Day: 3187
Days Left: 2293
Lives Saved: 17
Despite having never slept on anything as comfy for as far as Henry could remember, having to sleep in tents and the ground during his entire prison sentence in the Abyss, Henry struggled to get a full rest that night in his new bed. The anticipation that had been building for years, the tension and fear had physically manifested in his body as fatigue and ache and staggered breathing. They had both known that Nia would eventually leave the Abyss, her sentence long since finished and yet all that time was not quite enough mental preparation for when the promise became a reality. Nia had done so much for Henry, choosing to remain in the Abyss and help him find Corinna, to thank him in return for saving her from her kidnappers. During that journey of survival and peril, they had fallen for each other, Henry hesitant to act on his feelings knowing that Nia would be leaving years before he could, that it would just create more pain on their eventual separation. But he did not regret falling in love with her, even if they were not to be together for the rest of their days, even if they would never see each other on the other side again. By the time Henry was released, Nia would have lived over a decade of freedom, and Henry would never ask her to give that up, to ask her to remain even longer with him until he was free too.
Their time together was neither a waste, regret, or mistake and after the initial grief, Henry hoped to look back on their time together in fondness and with a smile.
They were both woken up by a ringing bell that signalled it was the Abyss' equivalent of 7 am. Neither Henry nor Nia got a full rest but they got up anyway. After half an hour, Kai knocked on their door and escorted them around the city, showing where the public shower stalls were and then to the food hall for breakfast.
It seemed word had already gotten around that Nia was leaving and that Henry was the new citizen of The Warren. People approached them non-stop, giving their congratulations and introductions. It was overwhelming all the new names and faces and the continuous 'thank you's and 'nice to meet you's that Henry and Nia had to return. Kai had to order everyone to leave them alone so they could finally finish their breakfast.
After food, Kai offered some suggestions to spend the hour or so until Nia would be released, however Henry and Nia were content to find a quiet spot in one of the city's parks. They did not talk much, nor of much substance; it was a meaningless conversation if you were an outsider overhearing and yet it meant so much to Henry and Nia. Such a plain and boring conversation whilst in a tranquil park; it was something that they could have had if they weren't in the Abyss, if they had met in the human realm, a snippet of what their life together could have been. It was a short moment of that dream before they had to return to reality and they were called by Kai to head towards the Land of the Lost.
Following Kai and a few other Warren guards, they descended the stairs to the pit of the Land of the Lost. There awaited Corinna and Lili, who had managed to find some time away from work to send Nia off too. Nia thanked them both for last night, and thanked Kai too for all of his help, and then spent her last moments in the Abyss simply holding Henry's hand.
The sky above opened up, a beam of light shining down as a bodiless voice boomed out, "Nia Maddock, congratulations, you have served your sentence and are free from The Eternal Abyss'.
Nia Maddock, that was her full name. Henry could see the well of tears in Nia's eyes after hearing that after years of only knowing her first name and nothing else.
From the light above, a metal platform on a pulley system descended down. Once it reached the ground, Nia stared at it for a moment, perhaps in disbelief that this was really happening, before giving Henry one last final hug. It was a short one, which was perhaps a good thing because neither would have let go if it was any longer. And then Nia stepped onto the platform, forcing a smile though her eyes could settle on anyone but the gaps between.
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Welfare and Warfare
الخيال (فانتازيا)(Book four of the Harm and Harmony series) It has been years since Henry was imprisoned in a hell dimension called The Eternal Abyss, which is infested with monsters and other prisoners that have lost control and will do anything to survive. What ha...
