The moment the Nightmare spells voice left his ears, Epsilon felt himself fall for a brief moment, before collapsing right on top of something cold, hard and smooth.
He felt his consciousness shift between worlds very clearly, and yet, it was still so dark. It wasn't just that, but whatever warmth he felt in clothes had disappeared too, now replaced with the feeling of cold stale air brushing against his skin.
Just as he thought, he was completely naked.
'...'
The world around him was dark, and painfully so. Epsilon couldn't even see his own hands, and his [Yang] attribute which allowed him to sense anything within the presence of light, was completely useless too. Was he underground?
Getting up, he quickly activated his dormant ability as a sphere of white light manifested in front of him. It shined brightly, lighting up the area.
He seemed to be in some kind of tunnel? The ground was made of stone, and the walls were built from stone bricks that arched above his head. The tunnel also looked to be incredibly long, as it stretched on for miles both ways.
Unfortunately, Epsilons light didn't shine the whole way as darkness still lurked around 7 metres away, before stretching on forever.
With a little hope in his heart, Epsilon activated his [Bond] attribute to check how close he was to Nero. If it was possible, then maybe he could navigate his way towards him, adding a third vanguard to Gracias cohort.
'...'
But fate didn't seem to favour them this time.
The string was unfathomably long. It felt even longer then back when the two were still in the waking world where a continent and a whole ocean separated them. Meeting up would be impossible it seems, so the two would have to find citadels of their own.
Epsilon sighed. He couldn't exactly sit still. He had no food, no clothes and no weapons, he was screwed in every sense. If he was underground, then the chances of Smile Of Heaven finding him were abysmal, so he would have to find his own way out.
There were only two choices, up or down, but [Judgement] was here to make that choice for him. It was the only thing he could rely on right now.
'I guess I'm going up.'
And so he began to walk.
And walk.
And walk.
And walk.
**
He was greatly reminded of his time in the first nightmare. Unlike before though, he had light this time, but it was still stupidly difficult to tell how much time was passing by. He had nothing else to do though, so he kept counting how far he had walked.
He had travelled maybe a mile or 2? He didn't want to run since that would make him hungrier sooner. In a place like this, that would be a death sentence.
'...'
Although he could feel a faint rumble..
'I should've eaten more bacon..'
Far in the distance though.. his eyes caught a faint glimmer.
**
Time quickly passed, and again he had walked another 2 miles. Worryingly, the hunger in his stomach was gradually beginning to grow. It wasn't enough to impact his performance yet, but in 2 or 3 hours maybe, it would start to cause some issues.
The glimmer of light he caught before hand though, began to grow brighter. Although it was still a speck, there did seem to be an end to this tunnel after all.
His heart grew light, as he though that maybe he would be stuck in this place, destined to die. But that feeling of hope didn't last very long.
It had been quiet for a very long time now, so the moment he heard the sound of a distant trickle, his heart went into over drive.
He turned his head around, hoping to get a better look. There was nothing but darkness, yet his ears told him otherwise.
The sound was low at first, a few drops of water every now and then. But as time passed, the gaps between droplets closed, and very quickly the sound of dripping water, grew into the torrent of a river.
Then the realization hit him, and he began to run towards the light like hell. Absorbing his only light source back into his body, Epsilons strength and speed doubled, as he ran with all his might.
This tunnel was flooding.
Panic ignited in his chest as the sound of waves crashing against the walls echoed out from behind him. He forced every single muscle and every single cell in his body into overdrive, hoping to out speed the chaos behind him.
But as he ran, he could feel the lick of small puddles of water form beneath his feet, irking him to run even faster.
The waves of roaring water grew even louder behind him, but the light ahead of him only grew brighter. It used to be but a small speck, but as Epsilon grew closer towards it, no longer was it a distant hope, but a growing promise.
A promise of escape.
And still, behind him, the flood roared like a beast unwilling to let him go. It was then that Epsilon realized, that he wasn't going to make it in time. The flood would catch up to him, long before he would reach the end of the tunnel. And even then, he had no clue what kind of horrors would be awaiting him on the other end.
But despair didn't overcome him. Quickly he concentrated, rushing through hundreds of ideas in his mind while confirming their validity through [Judgement]. And not longer after, he arrived at a simple solution.
He crouched, curling his body up into a tight ball, while making sure to protect his head as much as he could. The water was already rushing down the tunnel, so once it reached him the current would drag Epsilon down with it too.
He would take advantage of that fact, but his body would be in severe danger from doing this, as he would surely be tossed and turned inside it. Taking this strange position would minimize the damage delt to his body.
Not even 10 seconds after bracing himself, a torrent of water slammed into him, instantly sweeping him off his feet as he was pushed down by a tremendous force.
The water was cold, freezing cold. It instantly permeated through Epsilons already icy body, making him shiver and sneeze. The second he tried to breathe though, his mouth flooded with water.
It was strangely sweet, but panic quickly replaced that brief moment of bliss as he started to choke.
'Idiot!!'
He had become a helpless figure swallowed by the raging tide. The cold bit into his bare skin like a thousand needles, with water stinging his eyes, his throat, his very breath. The waters roared around him, a living, thrashing beast, tumbling him through its dark, merciless depths.
Waves crashed overhead, each one attempting to twist his body in an unforgiving dance, pulling him down, dragging him up, then slamming him sideways. But he didn't yield, for if he did, he was sure they would all snap and break. Nevertheless, the current remained merciless, spinning him end over end, with his sense of direction lost in the chaos.
It did not care for his struggle to survive, and Epsilon was not sure how long he could hold out. This was much more difficult than he had imagined.
A few seconds later though, his [Yang] attribute kicked in, as he felt the world outside the tunnel for a brief moment.
And not long after that, he was furiously thrown into it.