Civilization

Walking over to the flight of stairs slowly, I start to observe the smaller details about the Reaper's Castle. Despite us trodding over this hard dark chocolate-like stoney ground, not one of our footsteps made a noise. Other than the rattling of bones above us, the flapping of wings, and the occasional growl and roar, there were no other sounds. As if this whole area was just dominated by monsters, but without hearing their footsteps how would be we able to tell where they are, other than by looking at them?

Furthermore, the lighting in this place is strange, to say the least. There were no windows, no sky, and no electricity, instead floating blueish-white flames dot the air. They travel independently, moving at their own pace, wherever they please, like gravity didn't affect them, as if there was an independent wind source, pushing them along. These flames light up a small area around them, showcasing the sometimes horrific sights of monsters eating each other.

Adjusting my eyes to the limited vision, I carefully scan the edges of the light trying to figure out any plausible destinations. In doing so, I figure out that there were multiple doors scattered along the walls of this place as if it was a honeycomb. Some of these doors aren't attached to a small platform, and others could be seen flipped upside down or tilted at an angle. Any sort of possibility could be seen here, without a hint of consistency.

Except, at the very top a singular door existed. Instead of the common wine-red doors with a copper knob, this door was blood red. Its edges were covered in bone spikes, and it was split in the middle by a golden line, with a golden hoop on each side. Without even thinking, I can tell that that door either leads to the Reaper or it leads to another important location, maybe the corridor that leads to the Reaper's location. Regardless, that was our destination.

"We need to make our way to the top. I see a door that looks too extravagant to be anything other than the final boss room." - Nina

"How are we going to do that? Other than follow these stairs, are we just going to make up the path as we venture forth?" - Sylvia

"I think we have no choice. It's not like we have a map or something." - Sabrina

"My thoughts as well. We just need to move forward and try to pick paths that lead upward. There is a chance we might need to go inside one of the doors, but hopefully, we don't need to do that. Whatever is behind the doors is too much of an unknown variable." - Nina

Not long later, we reach the stairs but before we set foot on them, we made sure to check our surroundings. Without any light on this level and without wanting to attract any attention to us, we had no choice but to carefully scout around. Looking as carefully as we can with our slightly adjusted eyes, we didn't discover any possible traps or tricks that might hinder our journey, so we return to the stairs.

Stepping on the first step, I feel my body connect with the stairs like there was a pulse emitting through the smooth metallic material, beating alongside my heart. Checking that sensation, I lift my foot off the stairs and back on the ground, no longer feeling that pulsating sensation next to my heart. Raising an eyebrow at my movements, Sylvia questions what I was doing.

"Something wrong, Nina? Why aren't you going up?" - Sylvia

"Ah… I don't know. It just felt a little weird when I placed my foot on the stairs. I don't know how to describe it but it feels like the stair is… alive?" - Nina

"Weird… I feel the same." - Sabrina

Turning to Sabrina, who had just placed her foot on the first step as well, she too questions herself as she must have felt or is still feeling that similar weird sensation.
"Is it a bad feeling? Should we try to find another way up?" - Sylvia

"No… There wasn't any other way to get up other than jumping high enough to reach one of the platforms, and obviously, we can't do that. I guess we just ignore it for now and move on. There is no way to explain it and we don't know what it will do." - Nina

"Alright… Here goes nothing. Wow… That is a weird feeling. Like another heart." - Sylvia



"Heart? Wait! I think there might be something similar to the heart in the Abyss. I noticed as we were walking that there were some small crevices in the ground. There might be another 'heart' in this place, and it is what controls the floating stairs. This is just conjecture, so I'm not entirely sure but we can't rule out that possibility." - Nina

"Uh… Nina, I wasn't part of the Abyss team, so I don't know about the heart." - Sabrina

"Ah, neither was Sabrina or me, but from what I heard from Kingston and Ian, is that there was a giant heart at the top of the Abyss, that had 'veins' along the walls of the Abyss. I'm not sure what it did but it did power up some of the monsters." - Nina

"You think it might be here as well?" - Sylvia

"I think there is a chance. It isn't unusual to have multiples of certain objects and if the heart is more useful than useless, then it has a higher chance of being used more. Just basic common sense." - Nina

"Then, we have no choice but to let whatever this heart wants to do to us as we step on these stairs right?" - Sabrina

"Right! Onwards!" - Sylvia

"Yep, full speed ahead I guess…" - Nina

Taking the lead, Sylvia, climbs the staircase quickly, reaching the top of it. Right behind her, Sabrina and I quickly catch up to see that the staircase, narrows the higher we go until it only fits a person. With no rails on the side, and peering over the edge, I estimate that we are only one or two stories high. Not enough to kill us if we fall but… Enough to injure us.

Stepping forward carefully, Sylvia readies her fists, moving at a slower pace as she glances to the side regularly. With such a narrow foothold, there was a high chance that one of us will fall from an attack from the sides. Sabrina was right behind Sylvia, grasping her staff tightly as she glances at every moving object within her field of vision, while I crouch slightly as I move forward.

Having a lower gravity would help with stabilizing myself if I was attacked, and since I had the lowest athletic ability out of the three of us, I had to make sure I didn't get pushed off. We traverse this long narrow platform, slowly reaching the end of it after a relatively long journey only to be met with a problem at the very end.

"Nina… There is nowhere for us to go. It's a dead-end here." - Sylvia

Peeking over, Sabrina's right, I see that we have made it all the way across to the other side of the area, right above where we had teleported too. Like Sylvia had said, there was no horizontal platform or floating staircase for us to stand on but… There was a platform that was lit up slightly by a floating flame. It was like the horizontal platform we were standing on, the only difference was it was on its side.

The long flat surface where we would normally walk was vertical, leaving the only horizontal part to be the thickness of the platform, but even that was too small for us to step on. Looking at the platform, there was only one thing I could think of for us to do.

"Jump. Sylvia just jump, and you will be okay." - Nina

"WHAT?! JUMP? JUMP WHERE?" - Sylvia

"Umm, just jump… forward?" - Nina

"It should be like how the skeletons are moving… Look." - Sabrina

Following her finger, we see a crimson skeleton moving nearby a white flame. It was approaching the end of the platform and an upsidedown staircase was in front of it. Before it fell off the platform, I did a slight jump, and magically, its body flips horizontally. It's feet touch the staircase and it moves up the stairs as if nothing had happened.

"What the…" - Sylvia

"See. Just jump. Nothing will go wrong, and even if something did, you won't die from this height. You will be fine, Sylvia." - Nina

"No. No. No. I ain't jumping." - Sylvia

"Sylvia, you are the most athletic person here. Your jump all around in battle, whereas both of us, Sabrina and I, are mages. We don't do physical activity. You are the only one who can test this mechanism out. Please, just jump." - Nina

"I'm afraid. She is right. Sylvia, jump. You got this!" - Sabrina

With her mouth wide open, Sylvia looks at Sabrina, before tilting her head and looking at me, who had decided to sit down on the platform. Looking back, I give her the biggest smile I could make, alongside pleading eyes and a finger heart.

"Alright. Alright. I'll… Jump." - Sylvia

Taking in a couple of deep breaths, Sylvia calms her rapidly beating heart as she gazes at the sideways platform. Nothing she said to herself could give any valid reasonings as to why she should be making this jump, but it was like there was no choice. If only I had popcorn and a drink, as watching this was quite entertaining. Sylvia would move forward, ready to jump only to stop herself and take more deep breaths.

Readying herself, one last time, she takes a leap of faith, angling herself in the air as her feet reach the right side of the platform. Magically, her body turns to the right, and her feet plant themselves on the platform, but the momentum moves her slightly forward, taking a few steps. Her chest moves up and down heavily as she stands still like a statue. Looking over her shoulder, her gaze locks on us.

"I did it…" - Sylvia