Prince of The Abyss

"Can you... repeat what you just said?" Aether said, as he stared the witch in the eyes. He didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. He was... confused, but at the same time, slightly relieved...

The witch raised one of her eyebrows. "Didn’t you hear the first time? Are you a Fool or something? My name is Avrie, Avrie Apelpisia."

Aether opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t find any words... ’This makes... no sense!’

He had seen her die right in front of him; he had gotten her death message, and more importantly, he had finished the book, so what was she doing here? How was she here? She also didn’t seem to know him... so did she not have the memories of what happened in Frozen Crown?

’Speaking of it, the place outside looks nothing like the outskirts did in Frozen Crown... and time passed... so what is happening?’

Aether stared at his feet, completely bewildered, but as he did, he saw a cat that didn’t look so fond of him. ’At least some things don’t change.’

He sighed, turning back to Avrie. "Do you have a class?"

The girl scoffed. "Of course I do? Why would I not? Are you alright in the head?"

’This is only getting worse... so technically the Codex exists for her... or rather, she’s an awakened... but without the Codex... and more importantly...

...

I’m so confused... how am I in the world of Frozen Crown... I never entered a book... am I still inside the Wonderland? I have to be, right? I mean, if I wasn’t, my Codex would be working. But at the same time, the Wonderland also exists in Frozen Crown, so are there two Wonderlands or something... I’m so confused!’

Avrie continued to stare at him as he was having a mental breakdown. "Sit down; you don’t seem in the best state, probably because of those wicked hands, huh? This might be the only place you can rest in a while, so I suggest you take the opportunity."

Aether didn’t want to at first, trying to get to the bottom of things, but the problem was that he had no idea how. So he nodded, sitting on a chair near a small table, with Avrie sitting on the bed since there was only one chair.

"So..." Avrie said, trying to break the tension. "Where are you from? I haven’t seen you in these parts of the Outskirts."

Aether leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling while cracking his fingers. He had no idea how to respond to that question... after all, he had no idea what was going. There was no way to know that the places he knew from the original Frozen Crown were in this place, and he definitely didn’t think it was a good idea to tell her the truth.

In Frozen Crown, if he remembered correctly, he had taken the latter, telling the truth, but not fully. But at the same time, was that the right idea?

"That’s not important." Aether tried, trying to change the subject to whatever was possible.

Avrie frowned, standing up and walking over to him, pointing her small finger at him. "Yes, it is! I have no idea who you are. You are lucky I’m even letting you stay in my house without knowing who you are, so you’d better say where you are from or out."

Aether stared Avrie in the eyes, not responding instantly; instead, he watched her... before finally coming up with something... a risk.

"How about I help you save Elpis instead, huh?" The witch froze, her arms falling to her sides... as she paled. "How..."

He wanted to sigh in relief, but he knew he couldn’t. He had taken a massive risk mentioning Elpis.

He chuckled. "I’m serious, I’ll help you save him."

Avrie came back to her senses, frowning. "Save him from what? I mean, there is nothing going on with him; he’s safe with his people... but how do you know him?"

...

And it seems that he had talked too early; his risk had made things worse. ’So in this timeline or whatever, Elpis isn’t trapped in that tree thing or whatever?... It’s annoying since I have no idea where in the story I am, at what moment, am I before time froze or something?’

Aether opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t, so he just looked away.

Avrie sighed. "I see. Fine, don’t tell me." She turned her back to him... "Want some food...?" She said, slightly quieter. But he really wanted food right now, so there was no way he wasn’t going to hear it.

He instantly nodded. "Yes, please!"

She walked over to her bed, where she took a plate with something on it, covered by a rag, from under it. "I was saving this for later, but I guess I can be a nice witch sometimes." She said, putting it on the table.

"Thank you, I appreciate it a lot, really." He said to Avrie, with a small smile on his face, before turning to the plate and quickly taking the cloth off.

...

...

...

’W...What?’ His heart stopped as he stared at the head on the plate... he knew it... who it belonged to, or rather, used to belong to. One of his teammates... It was Reno’s head. Aether looked up at Avrie, his skin pale.

But the witch seemed confused, as if she didn’t understand what was wrong with it... But Aether didn’t remember her as some kind of cannibal, so he wondered what was happening. And how could she ever get his head? Reno was a Seeker, while she, in Frozen Crown, was a Reader... it should never be possible.

Avrie tilted her head at him before she finally realized what was happening, a terrifying smile appearing on her face.

"I see, so you are also one of them. A Reader from another world."

She quickly took a knife out, laughing. "Welcome to the Wonderland."

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