Land of Mirriam

Jubaic smiled... a twisted grin that curled unnaturally at the corners of his mouth, eyes gleaming with a sinister delight. It was as if he had found a new toy, one he could play with.

“I think I changed my mind” Although he felt faint on his head, Simon was in the right mind to say that… but he knew he shouldn’t have asked for it. The sensation of madness was screaming on Jubaic’s smile.

“Come on you asked me what is the eye of truth! Aren’t you curious!” Jubaic waved his whitish hair glamorously.

It annoyed Simon but he had no energy to spare… the boy didn't know where he was, or who it was but the eyes and the way the man spoke, it was dangerous. The boy just actually wanted to sleep and rest... he didn't have a choice though he couldn’t move properly he started crawling away, even dragging the piece of clothing he was sleeping with.

“Come on!! It's been 400 years since I got company and you already asked the question!!!-” Jubaic's eyes widened, shimmering with a desperate, childlike innocence. He clasped his hands together, his voice quivering as he begged, his entire demeanor transformed into that of a pleading, helpless child. “-See it through the end!!! SIMON come on!!!”

Simon, who was squirming away thought ‘How did he even know my name?’

“Stop looking at me like that!!! I’m not some kind of mad scientist!!” Jubaic tried to convince the boy though his eyes were as dark as deep as hell.

Simon who made a second glance tried to squirm faster until in panic he dropped…

“Hey come on!!! That’s a pitfall!! Although you are immortal it would still fucking hurt!!!! Crap I need to go down there or he will be on one of my pet’s stomachs!!!” Jubaic quickly jumped into the pitfall he worried that he would be alone again for another week as he waited for Simon to be resurrected from the low bowels of the monsters.

<--->

In the depths of the abyss, a hairy beast savored its meal with evident pleasure. The echoes of its grumbles and growls filled the darkness as it relished the taste of something meaty after what seemed like an eternity. Yet, in mere moments, its prey stirred.

Simon struggled back to consciousness, only to find himself unable to speak. A sharp pain throbbed across his face, and he sensed a hairy presence looming before him. An eye blinked open, revealing the grotesque sight of his own flesh being consumed by a monstrous creature. He recognized it instantly—a Kaveron. And to his horror, he realized there were two more of the creatures gnawing at his limbs.

He slipped back into unconsciousness, only to be jolted awake by another wave of agony. The cycle of torment continued unabated, trapping him in a relentless nightmare.

“Assholes!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY FRIEND!!!” a quite familiar voice and finally the pain stopped but he passed out again…

…

When he regained consciousness he saw Jubaic slaying the Kaverons actually a flock of them… and it was a one-sided massacre… he finally saw himself… although slowly he was regenerating his body… it was a horrendous sight for the boy and he passed out again.

…

Simon woke up… he inspected his body… it seemed he was still missing his left hand which was slowly regenerating.

“Hello there!! Boy!!! Hey!!! Don’t look at me like that I saved you twice already!!! Okay, just once, and it's also my fault for putting you there… come on don’t run away you are an immortal so no problem at all!!!” Jubaic tried to convince Simon but it was not convincing at all.

Jubaic made sure that the boy was far away from the cliff as he sat on a rock watching over him.

But still, Simon tried to crawl away as his body hurt like hell… it seemed that some parts of his head hadn’t yet regenerated. His struggle was painting the ground red.

“Aw you leave me no choice… although I wanted to talk to… ah I’ll just put you to sleep!!” Jubaic said as he stood up… he conjured some kind of needle in his hand.

Simon didn’t even know what happened as he passed out… finally, there was no pain at all.

…

Simon woke up to find no pain coursing through his body. Instead, a disturbing numbness had settled in, rendering him paralyzed. It felt as though his entire body was encased, locking him in a rigid posture.

He tried rotating his eyes, though his nose remained inert. The feeling on his skin resembled the texture of soil, akin to the sensation when he used to dig pits with the old man. His body truly seemed to be encased in an armor fashioned from the earth itself.

“Who’s awake there!! Simon!? Hey… you look like you are feeling better now… are you back in your right mind now?” Jubaic who was watching Simon the whole time smiled.

“I can't feel… me body... What happened to me?” Simon struggled to ask, his words forming clumsily as he battled to move his jaws properly.

“I placed a needle in your spinal cord… if you put something between the parts that regenerate and make a hole there, as long as you don’t remove it, it will stay apart…” Jubaic answered… it was a terrifying answer… it seemed that Simon was in a constant state of slightly beheaded.

Simon began to cry. He didn't understand a single thing about what the madman had said. But his tears weren't just confusion; they stemmed from a flood of relief that his body was no longer in pain. It was a mix of helplessness and terror as if experiencing this depth of emotion for the first time.

“Aw come on… I could hug you but you won’t feel anything… rest for a while!~~ we have time!” Jubaic excitedly says so!

<--->

After fainting from crying, waking up to numbness, then fainting again, it took two days for Simon's head to finally clear. Jubaic, his scrutiny unwavering, observed every subtle shift and sign of change.

“Oh, you recovered quickly! You have a mind like steel!!!-” Jubaic clapped with his hands… he tried to look glamorous but his shaggy white hair prevented it. “-I can remove the pike on your neck… it will be painful… hmm… the pain would last for 2 hours… are you ready?” Jubaic asked.

Simon nodded… he couldn’t feel anything right now… he could move his neck only in a very limited way… he was also having trouble with speaking. Jubaic went closer and a small whipping sound… every pain in his body went live… Simon didn’t even have the chance to scream as he fainted out again because of shock.

“... Well, it would be much worse watching yourself recover and feeling it slowly…” Jubaic smiled, as he covered Simon again with his coat.

<--->

A month had slipped away. Jubaic remained faithfully by the boy's side throughout, his anticipation for the boy's recovery palpable. Then, on a day that would etch itself as the happiest in Jubaic's memory, he heard the boy's voice calling out, beseeching him to remove the earthen cast enveloping his body. With unbridled joy, the madman eagerly complied, his heart swelling with hope and relief.

Simon was finally awake… though the heaviness on his body… the feeling of his limbs… it felt like all the vigor he had before was gone… actually it felt like he become old.

“You look bad… really bad… immortal but cursed!” Jubaic said as he finally saw Simon trying to stand.

“What happened to me?” the boy asked.

“... A curse is draining part of your soul… though you are immortal and cannot die… you will probably remain in a weakened state forever…” Jubaic said… it was just a simple analysis.

“... I see…” Simon remembered the words of the snake… the snake said that Simon had to come back to him.

“What’s with the complicated face? Relax!! Welcome to the Immortal Abyss!!! We have 8 residents here including me and plus you making it 9!!! Though we 2 are the only ones that communicate through verbal speech!!!” Jubaic welcomed Simon warmly.

“What should I do… I want to go back…” to my friends? Simon thought… in the first place he had no goals after the old man died…

“I see! I see! Me too! I would like to smell books again… well shit, after the guardians caught me sniffing around… here I am…-” Then Jubaic pointed up with both his hand before saying angrily: “I’m totally going to enjoy killing them!!!-” then smile at Simon“-Well, how about studying magic with me!!”

“It doesn’t matter… I will be remained weakened as you say so” Simon answered resolutely.

“Come boy! Magic is a miracle! There are holes and loops you can abuse! Just trust me… how about starting from the eye of truth?” Jubaic slowly walked into Simon.

Simon felt the chill. “Wait… why are you looking at me like that?” Simon asked.

“Well unlike the other immortals here you are very likely to be abused… I mean receive teaching… just receive my teachings I promise you we will find a way to work around your curse!” Jubaic hands glowed faintly and they landed on Simon’s head.

“I give up… I won’t die anyway right?” Simon remembered what he saw earlier… it was amazing that he was still alive.

“There are worse things than dying kid… hmm… why did I even say that? Well, bottoms up that’s the spirit kid!!” Jubaic smiled…

A few moments after Jubaic touched Simon’s head, he withdrew and smiled at the boy.

“That’s it?…. huh? What is happening?” Simon didn’t feel anything rather he started seeing moving things… astral things but it was not spirits… he immediately understood that it was magic in the air… and it was very scarce.

“You are very lucky, when I accidentally activated it, I was still on the central continent… it was a mess… in here you can slowly understand it… let your brain adjust to it… can you see it?” Jubaic muttered as he watched Simon’s pained face.

It was true, there are 8 residents in the area that they are… even 3 of them are watching him and Jubaic with curiosity and great interest.

“My head is starting to hurt…?” it was a slight pain that was getting worse as his eyes adjusted to the realm that he was seeing.

“Can you hear it… once you hear it you have stepped up into the realm of truth!!” Jubaic said prophetically as he carefully watched Simon’s face getting distorted.

“... What is happening…”

The boy was starting to get aware of things around him… everything around him.

“Listen to the world” a solemn broadcasting voice.

A voice that was not a voice rather, it could be directly heard in his mind… this was familiar… he had heard this before but he couldn’t remember.

“Oh… you are coping well… actually too well! This is rare!!! I did it to one of my friends a long time ago but he killed himself after a while… well he was not coping that well!” Jubaic added a terrible remark while watching Simon carefully.

“Hmm… can you see me?” Jubaic asked Simon who was staring from the far off side. He was like in some kind of trance… his pupil kept on scintillating…

“Come back! Give my body back!!!” it was another voice… a voice that was full of hatred and rage.

Simon knew where that voice was coming from. It was coming from above him.

“Boy!! Focus… I said can you see me?” Jubaic enforced his voice and Simon stared at him.

He was still that same annoying white-haired man… but something was hiding deeper in those eyes of black hell.

“Hmm… probably you broke through the first layer… no problems! Time to sleep again! I will take care of you!!!” Jubaic said as he smacked Simon’s neck… the boy’s body dropped like a puppet out of his strings, he was knocked unconscious.

A dream… a reality. One's perception could be easily swayed. But the feeling of nostalgia and the feeling of yearning could evoke memories that one would want to relive, over and over again.