[Plotina POV]

The sky outside was so bright and blue, and lots of people walked past our window. Mom looked at me with an expression that I couldn't understand. She didn't say anything, her quietness made me feel uneasy.

I tried to make myself feel better by thinking about poems I knew, but I couldn't remember them very well. It made me upset.

So, I just looked out the window and watched the people go by. It felt like something had punched me hard in my stomach.

Everything seemed so gloomy and lifeless, and it felt like nothing good ever happened to me. I just wanted to feel happy again, but I didn't know how.

"...Are you alright...?" A soft voice said to my side.

I turned my head and looked at mom. Her face was unreadable. I couldn't tell what she was thinking or what could be her next action. Her red eyes were fixed on me and observed every part of my being.

"I want to see dad" I responded.

She looked at me fixedly. I started back at her. Seconds passed until she opened her mouth "...Your father...?" She said.

I nodded.

"".........""

"...Why...?" She asked, no expression could be heard in her voice.

I thought for some moments and then said "Because I need him"

"...Why...?" She asked again.

I couldn't help but be confused by her question. Is there any reason why wouldn't I need dad? He is always working hard hunting for the Lord. I wanted to go with him...

"Don't you miss father, mom?" I asked.

She looked at me. For the first time since today, she changed her expression and opened her eyes slightly "...I don't know. I don't remember him... What do you mean by 'mom'...?"

What is she talking about? "What do you mean?"

"...You called me 'mom' just now...?"

"Yeah?" Yes, I called her mom, what's wrong? Mom is weird.

Abruptly, mom moved closer to me and tried to give me a glass of red liquid. I didn't know what it was, but it smelled awful. I shook my head and refused to drink it.

"What is this?" I asked, feeling a bit scared.

Mommy ignored me and forced the liquid into my mouth. Upon tasting it, I instantly spit it out.

"...What are you doing...?" She asked.

"What do you mean!? This thing is horrible!"

"...What...horrible...?"

"Yeah, it tastes like puke!" I never tasted puke but I'm sure it tastes like that.

She looked at me fixedly. Minutes passed. Is this some kind of game?

Since mom didn't move I decided to stare at her with my eyes fully open, now I'm sure I was winning whatever game we were playing.

"...Why...won't you drink...?" She asked. She acting incredibly odd today. By the way, did she always have white hair? I want my hair to be white too...

"Are you crying...?" A voice from my side said. I looked at the tall figure before me, contrary to before, she frowned slightly, she looked confused. "....please drink the potion..." She said.

"If mom smiles I'll drink it..." I said, hoping for some kind of answer.

But she didn't respond. Instead, she reached out to me with her hand, offering me the glass of red liquid again. I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then I saw a faint smile spread across her lips... It was beautiful and for some strange reason, it made me emotional.

I took the glass from her hand and drank the liquid, even though it tasted terrible. As soon as I had swallowed it, I felt a sudden surge of energy coursing through my body. My sadness was gone, replaced by a feeling of invigoration, but also some little pain.

"What was that?" I asked, feeling a little dizzy.

"A potion," my mother said, her voice flat and monotone. But I could tell that something was off. Her eyes looked glazed over, and her movements were slow and uncoordinated. I realized that she was under the influence of something too.

"Mom, are you okay?" I asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder. But she pulled away from me as if my touch was painful. I felt hurt by her rejection, and my confusion only grew.

"Mom, are you hurt...?"

"...Stop call-...... Your condition is worse...worry about yourself..."

"Uh? I'm feeling good"

"...What? Then, why are you crying...?"

I'm crying? But I don't see tears. Mom is weird.

Mom looked at me for some seconds, her mouth opened, and she whispered "...sorry..."

I looked at her with a frown. "Sorry? Why?"

"...........I remembered... I brought us here...something took control of me..."

What is she talking about...? Dad truly needs to come now, she is starting to worry me...

"Mom... Are you sad? Do you want me to tell you a poem?"

"...A poem..."

"Yeah!" I stand up from my chair. However when I did my legs suddenly gave up, luckily mom trapped me with her right arm. Speaking of arms, where is her left one? Her left arm is no longer there, is this normal? I'll ask her later, for now, let's focus on the poem.

"Mom, what type of poem do you want to hear? Something about bunnies?"

"....I do no-"

"Mom!"

"........Something about bunnies....."

"Well, I think I know one"

"..."

"Long ago there was a red little bun-"

"...Plotina..."

"Mom...! I was about to say my poem..."

"...I'm not your mom"

"Uh, what?....can you repeat?"

"..."

"....can you repeat?"

"...I have a question"

"Mm? What it is?"

"...Will it be alright for you if I kill you in the name of God?

"Uh...?"

I gazed up, and my eyes met those of a white-haired woman. Her right arm was missing, and her body was covered in blood. Dark circles encircled her eyes as if she had been awake for days. But what caught my attention the most was the sense of familiarity that washed over me. As if I had known her before, or had seen her in a dream.

I looked around me, and darkness engulfed the space around us. The only source of light came from the torches flickering on the walls. In my hands, I held a crossbow, and my body was riddled with wounds, the blood on my skin now dry. Memories from before rushed to my mind, and I was assaulted with pain. I could still feel the aching sensation in my chest and abdomen as if it had happened just moments ago.

I tried my best to calm myself, to slow down my racing heart. I took a deep breath and slowly looked back at the woman before me. She was staring at me, and contrary to the usual, I could discern in her eyes incommodity in her expression. She opened her mouth to speak, and her voice was steady, almost soothing.

"Hypothetically, If it was for the sake of God... Will you die?"

Her words hung in the air, and I felt a sense of weight to them.

I thought about it for a moment, the weight of her words pressing down on me. And then, I spoke.

"...God has nothing to worry about... I lost my father, my mother, my life, and my faith. The only thing left in me was hope, but seeing where we are, I think I lost that too... I decided to die a long time ago anyway, I will gladly give away my life"

-----

[POV Irenaeus]

As I embarked on the journey to fulfill God's command to kill the fake deity and save the souls of humanity, I found myself facing a dilemma. "Hypothetically, If it was for the sake of God... Will you die?" I said.

But even as I looked at the girl and spoke to her, I knew the question was directed at myself. This inquiry held significant weight in my mind as I pondered the events that led me to this moment.

God commanded me to kill the fake God. I don't know the reason why something took control of me or why I entered the red portal, but I know it has something to do with my task.

Saving humanity from their flesh bodies is a task God gave me, and that is why I want to go to the bottom of The Abyss. Yet, I'm scared. I don't want to die... I already tried fighting 'fear' but I never arrived to win. Should I keep trying... shouldn't I just give up?

Suddenly, a voice beside me chimed in. "The Lord has nothing to fear...I've lost everything - my father, my mother, my life, and my faith. Hope was the only thing that remained, but seeing where we are now, I think I've lost that too. I had already resolved to die a long time ago, so I would gladly give up my life..."

I looked at Plotina, what came from her lips was an answer I somehow expected but still shock me. If there is something I learned from observing humans is that sometimes they will try to hide their emotions from others for no apparent reason. I knew she wanted to die, her circumstances after all are similar to mine. I understood her because I wanted to die too, but I was too scared.

Her answer to my question was...logical. What is the purpose of living if one has nothing left to live for? If there is no hope or meaning in life, is it better to simply give up and let go? I couldn't answer any of these questions...

...This is no time to think about this... I should focus on surviving and getting out of whatever this place is... The monster from before is without a doubt the scariest thing I have ever seen. It was playing with me...my arm is gone. It hurts so much. I hope that my body can regenerate it. I used some potions to stop the bleeding but it seems that the pain won't go away...

"Irena, what happened?"

I focused my attention on the woman on the ground. Blood was all over her. Even though I used 1 whole potion and a half on her, her state didn't look any better, in fact, just a moment ago she was calling me...mom.

"...We entered a red portal..." Red portals are infamous even among the slums to the point that even I knew about them. Nobody knows what they are, but they appear in random places in The Abyss or close to it. If one enters one, it will get transported to a secret room depending on its power. If one was level 0 it will get transported to the first layer. The only way to get out was to kill the boss or find the exit.

"Why so much blood...?"

"A monster attacked us..." I responded. I normally don't like to talk but this situation is an emergency, and I can't afford to not respond to her. Even if she's hurt, the tracking skill that she displayed earlier can help me survive.

"...We should probably get moving..." I suggested. The creature would soon come for us, I have a feeling.

"I don't think I can move...sorry...I'm truly sorry...sorry..." She apologized yet again, even though it wasn't her fault that we were here...she is in here because of me...

"Can you at least stand up for a second...?"

The woman nodded before slowly getting to her feet, letting out pained moans. She couldn't stand upright and I could see the fear in her eyes.

I gestured for her to climb onto my back, but I had trouble maintaining my balance. With just one arm, it was difficult to support her weight, but luckily she was small.

I set off, but even walking was challenging. Somehow, I'd injured my ankle. The pain was excruciating, but I tried to push it to the back of my mind.

"You should leave me here..."

"No" I don't know what could attack me, her tracking skills are good. And I also need her to understand better emotions, I won't commit the same error I did with the other woman killed by the gang. We will find the exit and leave together.

As we walked through the labyrinth, a certain smell started lingering in the air, it was something that I recognized. The smell of rotten meat. My heart started racing, and I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. I knew that we weren't alone in there. I could feel something but I couldn't tell what it was.

The torches barely illuminated the path ahead, casting eerie shadows on the walls that seemed to move and dance. I tried to keep my focus on the path ahead, but every time I turned a corner, I anticipated some unspeakable horror that wasn't there.

The woman on my back was getting heavier, and my injured ankle was making it harder to walk. Every time I took a step, pain shot up my leg, causing me to stumble. But I refused to stop.

Eventually, we reached a hall. The long room stretched out before us, with four roads branching off in different directions. I gently lowered Plotina to the ground, and as I did, I couldn't help but notice the fatigue etched on her face. She looked like she was about to collapse, my state wasn't that different from hers, and I was hyperventilating.

I knew that we needed to take a break, even if it was just for a moment. So I sat down next to her and pulled out my dagger. I scratched a small mark on the wall, hoping that it would help us find our way back to this spot if we needed to.

I took my bag and took two cans of canned food, I gave one to her.

"Thank you," She said.

I gazed at her, unable to muster the energy to nod. We ate our meager rations in silence, listening to the sound of our labored breathing and the faint torches as they consumed themselves.

I kept my guard up all the time, looking around at every moment. The darkness seemed to press in on us, suffocating us with its weight. I felt like we were being watched by something, something that was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

We couldn't stay here forever, we had to press on if we wanted to get out alive. So, after a few moments, I helped Plotina to her feet again, and we set off once more. We didn't have a clue which road to take, but we had no choice but to pick one and hope for the best. We tried our luck by going to the left.

As we walked further into the labyrinth, I could hear strange noises echoing through the corridors. It sounded like whispers, but I couldn't make out what was being said. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I wished more than anything that I could turn back.

"W-Wait, there is something ahead," Plotina said whispering.

I focused my gaze straight ahead, I couldn't see anything. I slowly left Plotina on the ground and took my dagger.

"Where is it...?" I said.

"Don't look, it doesn't know we know it there. It's on the top left... Wait" Plotina took her now and charged it with one of the arrows on her back "I'll shoot it"

I stared at her for a second before returning my attention to the top left. I wasn't looking directly but all my focus was there.

This is Plotina's first time shooting with the crossbow, she might fail. I need to be ready to fight... "Is there a way for us to escape...?" I asked.

"It's slowly moving toward us... It's trying to hunt us, it probably won't let us go..."

"..."

"I'll shoot it, cover me so it doesn't see me," She said while whispering.

I moved in front of her and left a small space for her to shoot. Plotina took a deep breath.

She aimed her crossbow in the direction where she sensed the presence, her fingers trembling slightly.

Suddenly, she released the arrow, and it flew through the darkness, cutting through the air like a knife. It hit its target, and I heard a sickening thud.

We waited for a moment, but nothing happened. The creature, whatever it was, didn't make any sound. We didn't know if it was dead or just injured.

"Did you receive a notification...?" I asked.

"No..."

"...I'll check," I whispered, slowly moving forward, ready to strike with my dagger if needed. I tried to use my flames but I couldn't, my mana was probably exhausted.

I approached the spot where the creature had been, I saw a small figure lying on the ground, unmoving. I cautiously approached it, keeping my guard up in probable case it was a trap. As I got closer, I could see that it was humanoid, it was covered in rags and with matted hair. It smelled strongly of decay, and I could see that its skin was rotting away in places, maybe it was unconscious. I kept my distance, not wanting to take any chances.

I looked back at Plotina, who was still crouched in the same spot, holding her crossbow tightly. She looked relieved but also a little bit shaken.

"It's dead," She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I don't recognize this monster from the book... I'll make sure to not touch it, it might be poisoned.

I returned with Plotina, my guard was up at all times. 

"Isn't it weird... I said I lost hope... that I wouldn't mind giving away my life... But I want to survive..."

I looked at the little girl. Her feelings are something I can relate to, I wanted to die too but was too scared to even try. In the end, when you are in danger you'll try to survive no matter what.

"I'm sorry for being a hindrance..." 

"Stop saying you are sorry, it's annoying" She is always saying 'sorry' this 'sorry' that.

"Sorry..."

Is she serious? "I said to stop saying sorry..."

"Sor--... Alright..."

I walked towards her. She struggled to stand up before climbing onto my back. Once she was ready, I returned to walk towards the dark path only illuminated by the torches, my mind focused on finding any presence that might pose a danger to us.