The abyss

It was the only source of light in the entire area, shining brightly as if it was a beacon.

A single glance at what stood in the midst if the platform, heavy chains wrapping around it, as if bounding it to the area. The chains, that carried no texture and no color, as if they existed only in fleeting imagination.

They appeared out of nowhere, and all converged to chain the one that stood in the midst.

What they chained seemed to change forms a thousand times within a single glance, yet every form was as enthralling as the last. 

They were unique in the sense that they could never exist in a physical form, but seemed to express every emotion and idea without ever giving a true meaning to any of them. Ever-changing, seemingly chained yet, it seemed to enjoy true freedom.

Smiling and crying, it seemed to be indifferent to Quill's glance, but stared at him intently, the most beautiful intoxication, and yet the ugliest purity. 

In that moment, a thousand eras passed by, yet that singular second was carved into his memory.

He was looking at himself, bound in chains and dying, yet full of life and energy, offering freedom to himself. Redemption for his sins, knowing that he would never gain salvation. He was everything and nothing, and he gazed at himself, a gaze spanning across lifetimes and a single second.

Quill gasped loudly, his eyes shutting on their own, and the moment was shattered. Blood fell into the abyss, not from his wounds but from his eyes, the tears more painful than any torture he could have faced.

What he had seen seemed to slip out of memories, leaving nothing but faint recollections and a fervent desire to see more.

The abyss remained silent to his suffering, devouring every tear that fell from his eyes, endlessly taking, but never giving.

Pain and agony overtook all of his senses, his limbs frozen, and with each movement, a scream was ripped out of his throat.

Desperate eyes seemed to turn skyward, droplets of blood dripping from the edges of the dark irises. 

Yet, the skies were as dark as the abyss below, as if all light had been swallowed by darkness, leaving nothing behind.

The eyes fell back onto the ground, except this time, they stared forward.

A hand was extended forward, reaching out just above the abyss. The skin lightly touching the darkness, seemingly disappearing for a second beneath the gloom, only to surface again.

Broken screams rang out across the infinite abyss, but the hand seemed to keep reaching forward. 

He was shaking, focusing on the only thing he could see in the lightless world. Yearning to grasp it in his hand.

A pair of dice, gently sitting atop the abyss as if even the darkness could not touch it.

The top faces showing the same number, little dots that depicted the number six on both dice.

---

Pale and shaking fingers clasped around the dice, holding them as if they were a lifeline. His breathing was still heavy, blood pounding in his ears.

Dark eyes shook rapidly as the dice were firmly clasped in Quill's palm. Droplets of blood stained the items for a second, only for it to fade away, reverting them to their pristine condition.

As if by instinct, the trembling hand threw the dice, watching as both of them rolled around comfortably, as if it were on plain ground.

One of the dice finally came to a stop, but the distance made it hard to see the dots. Slowly the man raised a hand forward, attempting to balance himself to get up and reach the dice.

A second later, another cry rang out through the lightless world, as Quill was forced to coil back at the utter pain of the simple action.

The second dice seemed to roll on, the faces alternating between the six numbers, the light from the centre giving it a certain shine.

Quill's eyes were still tightly shut, fists clenched from the previous recoil.

The die finally stopped rolling, tilting over to display the face on front. For a second, all was silent.

Quill finally managed to open his eyes, gasping heavily for air. The first die, which had been tilted for so long, finally rolled over one final time.

Before Quill could blink, the abyss exploded with light.

---

Water dripped down onto a single finger, rolling off onto the rocky ground a second later.

A body lay silently on the rocky ground. Blood and tiny bruises littered the skin, eyes closed as if sleeping.

Another drop of water fell, straight on a fluttering eyelid. 

Quill blinked slowly, his vision hazy and body aching. Colors seemed to blend together, his mind working much slower than normal.

A second later, he was sitting upright, rapidly searching for his most valuable possession. His eyes locked onto a conical shaped object lying near him, and Quill slumped back with a sigh.

'All useless...'

It was all for nothing. He couldn't light the torch, and instead suffered an injury. All the effort he had put into escaping from the lizard was useless. All of the agony he had endured to get to that pit...

Quill closed his eyes, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself. There was nothing to do now. He was away from that lizard, away from that abyss...

Quill blinked.

'That abyss...what did I witness there?'

He hadn't been there for too long, but what had happened? The way he was suddenly sent to that lightless world, that...

Quill gritted his teeth as he put a hand up to his forehead. What he had witnessed...those dice...it was all too confusing.

'The dice..!'

Quill was back on his feet within seconds, groaning and wincing at the aches all over his body. 

'A few minutes in that hellhole of a place, and Im already groaning like a grandpa...'Quill grumbled unhappily to himself, while scrambling through his pockets and glancing over the ground to find the dice.

The dice were most probably his gift, not that it made any more sense than the flower. For some strange reason, the dice seemed to have completely slipped out of his mind.

Quill shifted uneasily, finally clasping the dice in his hands, which were previously stuck in his pocket.

On first glance, they had seemed like ordinary dice. However now that he looked closer at them...

Quill grimaced. This situation seemed to be getting more and more mysterious with every item he found.