Falling into the Abyss

Ethan sat at the window of the reading room on the second floor of the castle, looking through the clear glass at the mountains in the distance. A lavender cloud of smoke swam across the blue mountainside, and groups of lizard-like creatures would occasionally fly past, reflecting a cyan flash in the air.

His heart was a little heavy, and he couldn’t concentrate on the priceless paper books in front of him. When he asked the housekeeper in the morning, the other party didn’t reply since the front door’s bell rang, and the housekeeper hurried to answer the door. However, the housekeeper’s surprised expression when he asked the question had already provided him with most of the answer.

Ethan didn’t believe in ghosts previously. However, after experiencing so many strange and terrifying events, he began to feel that anything in the universe was possible. Even ghosts could be explained by some scientific theories, such as brain wave residues and so on. And the joke Tanisiel told him last night was plausible.

There must be something strange in that room.

The question was, why did Tanisiel put him in that room?

Ethan always knew that Tanisiel had approached him for some purpose. Tanisiel also frankly admitted this point, saying that they were in a “purely mutually beneficial relationship,” but he refused to tell him what the purpose was. Since Ethan also felt that he had nothing to lose, he hadn’t cared much.

But now, he had something he was afraid of losing.

He was afraid of losing Tanisiel.

He began to worry about losing his approval and wondered if, besides the value from using him, did Tanisiel’s heart sincerely throb for him?

However, if Tanisiel’s goal was finally revealed, Ethan’s dream may be broken. Maybe he would learn that the priest’s goodwill and how he protected Ethan the entire time was really only because of his ultimate purpose, not that he slightly cared for Ethan.

Ethan hated being so insecure. Hadn’t he decided long ago that he wouldn’t care about the priest’s purpose? He just wanted a little warmth in his dark life to make him happy. Now, how could he become greedy again?

“Here you are,” Samuel’s voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the bookshelf, “I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Ethan closed the book in front of him before standing up and placing it back on the shelf. “What’s the matter?”

Samuel leaned against the shelf, holding a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He extended it towards Ethan and said, “No, Tanisiel asked me to supervise you in drinking your medicine every day.”

Ethan’s nose twitched a little as he took the cup. He sniffed at it a few times, and his expression changed a little. “Samuel, did you ask Tanisiel for some inhibitors?”

Samuel seemed to understand Ethan’s meaning. He quickly stepped back to cover the position of the Omega gland on his neck. However, he looked very calm as he replied, “No.”

“No?!” Ethan stared at him for a moment and then softened his voice and comforted him, “It’s alright, it’s fine. You should stay in the room and lock the door. You can only open the door when you hear me, okay?”

As he spoke, he checked the clip on his ear and hurried to the door of the reading room. However, his arm was held by Samuel, who said, “Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m going to the city. There must be drugstores selling inhibitors.” Ethan patted Samuel on the back of his hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“Tanisiel said I could spend my estrus here. And I really should stop taking inhibitors.” Samuel gently released Ethan’s arm and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s what you said. After using them for a long time, you will get cancer or something.”

Ethan felt that his heart was suspended in the air. This castle had a strange and gloomy atmosphere. Was it really a suitable place for nesting?

“Then……have you chosen a place to nest? And I remember that there are several servants in this castle who are Alphas……” Ethan lowered his head and touched his chin with his fingers, thinking seriously. “I can guard you, but in case someone tries to intrude, we’d better have self-defense weapons on hand. I can go to the housekeeper…..”

“Ethan.” Samuel suddenly interrupted him, pressing on his shoulder. He gently raised his jaw with his other hand and made Ethan look into his eyes. “Don’t worry about me. It’s not as if I haven’t experienced estrus. Now, the most important thing is you……”

Ethan frowned and didn’t quite understand what he meant.

“I’ve lost too much. You may be the last person I have left……” Samuel said, reaching out as though to touch Ethan’s cheek.

However, Ethan dodged back a little, gently blocking his hand and taking his words as a joke. “Don’t be so cheesy. It’s not like you at all.”

Ethan spent the whole afternoon helping Samuel find a suitable nest in the other’s room. Omegas preferred narrow and enclosed spaces, so Samuel’s choice was naturally the gorgeous and tall wardrobe. Ethan also brought some bedding into his room and asked Samuel to choose what he liked before placing them in the wardrobe. After that, he went to the kitchen and brought several large cans of clean water and food that didn’t need to be kept in the refrigerator to store in the room.

He knew that Omegas would feel insecure during estrus, so regardless of Samuel’s objections, he went to the housekeeper and asked for a crutch as a self-defense weapon.

In the evening, Samuel’s scent grew stronger, but he had not entered the estrus yet. The two men lay side by side on the canopy bed, looking at the embroidery on the ceiling above their heads that glowed in the dark.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Ethan asked suddenly.

Samuel glanced at him. “Do you believe in them?”

“In this castle……sometimes I feel that way.” Ethan turned to look at Samuel. “Sometimes, when I’m alone in my room, I feel like there’s someone else there. I can even hear him breathing…”

“He?”

“Yes……” Ethan hesitated. “At first, I thought it might be my nerves or something wrong with that room. But later, when I was reading alone in the library, I felt like I was being watched.”

“Did you tell Tanisiel?”

“Yes, and he said I was nervous. He gave me that calming medicine to drink.”

“But you don’t think so?”

Ethan shook his head. “I think that Tanisiel’s joke may be true, and this castle has spirits.”

Samuel sneered as though he heard a big joke. “Don’t joke around. Do you think the stones here have spirits?”

Ethan put his index finger to his lips and shushed him softly. They fell into a moment of silence, and the only sound they could hear was the tick, tick, tick of the clock.

Samuel asked puzzledly, “What are you doing?”

“Listen.”

“Listen to what?”

Ethan pointed to his ear and placed it against the mattress. Samuel copied him and leaned down a little.

“Knock, knock knock, knock, knock knock knock, knock knock……”

Only the irregular sound of knocking on the wooden boards came from under the bed. It was like a man was lying on his back under the bed, holding out a hand and knocking onto the wooden boards of the bed.

Samuel suddenly raised his head, seemingly unsure of what he heard, before he pasted his ears back down to listen again.

“Did you hear it?” Ethan whispered.

Samuel still stubbornly argued, “Maybe it’s the sound of some aging pipe.”

“But if you pay attention to it carefully, doesn’t our bed vibrate slightly?” Ethan asked quietly.

“Gee! Don’t scare me!” Samuel sat up and said, “Damn, just look under the bed.” He lifted the quilt and dropped his head to look under the bed……

There seemed to be nothing under the dark bed.

Ethan pulled Samuel back up onto the bed. “Just treat it as if I’m talking nonsense. You have a good rest. I think you’ll probably be in the wardrobe before dawn.”

It turned out that Ethan’s estimate was correct. Two hours later, the Omega hormones from Samuel’s body filled the whole room. He ran into the closet and shrunk himself into a ball.

While Samuel was still conscious, he advised Ethan to leave, saying that he could be alone. However, Ethan insisted on staying.

He couldn’t imagine an Omega going through estrus without someone’s care and concern.

Ethan set himself an alarm clock, feeding Samuel water every two hours and feeding him three meals a day. This time, Samuel’s scent was particularly strong. He had been making some moans that would cause people to blush or their heartbeats to accelerate, which caused Ethan’s heart to itch. Every day, he sat at the door with the crutch in his hands, and he had even forgotten to take the medicine that Tanisiel had ordered him to drink.

The next night, Tanisiel came back. Ethan heard a commotion outside, but he didn’t dare to leave Samuel’s room.

After a short while, Tanisiel’s voice came from outside the door, “Ethan, open the door.”

“……No……” Ethan said, suppressing the impulse to open the door for the priest.

“I won’t do anything to Samuel,” Tanisiel reluctantly persuaded him from outside the door, “I didn’t do anything last time, right?”

“I drove you out last time!” Ethan spoke adamantly, “You quickly……cough, cough, cough……” Before he had time to finish speaking, a violent and uncontrollable cough left him no time to breathe, and he was unable to stop coughing. There was a dull pain in his chest, and his heart beat so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out of his throat.

Finally, after much difficulty, he sucked in a breath of air. He felt some saliva in the corner of his lips after coughing. He wiped it with his hand and saw a large patch of black.

It was blood. His blood was no longer bright red.

Ethan froze. It was only then that he found that his hands were turning blue, and his nails were turning black, carrying a malicious aura of death.

At this time, there was a loud noise from the door. It was someone kicking the door. Ethan hesitated and looked back at the flushed Samuel in the wardrobe, who appeared slightly different from his usual flattering appearance. Ethan clenched the crutch and retreated to the wardrobe’s door.

With a bang, the door was forcibly pried open, and Tanisiel rushed in. However, because of the strong scent of the Omega pheromones, he stepped back and hastily covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve. He turned back and yelled at all the Alpha attendants, “Everyone out of this corridor!”

The housekeeper himself was a beta, so he was not affected by the Omega’s scent. He went straight in, grabbed Ethan’s crutch, and commanded in a dignified voice, “I’ll guard him. You and the young master should leave here. You need immediate treatment.”

Ethan had no idea what he looked like at the moment. He was haggard and pale, with two heavy dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were beginning to turn black, especially with the black bloodstains on his chin.

Ethan turned around, staggered a few steps towards the room’s door, and was immediately pulled out by Tanisiel, who was guarding the door. He pressed Ethan against the wall, took out a syringe filled with a light blue fluid from his pocket, and slammed it into the back of Ethan’s neck.

Ethan let out a painful hiss, one which sounded unlike a human.

T/N: There is about a week before the CG10K contest closes! :3 If you guys are interested in the contest, or any contest prizes, e.g. extra chapters, please consider participating in the contest!