His vision was drowned in the suffocating sight of the boundless sea. Ciel found himself stranded in this place with no memory of how he got there or how he could escape. He only knew one thing—He was already dead.
What the hell is this place this time? It was as if that suffocating underground hellhole wasn't bad enough. This is the same with water, but how the hell did I get here?! He couldn't help but curse inwardly as he was put in one weird situation after another.
Looking around the vast expanse of the sea, his eyes failed to discover anything noteworthy other than the pair of glasses in his hand and the newly appearing wheelchair.
He made his way towards the wheelchair without much resistance as the water barely reached his knees. Ciel rubbed the temples of his aching head as a realization hit him. None of my movements feel restricted, and I can move freely…
What would have been a joyous thing left him concerned instead. His body remembered freedom, but his mind remembered being caged and tied to a wheelchair all his life.
Now, that same metal chair was floating right in front of him, a material that logically couldn't float, yet it still did.
Are the laws of nature different here? Reaching out to the familiar wheelchair in front of him, Ciel's eyes couldn't help but halt as he saw his own reflection in the mirror of the water.
Its surface was clear—the water was illuminated by the light of countless stars in the night sky, replacing the sunlight from moments earlier. Everything around him gradually turned dark, including his once-blond hair and blue eyes.
The former darkened to raven black, while the latter faded to gray.
But… I looked great with my blond hair. But this doesn't look all that bad either. Musing to himself in a self-deprecating manner, he returned his gaze to the all-so-familiar wheelchair, causing a suffocating feeling to rise in his chest.
It was within reach, yet he still didn't move; he simply stood there in the prison of the sea for minutes before he found it in himself to reach out.
The moment his hand touched the wheelchair, a wave of emotions crashed over him—they all felt artificial like he had no reason to feel that way. He couldn't even describe which was which.
Right within his grasp was his chair—his cage—slowly sinking into the dark depths, its silhouette fading into the shadows below.
The only thing left there was the sunless abyss.
Ciel wanted to get his eyes away from the abyss, but they were stuck there, the sensation sending shivers down his spine, an abyss constantly stirring while getting hazier like the water-infested world around him.
As the world around him faded to nothing, the abyss seemed like it took a form.
…
As his eyes fluttered open, the artificial emotions still lingered, albeit to a lesser degree.
Looking at his own hands, he clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly as if proving a point to himself. They move; I can feel everything... even if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.
Even when doubt wanted to creep up, Ciel knew in his heart that this was no dream. What would I even wake up to? I am already dead… just like Cale.
Cale…
If I'm alive, does that mean that he is somewhere here as well? If you are, I will find you.
Rubbing his eyes with his forearm, Ciel heard the clinging sound of an item that sounded like glass in the pockets of his pants. Reaching into it, he found something that only worsened his already dark mood.
And how the hell is this here…
A pair of glasses, with one lens, cracked and another completely missing, the same one that he found in the water, he knew these glasses well, his brothers.
Gently touching the broken pair of glasses, he was ready to put them back into his pockets before he felt the item being sucked away from his hands, and before he even knew it, it was no longer in his grasp.
"How in the—" Ciel couldn't even finish the words that he blurted out, "I'd suggest you stop. If you try pulling out a weapon from your inner reflection, I'll take it as a threat against us."
The one who called out to him stood by the entrance of the mine to Ciel's right, the same ashen white-haired old man who conversed casually with the weed-headed lunatic.
"Sorry about Gavin and Toren, but we all have to be cautious against you and everyone who comes around here. Please don't resist it." In his right hand, a white chain appeared out of nowhere, slowly coiling up his arm towards the way of Ciel. "Hold out your hands."
Before he could even think about it, the sight of the chain sent a shiver down his spine, but he didn't show it on his face. The chain felt alive, like a snake gazing at him.
Holding out his hand so as to not act up, the snake-like chain coiled around his arm, causing an utterly chilling sensation to envelope his body. Cold, it's so cold.
Before Ciel could even ask a question, a terrifying growling sound could be heard far away in the depths of the mines, but still reaching their location.
"We shouldn't stay here. I promised the others I'd check if you were one of us. Thank the Sun that you are… well, and if you are a threat to us? We will figure that out." With a relieved sigh, he drew a circular shape in front of his heart and gazed toward the sky before returning to Ciel and showing him a chilling smile.
We are deep underground. What the hell is he looking at? 'Thank the Sun?' Is that some religion? Do they believe in the sun? And that smile was terrifying… What the hell is that chain?! The more time passed, the more questions he had.
"Come with me, We should hurry up before it catches up to us." The old man hurried him, leading the way out of the tunnel.
Ciel thought for a while if he should ask but decided to ask. "What are we running from?"
"We don't know much about it, hopefully, it's only a lesser calamity. If it was anything other than that, we would be already dead." The old man explained while hastening his tempo, the growl's getting louder.
"I see, thanks." What the hell is he talking about, lesser Calamity? Judging by his reaction, he expects me to know what he's talking about—but how? Why? And that weed-headed bastard mentioned… dreamscape? Is that a whole world, and this is a dreamscape as well? There are more of them? But that water-filled hell was supposed to be my inner reflection. This is way too confusing.
But he had to make a decision—should he act coy and confused to garner sympathy or project confidence and experience, keeping his guard up at all times?
I can't show weakness. Those two… Gavin and Toren, they're merciless. If we're stuck in this situation together, the moment I become a burden, they choke me to death to not waste air on me…
After a deep breath, he took a glance at the ashen-haired old man, deciding to go with his second option; no matter what, he couldn't show weakness. That was something that he learned as a cripple.
When you are at your weakest, that's when you have to act like you are in full control. He steeled his resolve as he repeated the words that he and his brother were repeatedly told. He wordlessly followed the old man who stayed behind to wait for him.
If there is something down there that is dangerous, how come he was the one who stood behind me waiting for me and not one of the other two? Could it be that he has some kind of weapon that makes me a nonthreat even if I turn out to be problematic? And what was that path he talked about? Well, whatever this is, they trusted him well enough to handle me if that's the case. I don't think I can trust him either.
While his mind was constantly racing, the two of them arrived at the level where he had originally been held as a potential threat. This time, however, they ascended even further instead of heading downward.
The path upward was significantly more illuminated and well-maintained compared to the one leading below, but the flames inside the lamps flickered.
Neither of them spoke as they followed the iron rail tracks designed for mine carts for approximately ten minutes, the distant howls gradually fading to barely audible echoes, yet they still sent a shiver down Ciel's spine.
Whatever a lesser calamity is, thankfully, it didn't follow us.
The lights grew increasingly brighter as they approached the top of the mines, where an iron double door stood before them.
Two bright lamps hung from an iron chain attached to the ceiling, casting a light so vivid it revealed the specks of dust floating in the air.
The ashen-white-haired old man stepped forward, opening the iron door, which loudly creaked open, revealing a large room inside.
Almost a dozen people stayed inside in utter silence, except for their labored heavy breathing caused by the lack of air, they turned their gaze to the old man who opened the door and the youth behind him, Ciel.
Two figures immediately caught the attention of Ciel. Toren and Gavin, the two who previously lashed out at him out of anger and fear, something that Ciel was still suffering the consequences of.
His expression darkened, albeit only for a second, as he got control of his emotions right after. Don't act up, lay low… and maybe I won't die again.
Under the watchful gazes of almost a dozen people, the ashen-haired old man raised his right hand. "He is clear." The tension in the room instantly eased, but then murmurs amongst the people soon followed while sneaking glances at Ciel.
Toren and Gavin cast a single glance at Ciel before they left the suffocating room where the air was getting rarer by the second. As the two of them left, a middle-aged man with a thin face and a wounded cheek that still bled walked up to him with an obvious limp.
A man who appeared to be in his mid-forties approached Ciel, he had raven black hair and eyes so brown they appeared black, his gaze lingering on him.
"You must have a lot of questions, but so do we, so we can't answer most of them, nor do we have the time. You're the youngest here and the air is already thinning, and we can't afford to waste time on dead weight like you. If you fall behind, you die… so try not to."
Ciel listened to his words while maintaining a poker face and nodding. The man appeared to be the leader of the group, and his words mirrored the others' overall thoughts.
"Now, now, no need for hostility, Cole." the ashen-haired old man chuckled as he stepped closer to Ciel. "Our freedom is within reach; infighting will only lower our chances of survival. If you consider the boy a burden, he can come with me."
Why is he showing me kindness, what does he gain from it?
With a complicated gaze, the middle-aged man turned away from the two of them and returned to the group, who were already preparing to move out with mining equipment in hand. Before joining them, he handed a box of explosives directly to Ciel but did not address him.
"If Old Quin insists on dragging you along, at least make yourself useful. Carry this," Cole said, thrusting the box at Ciel. The weight of it nearly buckled him, but Cole didn't care. Better the boy be slowed down than anyone else who mattered.
I never wanted to kick anyone in the leg this badly before. Instead of voicing his inner thoughts, he just nodded without a change in expression.
Most eyes lingered on Ciel, someone they all considered a burden, a literal oxygen thief, but with Cole's assurance, none of them attempted to do anything to the youth, not like they had much time to waste as their oxygen was running thin.
With a grave look, all of them turned their gaze to the iron door as they got up with labored breaths.
Behind them, Ciel took one heavy breath while no one was looking as his eyes naturally wondered to the iron door as well. To find a way out, they had to descend even deeper into the mines, straight into the territory of a calamity.