In solitude and pain, Nova thought about all the people close to him—about how his mother might be waiting for his return with her heart in her hands. She had always been a woman who grew sad easily, so the idea of her being depressed gave Nova a somber expression.
He sighed, now thinking about Miyu, Elara, and Rober. They were his friends—his best friends. Without them, everything became dull and tasteless; his shattered heart turned cold and hard as stone once more.
Maybe, over time, he had grown too accustomed to being around others despite being different. That was why he now always felt alone, surrounded by monsters that wanted to kill him. Even his way of seeing things had become a little crueler, more morally ambiguous.
Tired, he closed his eye and fell asleep. Since arriving in this world, it was the first time he had felt this exhausted. This time, he only needed to let the special properties of the Sweet Flake do their work and heal his wounds.
Hours later, a blow against metal woke him up. He opened his only eye in a jolt and looked around, confused.
'What was that?'
He was still hurt from the fall, but he found the strength to stand up, though he staggered slightly, having just woken.
'There it is again…'
Clang… clang…
The metal echoed in the distance beneath his feet. Curious, he looked down over the edge of the stairs, but saw nothing more than the bottom of a rusted, damp floor. Even so, the sound continued below.
'It's coming from down there—at the bottom of the stairs…'
It wasn't the time to be curious, but leaving the tunnel would be extremely dangerous. Who knew—maybe that red woman was still out there, looking for someone else to kill in cold blood.
While he healed, Nova thought:
'No one forces me to get involved in this kind of thing, and yet here I am, diving headfirst into trouble,' he thought, emphasizing the irony of his own mind. Then, he carefully went down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he found four different long tunnels. Three of them were completely dark, while the tunnel in the center was illuminated at the far end by purple lights.
Just in case, he covered his face again. He couldn't allow anyone else to see it. He reached instinctively for the hilt of his sword, but when he felt nothing near his hand, he remembered that the weapon had been left embedded in the wall.
'Damn it. I should've brought it with me, but I couldn't stay out there for long.'
Staying alive was more important than keeping the sword.
He moved forward until he reached the end. As he exited the tunnel, his single eye was overwhelmed by countless lights assaulting his vision.
He frowned, trying to adjust. When he finally did, a twisted grimace spread across his face. If what he had seen above was one thing, then what he found down here was hell.
Saying that the sheer scale of this underground was almost equal to the city on the surface would be an understatement. Hundreds of buildings filled the horizon, glowing with extravagant lights and glamour. Bright red and purple signs hung from the ceilings in languages he couldn't understand.
The craziest part was the ceiling itself. Buildings were suspended upside down from above, complete with small parking areas for flying vehicles. The entire place was packed, with all kinds of Aberrations swarming in the distance.
Unconsciously, he brought his hands to his hood. This was overwhelming. The immensity of this unknown world felt suffocating.
While the architecture resembled that of the surface, everything was more savage. The underground carried a distinct air of illegality that sent chills down his spine.
'This shouldn't surprise me anymore.'
In front of him, the stairs were wide and long—more like a platform anyone could walk down. Nearby, there was a piston-like structure attached to the wall of one of the buildings lining the path beyond the stairs.
'So that's where the noise was coming from.'
He didn't wait for his thoughts to warn him that this was dangerous—he threw himself headfirst into danger like an idiot. If dying in this world was inevitable, then taking the greatest risk early on would reduce the chances of dying later. It was simple statistics—nothing Nova hadn't learned back in high school.
'I wish they'd taught us how to survive in worlds no one knows.'
He shook his head, exasperated, and continued along the roads, since there didn't seem to be any sidewalks here. That was undoubtedly dangerous, but better than nothing.
What he did make sure of this time was not to get distracted. Running into another Aberration that recognized humans was the last thing he needed. He'd be eaten alive in the streets of the Cybernetic Underground.
There were Aberrations of every kind here as well—from ones that looked like androids to grotesque, cockroach-like beings. There was no place more diverse than this world.
'This place feels more like a forbidden district.'
On Terra, there were the infamous forbidden districts—vast stretches of streets where all kinds of illegal activities happened in succession, from shady deals between dangerous mafias to the sale of illicit substances. Although most of these areas were concentrated on the continent of New Europe, there were still a few stains within the country of Nemoria, whose capital, Luminaris, was considered one of the cleanest cities when it came to organized crime.
Nova ventured onward, walking calmly. He glanced sideways at every possible place for danger, but found nothing.
With nothing else to do, he continued down the narrow street between concrete and metal buildings. Neon lights stood out far more in this underground than on the surface. On top of that, the Aberrations were far more aggressive and far less organized.
'It's kind of terrifying how similar New Europe and this place are,' he thought, lowering his gaze. 'Even though I never traveled to the other side of the world, everyone knows what's going on in that continent.'
The usual: corrupt politicians, a mediocre government, idiots in high-ranking positions. Even though a little over a millennium had passed since ancient humanity went extinct, these kinds of things kept happening everywhere—not just on Terra, apparently.
'Looks like humans aren't any better than Aberrations.'
He stopped dead in the middle of the street. For a second, he looked at his hand.
'We're not better, huh…'