Settling In

Bon's voice resounded from the bracelet, echoing throughout Cato's chambers. They weren't very large, but since Cato had brought nothing with him, the small space felt less empty. He jolted upright on his cot and looked intently at the dimly glowing red stone.

Bon's voice sounded out again, as he said, "Hmmm, well this is interesting. Many of the stones don't report a life signal, so either some of you have died, or you've lost an arm. Those bracelets are pretty sturdy. Congrats to all who still have them, as you would be stranded wherever you are now without them."

Cato gulped and glanced at the bracelet, making sure it was tightly secured to his wrist. At his fidgeting, the metal rapidly warmed up and dug into his skin, burning and pinching him at the same time. As he hissed in pain, Bon continued to talk.

"You've all been transported randomly to a variety of different environments. While you should have a decent chance of surviving, that is not your only goal. You will all have to achieve the ability to manipulate mana. That is how you will transport yourself back. Due to time manipulation, you will all arrive at the same time, but some of you may take many times longer than others to achieve this."

Cato sucked in a breath, as the importance of learning from Pallas greatly increased. He didn't want to stay in this hellish forest any longer than he had to, so his determination to perform well in the eyes of Pallas rose to new heights.

As Cato dwelled on this, Bon continued. "The only way to leave the places you are in is to complete the goal, or die. Not to worry, things haven't been placed entirely against you. My boss, the Administrator, is in control of where you were placed. Odds are the environments you all have been placed in have hidden features that will benefit each of you uniquely."

Cato nodded to himself, thinking of Pallas. From what Bon said, not everyone would have the opportunity to learn from a teacher, but rather from scratch. He shuddered at the thought, as it seemed hard enough to try to stay alive, much less learn such an unknown skill.

"So, with that, I bid you farewell. Some of you won't be seeing my glorious face in months, years or even decades, depending on your talent. Such things have happened before, unfortunately, so I wish you all fortuitous encounters."

With a small pop, the red light dimmed, and the stone returned to its translucent state. Cato was still reeling from the last line. Decades?! Surely he'd heard incorrectly. As he was thinking over what Bon revealed, the door shot open. Pallas stood in the doorway, his hood casting his face in perpetual shadow.

"I just detected some long distance communication magic. Who were you talking to?" Pallas interrogated Cato, the pink of his eyes sharply gazing at him. Cato quickly explained the situation, and Pallas snorted. "An imp, huh? Disgusting vermin," Pallas muttered under his breath.

Cato silently agreed, as Pallas exited his room, before poking his hood back inside. "By the way, not bad for a first day, kid." While Cato couldn't see his face, he was sure Pallas was grinning. Cato then retired for the night, gazing out at the small window of his room to the beautiful forest at night.

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Cato was back yet again in the dark space. The purple ring in the distance hung like a violet sun, casting the faintest light on the abyssal black surrounding Cato. He floated weightlessly, his mind blissfully empty, except for the beautiful hue of the ring.

Suddenly, everything shook, and the surroundings rapidly transitioned. Dante was watching a young boy who sat in a cave, skinning some predator that lay on the cave floor. It was almost comical to watch such a small boy, who couldn't be older than 12, skinning a massive beast with more jagged teeth poking out of its mouth than should be possible.

The boy continued with a practiced ease, and the red pelt of the creature was hung over a roaring fire, while the boy began to disassemble the body itself. Very quickly, claws, teeth, and its eyes were separated and packed away. The body was cut into sections, and the boy began to roast one of its massive legs that was taller than he was.

Cato watched on with morbid fascination as the boy tore into the creature's haunch, eating with a savage glee. As juice dribbled down the boy's chin, Cato caught a glance of a strange marking running down the boy's arm, spiraling around to end at his elbow. It was a vibrant green, but Cato couldn't quite make out the design.

Suddenly, everything shook again, and he found himself back in the emptiness. This cycle repeated twice more, panning once again to the boy preparing a different beast this time, a crested blue bird that sparkled with lingering electricity. The last scene was different, however.

The boy wasn't in the cave this time, but instead in a sprawling valley, with flourishing foliage. He was running away, and here Cato noticed the mark wasn't present. Perhaps this was an earlier scene from the boy's life?

It would checkout, as he was noticeably younger, and was lacking the feral quality present in all the previous visions. Instead of the cautious, dark eyes, and the lean but muscled form, he was different now. Softened. His eyes were bright with terror, and he seemed out of shape, as sweat made his robes cling to his small frame.

Then a searing black light filled his eyes, and Cato heard a terrible explosion, drowning out all noise. When it cleared, he saw a gaping chasm in the earth, a darkness that was almost impenetrable. The boy desperately clung to the edge, his back a ruin of burned flesh and scorched skin.

With a despairing cry, the rock the boy clung to came free, and he plummeted into the darkness, his cries echoing out of the hole. His screams echoed faintly in his ears as Cato shot up in his cot, drenched in cold sweat.

He got up, and sighed, before walking out of his room and walking toward a massive pane of multicolored glass. It was beautiful, and depicted a woman with butterfly wings holding a harp. It was a beautiful scene, and the mosaic had a calming effect on Cato, who's heart was beating a mile a minute.

He gently pushed open the glass door that was almost invisible in the massive work of art it contributed to, making up the lower half of the winged woman, with an emerald dress that draped over her legs like a waterfall. The shock of the cold air hit Cato as he walked onto the small little deck that overlooked the forest from one of the gargantuan tree branches of the tree they resided in.

Pallas had shown him this place the night before, and Cato was grateful, as the view stretched out as far as the eye can see. Luminescent plants lit up the forest floor, as nocturnal predators and prey alike roamed the glowing wonderland below.

Pallas had said few flying predators were active at night, and none that would be looking for prey at this altitude. However, just in case, Cato was ready to burst back through the door, and back into the safety of the tree. He'd asked Pallas how the glass would prevent a monster from getting in, to which Pallas chuckled and frustratingly responded, "Magic!".

Cato was beginning to get a sense of what questions he had were dumb ones, but Pallas seemed to delight in his ignorance, and was purposely vague about many things. Oftentimes, upon questions relating to mana in any way, he'd simply respond, "Prove to me you deserve to be taught."

Well, that was another factor that led to Cato's increasing determination to gain Pallas's approval. That, and he didn't want to be trapped in this forest forever. Believe it or not, Cato didn't dream of becoming some monster's meal. Not to say he had any major aspirations, but a drive to grow stronger was beginning to grow inside him. Like a spark before a pile of kindling, ready to turn into a steady blaze.

As Cato was lost in his thoughts, a gentle blue glow drew his attention. He looked out, and saw a strange blue creature floating at the edge of the deck. While immediately raising his vigilance, Cato, to his credit, didn't burst into a scream and run.

He regarded the strange creature with caution, as it slowly drifted closer. It was a strange looking thing, with a translucent circular body, and an innumerable amount of long, paper thin tendrils emerging from the bottom of its body. It had no eyes, nose or any other visible facial features, but Cato heard a gentle humming coming from it.

The noise was a liliting, ghostly noise, but it was not unwelcome. Cato soon spotted another similar creature join it, although this one glowed a gentle yellow. It emitted a similarly ethereal hum, and soon more joined it. They were all different colors, a myriad of different hues of blue, yellow, purple, green, red and orange. They all made slightly different noises, but they gradually blended together in a beautiful, otherworldly melody.

Cato's body gradually relaxed, as all the aches and pains from the crazy past few days he had seemed to fade away. He was broken out of his semi-trance-like state when he heard a voice over his shoulder. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

Pallas stood in the doorway, watching the strange creatures. Turning to Cato, Pallas motioned to them. "Fairy Lights, huh? Rare things out here. I thought they'd all gone long ago, with the Fae." Cato thought he detected a hint of wistfulness in Pallas's tone and asked, "The Fae?".

Pallas was silent for a while before replying. "I keep forgetting you're new here. Yes, the Fae. Often called Fairies, or the Fair Folk. They were an ancient race in Gehenna, although now, few if any still remain."

Cato silently took this in before asking, "What happened to them?" At this, Pallas fell silent for a short spell, and the gentle singing of the fairy lights relaxed Cato further. Finally, Pallas answered. "They were mostly wiped out due to war. Against humans, against the monsters of the tower, against themselves. Most importantly, against the other ancient races."

At this, Cato felt more questions bubbling up, but Pallas continued. "This place has always been a mixing pot of races. Old ones crumble, while new ones rise in the chaos. However, there used to be Ten great clans, ancient races of untold potential and power. Two have been lost in the annals of time, but we know of eight others at the moment, in no small part thanks to the discovery of the remains of their ancient strongholds littered through Gehenna's nine layers."

'Nine layers?' Cato thought quizzically, but Pallas continued. "Some believe that descendants of these ancient super races still exist, but that is highly disputed. In some of the deeper layers, you constantly hear tales of encounters with fairies, or other ancient relics of that long forgotten time."

At this point, Cato couldn't hold in his questions anymore, as he blurted out, "What are the layers?" This question seemed to catch Pallas completely off guard, and after chuckling, turned to Cato. "Gehenna is separated into nine layers, which grow increasingly dangerous the higher you ascend, or lower you descend, depending on your viewpoint. Few know what lies in the Ninth layer, as few who enter ever return. Some say certain death, others say paradise, and still others think that the path to godhood lies in that dreadful place. I myself don't know, but Gehenna is essentially a testing ground. What happens once you pass all the trials, I've no clue, but you needn't concern yourself with such grandiose things just yet. Focus on earning that learning, you hear?"

Cato nodded despite himself, and asked a final question. "Could you tell me about these ancient clans? You seem quite knowledgeable, and I want to learn more about this place, Gehenna. Afterall, I don't think I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon after all that."

Pallas chuckled at that, before sighing. "Yes, I suppose it won't hurt. However, be warned. These are stories I heard from my parents, so I can't vouch for their authenticity." Cato nodded eagerly, and Pallas continued.

"As I said before, there are eight great clans that have relics, places, and perhaps kin tied to them still remaining in Gehenna. The Sea Devil Clan of Ryujin, the Giant Clan of Ul'Terra, the Angel Clan of Seraph, the Fairy Clan of Aonani, the Dragon Clan of Flamma, and then the three royal Clans."

Pallas's voice grew solemn at this, as he continued. "The three Infernal houses are rumored to have been the 3 strongest, but also the strangest of all the clans. At this point, they were less like clans, and more like families of prestige amongst their races. The Royal House of Abbadon, the Royal House of Apollyon, and the Imperial House of Ouroboros, the strongest. They are shrouded in mystery in comparison to the others, and very little is known about them."

"Only one thing has been found from all 3 of the houses, a tome of dark magic from House Apollyon. However, just that is a testament to the power of the 3 great houses, as that single book has spawned a cult-like entity amongst people who worship the Devils of House Apollyon, practicing the ancient magic inscribed in the book."

Cato listened, but couldn't quite grasp the magnitude of these things, as he hadn't been exposed to the real world of Gehenna just yet, but the awe in Pallas's voice was enough. This train of thought led Cato to ask, "Are there religions practiced here in Gehenna?".

Pallas nodded, and stated, "As I just mentioned, there is the Ecclesia Carnis, the Church of Flesh. They worship the powers of the fallen Apollyon House. They're a bunch of lunatics with ancient magic from an older time, so they've quickly become one of the chief religions. Another is the Church of the Drowned, worshiping the Ancient Gods of the Sea Devils. Dark ones, they are. Perhaps worse than the former, because at least the Carnitians worship something we understand. Those drowned bastards mainly reside on the fourth layer, in the depths of the great Dread Sea. There's the Radiant Temple of Light, the Chantry of Mekha, and the Sanctum of the 10 Desires, to name a few."

This all felt akin to a fairy tail to Cato, and the night continued on with the gentle droning of the fairy lights, as Pallas recounted stories of Gehenna, of the Summer Lords of the Godless Desert in the eight layer, the frozen castles of the Frost Giant Jarls in the Mountains of Nŏdd in the third layer, and much more.

Eventually, Cato drifted off to sleep, as Pallas's voice and the unearthly melody began to fade in his ears. Just before his eyes closed, he saw the fairy lights settle all around him on the deck, and one even rested on his chest, as light as a leaf.

For once, Cato didn't have turbulent dreams, as he peacefully rested, his dreams full of colors and music and dancing. He couldn't have recalled what they were if he tried, but he remembered the scent of spices, a humid environment, and the sound of the swaying of robes and feet.

For the rest of the week, Cato was put to work. He gathered plants and fruits, learning more about the geography of the forest, and listened to tales of Gehenna at night from Pallas, with the most welcome accompaniment of the fairy lights.

He gradually fell into this cycle, and soon the third week had arrived. He got out of bed, and felt the familiar pang of pain in his shoulder from the bite, a wound that seemed to never really go away. He had asked Pallas if anything would help the first week, but no matter what they tried, it didn't go away.

Strangely enough, Cato could scarcely recall the event, and couldn't decide on what color the snake had been. This had worried Pallas, who'd suggested there was perhaps a magical element to the snake's bite, but still failing to see any ill effects other than the chronic pain, and the lack of anything to soothe it, Pallas had been in a slump.

This morning, Cato sprang up and went to wash immediately after a particularly grueling experience the day before, involving a narrow escape from a massive bird of prey that had a beak like a spear. Its hunting strategy consisted of diving at high speeds and spearing its prey. Thankfully, Cato had avoided an extra hole in his body, but a long scratch ran down one shoulder blade from a near miss.

As a result of this, he had flopped into his bed the minute he'd gotten back, and was still somewhat dirty. He opened the door to the large bathing chamber and began to undress. He basically had it all to himself, as Pallas had a separate chamber, complaining that Cato would only dirty it.

Pulling his robes off, Cato slowly entered the hot water of the tub, and immediately felt the hot water surround his body, seeming to sink into his skin, washing away the scrapes and soreness from the day before. A faint floral scent pervaded the chamber, rolling off the smooth marble walls, emanating from sticks of incense mounted on the four pillars that surrounded the tub.

The floor of the pool held a strange mosaic of a choir of women with the lower body of a fish, fingered golden harps in a court of colorful coral. Cato gently treaded water until he reached the center of the spacious pool of water, and sank down. As the bubbles swirled around him, Cato closed his eyes, letting the warmth sink deep into his bones.

He'd finally begun to get used to the environment around here, and he and Pallas seemed to be getting along well since the night with the fairy lights. While much about Pallas was still shrouded in mystery, such as his actual appearance, Cato found comfort in someone else to talk to in the forest.

Cato scrubbed himself clean, and begrudgingly left the steamy water to dry off. He padded across the unblemished marble floor, leaving a track of wet footprints as he walked up to a massive mirror that covered a portion of the wall. As he dried off with a towel of an interwoven plant fiber-moss combo, he looked into the smooth surface of the mirror.

A stranger looked back. At the beginning of the month, he had been very skinny, with pale skin that looked like it hadn't seen much sun in his however many years. There was so much he didn't remember about himself, such as his age, his family, where he came from, anything.

In the few weeks he'd been here, he'd filled out a bit, and his upper body held much more definition. His hair hung at his shoulders, black as onyx, and still wet from the tub. His body held many more scars than when he'd arrived, thanks to Pallas's healing ointments.

Amongst the pale marks marring his body, one stood out. On his shoulder, the snake bite was healed, but two awful black circular scars stood out on his pale skin. He'd first thought the wound was rotting, but at a touch the skin felt fine, if only slightly rough.

He swept back the hair from his face, and his eyes caught the light. Pallas said they were his best feature. They seemed a cool black hue, but as light caught them, they seemed to glitter like a rainbow, as much good as that did him. Cato didn't exactly expect when he was being gnawed on by some awful creature that his pretty eyes would stop his throat being torn out.

Sighing, he hung up the towel, and slipped on a black shirt and white pants ending halfway down his shin. Amongst his many talents, Pallas was also a skilled tailor, as the clothes fit well and were quite comfortable.

Cato walked to his room, and was greeted by the gradually filling up room. It had been barren before, but now a pile of books sat on a crooked desk Cato had made with the help of Pallas. They were all about the various flora and fauna one could find, and Cato had been speeding through them after his first forest excursion.

He seemed to have a talent in that aspect, as he had already memorized most of the contents. Although the layers of Gehenna were still somewhat shrouded in mystery for him, the books claimed to list everything one could find on the first three, ranging from aerial beasts to aquatic plant life, and even to volcanic lizards.

He found it quite worthwhile to study up on Gehenna, presuming he passed whatever dreadful trials awaited him if he passed this one. A pang of sadness went through him then, at the thought that he'd have to leave Pallas.

Although somewhat grouchy, Pallas was like a teacher, although if that would extend to mana, Cato still wasn't sure. He sighed, falling backwards on his bed, his arms wide at his sides. He heard a clunk as the bracelet on his wrist bumped into the bed frame.

He'd tried to get it off recently, but to no avail. The skin around the bracelet had begun to grow swollen recently, and the only thing that would relieve it was removing the bracelet, but Cato was somewhat afraid to break it.

Not that he could if he tried. The metal had sustained no damage, even from a point blank jab at full strength from his trident. He glanced at the weapon in question, glinting cruelly in the moonlight that fell through his window.

As of late, Cato had gotten much more practice with it, and discovered some utilities he had overlooked. While it was certainly a monstrous weapon, it was also good for fishing, spearing fruit, and hacking away low hanging branches and vines.

He fingered the handle, his calluses rubbing against the familiar, worn grip.

Pallas had recently taken to training him with it, although admitting to having never trained with one. However, Pallas judged it to be similar to the spear, and had taught him fundamental spear work, such as thrusting, parrying, slashing, etc.

Cato had to adapt some of the lessons, but he was quickly gaining proficiency, as he needed to be able to fight back here in the forest. He glanced at his calloused hands, run rough from trident work, climbing, and other handy work.

Cato hadn't brought up the mana issue with Pallas recently, but he had a good feeling. As of late, Pallas had begun asking him to collect many plants and animal parts that contained massive amounts of mana, often combined to help stimulate mana in a person.

However, this confused him, as Pallas knew that Cato had access to knowledge about these plants. He dismissed this, deciding to just trust in his pseudo-mentor. He exited his room, and walked to the star chamber, as he'd dubbed it.

He often came here to clear his head after particularly stressful nights out in the forest, as the twinkling green lights soothed his nerves, allowing his mind some reprieve from the constant struggle outside the tree.

He sat with his legs crossed, drawing in a deep breath. The air felt different in the chamber, as a cool rush of air filled his lungs, He deeply exhaled, and his whole body began to feel noticeably lighter. Then he began his training.