Chapter 128: Serious Table Flipping
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: Serious Table Flipping
Thump, thump.
After Earth Sage’s arrival, the ground would sometimes tremble as I walked through the Abyss. Every time she nodded and stomped her foot, Tantalus would gain a pulse, as if it had grown a new heart. It was an artificial beat in the Abyss, a place furthest from life.
Just as we finished our bustling and clamorous preparations for escape and were waiting for the appointed time…
“The preparations are complete!”
A voice, loud enough to make the entire Abyss ring, echoed out. It was Earth Sage’s call.
We had been waiting and moved immediately.
Tyr headed over, pulling her large coffin. The Undying had packed a box full of food and water and hoisted it onto his back. Callis was fidgeting nervously, but the Undying had declared, “We can’t have the injured carry luggage! Give it here. I shall carry everything!” leaving her no choice but to entrust him with her bag as well.
Azzy cautiously revealed herself once everyone had gathered, a disc held in her mouth. This damn dog, it seemed, knew nothing of patience. Then again, she was a dog.
Nabi didn't even bother to come out, let alone pack any luggage. You just wait.
When all those ready to escape had assembled…
“Is everyone gathered?”
In the square yard bathed in the light of the daytime lamps, Earth Sage stood in the very center.
She greeted us looking just as she had when she first arrived, wearing earrings with clay dolls dangling from them and five rings on her arm, standing as firm as an old, withered tree.
Beside her was a concrete structure that looked freshly made. Shaped like a clothesline, its purpose was difficult to guess.
As people glanced around, Earth Sage confirmed our faces, nodded, and began her explanation.
“Then, I shall explain my plan.”
Though whether this could truly be called an explanation was debatable.
“I plan to flip this Tantalus over.”
A question mark popped into everyone’s head.
What does she mean? Why? In what sense is she going to flip it? Is she going to turn our clothes inside out?
Fortunately, our companion was the incarnation of concrete, a being who had walked alongside the history of the Military State, and she possessed the ability to explain her designs with perfect clarity.
“From what I have gathered, enough people have lived in this prison for a long enough time that it has earned the right to reach the bottom of the Abyss.”
Thanks to the Military State constantly shoving people into the prison to die, the history of this land had been sufficiently filled to the point where it could reach the history of the Overlord’s massacre. That was Earth Sage’s roundabout way of putting it.
“Thus, it should have reached the bottom of the Abyss, but this land and the bottom of the Abyss are separate planes. To reach it, it was necessary to merge these two lands into one.”
It meant that even if we accumulated enough history to arrive in the same space, we couldn't meet because we were on different layers.
So, the solution was…
“Earth Sage. Does that mean we must dig a hole and go down?”
“That is not so. Distance has no value in this space. We must, in the truest sense, reach the final, bottomless land.”
I wondered if I was reading her thoughts correctly.
Because even after reading them, I couldn't believe it.
Earth Sage held out her hand, palm facing up. And then…
“I intend to take this land, in the purest sense of the word, and flip it over by turning it half a circle.”
With those words, she flipped her hand over, so the back of it faced up.
Having boldly declared she would flip the land like the palm of her hand, Earth Sage tapped the structure next to her while we all stood there dumbfounded.
“This is a support I have made. It will not break easily, so you may tie yourselves to it with ropes while I flip this land.”
“Wait, that thing…”
“For now, I earnestly request that you follow my words. Tie yourselves securely, so that you will be fine even when your bodies are turned upside down.”
At Earth Sage’s earnest request, we set our questions aside for the moment and began tying ourselves to the support. All sorts of luggage and people dangled from it like fruit. While the Undying tied Callis up, I approached Azzy with a rope.
“Azzy, come here.”
“Woof woof! I don’t like being tied up! I like freedom!”
Perhaps because of her memory of being chained up last time, Azzy vehemently refused to be bound. I tried to coax her gently.
“Don’t regret it later. This whole place is going to flip. If you don’t secure yourself…”
“Woof! My insides will flip!”
“Where does she learn these things? Her vocabulary keeps getting better…”
Azzy barked fiercely, constantly dodging my hands. Seeing my predicament, Tyr offered a suggestion.
“Leave her be. If she is the Beast King, she will dig her claws in and hold on. Should she seem about to fall, I will catch her with my darkness.”
“I guess I’ll have to. This little beast…”
I was growling, locked in a standoff with Azzy who had fled just out of reach, when the Regressor, who had been quiet, suddenly remembered Nabi and spoke.
“Tyrkanzyaka. In a little while, if Nabi comes running out, can you catch her too?”
“It will be no problem. Not just the Beast King, I will catch anyone who falls. Shei, I will do the same for you.”
“I’m fine. I can use my Qi to stick my feet to the ground and stand upside down, and even if I fall, I can fly.”
Why? Why can you hang upside down like a bat? How can you fly? Aren’t you a human just like me? Isn’t she a little weird?
Tyr turned to me with a suggestion.
“Hu, my coffin can also float in the air. It is only possible when there is no light, but that matters little in the Abyss. If you wish, would you like to ride on it with me?”
“No, thank you. When else would I get to experience the ground flipping over?”
“Is that so…”
“And Tyr, you be careful too. From what Earth Sage said, you should probably be tied to the ground. Don’t float too high and hold on tight. Otherwise, we might be parted for good.”
At my words, Tyr hastily grabbed the support with her darkness.
Just as everyone finished their preparations and was staring blankly at Earth Sage, she confirmed we were ready, took a deep breath, and gracefully waved her hand.
It was a gentle gesture, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. But every time her fingers snatched at the air, the ground quaked. The concrete, which should have been solid, was stirred thick and slow like mud under Earth Sage’s power.
“…Earth Art.”
The Regressor muttered.
The power known as the authority of Mother Earth, usable only by her apostles. The very power that had overturned the lands of the Military State from one end to the other was now being wielded by Earth Sage.
And so, after firmly packing the ground with her Earth Art, Earth Sage…
“I shall begin.”
…stomped her foot hard.
Kuuuuuuung.
An energy exploded from the tip of her toe, spreading throughout Tantalus. A shock of this magnitude should have shattered the ground beneath her, but her Gon Qi Art, which had reached its peak, and the Earth Art that supplemented it, distributed the force evenly across the entire prison.
Perhaps that was why the ground beneath Earth Sage’s feet remained perfectly intact despite the immense impact.
“Ooh. It seems she intends to flip the land with Earth Art!”
The Undying muttered, his expression as thrilled as someone witnessing a miracle. Next to him, however, Callis was terrified, her teeth chattering.
Well, it wouldn’t be strange for an ordinary person to be frightened by such tremendous power.
“S-Something to hold onto…”
“I see. It must be frightening for those who die so easily! The Bloodfiend will hold you with her darkness, so do not worry! If you have nothing else to grab, you may borrow my hand!”
The Undying extended his hand. Callis took it with a trembling hand, but when another shockwave hit, she let out a shrill scream and pulled herself into his arms.
The Undying was puzzled by the sudden closeness.
“Hm. Did I tie us this close? We might bump into each other at this rate! My apologies, I shall hold you for a moment!”
“Please do…!”
The Undying wrapped his arms firmly around Callis’s waist and pulled her in. The two were now pressed completely against each other.
Held in the Undying’s embrace, Callis’s eyes glinted sharply.
…It seemed Callis was no ordinary person either.
Tyr watched the scene for a moment before speaking to me.
“Hu, will you not bump into anything?”
“There’s no one tied up near me.”
“…I was just asking, just in case.”
And so, for a brief moment, we made small talk, oblivious to what was about to happen.
Kuuuuuuuuuuung.
A much heavier and larger impact flowed through the ground. As the support structure shook, my body, dangling beneath it, trembled.
As I marveled at the surreal vibration…
“Oh? Where has Earth Sage gone?”
The Undying pointed to where Earth Sage had just been standing. Earth Sage, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
“Did she step away for a moment? Hoho. She must have had some urgent business!”
The answer to that question appeared soon after.
Because Earth Sage fell from the sky.
Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung.
The fall, and then the impact.
A massive earthquake shook all of Tantalus. As if even her Earth Art and Earth Qi weren't enough, a great fissure formed at Earth Sage’s feet, spreading outward from where she landed.
I could feel the vibrations spread, hit the walls of the Abyss, and bounce back. It was a force on par with a natural disaster. Unbelievable for a single human to have accomplished.
“Kyaaah…!”
This time, Callis’s scream was genuine.
An absurd power that could instill fear and terror even in someone who was not ordinary.
“…Haha. This is insane.”
I laughed out of sheer disbelief. Because my body was swaying from side to side.
This could only mean one thing.
The ground was tilting.
“Holy shit. Is this even possible?”
My body felt like a seismograph. So this is what it feels like to sense an earthquake.
As I muttered to myself internally…
Immediately after, Earth Sage kicked off the ground and shot upward. An impact similar to her landing rocked Tantalus. Just by jumping, it felt as if the very earth was caving in.
“…Earth Qi at its peak. Water mastered to its essence.”
Without so much as stirring on the tilted ground, the Regressor calmly assessed the situation.
‘The moment she lands, she disperses the shock throughout the entire ground, and uses the reaction force directed at her own body to jump again.’
Thanks to reading her thoughts, I understood. But sometimes, even when I read something, I found myself wondering what I had just read.
‘Right now, Earth Sage is… basically a giant rubber ball.’
Right, but how is that even possible?
A human body isn't made of rubber, and falling from that height should normally be fatal.
And most importantly…
Why is the ground actually flipping over?
Kuguguguguguuuuuuuuuuuung.
“Woof! Woof woof! It’s an earthquake, woof!”
“Myaaaah! Myaaaaaak!”
I heard the screams of Azzy and Nabi. The two Beast Kings had flattened themselves to the ground in what they deemed safe spots, their claws digging into the earth.
Serves you right, you damn animals. You think I wanted to be tied up?
Regardless, Earth Sage jumped again, and slammed into the ground again. A sound like a pestle pounding in a mortar rang out, and with each strike, Tantalus tilted more and more. While a genuinely terrified Callis clung tightly to the Undying, and Azzy and Nabi shrieked loud enough to wake the dead…
Thump.
And so, when Earth Sage, having leaped higher than ever before, struck the ground…
Crack.
I heard the sound of the concrete rim that held Tantalus in place, unable to withstand the shock, crumbling away.
From then on, it was a swift cascade of events. Earth Sage shouted one last time.
“It’s about to flip! Everyone hold on tight!”
There was no need to tell us. Everyone was already holding onto something with all their might.
And then, as Earth Sage made her final leap into the air…
Kiiiiigigik.
My body sways. The world tilts. No, maybe it’s me that’s tilting.
Tantalus was a tray on a stand. If you press down on one side with your finger, the stand, unable to bear it, crumbles. The tray flips over and falls to the ground.
Only at this point did I realize why the buildings of Tantalus were all skewed to one side. The L-shaped building with its wide yard… something had always seemed asymmetrical about it.
It was designed to do this from the very beginning.
Gugugugugugung.
The final collision. A human being collided with the earth. In a normal situation, we would have called it a fall.
But not now.
Earth Sage had ‘collided’ with this land as an equal.
Whooosh.
The ground flips. Instead of jumping, Earth Sage now firmly planted her feet on the ground with her Earth Qi.
Even without Earth Sage’s power, it had already picked up speed. With the added weight of Tantalus, the prison, the speed of the flip accelerated.
The sound of a dog barking. A cat crying. A person screaming. And amidst the cacophony of thoughts…
The wind blew.
A wind that should not exist in the Abyss began to blow again as the bottom opened up. Air was being sucked into the gap created by the void.
It was a bizarre sight. The ground I had been standing on moments ago was now a slanted wall, and the prison building had become a jagged protrusion on a cliff. I didn't even want to imagine it, but if the rope were to break, I could probably land on the building wall and stand on my own two feet.
A deafening roar came from the prison building. A large water tank, unable to defy gravity, broke off and fell into the depths below. The building seemed to vomit out its contents, as desks, fixtures, boxes, and chairs poured out of windows and holes.
Then, unable to bear its own weight, the prison snapped in the middle with a crunch. The sight of a four-story building becoming a three-story one was quite a spectacle.
After everything that could fall had fallen, the last thing to break was the tall daytime lamp.
The artificial light that had illuminated the Abyss until now. The lamp that had dared to imitate the sun broke in the middle and fell into the darkness below. The light that had once lit up the entire prison was now like a faint candle in the gloom of the Abyss.
And so, everything was plunged into darkness.
But it wasn't over yet.
The land, gaining momentum, flipped even further. My body was shaken violently.
“Woof woof!”
“Nya-nyang!”
“Aaaaaah!”
The screams of a dog, a cat, and a human formed a trio. The last one, of course, was mine.
I reached my hands up, careful not to ‘fall’ onto the support structure. It would be a pain to crash into it after being turned upside down.
And so, in the darkness that filled everything, in the Abyss where only screams and thoughts could be heard…
The moment the land, predestined to be flipped, fulfilled its role…
The world twisted.
Splash.
My feet touched the ground.