Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 75: The Abyssal Ruins

As dawn broke, Jonan gathered his gear and approached the waiting Starfall carriage. He noticed, to his mild surprise, that no one was there. Not a servant, not a soldier, no bustling preparations like the last time. He stood for a moment, the chill morning air brushing against his skin, feeling the quiet stretch out around him. He half-expected someone to come bustling out of the estate to bid him farewell or at least hand him a letter of instruction, but there was nothing.

Jonan wasn’t much keen on traveling with a cohort this time. The last mission — the nightmare of it — lingered in the shadows of his mind, and though he felt a faint, guilty pang at the empty yard, he didn’t oppose the situation. In fact, in his heart, he welcomed the silence.

He climbed into the carriage and began unpacking his modest collection of luggage, only to find the inside already prepared. Supplies necessary for daily use were neatly stacked inside: dried meats, water skins, spare tunics, flints, herbs, and medicinal salves. A spear case too — heavier than his own spear, but well-forged. Someone had prepared this carefully, and for a solitary traveler.

He was about to settle in when Rhydian appeared, striding through the gates of the Starfall family estate. His figure, tall and unmistakable in his bearing, moved with the quiet confidence of a predator in its prime.

"You must be surprised to find no one attending you here, right?" Rhydian asked, with a faint smirk sound coming from his mouth.

Jonan gave a small nod. While he wasn’t against this arrangement, he was indeed curious, and the question lingered in his eyes.

"Well," Rhydian began, leaning against the carriage’s side, "our mission is something which was acquired by His Highness himself. If news were to spread about The Abyssal Ruins, things would turn problematic fast. There are factions who would kill for a chance to claim for The Greatest Opportunity, and they also wouldn’t mind spoiling someone else’s opportunity. According to His Highness, if any outsider were to set foot within those ruins alongside you, it’d create problems far beyond mere competition."

Jonan clenched his fists at his side. "I wouldn’t mind competing with others. I may be weak compared to those of my age and stage, but I will not back down from any challenge."

Rhydian’s face remained unchanged behind his mask, and he stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I understand your spirit, but The Abyssal Ruins are not something you leave to chance, boy, His Highness has something planned for you, something no one else must interfere with, and it’s important you conquer it, doing this alone will increase your chances, who knows you might find The Greatest Opportunity there, but only if your hands are the ones to grasp it."

Jonan didn’t reply immediately. He met Rhydian’s gaze, saw the weight in his words, and nodded.

Without another word, the carriage set off, creaking down the cobbled road, leaving the Starfall estate behind. Rhydian vanished as quickly as he came, and Jonan was left with his thoughts and the steady clip-clop of hooves.

Days bled together as Jonan’s journey carried him eastward. The world beyond the Starfall territories grew wilder. Trees hung heavy with mist, the sky ever gray and brooding. Villages thinned, replaced by ancient stones and weathered mountains half-swallowed by earth. It was a land few dared travel, not because of mortal bandits, but for other reasons; there were rumors of evil lurking.

Jonan traveled alone, stopping only to rest at waystones and abandoned houses. Each night, his sleep was light, broken by unfamiliar sounds and the occasional sense of eeriness in the dark, but no beast dared to approach him.

There was something about him that seemed to ward them off, even Jonan couldn’t make any sense of it.

On the fifth day, the landscape changed. The earth became cracked and dry. Old, gnarled trees clawed at the sky, their bark blackened as though scorched by ancient fire. In the distance, he saw them: jagged pillars of stone spiraling upward, each carved with cracks and a purplish glow at its entrance.

It was The Abyssal Ruins.

He approached on foot, leaving the carriage behind, and felt the oppressive weight of the place descend upon him. The very air was thick, heavy with dark eeriness, his back felt cold, not even a living insect was anywhere for far.

Far away, within the grand halls of Starfall Castle, a different conversation was taking place.

In a chamber veiled with violet curtains and perfumed smoke, His Highness Draven stood before a broad map stretched across a polished table. Tiny markers denoted territories, cities, and known anomalies. His gaze, however, remained fixed on a single obsidian token placed in a region marked ’Abyssal Ruins.’

Behind him, Lenaia stepped into the room. The shamaness moved with silent grace, the hem of her dark green robes trailing over the cold stone.

"I presume he’s already entered The Abyssal Ruins," Lenaia said, her voice edged with amusement and faint disdain in her voice.

Draven didn’t look up. "He has."

Lenaia crossed her arms. "I don’t understand you, sir. You’ve been watching the boy closely these past three months. His progress is undeniable — three attribute limits broken, with that damned resilience of his. But for you to hide the very existence of the Abyssal Ruins from everyone else? It’s a waste, and that too for someone like him. There are dozens more talented, better blooded, more obedient sons and daughters in our ranks. That opportunity would let any of them surpass Jonan easily, and he already has a lot on his plate."

Draven gave a faint, humorless smile. "I understand what you mean, you feel it’s a waste for him to get such a major opportunity, and while I haven’t given much to my children over the years, everyone has gotten one thing from me one way or another, that reshape their lives and their strength, let’s call this also the same, for my son Jonan."

He finally looked at her, eyes gleaming like embers. "This isn’t about who is more worthy, it’s not like you have not seen those with the greatest of talents, who were either wasted by The Abyssal Ruins or, in the best case scenario, nothing happens to them."

Lenaia scoffed. "Still, I cannot help but think this is a waste, you have already given him something far more valuable, and while in the future, I am sure he will have to pay a far worse price, why do you need to give this to someone, whose future is already futile, and the girl Freya would be far more suited for this ruins."

"You worry too much," shaking his head, Draven murmured, tracing a finger over the map. "The Abyssal Ruins are not something that can be conquered just because of talent, and I know Freya better than you think; I am sure she will not be able to conquer it. As for Jonan, The ruin will test him. If he fails, so be it. If he survives..."

"You’ll let him run free?" Lenaia snapped. "We have already made plans for him, we should not add any variables. I always thought you would become ruthless over time, but it looks like, unlike the other Heroes, you still hold a soft spot for your children, you have to steel your heart, my lord, Jonan’s fate was sealed when he awakened the affinity to crystal."

Draven’s face didn’t change. "I know, I will think about it....."

There was a long pause before Lenaia spoke again, her voice softer now. "I can’t deny his growth. When he came to us, he was barely at the level of a commoner, and now he would create pressure even for his peers. Breaking three limits before his twentieth year... it’s absurd, without honing his strength for long years, and what is that weird secret technique you had him practice? it is not something that anyone else, except Rhydian has practiced."

"And yet here we are," Draven mused. "Even I was surprised by such a fast growth, it’s a miracle even for us heroes, or else, we would have increased our every child’s strength extremely fast with the same method."

Lenaia sighed, her expression inscrutable. "Yeah, that was quite a shocker, thankfully he stopped, or who knows what would happen, we already have trouble containing Rhydian, because of that damn secret technique."

"Where did you really get that secret technique, even when I am so envious of that secret technique, I don’t dare practice it, have you planned anything, if Jonan ever goes out of control?"

"Rhydian was a commoner, so we could contain his outbursts, but your son, my lord, is no mere commoner, and even amongst your children, while I don’t find him the most talented, I am afraid, what else might come out because of the secret technique?"

Draven touched his forehead, "I was considering whether I should give Jonan that secret technique or not, but our hands are tied, we need him to grow, and without any weapon affinity, it wouldn’t be possible."

"Let’s just pray, nothing bad happens in the ruins," said Lenaia.

"Yeah, who knows?" he said. "Let’s wait for the boy’s return." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

And as their voices faded in the halls of Starfall Castle, Jonan took his first steps into the yawning mouth of the Abyssal Ruins.