Prince of The Abyss-Chapter 277: Guardian of The Labyrinth

A long, long hallway this was.

It was hard to say just how many hours had passed, after all, they had no way of tracking time in the darkness, only counting, but that also proved to not be very effective if you think of it.

The chances of counting accurately to x seconds are quite hard, of course, if its lets say, five seconds, it's not that hard, most can do it, because most humans know how much a second is.

Though to perfectly count to five is actually very hard. If it's to the millisecond, then it's around a 1% to 0,36% chances.

That's low.

And thers a good explanation why. And it's because of us, because of how fast we react, a normal human's reaction speed is around 250 to 300 milliseconds, with that, hitting exactly five seconds and zero milliseconds, is about a 1 in 276 chance, which is a 0,36%.

Most have an error of about 0.2 to 0.23 milliseconds; this is the case for short intervals. Which is the case for our five seconds.

But this is where things get hard.

We aren't talking of counting to five seconds, to hours, which contain a lot more than that.

Let's say we perfectly keep that 0,23 error rate, it will still stack up.

But this isn't the case; it grows, and by the end, most are off by a lot, even hours sometimes.

So manual counting is in no way a good idea. It is also quite annoying to do.

So you just had to estimate, but was this one a good idea?

No.

Of course it isn't.

Especially in darkness, it's hard to estimate time, so it would just end like the manual counting, far off the actual time.

However, there is a big difference. One you have to do constantly, and one takes around one second, more if you actually try to be as accurate as possible, but in some cases it may lead to worse results. So is it even worth it?

...

"You know, sometimes I really wonder what you are thinking of when you frown and don't say anything." Kade chuckles, which makes Aether widen his eyes. He was a bit embarrassed, but he was sure the boy was used to his just randomly staring at this.

..

And how did he even know he was frowning? It was pure darkness, so he couldn't have seen that he was doing so.

"Just wanted to answer a question, but maybe you have a better idea. So how much time do you think has passed?"

Kade looked at him for some good seconds.

"I have no idea."

Aether scoffed.

"Me neither."

In a situation like this, where you have no idea how much time it has been, or a way to find out, it is better to just not think about it and continue what you are doing.

'Then just face the consequences after, maybe even be amused by how off your instinct was.'

However, he still had one more question: if it was someone with lets say, a Titan rank, would he be able to do it.

Or rather, someone like the Queen, who was a Breaker Godspawn, someone with insane reactions and instinct, would she be able to count, since her reaction time was faster?

If she had to say stop at exactly five seconds, or ten, or fifteen, and so on, would she be able to do so?

'Well, I just have to also get to that level to test the theory.'

...

If he had to say, which was probably right, the tunnel was under the ground, this theory also got confirmed by its slightly downward incline, meaning the have actually been going in a straight line that pointed downwards...

Or rather, they had been, since now it seemed straight.

Which made him wonder just how deep they had gone, and how much longer they had to go.

Also, strangely, if he remembers the tower's position, and the angle between the door of the tower, and the tunnel, the passageway seems to point... towards the city of bones...

So was there a chance that perhaps... the tunnel was pointing towards... the shard they had been trying to find.

Aether took out the compass; it had been a while since he used it, since there was no reason to do so, after all, they had already known where it was, just that it was under the ground, so they couldn't reach it.

Looking at it... he was right, they were heading straight towards the shard.

And since they were under the ground... was there a chance this was really how to get to the shard?

...

What an irony.

If it really was, then to get to it, you have to be Will-less, ready to awaken a Will, becoming a Will user.

To find a shard of a blade used to fight against the Will users by a Will-less.

It was... really funny.

...

...

...

As they kept walking, Aether finally noticed a light deeper in the tunnel. If he had to say, then that was their destination.

Aether sped up the pace until they reached the light.

This led them to a giant area, one that was directly under the center of the city. How does he know this?

Because the ribs finally had their end.

From outside, you saw them going into the ground, but never their endings.

There were many of them, and they were gigantic.

The room itself was gigantic, and the thing was that there were only half the ribs, which, but it was to be expected, the rib area was insanely big outside enough to hold so many houses and markets.

He might even be wrong; this might be less than half, maybe less than a quarter.

The room also had many other passages.

However, that wasn't important... the handle standing in the middle of the room was.

A big smile appeared on Aether's face as he saw it, quickly rushing to it.

He had found it, and by accident, how ironic.

The handle was crafted from a pale, ivory-like material that feels neither warm nor cold to the touch, as if it exists outside the natural world.

A beautiful material, but one opposite of Voidpiercers... which meant that the whole rapier was not going to be similar to his own at all.

Its surface is smooth, yet faintly textured with delicate, almost imperceptible ridges that spiral gently along its length, guiding the grip without forcing it.

He was a bit envious, since Voidpiercer made his fingers bleed if he made too much friction with its handle.

Subtle veins of white gold ran beneath the surface, catching light in quiet, shifting patterns, like something alive just beneath still skin.

The pommel rested at the base as a perfectly balanced sphere, forged from the same white gold, though brighter, purer.

Within it, faint traces of soft blue shimmer, like distant light seen through deep water.

An beautifull color scheme for a legendary blade.

No wonder it was held and used by one of the strongest and most skilled rapier users to ever exist in this world.

These traces move slowly, never settling, giving the impression that the handle is not entirely inert.

Where the grip meets the guard, the material transitions seamlessly, without seam or joint, as though it were never assembled, but formed whole. The weight is precise, unnaturally so, responding to the hand as if it already knows it. Despite its elegance, there is a quiet tension within it, something restrained, something waiting, as if it remembers what it once held together.

It was sadly missing its guard, which probably meant it was something he was going to have to find himself. But still, a beautiful and well-crafted handle.

It made him wonder just how pretty the whole blade would be.

And how strong it was going to be.

Aether put it in his pocket.

"Alright, let's leave."

Kade nodded, waiting for him to come and lead the way.

But as he was about to do so.

Something made him stop.

...

When he was in the city, the shard seemed to be moving, which had made him think... that there had been a monster that held the shard.

...

Aether stood still, not making a sound... and yet he could hear the sound of footsteps.

It had been a trap.

From one of the many passages, a beast emerged.

A towering figure loomed, muscles thick beneath a coat of dark, bristled hair.

Two curved horns jutted from its head, sharp and polished, framing a face that seemed both cunning and feral.

Broad shoulders and heavy arms rippled with strength, ones that could crush skulls without any effort.

Hooves dug into the soil, each step resonating with weight.

Its eyes glinted with a sharp, intelligent light, scanning every movement around it.

Aether smiled nervously. He knew this beast, he had read about it in other books... but he didn't think it existed in this world.

A minotaur.