Chapter Sixteen / A Journey Across the Forty-Ninth Floor

The echoes of footsteps fled behind them. Akiana’s boots trampled on the stone floor below. The interconnecting hall had the same layout as the other halls of the previous floor. It was different from the halls of the dungeon Akiana was familiar with. While the interconnecting halls looked the same even then, they all looked more like caves that entered and exited to different floors.

“How are you feeling?” The Dark Lord’s voice vibrated against the back of Akiana’s neck. He trailed behind her by only a few steps.

“I’m fine.” Akiana shortly responded.

“No muscle pains? Shortness of breath? Maybe a toe out of place?” The Dark Lord asked, his questions probing the air between them.

“I’m fine.” Akiana again responded. She hastened her pace a little, her steps echoing more frequently.

The Dark Lord kept pace behind her, never faltering from the few steps behind.

“I see.” The Dark Lord said. “Sorry for asking so many questions. You and Ezbalath are the only ones to have gone through the process. I just want to make sure you’re alright.”

The Dark Lord’s words moved through Akiana’s mind like a stream filling in the cracks. Akiana remembered Ezbalath’s words: “You have a friend here.” The words flipped in her mind as she thought of them. She tried to remember what his expression was when he said the words, his stance, his breathing, anything in that warm room. Yet, nothing stuck out. She mulled over his words. Was it the words themselves? Did they mean something else? Before Akiana could pursue that train of thought further – a light poked a hole in the horizon.

A light brighter than the sconces etched itself beyond the dimness of the hall. As they walked, the more light became present. It slowly replaced the light of the sconces and cast longer shadows upon the walls of the interconnecting hall. Akiana raised her left hand to block the light from blinding her, her eyes barely open as it became brighter around the pair. Her chest tightened. She’d seen this before in her memories. Then she braced herself, expecting a searing pain to overcome her.

Something did wash over her, but not pain – warmth.

She felt it and heard it before she saw it. Wind. A breeze slipped through the fingers of her held up hand and danced over her face. A chirping sound accompanied the breeze. It took her a moment to register the sound. Birds? She lowered her hand, and her eyes adjusted to the light.

Akiana took a few steps forward, away from the threshold of the interconnecting hall, and onto a cobble stone path barely hidden beneath dirt. Rolling green hills, plains, forests of pine and oak trees. Birds sang in the warm light of the sun overhead; the sky dotted in white patches of clouds.

“Artificial sun.” The Dark Lord said walking up beside her on the path. “No idea how it works, but you can see the ceiling of this floor above the clouds. It’s just really far away and hard to see.”

“Where are we?” Akiana’s voice shook, her eyes full of bewilderment at the scenery.

The Dark Lord took a few steps past her and stretched his arms above his head before hiding them again beneath his cloak. “The Forty-Ninth floor.” He said, turning back to her.

“That can’t be! It didn’t look anything like this before!” Akiana almost shouted.

The Dark Lord chuckled. “I wonder if your version of before and mine are the same. It only just became like this, probably because we recently liberated the floor.”

“Liberated?” Akiana asked.

The Dark Lord looked away from Akiana and towards the path ahead.

“You’ll soon see.” The Dark Lord pushed out a hand from under his cloak and pointed towards a mountain range, the peaks sharp against the sky, beyond the hazy horizon. “Our destination is somewhere over there. No idea how long it will take to get there.”

Akiana closed her gaping mouth and took a breath. “Then we should keep moving.” She said brushing past the Dark Lord and down the half cobble and dirt path. The Dark Lord silently followed behind.

They followed the path along the wind-swept plains and hills. A congregation of curious cows followed alongside for several minutes before losing interest and returning to their grazing; their tails flicking behind them. Wild horses galloped along the eastern side of the path in the direction of the giant tree in the distance. Herds of bison and sheep dotted the plains and hills on either side of the path, largely avoiding one another but in visible proximity. Akiana pulled a hand up and blocked the rays of the sun overhead, her eyes wandering through the clouds and blue sky towards the barely visible ceiling above. I can’t believe this is real. She thought to herself.

The walk was largely uneventful and quiet, the scenery taking much of their attention - hours passed with the movement of the sun in the sky, and a large forest came into view. The forest stretched from the west and into the east as a mixture of pine, elm, and oak. The path cut in between and straight through the forest with some of the trees hanging loosely over it.

Akiana entered first into the forest with the Dark Lord behind her. The path became rough as it loomed into the distance through the forest, the hanging trees unleashing pinecones and acorns along it and in the cracks.

“This road is rough.” The Dark Lord murmured.

“Did you say something?” Akiana asked, her sword thudding lightly against the path.

“Sorry, just talking to myself. I was saying that this road is rough, and I’ll need to have it maintained in the future.” The Dark Lord responded.

Akiana looked up, the sun barely peeking through the treetops, and then back down towards the path ahead. Squirrels jumped from branch to branch, and through piles of leaves on the ground, picking their share of acorns on the forest floor. Akiana could hear the Dark Lord periodically stop, but then quickly catch up to her. She didn’t wait for him. He’s up to something. I just have to figure out what. The figuring out part lingered in Akiana’s mind.

They walked for some time through the forest and along the path. Other than squirrels, the prancing of deer in the distance moving through the leaves, and several other smaller creatures moved along their trip. The Dark Lord continued to stop sometimes between long stretches but kept pace behind Akiana. Eventually, however, Akiana’s pace began to slow. They had been walking for many hours without rest.

“Let’s take a break.” The Dark Lord said behind Akiana.

Akiana took a breath. “I’m fine. I can keep going.” As she spoke the words something felt off about her next step and she nearly tripped, catching herself at the last moment.

A nearby tree rested between a cluster of other trees along the path, and without saying a word, Akiana walked over to the fallen tree and sat. The greatsword on her back rested against the ground behind the fallen tree, which lifted some of the weight from Akiana’s shoulders. She sighed and her shoulders sagged.

A rummaging sound came from the Dark Lord’s direction and Akiana looked up. The Dark Lord moved his hands through a burlap sack slung around his left shoulder with a long leather strap; previously hidden under his cloak. He removed something red from the bag and tossed it towards Akiana. She caught the object, a red intermixed with a little green and yellow – an apple.

“That should help a little.” The Dark Lord said, lifting an apple in his own hand. The mask on his face parted around the mouth and allowed him to eat a part of the apple.

Akiana looked at the apple and bit into it. A sweat juicy taste filled her mouth, its taste immediately revitalizing her. She took several more bites until she had completely eaten it, then threw the core behind her. Her gaze wandered over to the Dark Lord, who continued to stand on the path. Perched on the Dark Lord’s right shoulder, a squirrel packed acorns into its ever-growing cheeks.

“Greedy little one.” The Dark Lord chuckled as he fed more acorns to the squirrel. The Dark Lord then returned the gaze back at Akiana; the squirrel’s small hands begging for more acorns on his shoulder. “You look tired.”

“I’m okay.” Akiana said smirking at the squirrel on the Dark Lord’s shoulder. “I’m normally able to walk all day without resting.” Akiana clicked her tongue at her last sentence. Normally. I guess I’m not fully rested yet.

“Well,” The Dark Lord sighed, “whenever you’re ready, we’ll go.”

Akiana grimaced and stood. “Let’s go.”

“I didn’t mean you had to stop resting.” The Dark Lord worriedly said.

“I’m fine. Thank you for the apple.” Akiana said and began walking down the path.

The pair returned to their walk along the path. Before long, a light breached through the dimness of the forest, and the path became more akin to a road.

The space between the cobble stones appeared less along the road, its state in more repair than the last few paths they had taken. The road stretched further along hills, its path utilizing the sloping ups and downs to try to ease the journey. Beyond a cluster of hills, and to sound of fluttering wings from birds above, a lake came into view. The road led down the hills towards the lake’s edge, where it ended abruptly. Some hundred feet away from the end of the road was a piece of a ruined bridge. There must have once been a bridge that went across the lake. Akiana thought to herself.

Akiana looked along the edges of the lake, its shape some miles in diameter, and closest to the end of the road – a river from the west ran into the lake and then emptied towards the east. A forest lined the other side from the west to the east, along the river and the lake.

This is a strange lake. Akiana thought to herself. It doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to be here.

Akiana walked along the lake, and the river as it flowed further to the east. There appeared to be no way across the river to get to the sides of the lake, its width nearly a mile wide. She sighed and watched the water lap at the edges of the river.

“This will be a difficult river to cross.” The Dark Lord said watching Akiana.

Akiana glanced at the Dark Lord. “I could use magic and freeze us a path across or use clumps of the ground to raise a bridge.”

Akiana knelt and placed her hand in the water. The water flowed gently but was moving faster than it appeared beneath. She stood and extended her hand outwards. The ground shook lightly and the sword on her back began to lightly glow gold. In front of Akiana a land bridge raised itself out of the floor of the river but only halfway across. The sword on her back dimmed until it returned to its original form.

“We’ll use this.” Akiana said taking a breath.

The Dark Lord nodded and said: “Right behind you.”

Stepping onto the land bridge, Akiana’s boots slightly sank into the ground. Moss, algae and other plant life one could find at the bottom of a river squelched with wet horror at the touch of the sun above. As the pair walked across the water lapped at the sides of the land bridge. Akiana nudged several unlucky and lucky fish back into the flowing water.

They arrived at the halfway point with little difficulty, and with a flick of her wrist, Akiana collapsed the land bridge just behind the Dark Lord; the bits on the surface flowing with the river. Then raised the remaining half to the other side.

“Why only raise half of the bridge?” The Dark Lord asked as they began walking the remaining half.

“The water is flowing enough that I’m worried it may flood should I have raised it all in one go.” Akiana responded.

“It wouldn’t have been up for too long.”

“A mess is still a mess.” Akiana said.

Akiana heard the Dark Lord chuckle behind her. Only the sound of the flowing water and occasional jumping fish responded. They quickly traversed the remaining half of the bridge, and Akiana dissolved it behind them; the water running freely again into the east. A forest blanketed the area surrounding the lake and river, but the immediate edge running along both was free of trees. The pair followed along the edge of the river up to the lake and then followed along it.

Akiana gazed into the water as they walked beside the lake, the clear water of the river becoming dark in its depths. Now that I’m closer to it the more unnatural it looks. She scanned the sides of the lake, but didn’t see any beaches, nor did the edges have an incline. It’s like it just drops straight down into a hole. Akiana looked up from the lake and towards the mountains further away in the north. She thought of the distance and the time they had already spent traveling and concluded it would probably take them another half day’s travel to reach the doorway to the next floor.

The sun began to set on the horizon, the cawing birds becoming further and further away. The road ended and they openly traveled without guidance. They spent several more hours traveling through forests and patches of open hills. The terrain became increasingly more of the two, however the forest also became less of a normal forest and more of a temperate rain forest. The ground was hard in some places, but soft in others. Moss grew in large swaths that covered the forest floor, with occasional boulders and running streams of water that darted into different directions.

Another hour passed before the Dark Lord spoke up behind Akiana: “We should find a place to stay for the night.”

Akiana wiped sweat from her brow, their travel beginning to weigh on her body, but the air also chilling her damp skin.

“Just a little further. I think I see a spot ahead.” Akiana said climbing up the side of a densely forested hill.

As they climbed, the sound of water echoed from the top of the ridgeline. Beyond - a small alcove cut itself into the trees and hillside. Water splashed from a spring in the hill through cracks in the rocks and tumbled down the right-side slope. The trees grew up to the cluster of rocks from which the spring ran from; the moss still blanketing most of the ground.

The pair climbed up to the alcove and the spring and caught their breath.

“As good a spot as any.” The Dark Lord said resting his arm on the sack around his shoulder.

Conveniently the moss grew until it met with the gravel of the spring which allowed the pair to sit on the moss with their backs against trees, and their feet just touching the rocky area.

 After catching her breath, Akiana stood. “I’ll go get some materials to start a fire.” She said then began to make her way down the sloping hill again.

“I’ll be here.” The Dark Lord said waving invisibly to her back.

Darkness entered the forest, but Akiana didn’t wander far. Sticks and twigs, along with starter material coated the ground. It took little time to gather what she needed for the fire, and she climbed back up the hill. The sound of water took her again to the spring.

“That was fast.” The Dark Lord said at Akiana’s approach.

Akiana moved through the two trees, and beside the black scabbard of the Dark Lord’s sword leaning against his tree. She walked over to edge of the rocks and began making a circle with some stones. She placed her materials in the center of the circle, placing the starter material in the middle and surrounding it with standing twigs and branches. The great sword on her back lightly glowed as she kindled the starter material with fire magic, which grew into a small flame as the wood caught fire. Shadows danced off the face of the alcove and the shimmering water.

Akiana detached the sling of her great sword and leaned it against the tree beside her on the left, as to face off against the Dark Lord’s.

The Dark Lord extended his right hand with an object wrapped in cloth. “Gelicarus made us ham and cheese sandwiches before we left.” He picked up an unwrapped sandwich in his left hand, his mask parting at the bottom, and began eating it. “Oh, it’s so good.” He said stuffing his face.

Akiana took the sandwich from the Dark Lord and unwrapped the cloth. Her mouth watered in anticipation, and she immediately bit into one of the cut slices. She sighed, as if the taste of the sandwich made clear her exhaustion.

The Dark Lord laughed beside Akiana. “I’ll take the deep sigh as a sign of approval.” Then he rummaged around inside the sack, which rested on the ground beside him. He withdrew two water sacks from the burlap sack and tossed one over to Akiana.

The water sack thudded against Akiana’s lap, and she picked it up; feeling the water slosh around inside. Then she uncorked the lid and took a sniff. She heard a chuckle from her left, and looked at the Dark Lord who shook his head and drank from his water sack. Akiana looked at the open lid, then drank from it. The water passed over her lips, drying immediately from the water and then reinvigorating them. She took slow sips, knowing of the wasteland in her throat from traveling all day, from wanting to preserve as much of the water as she could.

Akiana closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the food and water to settle in her exhausted body, then looked at the Dark Lord beside her. What was his name again? She watched him silently resting against the tree, not moving against the blackness of the night now kept at bay from the fire.

“I’m sure you have questions.” An unmoving Dark Lord said. “Now is your opportunity to ask.”

Akiana nearly jumped out of her skin, yet her unmoving expression never hinted at it. She leaned her head against the tree, some of the moss clinging to the tree acting as a pillow. She had too many questions to ask that it left her completely devoid of them. Where do I start?

“Do you really not know where my sister is?” Akiana asked.

“She isn’t here.” The Dark Lord said. The fire cracked as the branches slightly moved in the flames. “I don’t know where she is.”

He could be lying. Akiana thought.

The Dark Lord raised a hand above the fire and in the direction of the gateway to the next floor. “She may, however, be beyond.”

“You speak in circles - you said the same before. You don’t know, but you seem to think she is beyond. Which is it?” Akiana curtly asked.

“As I said before: she is not on this floor.” The Dark Lord moved slightly in his position, attempting to get more comfortable. “I do know she is here in this dungeon.”

“You’re sure of that?” Akiana hurriedly asked.

“It’s hard to explain, but you have a certain wind about you. When I am next to you, I can feel it all around me.” The Dark Lord stretched out his gloved right hand and let the flames of the fire dance behind his fingers. “I can feel another breeze, like yours, but it’s more like I can only feel it when I cast out my hand and feel it slip between my fingers.”

The Dark Lord lowered his hand and looked towards Akiana: “She is here. I know it.”

Akiana stared at the gray contours of the mask, the flames changing the shadows upon it. A part of her still didn’t believe his words, yet another began to.

“I believe you.” Akiana leaned back against the tree and sighed.

The sound of water, fire, and the night filled the air between them for a moment.

“No other questions?” The Dark Lord asked.

Akiana looked at the fire, and then at stream of water trickling down the rocks and down the side. “You’ve given me an answer to a question I’ve long had.”

Again, the sounds of the night returned between them.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been rude.” Akiana lightly said.

“That’s not a question.” The Dark Lord chuckled.

“I mean it.” Akiana said looking at her hands resting in her lap. “I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to try to look for her, let alone a second.”

The Dark Lord wrapped his body in his cloak and further huddled underneath it. “Apology accepted.” He yawned beneath the mask. “I think I’m going to get some shut eye.”

“I”ll take first watch then.” Akiana said huddling against her tree.

The Dark Lord tossed for a moment against the tree, attempting to get comfortable, then straightened again.

“Your sister, Alicia, is she worth all of this?” The Dark Lord bluntly asked while shuffling his position.

Akiana looked at the Dark Lord. For a moment she felt her anger rise, then settle in her chest.

“We were orphans.” Akiana said looking at the fire. “The Sigilius Emperor waged a war to unite not just the continent, but the entire world. The Unification War. Many died, but most deaths weren’t because of the fighting. Plagues and famine were rampant. My father died of the plague; my only memory of him is of his screams when he died. My mother starved to death. She made sure Alicia and I were always fed before her.”

Akiana took a breath and looked at her fingers. “Alicia was a baby when they died, she barely remembered what our mother looked like. I looked for work wherever it came from and raised her. She was always sick growing up. I don’t know if it was from the plague or if early malnutrition played a part in it, but she tired quickly. I think because of that, she tried to take care of wherever we were so that I had some place to come home to. It worked for us – she stayed and did house chores, and I worked.” Her teeth grit and her lips pursed for a moment. “I fought for a long time as a soldier for the Empire. No matter how far I went – Alicia was always waiting for me. Then one day she was gone. Honestly, I know I care for her because she’s my sister, but I also know I’m using her. She’s the only thing that’s keeping me attached to this world. Without her I don’t have a home, and without a home I don’t belong here.” Akiana took a deep breath. “She’s worth it.”

Akiana looked up from her hands and towards the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord had flipped on his side with his back to her, and no response came.

Akiana gritted her teeth with anger, but she sighed and shook her head. Why did he ask if he wasn’t going to listen anyways? She looked at the fire, the twigs and branches snapping within the flame, then back at the Dark Lord. She stood, slinging the water sack over her left shoulder, and picked up her sword. She reattached the great sword over her right shoulder as quietly as she could. The Dark Lord moved, and Akiana froze. The Dark Lord, however, didn’t flip over and tossed only for a moment before returning to slumber.

Akiana’s cheeks puffed with air as she sighed with relief, then she tiptoed out of the camp and into the woods above. Whatever he has planned for me at the gateway – I won’t let it go his way.