Chương 14: 8A. Where Spirits Linger

Call of the Abyss. Putting a name to the sensation didn't make it less unnerving. It was stronger than it had ever been. Sam had now ventured deeper into the Abyss than before, after all. The sky below the cloud layer above was yellow instead of orange, officially marking the fact that they were now on Level Three. The airfield he had visited during his last visit was near the mouth of an ascending land bridge and near the edge of the floor.

The spiraling road they had used to descend from Level Two towered behind them. Looking from below, it resembled a funnel of woven stone, buildings, and giant trees. A waterfall fell upwards, as a river carried water to Level Two from Level Three. Even though temperatures had dropped significantly, sweat soaked Sam's back. His palms itched, and his eyes darted between buildings as the feeling of being watched plagued him.

In the distance, he saw more funnels, many of which crisscrossed, merged, or separated, spreading like spiderwebs across Level Three's sky. Old mobile phone towers, skyscrapers, and even a once-famous stadium hung upside down or on their sides. Trees wrapped around or through them. Sam saw silhouettes of giant beasts among the crumbling structures. The pressure on his chest had increased, and anxiety levels continued to gradually climb.

The wind blowing between buildings, shifting gravel, falling rocks, and even the creaking of trees sounded like distant whispers. Something was calling him, and the source felt closer with every step. Sam reminded himself that there was no turning back. He had committed himself to the mission. It wasn't just for the seed or the possibility of a powerful spirit companion, but also for Iris. He wanted to reconnect with his old life. It was a happier time. Joining the Seekers would also give Sam a sense of purpose.

Surviving alone no longer felt enough. The endless pursuit of power and wealth that seemed to drive the independent awakened and many Rangers was unlikely to keep him content. However, investigating anomalies and finding the source of the cataclysm would likely satiate his thirst for knowledge. He needed to understand what had happened and why. Was someone responsible for all the pain and misery and the loss of most things he held dear?

Or was it a disaster out of everyone's control that brought alien realms together and destroyed the delicate balance of their old world? It was no longer a matter of want. Sam needed a Seeker's life. And that meant taming his racing heart and throbbing temples. He needed to master his body and mind and learn to do more than just run and duck for cover, acting as the servant of more powerful entities. Iris seemed born for Seeker life.

He recalled her taking on opponents far larger and stronger than she was, even when she was still mortal. Iris didn't always come out on top, but she made a better attempt than most people in their class. She had instinct and lacked the fear and hesitation that plagued Sam. It was why he never managed to defeat her. Now, things needed to be different. Fear wasn't the worst thing ever. More experienced scavengers had taught Sam that the fearful stayed alive the longest.

He resolved to fight the instinct to run immediately.

'When you pretend to be someone for long enough, you eventually become the person you're pretending to be.' The words had helped Sam immensely when he was a self-conscious teenager with almost no confidence. Now, they felt more relevant than ever.

"Spirit activity," Iris whispered as they were crossing a bridge. She pointed at the train tracks running below it. Nature had long overtaken the region with trees and bushes growing between the rails. The metal had warped or completely moved out of place in places. Something had chewed on sections of it, too. Stolen story; please report.

"I don't see it."

"Over there, genius scholar." She pointed to a patch at least a hundred feet away, devoid of vegetation. The gravel swirled with several stone shards floating above the ground.

"Seekers need to be observant."

"I suppose my practical education is lacking," Sam replied, trying his best guess at what the spirit could be. He assumed most would assume it had something to do with earth or stone, but he took account of all other details.

"The gravel is spiraling toward the center. There are also bits levitating off the ground."

"Your eyes might not register it, but there are also strands of azure arcing between the floating stones. Want to take a guess at what it might be?"

"I doubt it's an elemental spirit," Sam said as they sped up to catch up with Fred and the boss. They had maintained a brisk pace since the fight. Sam's feet and calves were starting to complain, but he kept it to himself.

"I would've assumed it had something to do with sinkholes, traps, perhaps even bogs. But the azure changes things." His hand drifted to the talent seeds in his pocket.

"Maybe it has something to do with arcane, magic, or vortices."

"Good." Iris smiled.

"Age hasn't dulled your mind. If we're wrong about the anomaly or it's not compatible with either talent seed, we could go back for it. The barrier one might work well with that."

"Oh, look at me." Sam adopted a mocking tone.

"I'm an awakened. I barely age. I'll forever be a hot twenty-year-old." Iris chuckled, nudging his ribs.

"I missed this." She nodded at a twenty-storied office building ahead. He was surprised the wall of glass windows that formed its face had mostly survived. A handful of frames were shattered, and there were plenty of cracks, but it was otherwise intact.

"Another one. Do you need my help finding it?" Sam shook his head.

"That one's pretty obvious." He pointed halfway up the building, where cat-sized winged beasts swirled around a patch where the glass and metal had swelled. It looked like a gelatinous mass just under the surface.

"It's a weird place for a spirit of water and concealment."

"I thought the same when I first saw something like that," Iris said.

"I think they come down with the rain, somehow get trapped, and then cling to reflective surfaces. They're weird things, spirit. When they can't find whatever they need or want—""They settle for adapting the world to meet their desires," Sam said, completing the thought.

"You don't need to quote one of my papers back at me."

"The Seekers' libraries have a few copies of your research papers and essays, you know. They're used to teach new aspiring scholars." She grabbed his arm and pointed at a shop entrance. Vegetation covered the sign above it.

"Another one!"

"This is unusual, right?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Spirit density shouldn't be this high. As far as I remember, besides forest spirits, nature elementals, and the kind congregate around each other or powerful sources of life-attuned ether. These three aren't related in any way, but they're far too close together."

"It's the anomaly. I'm almost certain it's a powerful or rare spirit. The others are answering its call."

"What could do that? A Great Spirit, perhaps?"

"Not necessarily," Iris answered after thinking about it for a moment.

"Mine apparently repelled all others, including those in Trinity's spirit menagerie and also parts of Level Two. I've seen powerful arcana manifestations draw others because they want to feed or merge with them and grow stronger. There have even been weak industrial spirits that terrify or disgust the more ancient and natural entities, and they've flocked to destroy it before it can take root and grow powerful."

"Thank you," Sam said. Iris waved dismissively.

"They'll be easier to see once you've awakened, especially if there is compatibility between your talent and what the spirit has to offer. The rest of its experience."

"That's not what I meant. I'm—""I know what you meant," Iris interrupted.

"But let's save that for after this. I don't want you thanking me yet. Just in case I'm leading you to your death, you know."