Requiem for an Aberrant Chapter 2: Chapter 2- The Eve of the Abyss

Read chapter 2 of Requiem for an Aberrant by TheJestersGambit on NovelPedia.

Cole stepped into the night, the door closing behind him with a soft creak. With his hood pulled low and his eyes fixed on the ground, Cole continued towards the market square. The stalls were closed, their tarps tied down tightly against the wind, and in the centre stood the grand fountain, its carvings of mythical creatures darkened by age . As he passed he heard the slow clack of horses on cobblestone. Multiple carriages moved through the capital’s structure in the same direction. Toward the cathedral. Cole lifted a hand, flagging down a passing carriage. “Whispering Cathedral, is it?” the driver asked. His voice was oddly soothing as he tipped his peaked hat just above his pastelled face, hidden mostly underneath a mask. Cole nodded and dropped two bronze Vaes into the man’s hat. “Thanks.” Inside, the carriage carried a gentle fragrance. Cole traced it to a blossom tucked within the wall, its sapphire-blue petals twinkling under the moonlight with threads entwined into its ovary. The carriage rumbled forward. “Are you nervous?” The driver made conversation. “About the trial, I mean?” Cole looked out the window. “Not really. We all have to take it.” The driver hummed. “That isn't an easy thing for someone your age to say.” “Is it not?” “Most spend the journey praying.” “And the rest?” “They pretend they aren't afraid.” Cole looked back out the window. The driver chuckled softly. “You sound like someone who's already made peace with the odds.” Before Cole could answer, his eyelids suddenly grew heavy. “Get some rest,” the driver said. “It helps with acclimatisation.” Cole frowned. “Acclima… what do you mea—” But before the words could finish forming, the world went black. He was falling. Not strapped to any seat. Just endlessly descending through darkness. He didn’t scream. He didn’t even breathe. But he did laugh. It hurt. ‘I forgot they did this,’ he thought. A taste of the Abyss before the trial. That’s what they called it. A simulated emptiness, a curtain-raiser to the ordeal yet to come. His body continued to fall downwards through black. If “down” even existed here. The longer he drifted, the more he felt he was losing himself. [Warning: Essentia Instability Detected!] He turned. There it was, that chime again. But what he had found instead was a tiny speck. In the distance, extremely far within the Abyss, he saw something. A solitude tower built from bones. He couldn't tell how he knew it was there. Only that it was. And something inside it was looking back. Always staring— He heard voices. One at a time. Murmurs of a seemingly civilised conversation, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was as if the clique were murmuring beneath the veil of the world. And then came the one voice he hated the most as he closed his eyes. ‘...I want to give up.’ This time, he was sure it was his own. “Wake up. We’re here.” Cole blinked repeatedly. “It’s a beautiful flower, isn’t it?” the driver smiled. “ Lunareth Bloom . Some say its scent gives visions of past lives and glimpses of the future. But the truth is, it’s just a hallucinogen. I tend to always keep one present.” Cole stared at the bloom a moment longer, then gave a faint smile. “Quite the sight.” The driver stepped down and opened the door. Cole followed, stepping out onto the cobbled path. Dozens of other carriages were lined around the cathedral square, each one carrying a young person or multiple. Eighteen-year-olds from across the main city in the Republic of Vancour, here for the same reason. A prayer. A blessing. One final hope before their trial tomorrow began. Cole turned to the driver. “Thanks for the ride.” The man tipped his hat and climbed back into the carriage. “Don’t lose your purpose… And finish your trial already. That is thank you enough.” Cole looked up at the bronze cathedral welcoming everyone inside, including himself. At the front of the vast hall, ten high-backed chairs stood upon an elevated platform behind the altar. Each was occupi