Taking over the Abyss

22- The Tomorrow Without You

You brushed by other people without much care, hurrying yourself to reach your destination before you could be any later. Your friend had asked to meet with you rather suddenly, and you didn't want to keep him waiting for long. Seeing him standing around awkwardly, you paused before feeling a mischievous urge and creeping up behind him.

Tapping him on the shoulder, you leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Boo!"

Your friend jumped in fright, spinning around to face you with a frown, "Y- you! Don't do that!"

"Aren't sages supposed to expect the unexpected?" You shrugged, an amused smile on your face. "If anything, I'm helping your training."

Breathing a harsh sigh, your friend corrected you, "It's not meant for simple pranks, mind you."

You didn't miss the way he seemed more down. Usually, he'd chastise you more for being disrespectful, but he let it slide pretty easy. You shook your head and figured you'd bring it up later, "Must've been mistaken then. So, what's up?"

"It's better we don't discuss of it here," he muttered, loud enough for only you to hear, "Let's head to one of the upper gardens."

Couldn't he just ask you meet there instead?! Without voicing that thought, you nodded and followed after him. You didn't often have the chance to visit any of the upper gardens, given how you were usually swamped with work. The boring sort, too, not the stuff you actually wanted to work on.

Seeing no better time than the present to find out why he seemed distressed, you nudged him gently with your elbow and asked, "Have those crusty old men finally recognized your awesome skills yet?"

Huffing at the way you so casually called Khaenri'ah's 'wisest' crusty, he shook his head solemnly, "No, not yet."

You climbed the fancy staircase leading up towards the surface of Khaenri'ah, wondering why the hell you hadn't invented the elevator yet. You hated these long-ass staircases. Finally, you reached the upper garden and breathed a sigh of relief, staring up at through the cracks in the ceiling at the night sky way above the underground nation you lived in.

Your friend guided you towards one of the benches that had a perfect view of the moon in its current position. You turned to him and asked bluntly, "So, what's got you so down?"

Your friend's frowned deepened, his expression becoming more solemn, "I was... rejected once more. My theory was 'too out there' for them to believe, so I was told to come back with something more plausible."

"Geez, must've been some theory to get that reaction," you commented, your eyes widening slightly. The sages of Khaenri'ah usually came up with really crazy ideas, like greenlighting a project for artificial soldiers, or building constructs like the Field Tiller. Sometimes it was just a new, more efficient lamp. Still, most of the ideas went through the royal family, so if it was anything that might've threatened them, of course they'd have rejected it.

"How have things been on your end?" Your friend asked, a bit desperate to change the subject. "I'm sure one of Khaenri'ah's beloved alchemists has been up to great things."

"Pretty boring, actually, but thanks," you sighed, averting your eyes so he wouldn't be able to see that just a simple compliment was able to fluster you, "I keep getting assigned to creating fancy gardens for some of the richer families. Instead of, y'know, stuff I actually care about."

"What, you don't care if the royal family's rose garden isn't beautiful enough?" He chuckled, finding your predicament amusing. You whined in protest.