The Power of Revelation: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Chapter 11: So You Never Lie Again

After a quick lunch, with Xiao looking at Tartaglia in absolute confusion (he had questioned how they knew to make Almond Tofu, since Xiao himself had only mentioned it once and they were not Liyuen natives, and Noelle had redirected him to the Harbinger), they settled back down rather quickly.

Some of the food had been left untouched, with everyone having a poor appetite, but they decided to leave them as snacks for later.

Tartaglia activated the crystal before scrambling back to Zhongli's side, with everyone noticing just how closer the duo were, but no one commented; the Harbinger was already uncomfortable enough, having his memories shown to everyone.

Ajax gritted his teeth as he slashed away at the hilichurls.

He remembered getting lost in the market, and crying his eyes out until his sister found him. But Ajax couldn't afford to be so useless, not with his life on the line, so that was a completely illogical course of action.

However, this wasn't Morepesok; he couldn't just wait for someone to come and save him. But he also didn't have any idea where to go, so he just opted to follow the Abyss Herald, though she just seemed content with wandering around, following the river upstream.

The Abyss Herald seemed to be intentionally running into all sorts of enemies, from flying hilichurls to deformed, sludgy monsters, and Ajax was starting to wonder if following the Herald was such a good idea in the first place, being forced to slay creature after creature as the Abyss Herald watched in amusement from her perch as he struggled from inexperience, various injuries, and fatigue, the light in his eyes slowly fading away as Abyssal energy pulsed through his being as he slashed away at his foes.

"You're doing great!" Noelle encouraged, "Keep it up!"

I want to be stronger.

"Of course you do. Who doesn't want to be strong?"

But she was the only thing that Ajax was certain wouldn't kill him... at least... until she had her fun and decided that toying around with the young Snezhnaya had lost its charm.

It couldn't end. Not like this.

Ajax could feel her looming behind him, looking at him with mirth as he was forced to take another water break. If he had to be the amusement of some Abyssal creature in order to buy himself more time, then damn it, he'd play along.

"Good strategy." Ayato nodded.

His stomach churned as he swallowed another mouthful of Abyssal water, but he's had a who-knows-how-long of getting used to the Abyssal energy devastating his body. Days, nights, time passed by like a whirlwind, and it wasn't like the landscape or the sky changed much to give him a sense of time.

His body no longer felt like it was being ripped to shreds from the inside out, now that he had gotten used to the corruption that were now flowing through his veins. The dark currents that were once so hindering, sapping his energy, were now fueling him, healing his wounds, pushing Ajax further past his limits as he continued to soldier on, though his eyes never did shine as brightly as before, draining his life-blood and replacing it with something else entirely.

Xiao looked at Tartaglia with grudging respect. He'd refused to accept it, but the boy was exceptional if he was able to survive in the Abyss for such a long time, even with a curious Abyss Herald as a companion. Ingesting so much Abyssal energy would do no one any good, and yet, this mortal was somehow able to twist it to his bidding, controlling the darkness instead of letting it control him.