Cades yearned for nothing more than to just run away, to get away from this huge lamp made of skin, the lamp that was hovering above the endless nothing permeated with the very light that was, even now, torturing his very eses, even though they were shut as tightly as he could muster, sealed with all his strength, even subconsciously being protected by intent.
But no matter what, even with his brain, his entire self, falling apart and turning into smithereens as he realized that this thing, this infinite wall, this tower he only knew to be a tower because he had felt a curvature from far away, this tower that now seemed more like an endless wall, this tower that was higher than he could see, and he tried, his neck beginning to hurt as he looked up, sending waves of mana once more, just as he had done to get a picture of the landscape, be it in a more lineal way, not being able to 'see' an end to this infinitely extending being, as he realized that all of this was a living, probably breathing, being.
Well, he wasn't certain about breathing, but he was certain that he could not get away..
What was the alternative to standing here ?
It was to stand on another of the beasts, those beasts that were in all likelihood still moving that which had seemed to be tentacles, not that Cades could really see them right now, having concentrated completely on his surroundings, something he would come to be very grateful for quite soon, seeing as something was changing once more, as if in tact with Cades capability to catch up to things, however diminished it was now, after having been stuck in that endless limbo for quite some time, well, not that long, but long enough to lose concentration, especially since he had not slept since entering the realm from before, but now, he had begun to feel the need ever so slightly, though his mind didn't seem to be capable of sensing his own need to sleep anymore.
His body, despite him not realizing, was even more tired than his mind was after all the time he had spent mindlessly walking, waiting in the trash chute, having to kill Manug, losing everything, or at least thinking that he had lost everything he could ever have and ever had, having suffered great pain, having lost an arm and a leg, having been engraved with whatever it was that now resided within his body.
There was no doubt about it, it would surely take it's toll on him, no, it already did take a toll on him, his mind was just too out of touch with his sleeping cycle to realize it, having stopped caring about sleep and rest at some point, perhaps something left over by the other Cades, a kind of mixture of the two's memories, a weird cocktail of problems with the mind, and it would take it's revenge on him, a revenge that might very well bring him down onto the floor, sleeping out of nowhere, something his body might just force him to do soon, if the adrenaline inside of him ever stopped moving frantically, driven by thew fear and danger of what surrounded him.
Even more so now.
Cades took a step back, finally having snapped out of it once more, remembering that something was happening, trying to see, but only noticing one thing, one thing that was quite unsettling for numerous, very good reasons.
The tower was gone, as soon as he had stepped back, the huge monster had vanished, as if it had never been there at all, and so did the light, and so did the railing, and so did the floor, and yet, he was standing atop nothing, he was walking amongst thing air, and he knew, there was something, something trying to attack him, something that he could not sense yet, something hiding, something he knew would have to show itself, something he knew he would be able to see using his mana sense, just as he had been able to see the tower until it had suddenly vanished..
Perhaps that wasn't the best example now that he thought about it again, but still, he was right, he actually already felt something moving, not a living being, more like an endless river, crossing right besides him, the liquid burning hot, even from a few feet away, and moving unnaturally as if something was inside, trying to get out, and there was something, he could feel it, not by mana, not by his non-functional eyes that had become useless ever since he fell, not by anything else, he could tell by his gut, be it that that was not the most reliable organ to rely on when making decisions.
It was weird... he could see nothing, feel nothing under his bare feet, he felt nothing and he stood, he saw nothing and he saw, he smelled nothing, and he smelled something, the air that was supposed to be there but not there, and yet, the only thing that was there for him, truly there was the liquid, exuding the intense heat and moving as previously described, it was entrancing, so much so that, for some reason, Cades almost wanted to bathe inside the liquid that would surely kill him within a fracture of a second, especially when one considered that this entire thing most likely burned because of magic, not because of something natural, be it that magic in on itself could be both artificial and natural.
Just then another stream began, no, another drop came, another something happened, but this time it was smaller, and it was adding on to the one in front, the creature that was now crawling out from what he could sense, a bipedal creature with a golden glow from what he could sense with his mana, something that was quite interesting as he had never seen colour using mana before, it had always been more of a geometrical land of shapes, never having any colour until now.
Not that he could afford to wait, seeing as they might only be barely bipedal creatures, some kind of liquid still dropping from them and vanishing as soon as it touched the ground which Cades still couldn't see, these were new fighters, new opponents.
There was one in his back, one in front of him, both being crude designs of wingless ehetrians without any standout physical parts, aside from the two different weapons the two wield, the one about twelve foot behind him wielding a huge broadsword, the one in front of him wielding a dagger, small and only about a single foot.
He already knew what was going to happen now, perhaps, he was actually quite excited for this to happen, for him to fight, a change from the constant travelling and fear in this place, he yearned to feel in control of something, and he was ready to fight.