Garden of the Forgotten

The flowers breathed.

Their translucent petals, thin as fibre glass sheet, pulsed with a faint rhythm — a fragile, shuddering imitation of life. The silvery-black soil beneath them exhaled softly, a hushed whisper that carried no scent, no warmth, only the phantom chill of a place long abandoned.

TSS...

I lay among them, a dark expression present on my face. My body wrecked and my armor broken. Blood was smeared across its lusterless surface, and even dripping onto the soil.

The void above served as an unsettling imitation of a sky. Not bright nor dark but simply vague and strange. The world now was simply silent. A silence so thick it could suffocate.

HA...

I dragged in a breath, ragged and jagged, feeling the twinge of pain in my chest where my bone had protruded my flesh. My fingers curled weakly, grazing the cool earth, the soil strangely soft. It felt like... ash soaked in dew.

"Damn...", I cursed in a low voice, as once again I failed to absorb the World Energy.

There's really nothing...not even a faint trace...

I scowled.

How is that even possible?

Back in the body of Balor, the Breathing Giant, the World Energy existed, albeit in minute quantities and for an explainable reason.

His body was absorbing it.

But here in the Abyss...?

There wasn't even in a speck or trace of it.

It was like it ceased to exist.

I-is there something else here...that's absorbing it...?

It was a plausible question but one I couldn't answer. Especially considering the nature of the Abyss...it could even be that the World Energy originally doesn't exist here.

TSK...

I hissed again.

This is bad...

No World Energy meant no replenishment, no magic, no calming effect, and no life sustenance since the presence of World Energy meant the existence of life.

If I exhausted the World Energy in my Aperture, I would definitely die.

Proof was in the fact that the Profane Cockatrice had only truly died after I had destroyed its Aperture, dispelling the World Energy in it.

Tsk...am really cooked...

I focused into my Aperture which held quite a substantial volume of the World Energy, I had the skill of Oversaturation after all and it granted me access to a large storage unit for the World Energy, the only reason I had been able to survive for so long.

But...

In the end it wasn't infinite, it was bound to run out eventually.

And being trapped in this place with no way to replenish it would definitely bring my demise before the Abyss can.

HOO...FWOO...

I breathed, trying to forcefully calm myself.

Calm down...nothing good comes from not being calm...

I chose to come here. I chose knowledge over ignorance. I had been given a way out but I rejected it.

So, there is no one to blame for my predicament...hehehe...that's the thing...

So, what if there was no World Energy in this world?

I'd just have to adapt.

I'd just have to overcome.

I'd faced several obstacles; this one won't stop me.

I clenched my fist and jaw; a determined expression coming to my bloodied face.

This fleeting amount I have...I can't afford to waste it...

I focused inward.

I have to use it much more efficiently...much more resourcefully...

I closed my eyes, ignoring the writhing ache of my body, the sharp grind of broken muscle and half-mended bone.

I inhaled, trying to establish a connection but stopped, opening my eyes I muttered.

"No...no, that won't work..."

Trying to breathe would just end up, turning into a fruitless cycle of trying to absorb in the World Energy. I need to do something different...

Something different...

Something else...

I closed my eyes again and focused inward, on my Aperture.

What else...?

My body quivered, the adrenaline dissipating.

What do I have to do differently?

My eyes were half-lidded, as my thoughts went by.

If I want to be more efficient in my control...then I have to be...meticulous...

I closed my eyes.

I have to be much sharper in my control of the World Energy in my Aperture, I can't allow it to burst freely like last time...and to that...

Suddenly, a lightbulb dinged in my head.

I need a greater insight to my own body...

[Skill: Mind Palace has been activated.]

...

My perception shifted, bringing the view of an empty white space. Hundreds of items floated freely within it, each a testament to my [Vast Knowledge Base].

With a thought, I drew one closer, an item with the cryptic image of a multijointed pencil. Reaching into it, I called forth the information it stored – the Anatomy of the Human Body.

The concept then divided into the various systems; integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, endocrine, and reproductive systems.

TSS...

The very act of performing this, caused my head to hurt and the other items to dull despite my Level 11 constitution.

Doesn't matter...this is more important...

With another thought, I began to make connections, trying to visualize the very structure of my body.

Come on...

I tried but the images flickered, distorting.

Focus!

I urged myself, trying my hardest to grasp the placement of my Aperture.

Come on...

I strained myself, both externally and internally.

Come on...wait...

I stopped before calming my mind.

Subtlety...Alex...

HOO...FWOO...

[Skill: Kinesthetic Awareness is active.]

The moment the system spoke, the gift of clarity that fluidized my thoughts suddenly took a different path.

Woa-

[Skill: Mind Palace X Kinesthetic Awareness are active.]

...

That's it!

My eyes flashed open, glinting with a shimmer of newfound clarity.

Inside my [Mind Palace], where knowledge floated in pure, untainted form, twisted and churned as the visceral sensations of my battered body forced their way in.

And suddenly...

I felt everything.

From the way air slid down my trachea to my stifled beating heart, my expanding and contracting lungs, my fractured bones, the tears along my abdominal wall and even the raspy flow of blood.

The minute tremors in my fingers, the unsteadiness in my grip, and the dull throbbing ache rooted deep within my spine.

It was all so clear.

Holy...shit...

Just like how I had visualized the Profane Cockatrice's body, I had done the same to mine but with even much greater clarity.

In my [Mind Palace] was a blueprint of my body.

A living blueprint of pain.

ACK.

"Wow... I'm really beat up, huh.", I muttered, lips curling into a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes.

Hehe...hehe...

Despite my amused thoughts, I held my body in quite high regard, after all, if it were destroyed where would "I" go.

The [Mind Palace] shimmered, the countless pieces of my [Vast Knowledge Base] rearranging themselves to accommodate this newfound clarity. Anatomy diagrams, medical texts and even my own assumptions and theories interlaced with the raw, felt experience of each broken bone and torn muscle fiber.

All that theoretical knowledge was suddenly thrusted into practicality.

Transforming from mere concepts to real-world implements.

HA... HA...

The process was exhilarating.

It gave me joy.

The joy that only a man who had pondered a mystery for over 100 times before finally solving it could experience.

This was no longer just knowledge; it was now experience.

Strangely, I remembered Methuselah.

"HAHAHA-ACK!"

I coughed up blood, spitting out a stray metal shrapnel.

Methuselah...the man that lived too long... hmm...I wonder what he found that made him so deeply regretful...

I shook my head, chasing away the thoughts.

That's not important right now...what's important is my body...

I reached inward, towards my Aperture.

The World Energy within was still there — swirling like a gentle whirlpool, endlessly rotating in on itself. A delicate, precious flame barely flickering in the suffocating world of the Abyss.

It was life.

My life.

Which I couldn't waste.

With that, I forced my mind inward, peeling back the layers of pain, estrangement, and exhaustion until only the delicate stream of World Energy within me remained. Thin, like a thread spun from silk. Normally, my magic would flow freely, drawn to the needs of my body like water seeking a crack.

But here...I couldn't let that happen. It was wasteful and greatly inefficient. I had to make every drop of the World Energy count.

HOO... FWOO...

Using the blueprint provided by my [Mind Palace] and the insight of my [Kinesthetic Awareness], I latched onto the stream, lacing it carefully. My mind wrapped around it like talons around prey, holding it in place.

Alright...

The energy trembled at my command, slightly sluggish, but it obeyed. Flowing out of my Aperture, it leaked slowly, spreading out like a network chain.

SWOO...

Gradually, my bones knit, my muscles grew and my blood stemmed, albeit imperfectly. My wounds closed but they didn't vanish.

HA... HA...

The pain didn't fade; but it grew much sharper and clearer.

"That's alright...", my hoarse voice croaked.

After all, when life gives you lemons you ma-wait what? No, you scam life!

By the time my eyes shot open, the garden was no less alien than before, but my limbs obeyed again, even if they screamed in protest.

HA... HA...

I pushed myself upwards with my hands, staggering to my feet. My boots sunk slightly into the silvery earth as I rose.

My body ached through the process, but I ignored it. Pain was after all, second nature to me now.

Hehehe...how amusing...

I took one last glance into my Aperture.

Hmm...I used only about 4% of it...could be better though...

I rose my head up, and took in the sight of the space.

Hmm...

And the moment I gained clarity of my surroundings the system spoke.

[Congratulations, player! You have discovered a new location – the Abyss Below.]

[Welcome to the Garden of the Forgotten.]