Chapter 128: Serious Table Flipping

༺ Serious Table Flipping ༻

Boom, boom. Since the Earth Sage's arrival, periodic rumblings had echoed in the abyss as I roamed its depths. Every time she tapped her foot, nodding to herself thoughtfully, Tantalus seemed to pulse as if it had suddenly grown a heart. It was an artificial beat in this place far removed from life.

Once everyone finished preparing amidst the noise and waited for the moment of escape, a booming voice echoed throughout the abyss.

"The preparations are complete!"

At the Earth Sage's signal, we sprang into action. Tyr floated on her great coffin, while the undying strapped a box full of food and water onto his back. Callis seemed on edge, but this was because the undying...

"I cannot let an injured person carry anything! Hand it to me. I shall carry it all!"

...Insisted on taking her bag as well. Callis had helplessly complied.

As the group gathered, Azzy emerged discreetly with a disc in her mouth. Clearly, the darned puppy had no concept of patience. But then again, that's what made her a dog. As for Nabi, she didn't even come out, let alone pack any luggage. I swore to deal with her later.

Once everyone was assembled and ready to go, the Earth Sage called out again.

"Are we all here?"

The Earth Sage stood at the center of the square courtyard, bathed in the glow of the daytime light. Just as she had been when she first arrived, she wore five rings on her arms and clay figurine earrings, standing as solid as an ancient tree.

Next to her was what seemed to be a freshly-made concrete structure. It resembled a clothesline, though its true purpose eluded me.

As we started looking around in confusion, the Earth Started nodded after checking each of our faces and began explaining.

"Then, if you allow me to explain my plan."

Whether what came next could really be called an "explanation" was debatable.

"I intend to overturn Tantalus."

Questions flooded our heads. What did she mean? Why? In what sense was she going to "overturn" the place? Like turning clothes inside out?

Fortunately, the Earth Sage was the very embodiment of engineering who was a part of Military State history. She was capable of laying out her plans with crystal-clear lucidity.

"From my gatherings, enough people have lived in this prison across the years. Therefore, we have earned the right to reach the bottom of Tantalus."

In other words, thanks to the State constantly sending people to their deaths in this prison, the land had gained enough history to rival the Overlord's massacre.

"As such, we should have been able to reach the bottom of Tantalus, but it is separate from this piece of land. To truly reach it, these two lands must be merged."

She meant that despite having enough historical weight to exist on the same dimensional plane, the two couldn't meet due to being on different levels. The solution?

"O Earth Sage. Does that mean we must dig our way down?"

She responded to the undying's question.

"That is not the case. Distance is irrelevant in this dimension. We must reach the final bottomless land in the truest sense."

I questioned my own comprehension, struggling to believe what I even read off her mind.

The Earth Sage held her palm up before continuing.

"I intend to flip this land in the most literal sense, turning it half around to invert it."

As if to demonstrate, she flipped her palm so the back of her hand faced upwards.

Dazed by her bold proclamation, we watched as she tapped the concrete structure beside her.

"This is a brace I have constructed. It will not easily break, so you all should be tied to it with ropes while I flip this land."

"I mean, are you seriously..."

"I urge you to follow my instructions. Tie yourselves securely, so that you will be safe during the turn."

Hearing the Earth Sage's earnest request, we set aside our questions for the time being and began fastening ourselves to the brace. We looked like fruits hanging off a tree with our belongings.

While the undying was tying up Callis, I approached Azzy with a rope.

"Come here, Azzy."

"Woof-woof! Restriction, I hate! Freedom, I like!"

Azzy resisted vehemently, perhaps haunted by the memory of being chained. I tried to gently coax her.

"Don't regret it later now. The land is about to flip over. You need to be secured."

"Woof! I'm about to flip out!"

"Where are you getting these phrases? Your vocabulary's growing..."

Azzy barked fiercely, dodging my hands at every turn. Just as I was having trouble, Tyr offered a solution.

"Just let her be. A Beast King can latch onto the ground with their claws. If she is in danger of falling, I shall catch her with my darkness."

"That'll have to do then. Ugh, this stubborn animal."

While I engaged in a standoff with Azzy, who ran just outside my reach, the regressor suddenly brought up Nabi.

"Tyrkanzyaka. When Nabi shows up in a minute, could you catch her too?"

"Not a problem. Beast King or not, I shall catch anyone who falls. Including you, Shei."

"I'll be fine. My Qi Art lets me stick to the ground and stand upside down. And even if I do fall, I can fly anyway."

Why? Why could she hang upside down like a bat? How could she fly? Wasn't the girl human like me? Why was she the only odd one out?

Next, Tyr turned her attention to me.

"Hu, my coffin can also float. Though it is only possible in darkness, that is no issue within Tantalus. Would you like to join me on it?"

"No thank you. When else will I ever get to experience a land turning over?"

"Is that so..."

"And Tyr, you be careful too. Based on what the Earth Sage said, I think you need to be anchored to the ground. Don't float too far off and keep close to the ground. Otherwise, it might be goodbye forever."

Hearing that, Tyr hastily latched her darkness onto the brace.

When everyone was ready, all eyes turned to the Earth Sage. Seeing this, she took a deep breath and gracefully waved her hand.

Her motion was as delicate as a butterfly fluttering its wings, yet every time her fingers swept the air, the ground quivered. The solid concrete beneath us swayed—slowly, yet deeply, like acorn jelly—under her influence.

"...Geomancy."

The regressor identified the Earth Sage's power in a whisper. It was a force handed down from Mother Earth, unique to her disciples. This was the same energy that had once shaped the lands of the Military State.

Having finished reinforcing the ground, the Earth Sage notified us.

"I shall begin."

With a powerful, booming stomp of her foot, the energy exploding from her toes surged throughout Tantalus. Normally, such an impact would have shattered the ground, but her mastery of Earth Art and the supporting ability of geomancy distributed the force evenly across the terrain. This was likely why the ground under her remained intact.

"Ohh, it seems she will overturn the land using geomancy!"

The undying made a quiet observation, his face alight with the wonder of witnessing a miracle. Callis, on the other hand, looked terrified as she stood beside him, teeth chattering.

Well, it wasn't strange for an ordinary person to be terrified by this display of tremendous power.

"S-something to hold onto..."

"I see. Frail mortals might indeed take fright! But do not worry. Master Bloodfiend will catch you with her darkness! And if there is nothing to hold, I shall lend you my hand!"

The undying extended his hand and Callis took it, trembling. Then, another shockwave passed, and she screamed, clinging to his chest.

The undying looked puzzled by the sudden proximity.

"Hm. Did I tie us so closely? We might bump into each other! Apologies, I shall hold you for now!"

"Please do...!"

The undying firmly wrapped his arms around Callis' waist and pulled her close. The two were completely stuck together. But then I saw the sharp gleam in Callis' eyes.

...It turned out she wasn't one of the ordinary ones here.

Tyr gazed at them for a second before speaking to me.

"Hu, you might also bump into something, yes?"

"But no one's tied near me?"

"...I was asking just in case."

We made small talk, ignorant of the events about to unfold. But not for long.

My ears registered a massive boom, far more immense and resonant than the previous one. The brace trembled, making my body quiver along with it.

Amidst this amazing, somewhat surreal sensation, the undying suddenly pointed to the spot where the Earth Sage should have been standing a moment ago.

"Huh? Where has the Earth Sage gone?"

She was nowhere to be seen.

"Perhaps she needed a minute? Haha. I see she must have had some urgent business!"

But the answer soon appeared—crashing down from the sky.

Boooom.

The Earth Sage dropped down, and a massive earthquake followed, shaking the entirety of Tantalus. It seemed that even her geomancy and Earth Art weren't enough to protect the ground; a giant fissure erupted beneath her feet.

I could feel the vibrations spreading, hitting the walls of the abyss, and bouncing back. The force was nothing short of a natural disaster. I could hardly believe it originated from a single human.

"Ahh...!"

Callis let out a genuine scream this time. Even for someone extraordinary like her, this was power on a scale that invoked terror.

"...Haha, this is insane."

I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. My body was swaying, and that indicated one thing: the ground was tilting.

"Holy crap. This is actually possible?"

It was as if I had become a human seismometer.

So this is what it's like to sense vibrations.

A moment later, the Earth Sage kicked off the ground and rocketed upward, sending another boom echoing through Tantalus, as impactful as her descent had been. She had simply jumped, yet it felt as if the earth itself had been indented by her action.

"...Earth in its ultimate form, and Moon at a level of mastery."

The regressor analyzed the situation with a cool head, her feet planted firmly on the tilted ground.

｢She's dispersing the impact through the whole ground as she falls, then she uses the recoil to spring back up.｣

Thanks to her thoughts, I technically understood what was going on. But sometimes, I'd wonder what the heck I just read off someone's mind.

｢Right now, the Earth Sage is... basically like a giant rubber ball.｣

Right. So how does that work again?

Humans weren't made of rubber, and falling from such a height was supposed to be fatal. But here was the biggest question: why was the ground actually flipping?

Rumble. Booom.

"Woof! Woof-woof! It's an earthquake woof!"

"Myahah! Myahaah!"

The barks and yowls of the Beast Kings filled the air. Both creatures had sought out what they deemed safe ground, flattening their bodies and digging their claws into the earth.

I smirked at the sight. Those dummies. Did they think I chose to tie myself for the thrill of it?

Regardless, the Earth Sage soared skyward once more and crashed back down, sounding like a pounding mallet. Each impact tilted Tantalus further.

Callis clung to the undying, shaking in true fear, while Azzy and Nabi screamed loudly enough to fill the entire abyss.

Then came the Earth Sage's highest jump yet, followed by a tremendous landing.

Boom.

And that's when I heard it—a crack. The concrete borders that had been supporting Tantalus gave way, unable to withstand the force. Everything happened rapidly from that point on.

The Earth Sage shouted one last warning.

"It is flipping now! Everyone, please hold on tight!"

Her warning was unnecessary, though. Every one of us was already clinging to something for dear life.

The Earth Sage took her final leap into the air.

Skkkrrreee. I felt myself shaking. The world began tilting. Or maybe it was me.

Tantalus resembled a tray balanced on a stand. Press one side down with a finger, and eventually, the stand would fail, sending the tray flipping toward the ground.

It was only at this moment that I understood why the buildings in Tantalus were grouped to one side, why they were shaped like an 'L', and why the courtyard was the only spacious area. No wonder none of it was symmetrical. It had all been designed for this from the beginning.

Then came a final, rumbling final collision as human met earth. In any ordinary situation, this would have been called a fall... but not in this case. The Earth Sage "collided" with the earth as an equal.

Whoosh. The ground overturned. At this point, the Earth Sage ceased jumping and anchored her feet to the ground using Earth Art. Her power was no longer required as the momentum was already there. Combined with the weight of Tantalus itself, the speed of the flip continued to accelerate.

Amidst the barking, yowling, and screaming of voices and thoughts—wind blew. Wind, which couldn't possibly exist in this place, began to blow anew as the bottom of the abyss opened. Air was sucked into the void created by the emptiness.

It was a bizarre sight. The ground I had just been standing on had turned into a slanted wall, and the prison buildings had become the jagged ridges of a cliff. If the ropes were to snap—though I shuddered to even imagine it—I could fall and stand on the wall of a building.

The next moment, a thunderous noise erupted from the prison building. The large water tank, unable to resist gravity's pull, broke and plunged downward. The structure disgorged its contents—desks, utensils, boxes, and chairs—through windows and openings as if expelling debris.

Eventually, the prison building itself split off in the middle, unable to bear its own weight. It was quite the spectacle to witness a four-story building being reduced to three stories.

After everything that could fall had fallen, the last thing to break was the tall daytime light that had lit up the abyss. The artificial light that had dared to mimic the sun snapped in half and plummeted below the abyss. Even that lighting, which had illuminated the entire prison, was just a feeble candle flicker in the darkness of the depths.

And so, everything was plunged into darkness. But it wasn't over yet.

My body was jerked around as the ground, caught in its own momentum, furthered its turning.

"Woof-woof!"

"Me-ow!"

"Gaaah!"

Barking, yowling, and screaming formed a discordant trio. The last voice was, of course, mine.

I held my hands upward, careful not to "fall" into the brace. Slamming into it mid-flip would be anything but pleasant.

In the all-consuming darkness of the abyss, where only screams and thoughts could be heard, the moment came when the earth—designed to be overturned from the beginning—fulfilled its purpose.

The world distorted, and with a thud, my feet touched the ground.