It was a long way out, just like it had been in. Though now, he felt even more anxious than ever.
They were on the last stretch, and yet, he felt as though it was getting farther and farther away by the second.
He wondered if it was just him, or maybe another monster; either way, it didn't feel right.
'But what feels right in this place?'
And their new friend didn't make things better at all.
He and Avrie were supposed childhood friends, always together until the end, promise to get married later type of friends.
That day never came, as Elpis enrolled in the army against the queen and was trapped inside the forest for a while.
He didn't care for his story; the only reason he even bothered to remember it was the fact that there was an army against the queen.
He had asked about it, but was told by Avrie that the army was long gone.
The hope that enlightened the people to go against her was extinguished soon after it had been formed.
It made sense; the researchers had failed, so he had expected the army to have fallen too.
Even more if his theory of the Abyss being in the middle of everything proved true.
'The researchers failed, and the army lost. What's the timeline? Did they know each other?'
Aether looked over to Elpis; as their eyes met, he felt as if he were trying to assert some dominance over him, as if he were a rat and Elpis a great king.
It was easy to see that he didn't like Aether; he tried every time to put him on the sidelines, even stealing his sword. But it wasn't like it was a one-sided feeling. Aether, too, didn't like him one bit.
Aether wanted to fight back his dominance, but he shrugged off that feeling, being focused on his objective.
"I'm not sure if that memory of yours works, but are you perhaps familiar... with a bunker named Ashen Wing?"
Elpis scowled at his comment, being reluctant to even answer, but gave in when he saw that Avrie seemed interested.
"I do."
Aether raised his brow, but sighed seeing that he had no intention of continuing to share any information about its purpose and origin. But he couldn't help but smile, as he thought there was one vital question that still remained, one that if he had asked himself, he would have declined, but if it was someone else...
Avrie looked at him with interest in her eyes, putting her hands on his shoulders.
"You do? Well then, do you know where the others are?"
When he first told her about everything, he didn't know if she believed him, but now that she had gotten confirmation from someone she could trust, there was no way she wouldn't be intrigued to get deep into the rabbit hole.
Elpis's eyebrows fell in annoyance as he rolled his eyes, still looking at Aether as if he were the one who had asked the question.
"I have an idea, I've been to some in the past, but why do you want to go there?"
Aether laughed to himself, not letting Avrie answer.
"Someone asked me to do so."
They both turned to him, his answer came unexpectedly, even more by Avrie, who was told another reason when she asked him.
But while she was just confused.
Elpis seemed to be irritated by Aether's tone and confidence. It hurt his pride.
"And who is this person?"
Aether had expected his response; Elpis definitely didn't like him challenging his authority. He probably didn't have many who would do so while he was a knight. So seeing someone do it so carelessly made his blood boil.
"I don't know. Haven't met him before."
Elpis stared, dumbfounded by such a revelation.
He gritted his teeth.
"You are a fool."
"Finally, something we agree on."
[...]
The journey out was long and horrid, and an endless walk with no end; his feet were burning up from walking so much.
And it was even worse that he had to do it together with a shity knight.
But as much as he didn't like him, he had to admit his skill.
Unexpectedly, they had met many monsters, of the reader level, but moreover, monsters.
So giving him the sword had proven quite efficient.
But this didn't mean he respected him, no, he was reckless.
In one of the attacks, he had let one past him and get to him and Avrie, he redeemed himself by killing it in time, but he then had the audacity to say to him that if he wanted his help to stay out of his way.
But what mattered was that they were finally out... and what now?
That question came to all of their minds, but surprisingly, Avrie was the one who asked.
Seeing this as an opening, Aether suggested going to the other bunkers. Elpis was against it, but Avrie strangely sided with Aether, which made the knight furious.
Her reason was that they could find valuable knowledge or items.
Still very against the idea, he gave in because of his childhood friend.
Though seeing Aether's cocky smile as he admitted defeat disgusted him.
"The closest is pretty far away, so follow me. Of course, it's going to be a dangerous mission, so if you don't want to die, I suggest leaving."
It was clear to whom the message was directed; the knight's eyes told him everything.
Aether chuckled, not leaving Elpis' gaze once.
"Danger is my middle name."
The knight gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes in disbelief at the fool's stupidity.
And such they began walking yet again.
Aether would have appreciated a break; after all, while he had just woken up, he had been wandering for a long time. He didn't think his legs would let this happen for much longer.
Now, outside the forest, they had entered the tundra yet again, and while it didn't make much of a difference, he summoned his cloak, taking the hood off so they could see him.
Speaking of being on the road for a long time. Were their resources going to last now that they were three people?
They could only hope, if that thing even existed in this world.
But while the road was long, he was already preoccupied by something that he accidentally brought up.
'Who is J.?'
He was the person who had written that note and all the update logs that they would hopefully find. But who was he, and what was his position?
What did he mean by their plan failing, and how were they under the queen's control?
If their plan had failed, how was he able to write a note? Did he do so before it happened?
'Was he expecting it to go wrong, but then why did he not stop it?'
And couldn't he have written more on that note, something that would have actually helped him? If it wasn't for him finding Avrie and then Elpis, he would have never had any idea of where to go.
Did he write the note for someone specifically, someone who would have known where to find them? If he did, they would have to also be strong, as he also asks to kill him.
And couldn't he have written all of his name for god's sake? Was he that lazy?
There was also the whole thing about not looking into the sun, but that was already a lost cause when it came to understanding it.
Couldn't he have said why? Or at least hinted so, why did he have to be so vague?
As Aether was walking, deep into his world, the others had stopped in front of him, making him run into them and fall to the ground.
'What the hell.'
Aether got up on his feet and went to Elpis, ready to ask why they had stopped so suddenly, but after seeing his pale face, he was stunned. Seeing him in this state, what did it mean?
He looked to see what he was looking at, but only saw a river separating the ground and a giant concrete bridge running above it.
Aether didn't understand what was happening; it was just a bridge, nothing more.
Only when Elpis spoke did he realize why it was so special.
"This...this is one of the, one of the bunkers. But... it shouldn't even be on this side of the tundra! It's hundreds of miles from where it's supposed to be."