6 The Isle of Infinity

Just jump in? Did I just hear her say that? I've never heard someone tell another person to just jump into an abyss so casually. She said it with a straight face, too, as if it was a simple task...

Do conquerors no longer fear death? Have they all become so numb that nothing fazes them anymore? Will of the world this, endless sinkhole there, why even bother, am I right?

The calm expression on Reed betrayed what he was really feeling at the moment. His instincts had kicked in subconsciously as he stared at the sinkhole indifferently, even though he actually panicking inside. His bluffing skill was superb, or so he thought; after all, it was a skill he had been practicing since childhood.

Acting tough was a necessary skill back in the slums; the strong oppressed the weak. So that's what I did - I made a rough outer shell that would deter people from messing with me.

Of course, my act only worked on weak-willed people. Gangsters, on the other hand, would call your bluff as I painfully learned one day. They broke my nose that day for looking at them the 'wrong' way, as they put it. I learned that day that an act would only be believed as much as the most skeptical person in the audience.

In any case, my faked calmness was just a reflex out of fear, something I had ingrained into muscle memory. Most of the students had nervous looks on their faces as they stared down into the depths of the sinkhole. Many of them stood at the edge of the sinkhole and tried to jump in but couldn't; fear choked them into submission as they indecisively meandered around the edge...

I couldn't blame them for hesitating because I felt the same way. Why was this lady making life difficult for us? Wasn't this difficulty too damn high for the first day?

Reed's indifferent face continued to betray his innermost feelings...

"Unexpectedly, you're a tough cookie, aren't ya, Reed? I honestly expected we'd have to egg you into jumping, but you don't even seem fazed. Good on you," said Astor.

He slung his arm around Reed and said, "Real men have no need for the word 'fear' in their lives, unlike these whelps. Have you ever heard of a cowardly god? That's why these losers will never make it top...," he murmured as he slowly walked towards the sinkhole with Reed in tow. Horatio and Ophelia looked at each and shook their heads as they followed along.

A large crowd of students noticed Reed's group approaching and immediately part themselves like roaches who had seen sunlight. They scurried away to the sides and what Reed saw surprised him. It was the Ashborn boy and the Dragoncrest girl. They still hadn't jumped and both silently stood at the edge of the sinkhole, staring at the abyss. What were they doing?

As soon as Astor saw both of them, he snorted disdainfully and said, "I never thought we'd be blessed enough to see this happen today. Look, we've found a cowardly dragon and phoenix, first of their kind!" He laughed coldly as he slowly walked towards the edge of the sinkhole were they both where.

The crimson-haired boy looked back at Astor and sighed. He finally spoke up and said, "Has the royal family not taught their kin how to behave maturely? You come off as immature and bitter, starting a conversation off with a barbed insult, Kingscrown. It would greatly benefit you in the long run if you learned how to properly respect others..." It sounded like a sincere piece of advice but held an inflammatory implication that sent Astor into a rage.

These two were incompatible with one another, like fire and water in motion. Astor would rage at the crimson-haired boy's provocations and soon enough both of them had entered their own little verbal joust. Horatio sighed deeply and Ophelia laughed they watched the sparks fly off of the pair. They tried their best as they both worked in getting Astor to calm down and ignore the boy, to no avail...

The black-haired girl ignored the conversation and kept silent as Astor and the crimson-haired boy exchanged insults back and forth. Reed thought that she was likely the more serious one of the duo, an aloof type that lived inside her head. She had been staring so intently at the sinkhole that Reed ended up becoming curious about where she had been looking at.

He quietly walked over beside her and looked down, but saw nothing out of the ordinary no matter how hard he looked. But he assumed that something must have caught her eye, given she had been so focused on her task, so he continued to stare at the sinkhole intently under his eyes started to dry up from the strain of not blinking.

Eventually, he finally saw something out the ordinary that shocked him. A faint blue light that blinked faintly deep inside the sinkhole. It was an incredibly small point of light that flickered back and forth like the flame of a candle within the darkness. Given how faint the light was, Reed assumed that the light was thousands of meters down there.

"Is that flickering candlelight the Will of the World that the instructor spoke about?" Reed asked the girl. He had been somewhat curious about her ever since he saw withstand the instructor's attack and he looked at her ice-cold gaze. Now that he had an opportunity, he took it whether not it would result in anything of note.

The girl continued to stare at the speck of light for a while longer and finally looked at Reed. It was the first time he'd gotten a proper look at this since the day everyone had gotten their ass beat by Intrsructor Axtorius. She was even more beautiful up close than he previously imagined. Her aloof aura complemented her elegant face in a twisted way that only made her charming to the eyes.

A lonely, gorgeous ice queen that looked at everything with indifference. Reed couldn't deny that she had the bearing of someone who appeared naturally superior to others. A superwoman with an air of royalty, no doubt the culmination of her family's painstaking efforts.

She stared at him and quietly said, "No, it isn't. That's the gate to the Soul of the World, the area where the Will resides. I'm honestly surprised you found it so quickly. You have sharper eyes than my dimwitted cousin, Sebastian, over there." She pointed at the crimson-haired boy appeared to be enjoying him in Astor's fury.

Reed bitterly smiled and said, "It seems you have your fair share of misfortune too, miss. By the way, this little one still hasn't had the honor of learning her Royal Highness's name yet. This humble one's name is Reed." He half-heartedly bowed extended his hand towards the girl in jest.

It appeared that the girl wasn't completely devoid of emotion because Reed saw a slight smile form on the girl's face when he finished his act. This aloof princess wasn't entirely immune to teasing, it seemed. She extended her hand and said, "My name is Astrid Dragoncrest, daughter of Frode Dragoncrest, my humble servant. Do your best in your duties from now on, or I'll have you sent to dungeons." She put on a brilliant smile as shook hands with Reed.

"....."

He choked up when he heard her words, he didn't expect that she'd get him back for his joke. There was more to her than she initially let on, Reed mused.

She was at least open enough to not be offended by stupid jokes and even knew how to dish them back. He should have expected that this ice queen would possess a sharp tongue. One only had to look at her cousin's ability of provocation to have put the pieces together. These two were well experienced when it came to their oratory skills. Perhaps in preparation for the future? Reed could only speculate...

"Milady, please have mercy on this humble servant, I meant no disrespect," he said as he lifted his hands in the air jokingly. "So, are you going to jump in first? Looks like a long fall from here, you know. My little heart can't handle large heights too well, so I was hoping you'd show me how it's done."

"You're scared of heights? How old are you really, Reed? Just close your eyes and jump if you can't handle the sight of the sinkhole. Or would you rather I pushed you off the edge instead," she teased as she got closer to him. She suddenly moved with blinding speed caught one of Reed's wrists in a flash.

A-Ah, she's got me now. I thought that she was just an indifferent, aloof girl because of the cold face she had initially, but maybe that was just a public facade that masked how she felt. I might have shit the bed this time. This she-devil might have had me under her thumb since I walked up to her...

Reed felt a chill run down his spine when he locked eyes with her for the first time. Her eyes that glittered with amusement gave away her true intentions, despite her best efforts in maintaining her poker face.

He knew at the moment that he had lost to a superior actor, someone who had mastered the art of bullshitting. "As expected of a noble lady such as yourself, Miss Dragoncrest. This humble one begs for mercy," pleaded Reed as his eyes began to mist up in preparation for what was about to happen.

"No, no. Baaad Reed. It's Astrid, not Miss Dragoncrest, okay? This is just the way of the world, the weak have to obey the strong. Just accept your fate," she sweetly said as she dragged Reed towards the edge.

Even Astor and Sebastian stopped arguing when they saw her dragging Reed with her towards the sinkhole. Astor yelled out, "Stop, she-devil! I already claimed that boy for the North last night! Cease, you damn thief!"

Alas, it had been too late for anything to be done. Astrid ran at full speed and jumped into the sinkhole, Reed still in tow. Her giggling and Reed's screaming echoed ominously as they both plunged into the endless abyss, leaving everyone above shocked.

Immediately after, Astor and Sebastian quickly jumped into the sinkhole chasing after them in pursuit. Horatio and Ophelia grinned and jumped into the abyss, too, leaving the rest of the class speechless.

It had all happened so fast they had no time to understand what had happened. They saw Lady Astrid jump off the edge with a boy and then the other nobles rushed in after them. Who was the boy that jumped off with Lady Astrid and why where they in a hurry? Rumors would soon spread about the group of powerful descendants and the mysterious guy that associated with them...

Wind furiously rushed past Reed and Astrid as they descended into the maw of the world. Pitch-black darkness engulfed them as they fell towards the flickering light at increasing speed.

They'd been falling for such a long time down the sinkhole that Reed finally gathered up the courage and screamed, "Just how much longer do we need to keep falling for?! How fucking deep is this goddamned hole!"

Laughter echoed across the darkness and a familiar voice loudly responded, "We'll be there soon, man! My father told me that since the Soul of the World can't be accessed by any other means aside from these sinkholes located across Mulia! That's why even conquerors have to jump into these sinkholes if they want to meet the Will of the World; they can't just warp there like they also do for everything!"

Astor wasn't wrong about what he had told Reed and not too long after, the faint blue light that the group had been keeping their eyes on had grown significantly in but a moment. Reed's first impression of it was terrifying beyond description. It had the appearance of a giant, raging ball of flame. It wouldn't have been a stretch to have just called it an enormous blue sun that looked capable of incinerating anything in its path.

The closer he got to the sun, the greater his concern grew but found that this blue sun gave off no heat no matter how close he got to it. By then, he had found himself separated from everyone else during freefall. Whatever happened from then on, he'd have to deal with himself.

He simply continued to fall into the star's gravity and was eventually dragged inside of the colossal celestial body without incident. A blinding light forced him to shut his eyes closed for a couple of seconds until a hard fall forced him to open them again. The light disappeared and Reed found himself in a place that left speechless.

An endless expanse of tall, golden wheat stretched out across the horizon. The sky seemed like it had been locked in place because the sun would never set no matter how long time passed. An eternal twilight perpetually cast an orange glow upon the bountiful harvest that laid before him. A soft breeze carried the faint smell of salt across the field that tickled his nose.

This was a place that had not been by desecrated the filth of the mundane world. It was a golden landscape that did not belong to anyone.

No one deserved to set foot upon this land; not men, gods, or even saints. This holy paradise was reserved for a special individual. Someone who was... truly worthy.

The stars themselves shone brilliantly as he had never seen before in his life. They twinkled like precious jewels that had been put into the sky by someone because of the way they had been arranged.

The heavenly firmament had been rearranged to form a portrait of a woman. She was beautiful beyond comparison and was without equal. The day she died was the day that the world lost something irreplaceable.

Reed felt an indescribable pain in his heart that grew the longer he gazed at her. But why? He found himself fiercely fighting the urge to burst into tears and finally tore himself away from her smile.

He continued to walk for miles and miles through the golden fields but found nothing else of note. Exhausted, he laid down on a patch of wheat and closed his eyes in contemplation. Eventually, his thoughts began to drift and his eyes grew heavy; he had drifted away into a deep slumber...

A soft and delicate warmth enveloped him as he slept soundly; it felt as if he had been embraced by someone. It gave him a sense of security he had never experienced before in his life.

She held him in her arms as they laid on a patch of wheat. Only she knew how much time she had spent waiting for this moment. Now they'd finally be able to start the second act of this wretched play. This time, she'd make sure that nothing would get in their way. She didn't believe that they'd get a third chance, after all.

"I have to make sure to not mess up and ruin the opportunity that's been given to us, [ ]."

She placed her hand on her chest and a warm light began to flow into Reed's body as he slept. The world seemed to stand still as she poured radiant light into him, afraid of possibly disturbing her concentration.

Finished with her work, she held him for a while longer as he gazed at his face, doing her best to engrave his features inside her mind. A long sigh escaped her lips and she reluctantly let him go after a what seemed like an eternity.

Soft light enveloped the boy's body and he vanished out of paradise. As soon as she saw the last bit of his essence disappear, she faded silently into the landscape until she was completely gone.

Silence reigned across the land, as golden wheat swayed back and forth, but if you listened very closely, sometimes a noise could be heard.

If you pried your ears and listened closely, now and then a woman's joyful laughter could be heard in the distance...