In The Shadow of Asora

3. The Chasm

The sun had already set and bathed Zey in a veil of darkness by the time that Jongho reached the outskirts of town. He had been with his father during the day and made sure that he was taken care of and fed well before Jongho left for his mission. He was as confident as it could get to come back in one piece from the heavily guarded place that the canyon was. Despite fear gnawing at him all day long, he promised himself to succeed if only for his father's medicine.

Jongho's dark clothes blended well with the shadows of the evening. He crossed the obsolete streets with quick steps that echoed quietly through the ghostly town. No moon shone his path since its light got blocked by the asymmetrical and slanted buildings around him. Near the Chasm, some of them leaned dangerously towards the edge of not only the canyon itself but also the ocean that was in the south.

The people of Zey despised this particular edge of town. It was filled with automatons that killed upon sight at night while they stubbornly guarded the canyon. Youths like Jongho had once been tried to sneak around them in rebellious acts to check out the canyon and get a closer look, but most of them were shot down or disappeared in the gaping gorge. It was common knowledge not to play here since this area meant certain death for any human. Jongho had been a foolish kid. He remembered the pain of the grazing shot he had suffered on his way back. The scar it had left was his biggest to date. The working scars that metals and fires had left on his forearms were nothing in comparison.

Jongho stood hidden behind the edge of some alley as he scanned his surroundings. He had to find his informant that would safely bring him over to the other side first. The Chasm had not a single bridge or rope that connected it to the eastside. Crossing it was a nearly impossible task.

The how had yet to explain itself. For now, Jongho was busy with the where.

The canyon formed from the edge of the cliff that Asorazey had once been built upon. It ripped apart the earth through the middle of the city and far land inwards. The cleft was too deep for anybody to be able to measure it safely, and even the airships had trouble gauging a depth since the brutish ocean hindered them from getting too close. All numbers aside it was a death trap. It was too far to jump across, but yet not far enough for a whole airship to fit in between.

Enough to split society.

Jongho adjusted his hood over his mask as his eyes continued scanning his surroundings. The quiet noise of his gadgets hissing seemed nearly too loud in the depth of the night, but so far none of the soundlessly rolling automatons had spotted him. Jongho counted three of them in his direct line of sight. He had no chance to win against them.

Jongho uncomfortably waited for a while longer. The rushing of the waves crashing against the cliffs in the far distance with a force that was deadlier than any weapon eerily accompanied the quiescence of the streets. A cold wind was howling around the houses.

All of Jongho's senses were alert as he stood there, so he didn't startle at the sound of quiet footsteps coming closer. They halted right behind Jongho, and a quiet human breathing pattern reached Jongho's ears. A few seconds passed with no words being said. When everything stayed calm, the person turned to leave.

This time, Jongho followed.

From what he could discern of the tall figure in front of him the person was a man, probably exactly the one Jongho had searched for. Coupling or even grouping up in Zey came with betrayal and a great deal of distrust, hence why the guy probably worked alone.

The stranger led Jongho down an alley parallel to the Chasm and out of sight from the automatons. They exchanged not a single word as the man confidently brought Jongho over to one of the buildings. While he unlocked the door, Jongho searched the sketchy streets with watchful eyes. No one was around to see them disappear in the building together.