Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 1009: Five

The girl had always looked to the sky.

To that boundless expanse above, where the heavens seemed endless and the world below felt small enough to disappear. Night after night, her gaze wandered across the infinite cosmos, chasing constellations she had not noticed before, tracing the slow rearrangement of that celestial chessboard as though unseen hands were forever moving its pieces one by one.

No two nights ever felt the same.

There were always differences for her to find. Small shifts that others would never notice. Some evenings, the stars shone with unusual clarity, bright enough to make the dark seem thinner. On others, vast iridescent bands of light poured across the stellar sea, veils of violet, blue, and green rippling through the heavens with a beauty so mesmerising that it hardly felt real.

She could have spent a lifetime staring upward and still felt she understood too little.

Because up there, everything seemed limitless.

And to a girl like her, that endless sky felt far kinder than the world below.

The world to which she belonged.

"You’re out here again."

A boy climbed onto the roof where she sat, careful with his footing as he pulled himself up beside her.

"If you get caught, the boss will be mad, you know? How many beatings do you need before you learn?"

The girl glanced back at him, silent as ever, before lifting her eyes to the sky once more.

It was as though nothing in the world could break the spell those lights had over her.

Seeing that, the boy let out a helpless smile and sat down beside her.

"So what’s different this time?" He asked, tilting his head back. "Did a new star appear? Or was there another streak of light?"

This was the only way he knew how to make her speak.

After a brief pause, she lifted her hand and pointed at the sky.

"There."

The boy followed her finger.

He saw nothing unusual. The same old sights, at least to him.

"Near the brightest star." The girl pouted in annoyance.

Focusing harder, he finally noticed a faint shimmer near the brightest start. Its glow was different to the usual lights that they would see.

Softer and gentler. A rippling current of pink.

"It was weaker yesterday. If it continues, it might become like those lights." She shifted her finger, pointing at the bands of colour that painted themselves across the sky.

Had the girl not pointed it out, he would’ve never noticed something small like that.

But perhaps that’s simply the difference between the two of them.

She found joy in staring at this sky night after night.

"Thank you for telling me." He reached out, patting her head.

"I’m not a cat." She creased her brows, shaking her head to push his hand away.

"Sorry sorry, shall we go before you’re caught?" He pulled himself up. But the girl refused to budge.

When she was like this, no amount of persuasion was enough.

Letting out a helpless sight, the boy shrugged and climbed down.

If the boss does go looking for her, then he’ll have to stall for a bit of time.

The girl continued to stare at the sky.

Only in times like this did she feel free. When she felt that live was worth living.

The wind brushed past her and a soft chime echoed out.

From the chains around her limbs and her neck.

Five.

That’s what they called her.

If she had a name, that would be her name. A designation.

The fifth one in the batch. Numbers rather than people.

Their purpose?

Every day they had to wake up and excavate the earth. Whatever the boss wanted to find was of no concern to them. They simply needed to dig with each and every waking moment.

Every morning before the sun rose, they would be forced to march out in groups. Those who didn’t fill the quota were beaten.

Those who talked back were beaten.

Those who refused to listen were also beaten.

And if you were unlucky and the boss was in a bad mood, you will be beaten.

They were simply tools.

But for Five... she wanted to be something more.

Maybe... If she could be like one of the stars in the sky...

But even if that was the case...what then? What purpose would she had? What do the stars live for?

Perhaps she loved the stars simply because they’re pretty to look at.

Maybe there was nothing out there...

Five slowly pulled back her hand as she let out a soft exhale.

Perhaps the stars in the sky had a crueller fate than hers.

Or maybe... what if they’re just like her?

Their freedom removed.

"Ah... are you pitiful as well?" Five mumbled towards the sky.

###

The mines were beyond the edge of the city. They had to walk there since the boss didn’t want them disturbing the people inside.

They were disgusting to look at after all.

Clutching her stomach, Five let out a sigh.

Hunger... endless hunger...

She wanted to eat.

But she had to work for it.

She had to keep working so that she could eat.

Five had walked this path enough times now. To the point where she could be blindfolded and she would have no issue.

The path was a simple one. Past the rotting fence, past the ditch where rainwater mixed with the dirt. Beyond the old road where broken pieces of carriages lay half buried in the ground.

The same path each and every day.

The only thing that changed was the depth of this hole.

She hated working. She hated digging. She hated the feeling of exhaustion multiplying with her hunger.

Yet at the end of the day, only given barely enough to continue and never more.

Behind her, six stumbled, falling out of the group.

She crashed into the ground as mud was splattered against the boss’s pants. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’Ah... Seems like a new one will replace her now...’ Five thought to herself.

At least she gets a moment to rest now. The march stopped because the boss had stopped.

Reaching down, he pulled Six by her hair.

She screamed from the pain as tears streaked down her face.

"Shut it!"

A punch against the face.

Then another.

And another.

Five didn’t turn her head to look.

Neither did the others.

If she didn’t want a beating, she should’ve grabbed onto one of them to prevent herself from falling.

But doing so would risk more of them being beaten if they also fell.

"I-I’m s-sorry..." Six gasped through tears and blood.

Her breath cutting short as she struggled to form the sentence.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, the boss punched Six in the stomach, tossing her against the ground.

Kick after kick.

It seemed like her screams of pain were enough to sooth the boss’s anger.

Even when she stopped responding, the boss’s kicks continued for what felt like an eternity.

Then, once satisfied, he had everyone march again.

Five finally glanced down.

Six’s head was twisted in the wrong way.

Her jaw broken, eyes crushed.

Her hair torn out from the roots as blood, mud and tears mixed into one.

Five only had one thought in her mind.

She wanted Six’s clothes. They were only given barely enough. So if she could take it..

But that would hold up the match.

And if she did, she’ll be the one on the ground rather than Six.

’What a waste...’ Five thought to herself, continuing her march.

###

Deeper in the pit, the air was heavy. Hard to breathe.

Five swung her pick.

Swing, pause, pull.

Swing, pause, pull.

As long as she kept herself to the rhythm, she could get loss in this sensation. No pain in her arms, no ache in her body.

Not even the hunger.

As long as she focused on digging, she could forget about everything else.

The people around her did the same.

They only had one order after all.

To keep digging.

"ARGHH!!!"

A cry of pain, excruciating pain.

Five turned her head.

There was an accident.

Someone had slipped.

A boy’s foot slid against loose stone, his balance collapsed and his grip faltered.

He fell forward at the wrong angle and...

The pick was now piercing his stomach.

His hands trembled as blood spilled from his stomach, to the pick, then to the ground beneath them.

He pulled it free but the blood didn’t stop.

"H-help!" He choked, fear dominated his mind as he frantically tried to close the wound on his stomach but it was no use.

"P-please! I- I don’t want to die!"

Everyone watched.

Like Six, his fate was set in stone.

All of them knew better than to help.

The Boss glanced over before clicking his tongue.

"Keep working!" He shouted as the sound of stones being broken continued.

The boy’s screams continued, desperate. But it kept growing weaker as blood pooled beneath him.

Five struck the stone beneath her.

Injuries were a death sentence. Not because they were hard to heal but rather...

It was far cheaper to replace them than it was to heal the injury.

The boss could get someone better, stronger.

Why waste money to save something that can’t benefit you no more?

Swing, pause, pull.

Swing, pause, pull.

This emptiness in her heart continued to grow. As though what she was excavating wasn’t the earth but her soul.

If the stars continued to shine through the night, then she was to dig through the day.

When she rested, the stars worked.

Then she worked, the stars rested.

In that sense... how were they any different?

Then, as her pick struck against stone, Five felt something change.

Something was... different.

Something beneath her.

A small gap leading towards the cosmic sea. It should be above yet... it opened beneath the earth?

Five reached out. Her fingers brushed against the gap.

In that split second, she saw something else.

A realm different to their own.

A void in space like the sky above...

"Ah... beautiful..."