Nameless

The terrain stretched endlessly, a breathtaking expanse of gently rolling hills and sweeping valleys. Each curved slope blended smoothly into the next, creating a harmonious, undulating landscape. The sun, poised at the horizon, cast a mesmerizing blend of orange and purple hues across the sky. This warm, radiant light bathed the land, transforming the sky into a canvas of deep orange while the ground below shimmered in shades of purple. It was a scene of unparalleled beauty, one that surpassed anything Dan had ever witnessed, even before he lost his sight.

Dan stood there, tears filling his eyes. He couldn't believe it—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't believe he was able to see. The scene before him was breathtaking, something he hadn't expected at all. Falling to his knees, streams of tears rolled down his cheeks as multiple emotions filled his heart.

After coming to peace with himself, Dan stood up to understand what was happening and where he was. He still found it hard to believe this was the tenth prison realm. He stretched his gaze, peering through the endless horizon, but there was nothing to see. Even trees were nowhere in sight; only grasses absorbed the color emitted from the sun, causing a purple glow.

Looking at the sun, he wondered how it emitted two separate colors—orange in the inner part and purple in the outer part. He had never seen such a thing before, which made him even more curious about where this place was located. As far as he knew, the world only had one sun, which brightened the world with a single light.

Dan shook off the thought and decided to make haste. He needed to move as fast as possible. Getting himself ready, Dan decided to head north. "There is a saying in the astronomy tablets that north is the center of the world, and if you look for something, it's only logical to head to the center," Dan thought.

After what felt like an hour of walking, Dan was reaching his limit. He had finished the skin of water he brought and wondered why he felt so thirsty. 'Was it because of the strange sun?' he asked himself. Peering ahead, he spotted what seemed to be the remains of a traveling caravan. Without much thought or hesitation, he rushed to check it, hoping there might be water available.

"Looks like it was robbed," Dan said, scanning the area. The pieces of wood used to build it were scattered around, and apart from the wood pieces, there was nothing else. "And there go my expectations," Dan sighed and continued his journey.

Just as he was about to leave the site, he heard a sudden bump from one of the pieces of wood. He turned around to locate the sound and immediately went to examine it. Squatting down, he managed to push the large piece of wood aside and found what appeared to be a human.

It was a girl with a small build, long dark blue hair, and dark eyes. Her mouth was tied with a piece of cloth, as were her arms and legs. Dan rushed to remove the cloth from her mouth and used his knife to cut the ropes binding her arms and legs. He took a closer look at her face, noticing the bruises and injury marks all over her body as if she had been severely beaten.

"Thank you for saving me," the little girl said, dragging herself to her feet.

Dan tilted his head in confusion. "What did you just say?" he asked, not understanding her words.

"Why do you look so lost? I said, thank you for saving me," she repeated, but Dan still couldn't understand her. "Don't tell me, are you a human from the outside?" she asked, scanning Dan from head to foot.

Growing impatient, Dan decided to speak up. "Um… I would appreciate it if you spoke—"

"I'm Naya, and I said thank you for saving me," she interrupted.

Carried away by joy, Dan hugged her. "Oh, you speak Latin!"

Her cheeks flushed red as she pushed Dan away. "Y–You don't need to hug me," she pouted.

"Oh right, I'm sorry about that," Dan said sheepishly. "But I have an important question, Naya. Where are we?"

"Eh? You don't know where you are?" Naya's eyes widened in surprise.

"Unfortunately, I don't," Dan chuckled.

"Hmm… I am not allowed to say this, but I'll tell you because you helped me. We are currently in the tenth floor, Nameless," Naya said, pointing up at the sky.

Dan looked up and noticed something strange, as if the whole sky was covered in an invisible layer, preventing anything below from going up.

"Oh, awesome, but what's with the Nameless? Is that a name or…"

"Yes, it's what the tenth layer is called: Nameless, soon you will get to know why it's called that" Naya said, peering at the layer.

"This is a lot to take in, but more importantly, who did this to you?" Dan asked, drawing closer to Naya and caressing her skin. He wasn't interested in avenging her; he just wanted to keep his next action in check through her reply.

"Bandits…" she replied, bending her head.

"Bandits? Then that's bad. Here is not safe. We need to move to the neighboring town as fast as possible. Where is the route to the next town?" Dan asked, but Naya remained silent.

"Naya?!" Dan tried to look at Naya, who bent her face down, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Get him now!" a loud voice rang out. Dan turned around and spotted five people clad in ninja-like attire, covering their bodies and faces.

'They appeared out of nowhere,' Dan thought, preparing for combat.

"Naya, no matter what, stay behind me," Dan said, trying to shield Naya, but got no response. "Naya??" He tried to turn around but felt extreme fatigue in his leg, making him kneel. He struggled to look up at Naya's face and noticed a small knife in her hand.

'Damn it, poison,' Dan cursed as his eyes grew heavy. With a loud thud, he collapsed to the ground.