Second Gate?

"We have to move," Aiden muttered before darting in, "I have a bad feeling about this place, something's watching us." He said, a sense of urgency in his tone.

"S-something is watching us?" Mai asked in shock, but Aiden didn't reply, instead, he did something strange.

Mai, confusion, and fear evident on her face watched Aiden as he performed his strange act, slowly, he lifted his hand to his mouth as though he was holding something in it.

Aiden's actions confused her but she didn't speak, instead, her eyes widened in astonishment.

What Mai saw in front of her was a trait that normal humans weren't able to replicate, "his canines, their extending," she thought to herself.

She also noticed that Aiden's canines were narrow with pointed tips, so much so that he actually looked like a vampire.

Aiden on the other hand didn't mind Mai's shock, he had used up another soul from his soul storage, "I guess I only have one soul left. Landon warned me not to consume it though," Aiden noted as he bit into the whitish orb in his palm.

Immediately a refreshing feeling coursed through his veins, accompanied by a warm tingling sensation.

The feeling was simply addictive, fortunately, Aiden had built up resistance so it didn't affect him negatively.

As Aiden relished in the moment a sudden feeling of shock hit him so suddenly that his body jerked violently.

"Aiden!" Mai called out as she caught Aiden, her heart missing a beat. Aiden's sudden reaction had caught her unaware.

Meanwhile, Aiden couldn't hear anything Mai had to say, his vision darkened and the surrounding sound was canceled, replaced by utter silence.

All Aiden could see was a chilling darkness, and he could feel his body float around as though gravity didn't exist.

Suddenly Aiden felt an irresistible force pull him deeper and deeper into the void, the force was so strong that he felt his blood trying to break free from the restraints of his flesh.

He felt his body accelerate, his speed increasing with each passing moment and in a second a humungous gate stood in front of him.

No, it couldn't be called a gate, it seemed like a black hole distorting the darkness around it, frankly Aiden didn't know why he was so convinced that this was a gate.

This gate which bore no resemblance to anything at all was bound by an endless amount of inky black chains radiating a faint purple aura, an aura that appeared to be the only color in this dark domain.

Each chain was as thick as a planet, with enough durability to keep the heavens at bay.

And at that exact moment "CRACK!" A crack could be heard like a resounding symphony, a piece of the chain had shattered.

For some reason, this sight baffled Aiden to no end as a feeling of disappointment washed over him.

At the same time, he finally felt gravity, but that didn't seem to be a good thing in this situation, the sudden force of gravity pulled him down, deeper into the abyss.

"Whoah!"

Aiden exclaimed as he tried to grab onto something, but his vision suddenly cleared and his surroundings brightened.

He was at the riverbank with Mai by his side, "hu hu hu," Aiden took a heavy breath his demeanor as though he had just woken up from a nightmare.

"Aiden what's wrong?" Mai's voice sounded out, her tone a mixture of confusion and worry.

"I'm fine, don't worry I'm ok," Aiden assured, his mind constantly flashing back to the formless gate in the void.

"Was that, a dream? No that's the second gate," Aiden thought to himself, his expression a mixture of confusion and excitement.

He had an inexplicable feeling that if he consumed another soul he would advance to the second gate.

"What do we do? Do we jump into the river again?" Mai's voice suddenly cut through the air, unease coating her tone.

She didn't ask about Aiden's canines as it was none of her business, everyone had their secrets.

Looking towards Mai, Aiden suddenly discovered that he was holding onto her chest, although he couldn't feel anything due to the hardened texture of her body armor.

"Sorry," Aiden said as he removed his hand from her chest, he felt a bit absent-minded so he didn't think much of it, and Mai didn't seem to have noticed either.

"It's ok," Mai said disregarding the small matter.

Aiden nodded his head but as he remembered the situation they were in he quickly became serious.

He felt a small tingling sensation at the nape of his neck, the sensation was so subtle that it could be disregarded but Aiden knew all too well the meaning of this sensation, they were in danger.

Using his senses Aiden actively pushed his perception to the limit, but to his surprise, he couldn't discern the source of the danger.

Frowning Aiden looked towards Mai, "let's not be rash," he remarked before darting in, "What happened, where is everyone?"

Hearing Aiden's question Mai just shook her head, her expression softening as she said, "I don't know, the water currents were stronger than expected, I didn't have time to worry about anyone else because I was busy trying to save my own skin, and by the time I got the hang of everything I'd lost track of everyone else."

Hearing Mai's words Aiden couldn't help but frown, "let's head downstream," he suggested.

But Mai just shook her head, "At first that was also my Intention, but as I ventured further downstream I came across a waterfall." She said.

"A waterfall?" Aiden echoed, his confusion betrayed by his expression, "Why don't we just go around it?" He darted in.

"Infected beasts," Mai stated. Pausing a bit she let out a breath as she went on to explain, "This part of the enclave seems to be dominated by a single species of infected beast, tigers."

Hearing Mai's words Aiden thought for a bit before nodding, "So there are tigers around the waterfall and even in the forest?" Aiden asked to confirm.

"Yes!" Mai replied, and the atmosphere turned quiet. Aiden, his expression one of contemplation sighed a bit as he asked, "Do you know how strong these infected beasts are?"

"No," Mai replied before adding, "I've never fought them before so I'm not too sure."

Aiden wanted to say something, but before he could speak Mai interrupted, "How did you survive?" She asked, inquiring about the situation after she jumped into the river.

Mai's abrupt question shocked Aiden a bit, but he couldn't just keep her in the dark.

As Aiden contemplated he raised his head, his eyes meeting Mai's.

She had a calm feeling to her, but on her usually calm face was a hint of curiosity, the matter had been bugging her for a while now.

Fortunately, Aiden finally spoke, but his answer left Mai unsatisfied, "I was lucky," he said expressionlessly, his tone that of pain and remorse.

Hearing his answer Mai was stunned, "Luck?" She echoed in a questioning tone, failing to notice the pain in Aiden's voice.

"The tigers you mentioned, how are they compared to the black lion we fought before," Aiden suddenly asked trying to change the topic.

Noticing Aiden's reluctance to answer her questions Mai stopped pestering, instead, she answered his question.

"I think they're much weaker, when it comes to size they are much smaller than the Lion, and even with their small size they don't have the advantage in speed, with some effort I can easily outrun them," Mai said.

With that, the air was filled with silence once again, as Aiden seemed to be lost in deep thoughts.

"Right now my strength is enough to take on that Lion on my own, with Mai's help we can surely protect ourselves from the tigers." Aiden mused.

"Let's head downstream," Aiden suddenly suggested, his eyes narrowing in determination.

"What did you say?" Mai asked in a shocked tone, her eyes widening as she said, "Aiden I know you're strong, far stronger than the rest of the group, but those beasts have the advantage in numbers, and judging by the amount of strength you used before shouldn't you be in a weakened state?"

Hearing Mai's tone Aiden smiled, "don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and I'm not weakened," he said in reassurance, it seemed as though Mai had mistaken his weakened state as the price for using his Contract, that wasn't a bad thing though.

It took a little convincing, but after a while, Mai finally agreed to follow Aiden. With that, the duo turned back heading downstream instead of upstream.

As Mai followed behind Aiden she couldn't help but ponder. To her, Aiden was like a box of mysteries waiting to be unlocked.

First was his ability to sense danger beforehand, then was the increase in strength, there was also his vampire-like canines.

For a Contractor, these traits could be attributed to his demon, but even with that it just didn't make sense, firstly his traits didn't seem connected in any way.

The strength and speed Aiden displayed at the stadium was nowhere close to the amount of strength he displayed at the riverbank, it was almost as if his strength had increased.

It was common sense that the strength of a demon took a long time to increase, in fact, the normal human lifespan could pass in the blink of an eye for a demon.

Without some special means known only to powerful organizations, it was impossible to increase your demon's strength, and even if the strength of your demon increased that didn't mean you would have access to it.

"Ah!" Mai let out a sigh as she rubbed her temples, the logic behind contracts was blurry and without officially joining the Silence the truth remained unclear.

Hearing Mai sigh Aiden looked behind him, "are you alright?" He asked with raised brows.

Looking toward Aiden, Mai felt her eyes twitch, "you're the one who survived an accident, I should be asking you that question," she replied.

"Well I'm not the one lagging," Aiden retorted with a small smile, prompting Mai to scoff.

The small laugh allowed the duo to temporarily take their mind off things.

"Look, it's a pink bird," Mai suddenly exclaimed as she paused.

Looking up Aiden could indeed see a pink bird, which bore a vague resemblance to an eagle, "it looks cool," Aiden quipped.

"Yeah," Mai nodded as she watched the bird fly away, her expression as though she'd lost a pet.

---------------

At the same time at another part of the abysmal enclave, the pink bird soared through the air.

Beneath the pink bird's wings, the Abysmal Enclave sprawled a desolate canvas of rocky hills and a colossal crack that cleaved the land.

Navigating the maze, its wings skimmed rough surfaces, revealing a terrain marked by the unforgiving embrace of stone.

Below, thick vines extended like lifelines, weaving across the fractured halves, creating an intricate network of wires.

In the distance, the pink bird spotted mysterious caves, their entrances concealed within rocky alcoves.

The journey unveiled mutant structures adorned with other birds, akin to the pink messenger.

The air resonated with an eerie quiet, interrupted only by the occasional rustling of unseen creatures, shrouded in mystery.

Approaching the central crack, the landscape revealed chasms, their depths obscured by shadows.

Whispers carried by each gust of wind emanating from the unknown as if the rocks themselves held secrets.

Strange formations dotted the terrain, a breathing ground for paranormal creatures.

In a solitary moment, the pink bird spotted a figure on a hill, a blue-eyed, blond-haired human standing alone, the human's blond hair seemed to remind it of something as a vicious look flashed through its eyes.

"Whoosh!"

Instinctively, it descended, cutting through the air with graceful wings, its claws gleaming with a chilling light aiming to attack the unsuspecting human.

At that moment the human suddenly turned back, his blue-eyed narrowed to slits as he swung his arm.

"Whoosh!"

Another sound could be heard as a sharp blade sprouted from his right arm, "slash," the sound of cutting could be heard as the bird was cut in half, its organs revealing themselves, and its blood a mix of the bird's blood and the human's blood splashed on the ground.

"Argh," the human grunted in pain, a deep frown appearing on his face.

Obviously, this human was Felix and his situation didn't look so good, his face was terribly pale, his appearance akin to an embalmed Body.

"I can't keep doing this," Felix muttered to himself, as the blade retracted.

"Agrh," Felix grunted again as he took out a small pill container from his inner pocket, and with a deep frown, he threw a single pill into his mouth.