Vol 2 Chapter 6: Abyss’s Paradise
Flora nestled in Abyss’s arms, her hands wrapped around his neck. Leona, although initially wanting to be carried as well, had opted to ride on his back after some consideration.
They were both light, barely a burden for Abyss. He chanted a spell, a gust of wind enveloping him, lifting him gently into the air.
He stopped ascending at a height of about one or two hundred meters, the view now clear enough to survey the surrounding area.
“There’s a factory in the distance!” Leona exclaimed, pointing in one direction, her hand gripping Abyss’s shoulder for balance. “I’ve never seen buildings like those before, but those look like chimneys!”
Abyss followed her gaze. It was the same cluster of structures he had seen earlier, the ones at the end of the road leading from the town. He had initially assumed they were towers, but Leona’s observation made him realize they were indeed chimneys, tall and thick, reaching for the sky. Perhaps, when this world was inhabited, those chimneys released smoke and fumes from the factories below, just like the potion factories in Lavoisier City.
“They needed such massive chimneys for their emissions?” Leona said, impressed. “They must have burned a lot of coal.”
“The toxins I’m breathing right now are probably related to those chimneys,” Abyss said, staring at the distant structures. “Releasing so much waste into the atmosphere must have polluted the air, affecting the health of the residents. I saw those children working in the Goat Eyes Gang’s factory. Most of them had health problems. And I’m noticing that this gas mask can’t completely filter out the toxins in this world’s air. I’m feeling slightly fatigued.”
Although Leona’s affection had granted him superhuman strength, his body was still mortal. And his resistance to toxins, honed through years of exposure to dangerous substances, seemed ineffective against this world’s chronic pollutants.
He would need to rest soon and consume a detoxifying potion. Even though these toxins wouldn’t cause any immediate harm, it was best to be cautious.
“Abyss, look behind you. Is that an altar?” Flora said, patting his arm, directing his attention.
Abyss turned in mid-air, following her gaze.
“Ah, I didn’t notice that before,” he said, impressed. “My god, it’s not just an altar… It’s my dream come true…”
“What is it?” Leona asked, her curiosity piqued. She climbed higher on Abyss’s back, resting her chin on his head, trying to see what he was looking at.
It was a massive altar, dozens of meters tall, wide, and long, hidden behind a hill. The altar was bare, its top adorned with neatly arranged cylindrical structures. It resembled the smaller altar he had seen in the town, except for the cylinders.
But it wasn’t the altar itself that had elicited Abyss’s exclamation, but the countless stone markers surrounding it—tombstones, thousands of them, neatly arranged in rows, radiating outward from the altar, forming a giant semicircle.
“Such a huge graveyard!” Leona exclaimed, then her voice turned suspicious. “You’re not planning to dig up their graves, are you?”
“I’m a bit ashamed to admit…” Abyss said, chuckling sheepishly. “Seeing this graveyard, my fingers are itching.”
“You won’t even spare the graves of people from another world!” Leona said, her voice filled with disdain. “You necromancers are all perverts!”
“If Rebecca entered this world near here, she wouldn’t have ignored such a massive altar,” Flora said, her voice hopeful. “Let’s go there. We might find some clues.”
Abyss nodded. As they flew towards the altar, he observed the rivers below. This world seemed to have abundant water resources, numerous rivers flowing through various settlements. But whether they passed by abandoned factories or deserted towns, the water remained consistently bright yellow, unlike the clear pool he had seen in his vision.
Flora was right. Rebecca had come to this world to explore. She wouldn’t have missed such a grand structure. They might find clues to her whereabouts there.
With a clear destination in mind, Abyss wasted no time. The wind carried him towards the altar.
As they approached, the altar’s details became clearer. It was made of a white material, resembling jade, adorned with shimmering purple patterns. It wasn’t just a giant cube. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a large building, not simply a scaled-up version of the altar he had seen earlier. The cylindrical structures on top, now visible, were hollow, likely chimneys.
The people of this world were obsessed with chimneys. He wondered what their purpose was.
Abyss landed near the altar, within the graveyard.
“Since we’ve found a graveyard, I’ll try to summon their souls. Perhaps we can learn something from these deceased inhabitants of this world,” he said, setting Leona and Flora down.
He chanted a spell, tendrils of magic swirling around him, then expanding outwards, enveloping the entire graveyard.
After a moment of silence, Abyss shrugged, disappointed.
“What’s wrong? They’re not cooperating?” Leona asked.
“It’s not that. I don’t simply reanimate bodies, turning them into mindless puppets. I recall their souls, allowing them to regain their consciousness,” Abyss explained. “But it seems the deceased in this world have no souls to recall… Perhaps their souls have dissipated, or perhaps they’ve gone somewhere else…”
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