Prince of The Abyss-Chapter 199: Denial(25)

Aether ran.

The ground beneath his feet was uneven, scattered with fractured stone and the pale remains of old paths that no longer remembered where they once led. Dust rose with every step, clinging to his boots and trailing behind him like a faint echo of pursuit. The air was cold in a way that felt intentional, pressing against his lungs as if the land itself were holding its breath.

Ahead, the tower dominated the horizon.

It rose from the earth like a wound that never healed, its immense body leaning slightly, not from weakness but from age that had outlived purpose. The structure had once been smooth, its stone carefully fitted and shaped by hands that believed it would last forever. Now, entire sections had collapsed inward, leaving gaping hollows where walls had caved and floors had given up. Cracks ran along its surface like veins, some thin as hairlines, others wide enough to swallow light.

As Aether drew closer, the scale of it became harder to comprehend. What had seemed distant and singular now revealed layers. Broken balconies clung to the tower's sides, jutting out at impossible angles, their railings twisted and half melted by time. Tall, narrow windows stared outward, dark and empty, their glass long gone, their frames warped. Some were sealed by rubble, others opened into nothing, revealing only blackness within.

The ground around the tower was wrong.

Stone slabs lay scattered in circular patterns, as though the land had been pushed outward by a force that no longer existed. Pillars lay snapped and buried, their carvings worn smooth, symbols reduced to shallow grooves that hinted at meaning without offering it. The closer he ran, the heavier the silence became, swallowing the sound of wind, of movement, of the world beyond this place.

The tower's shadow stretched far, far longer than it should have. It crossed the broken terrain and reached toward him, cool and oppressive, crawling over the ground like a living thing. Even as he moved, the shadow seemed to remain fixed, refusing to retreat.

Up close, the tower was less a building and more a monument to defiance. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Its upper sections disappeared into a haze of gray, the top fractured and jagged, as if something had torn it apart from above. Stone hung precariously, frozen mid-collapse. Ivy and blackened vines crept along the lower walls, their growth slow and deliberate, as though even nature approached this place with caution.

Aether did not slow.

The ruin loomed larger with every step, its presence pressing into his senses, ancient and watching. Whatever it had been built for, whatever had happened here, the tower remained, stubborn and unyielding, standing long after everything else had fallen.

And he kept running, straight toward it, as the world behind him faded into dust and silence.

But what was the reason for what he was running? From what or from whom?

Truth be told, it wasn't such a reason that would make you feel bad for him. To try to root for him.

Turning his head back, he saw a giant statue following him, right on his tail, like the classic game of cat and mouse. And if you couldn't tell, he was the mouse.

This was the reason why he was running.

Really, if he had to say, this wasn't special. He has been running for his life most of the time after he got trapped in the Withered; it had become something quite common, even more nowadays.

Reaching the tower, Aether started to climb up the stairs, looking back to see if the giant was still following, a small part of him wishing that it wasn't. But it was, and because of his weight, the ruins began to shake; many pieces of stone started to fall from above, breaking the stairs when they hit, so he had to also make his way around them.

Something he hadn't thought about when he made the plan.

But he should have, after all, what did he expect, an old ruin on the verge of collapse to handle a being made of pure stone rushing up on its fragile stairs?

Really, sometimes he questions just how he had reached this place in the first place, how he has survived until now. How was he still alive?

He ran up the stairs, avoiding rocks and parts of the ruin falling from above as if the Gods were trying to strike him down, until he finally reached the end, well, rather, the tower seemed to be originally taller, but with time, its highest peak became one of its many broken balconies.

He took a deep breath, looking down.

The fall would be lethal, that was for sure; he didn't even have to question it. Even more so when his vision started to shake. But this also meant that it was probably enough to get rid of this guy.

He grew his hair to an abnormal size, like a princess trapped in a tower, trying to get down. And then he cut it all with Voidpiercer.

Aether turned around to see that the stone statue was already up.

He waited for it to swing its arm at him. He was going to try to evade it, of course, I mean, not only would the hit probably break all his bones, but it would also throw him off for the fall to finish him.

So getting hit was probably not a good idea.

After it came, he didn't waste any time dodging. The attack was fast, but still, he was small and agile, so it wasn't that hard, plus, it wasn't like he was going to wait for more.

He jumped on his arm, walking up on it and thrusting Voidpiercer right into his eye.

Then he pushed himself off.

Really, not even a second after being in the air, he really started to regret this whole plan. Even more when he felt himself fall.

He fell for about a second before seeing that the giant was also dragged alongside him, falling to the ground with him.

Or at least, he wasn't going to be falling with him.

I mean, that was the plan.

Since Voidpiercer wasn't really coming out...

'...' He didn't even know how to swear.

He pulled harder; if he didn't get it out now, the statue was going to drag him down. It was heavier, so it was going to fall a lot faster, meaning that at this time, when the statue was still above him, he had to take it out immediately.

He tried to retract it back into his marks, but nothing would work.

Just what the heck was this guy's grip on this blade?

Really, you wouldn't think it, but this was all happening in the same second.

Luckily, before the statue could start dragging him down, he tensed all his muscles and pulled one last time, with all the force in his body. And got the blade out.

And after that, he didn't waste any time, gripping the hair in his hand and throwing it.

...

And he watched, as it wasn't being caught in anything... a part of him almost died, but in the end, it caught on something, not that he could be happy about it, since after it caught itself on something, he went face-first into the tower.

He wanted to curse, but before he could do that, he realized that the thing he had caught himself on was a small rail from a broken balcony... and it might or might not be close to breaking off.

'Can something go right in this plan!?'

Retracting the chains back into his mark until Voidpiercer was in his hand, he struck the wall of the tower with it, breaking it and quickly putting his feet on it, letting go of his hair. And, just in time, as the rail broke and fell to the ground alongside his hair.

He took a deep breath... it was finally done.

Jumping down back on the stairs, he was sure not to jump straight into a hole caused by a broken piece of the ruin.

...

After reaching the ground, Aether's eyes quickly wandered around, trying to find the statue as fast as posible, if it hadn't died from the fall, he needed to finish it quickly.

But, as he finally found it, it was broken in pieces... so it was probably safe to say that the fall was enough.

He sighed in relief as he walked towards it, kneeling down.

Aether searched around until he finally found the piece that represented his chest. And thrust Voidpiercer inside of it. And since the being was dead, it was a lot easier to break the stone.

He didn't know if the heart was here; he just guessed.

But he was right.

There it was in front of him.

A purple heart made out of amethyst...

Must be worth a lot, no wonder those guys wanted it in exchange for the information on how to harm Denial.

Aether picked it up, holding it in front of the sun, watching the light reflect on it.

For such a giant beast, this heart was quite... small.

...

His face twisted into a grin.

"It won't be long... Denial."