Chapter 209 – Floor 33: Part 2
Mathew watched from the deck as the Resplendent Dawn ascended, its glowing grandeur momentarily banishing the surrounding darkness of the void. He felt the weight of the Captain’s words settle over him; this journey through this desolate expanse would be a test of every ounce of their resolve.
And it would be up to him to see them through.
Sure, the Resplendent Dawn had weapons on board: magical cannons that would stream great gouts of flame directly harnessed from the Sun Shard, or the crew had their own rifle, swords and other enchantment items, but Mathew knew it would be his responsibility to protect the ship.
As the ship climbed higher, the edges of the hull caught the last remnants of starlight before they, too, were swallowed by the darkness. The few fleeting pinpricks of light across the endless abyss felt like the last gasp of a dying universe.
Mathew could sense the tension in the crew and people around him, a palpable mix of anxiety and fear mingled with a few shreds of hope that were directed at him. They were venturing into the unknown with the last remaining members of this world’s people, and only the Captain’s bravery and an Apostle’s presence kept them from breaking.
The Captain’s swift transition from briefing the crew and Mathew of the threat and jumping into action was a testament to her experience and leadership. Captain Elysia had never been in this situation before, travelling through the void created by the Orb of Twilight, but she knew there was no room for hesitation or doubt.
Every decision had to be decisive, every action calculated in order to ensure their success. For Mathew, his presence was integral to their survival as both a means of protection and a source of morale. At this point in the journey, he just tried to stay out of the way of the crew and be ready for whatever happened next.
As the Resplendent Dawn was consumed by the engulfing darkness, Mathew steeled himself for what lay ahead. The Words of Power were constantly swirling through his mind, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.
The ship drifted silently into the dark, with a slight humming sound coming from the hull accompanied by a small vibration in the wood beneath his feet. Curious, he knelt down and placed his hand on the deck.
Something was thrumming far below him, and Mathew could feel surges of mana through the thick wooden deck.
“That’s the Sun Shard if you were wondering.” Captain Elysia explained. Her part was done for now; the crew had their orders, and things were running smoothly. With nothing to do at the moment but oversee their progress, she joined him near the railing.
“It powers everything here, from the sails to the defensive formations.” She finished as Mathew stood upright. He was glad his right leg had been healed. Only a day ago, he wouldn’t have been able to manage kneeling at all.
“The last source of light in the world.” Mathew replied, and the Captain nodded. Nothing more was said as they both stared out into the darkness. It was strange; Mathew almost expected to see something in the expanse beyond their ship’s light.
The void was an uncharted sea of darkness stretching beyond the confines of human understanding. It enveloped the Resplendent Dawn in a shroud of impenetrable blackness, as though the ship had been swallowed by a cosmic abyss where the light itself dared no tread.
But there was air in the void. Mathew could feel the wind on his face; it rippled the sails above them. No matter how far they travelled above the ground, it was still all around him. It was as if they were travelling through a night sky that stretched in every direction.
The void was silent, and aside from the murmur of voices from those around him and the din created by the crew as they worked, nothing was heard from outside the ship. The air was cold and clean, lacking any smell or scent.
After an hour of staring out at their surroundings, Mathew had to turn away from the void and focus on the ship itself.
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The darkness was so profound that he found it started to play tricks on his eyes. He was getting nauseous; the void warped his sense of depth, distance and direction. Shadows shifted and twisted in ways that defied logic.
Mathew thought he saw fleeting glimmers of light out of the corner of his eye, distant and spectral flickering in the void like embers. But when he turned to look at them, they disappeared and he knew that it hadn’t been real.
The ship seemed to float in a timeless expanse, where he had no idea if they were even moving anymore. There were no boundaries in the void, and it felt like they were stationary in an infinite, intangible realm.
The oppressive solitude weighed down on them, magnifying everyone’s fears and concerns. Even the most stalwart amongst the crew were almost desperate for something to change, for a hint of direction, but nothing altered in the darkness.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” Mathew whispered, careful to keep his voice down. It seemed appropriate in the silence as if they were flying next to a giant, predatory beast in the darkness that he feared to awaken.
“Using this.” The Captain replied. She pulled out a small object from her pocket and showed it to him. Lifting the lid of the object, it revealed a compass. The needle was pointing in the direction at the front of the ship, indicating they were travelling in the correct direction.
Mathew could see the telltale glow of mana around it, that faint shimmer that all enchanted items had.
“It’s locked to the ‘Refuge.’ As long as we follow its guidance, we will arrive there in time.” Elysia explained.
“What is the ‘Refuge?’ I was only told that it was a place of safety for you and your people.” Mathew inquired.
“It is a ‘Pocket Universe.’ A dimensional rift to an artificial plane. We aren’t sure how long it has been there or who created it. This ship was built to explore it further, but now we must take our chances inside.”
The Captain and Mathew spent some more time discussing the rift, the ship they were on and the origins of the Orb of Twilight. Unfortunately, no one knew why the Orb had arrived here or who was responsible for the disaster that was assailing them.
Bereft of answers, Mathew could only drop the subject.
Minutes turned to hours, hours into days. Mathew was given quarters below deck, a small room with a cot and not much else. The monotony began to take its toll on him before something finally happened. He was on deck speaking with the Captain when something emerged from the void.
Mathew thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him, but when he heard shouts and cries from others, he knew that it was real.
A cluster of small serpents glided silently out of the darkness and into the light cast by Resplendent Dawn. They were elongated, shadowy entities; their scales shimmered with ghostly bioluminescence, making the encompassing gloom even more imposing.
As they slithered out of the void, their bodies undulated in motion that was both fluid and predatory. Their jaws would open to drink in the light, and Mathew could see that their mouths were lined with translucent, needle-like teeth.
There were dozens at first, but they were soon joined by more. Hundreds, then thousands of the serpents followed in the wake of the Resplendent Dawn, swallowing motes of light like fish feeding on flies or insects.
While harmless, their numbers made everyone nervous, and soon, the passengers requested that the Captain drive the creatures away. Unwilling to expend the ship's mana or stockpile of ammunition, she turned to Mathew.
Standing at the railing, Mathew raised his hand and pointed at the cluster of creatures.
“Fear”
Like a school of fish who had been leisurely swimming beneath the surface of the ocean, only to be startled by a thrown rock, the Void Serpents, as the crew would come to call them, scattered in all directions.
They fled to the edges of the Resplendent Dawn’s halo of light, only to stop and refuse to go further. Multiple Words of Power from Mathew did nothing to encourage them further, and the ship had to accept that they had gained new followers.
Harmless, they followed in the ship’s wake, always coming closer until Mathew drove them back once again.
A week after the Void Serpents arrived, a new creature approached the ship. Like a beacon in the night calling to everything that could see its warm light, Wraiths were attracted to the Last Shard of the Sun.
The Void Wraiths floated through the darkness like phantoms of another realm. Their forms were barely more than wisps of swirling, dark energy drifting effortlessly through the void’s oppressive silence. When they emerged from the shadow surrounding the Resplendent Dawn, their appearance sent the crew into a panic.
Lacking physical substance, they had long, flowing appendages that writhed in an eerie dance. They were like ghosts, flitting in and out of the darkness. Like the Void Serpents, these Wraiths were drawn by the light, and they gobbled it down with reckless abandon.
Unsatisfied with the small amount of light and heat the Resplendent Dawn was emitting, the Wraiths swarmed toward the ship.
Their presence created a pervasive chill much worse than the void. Frost gathered on the deck, and ice began to creep along the edge of the sails. The voice of the Wraiths was a hypnotic hum that sapped the energy and vitality from everyone who heard it.
As Mathew stood at the edge of the Resplendent Dawn and watched as the thousands of Wraiths descended upon them, he knew that their journey through the void had lost what little peace it had. From now on, it would become a life-and-death struggle.