looking down at the view below. He was almost getting nauseous
It was a good thing he wasn't scared of heights.
But as he was enjoying the view, Elpis stopped, making both him and Avrie freeze in place. He called Aether over and pointed to one of the tiles.
Looking at it, it seemed a little detached, but it was hard to see, which meant it would be even harder to move, which was why Elpis had probably called him over.
Aether didn't want to work with the knight, and the feeling was probably mutual, but since they needed to do so for their goals, they made an exception.
And when he said that it would probably be heavy, how much he wished he was proven wrong.
Even with both of them, it was taking a heck of a lot of force. Aether had almost turned red, trying his best to push the damn tile off.
In the end, they were able to move it just enough to give them space to crawl through.
But looking through that crack, you saw nothing but darkness. They all hesitated, but in the end, jumped in with Elpis leading the way.
The fall was surprisingly small.
Landing, they saw only darkness as expected.
It would be impossible for them to go down the stairs without falling.
So, in the end, they did it for nothing.
Worst of all, while the fall had not been long, the exit was far out of reach, making you wonder how it was even an emergency exit.
But as Aether was looking for a way to climb back up, he saw a light enlight near him.
He looked in awe as Elpis seemed to have created a silver flame, with no inconsistency, it burned the darkness with its might, and made the shadows kneel.
He hadn't seen such a fire before, so pure, and so hot.
But time was frozen; how was it burning, how was it emitting heat? It made no sense.
Seeing Aether's awestruck expression, Elpis couldn't help but laugh.
"It's my affinity, it makes me stronger the more my pride and honor burn, this is just one of my abilities. But don't be sad, you will get one soon."
Aether raised a brow at his comment.
'What did he...'
He frowned as he realized his intent, but deeply, he was mocking him.
He was trying to make fun of him by saying that he, too, would get an ability one day. What he didn't know, of course, is that he already had two. But he didn't correct him; unlike him, he wasn't going to reveal his secrets.
But his ability was actually quite strong. Now that he knew what his abilities did, it made sense why Avrie had asked for firewood, because Elpis could have lit it up.
But as his fire was amazing, the affinity itself made him very strong; he just had to have a strong pride and honor, which... was perfect for a knight.
With Elpis' fire leading the way, they walked down the spiral steps.
Aether was paying close attention to his steps, as the steps were narrow and broken. There was also no railing.
He wondered how it would feel, falling down. It had to be a long distance down, but how long would it last?
He grabbed one of the broken chunks of a step and threw it. He waited for it to fall, letting the other two in front of him, but it seemed to never come.
Was it that it was just too small to hear it? Or had it not reached the bottom? Either way, he broke off a bigger piece, threw it, and went down the stairs to catch up to the others.
Elpis gave him a suspicious look, not knowing what he was trying to do.
But even after a minute, which he counted in his mind, he didn't hear the sound of it landing.
And while the bridge was extremely tall, it would have already met the ground a long time ago.
He froze on one of the steps. Looking down the hole.
It was dark, extremely dark, but they weren't shadows, no, it was pure darkness.
He swallowed, but he had a plan.
He let the others go in front of him, saying that he'd catch up, but had to do something before.
And as the light from Elpis disappeared, he looked behind himself, and there he saw a shadow, resting calmly in the sea of darkness like it had no fear.
It raised its head, looking at Aether with its dark eyes. He felt as if it was looking inside of him, inside his soul.
He put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat excessively fast from just the look of the shadow.
He hasn't had this happen to him from just a shadow.
But as he was about to ask something. It spoke before him.
"Jump."
Aether staggered for a second.
"What?"
It paused for a second, almost as if it was annoyed with him not immediately doing what it asked.
"Jump. There's no other way."
He bit his lip, looking at the shadow and the hole in the middle of the spiral.
His eyes twitched, but he tried to stay calm.
"You're kidding.
The shadow crossed its arms, rolling its onyx eyes.
"What don't you get, fool, jump? The stairs don't lead to anything but deeper into this monster's stomach. Don't you see that it's only darkness. This place was corrupted by the Abyss and the Queen a long time ago. The only way is jumping."
Aether paled for a second, looking into the darkness. It now had a way more sinister feel, knowing they were inside a monster's belly.
A monster created by the Abyss... and the Queen.
This... confirmed his idea of the Abyss being the one who had caused the world to fall. But also that the Queen was related to the Forgotten God.
But what was she?
...A vessel?
Had she been a past vessel, but what did that mean? What were her powers?
Either way, he didn't have time for that.
He looked down the hole, standing at the end of the stairs, and with one step, he leaned over the darkness.
He hesitated, not knowing if he should trust the words of a lone shadow. But did he have any other choice. He had already decided not to descend anymore; it would be impossible without a light.
So he either jumped or waited there for the others to realize he wasn't coming, and look for him.
He could imagine Elpis' mocking gaze.
He hated it more than the idea of jumping.
He chuckled in agony.
"May praise be with me."
And with one step, jumped of.
...
...
...
[You have slain a Harbinger beast, Spiral Of Darkness]
[Your knowledge grows stronger.]