Chapter 5 – Gravity’s Grip

[Abyss – 5th Floor Entrance – 251m Underground]

The instant we stepped through the doorway, the world twisted. The solid ground vanished beneath our feet, replaced by a disconcerting sense of weightlessness.

“Noah!” Yuri’s voice called out, not from beside me, but from
above
.

It took a moment to comprehend the disorienting shift. I was being pulled downwards, or rather, in the direction that
felt
like down. Looking up, I saw Yuri floating upwards, her arms flailing as she tried to grasp at something, anything, like a swimmer caught in a riptide.

“Yuri! Are you alright?!” I shouted, reaching out, but the space between us widened with alarming speed.

“I… I can’t control myself! It’s like I’m weightless!” Her voice was filled with panic.

I dropped to the ground, pressing myself against the strangely solid floor. Gravity, for me, was still pulling downwards. But Yuri continued to drift towards the ceiling, an invisible force dragging her upwards.

“Yuri, calm down! The gravity… it’s inverted! It’s affecting us differently!”

“What do we do?! I’m going to hit the ceiling!”

She reached out, but the ceiling remained just out of reach, an intangible barrier.

I pulled out the compass. The needle spun wildly, useless in this distorted reality.

“Gravity Distortion,” I muttered. “This floor’s Trial… it’s about trust.”

“Trust?! How is trust supposed to help me when I can’t even control my own body?!” Her voice was sharp with fear.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. “Yuri, I’m going to move. Follow my lead. We need to find a balance, together. That’s the only way we’ll get through this.”

“Balance?! How can we balance when we’re being pulled in opposite directions?!” Her voice cracked, on the verge of tears.

“Think of it like a tug-of-war,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “If we don’t pull against each other, we’ll both fall. We have to find the equilibrium.”

“A tug-of-war? But there’s no rope! How is that supposed to work?” Her eyes were wide with panic.

“We
are
the rope, Yuri. You’re being pulled up, I’m being pulled down. We have to synchronize our movements. You move slowly, push against the… the ‘ceiling’. I’ll adjust my movements to counterbalance you. We have to create our own center of gravity.”

“But what if I mess up?” Her voice was still laced with fear.

“I’ll catch you,” I said, my voice firm. “I won’t let you go. We’ve come this far, Yuri. We can do this.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll try. I’m trusting you, Noah.”

“Good. Slowly. I’ll start. Match my pace.”

I took a step, focusing on the strange inverted gravity, trying to maintain my balance. Yuri mirrored my movements, slowly, hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence.

“Good, Yuri. Nice and slow. We just need to find the balance point. The Abyss will recognize it.”

“Noah…” Her voice was strained. “I’m getting dizzy… being upside down like this…”

“Just a little further. The distance between us is closing.”

“It is… if this keeps up, we might actually…”

“We will. Just focus on that island up ahead. Slowly. Steadily.”

We moved in a strange, synchronized dance, like two ends of an invisible rope, pulling, resisting, balancing. The pressure on my feet intensified, the endless space stretching before us.

“Noah! Look!” Yuri cried, a hint of excitement in her voice.

In the distance, a small, floating island hovered in the void, a beacon of hope in the disorienting expanse.

“Alright, let’s make for the island. Just a little further!”

“Okay…” Yuri’s voice wavered. “But Noah… I’m really dizzy now…”

I saw her stumble, her upside-down form wavering precariously.

“You can do it, Yuri! Almost there! Just hold on…”

The island drew closer, the gap between us narrowing. I was being pulled down, she was being pulled up, yet we were moving towards each other, an impossible convergence.

“Noah, I can’t… I’m going to fall!”

“Yuri, just a little further! Trust me—”

Her grip loosened. She started to fall.

“Noah!”

I lunged forward, arms outstretched. As she fell, gravity snapped back to normal, her body landing squarely in my arms.

“Got you.” I stumbled back, absorbing the impact, Yuri held tight against me.

She looked up at me, stunned for a moment, then a small smile touched her lips.

“You caught me… like a prince in a fairy tale.”

I chuckled, setting her gently on her feet. “Couldn’t let you fall. But you’ve gotten heavier since we were kids.”

“Heavier?!” She feigned indignation, then her expression softened. “Thank you, Noah. I thought I was going to die.” A faint blush colored her cheeks as she looked away.

“It’s nothing. We’re a team.”

“A team… right. A team.” She muttered under her breath. “Dummy. Blockhead.”

“What was that, Yuri?”

“Nothing! Let’s just… rest for a bit, okay? Solid ground… never thought I’d appreciate it so much.”

We sat on the small, floating island, a welcome refuge in the distorted space. It was small, but it felt… safe.

“Noah, I think this place… it’s different.”

I nodded, my gaze sweeping across the strange landscape visible from the island’s edge. “I agree. This is where we begin to understand this layer.”

A comfortable silence settled between us, her hand still clasped in mine.

We pulled out our Emergency Rations and water, simple fare, but a lifeline in this hostile environment.

“Do you think Uncle Sven’s alright?” Yuri asked, a hint of longing in her voice.

“He’s probably fine,” I said. “Probably still tinkering away in his workshop. He’s resilient.”

“Yeah. We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him.”

The thought of Uncle Sven, always cheerful amidst his piles of scrap metal and discarded machinery, brought a smile to my face. “He kept our gear in working order, made sure we had enough to eat. He’s the reason we’re still alive.”

Yuri nodded, taking a bite of her ration. “I wonder what’s happened to the world outside… since we left.”

“Probably the same,” I said, my voice grim. “The decline won’t stop. Everyone’s just trying to survive.”

She nodded, her gaze distant. “There were good times, though. Remember listening to those old songs on the radio Uncle Sven built?”

“Those were glimmers of hope. But they didn’t last.”

“People are giving up on the outside world,” I continued. “That’s why the Abyss… it’s become a kind of twisted hope.”

“Hope? But it’s so dangerous…” Yuri tilted her head. “Maybe it would have been better to stay. At least we knew what to expect.”

“Maybe,” I said, chewing slowly. “But that wasn’t living. That was just existing. You know as well as I do, Yuri, that world… it wasn’t ours anymore. It was just a place to breathe.”

“I know… but sometimes I miss it. This place… it’s so big, so unfamiliar…” Her voice trailed off, and she took a long drink of water.

I nodded. “We made our choice, Yuri. The Abyss is dangerous, but… it offers the possibility of something more.”

She looked at me, her expression a mix of uncertainty and determination. “Do you really think we’ll find what we’re looking for?”

“We have to,” I said, the words as much for myself as for her. She couldn’t understand my reasons for being here, not yet. “Otherwise, what was it all for?” I gave her a reassuring smile. “For now, let’s focus on getting through this. We need each other if we’re going to make it to the end.”

“We do,” she agreed softly.

She looked at me, her eyes searching. “Noah… why are you really here? I asked before, but…”

Her question, though casually asked, struck a chord within me.

“I’m looking for something,” I said slowly. “Something important. I can’t explain it, not yet. But I believe it’s here, somewhere in the Abyss.”

She studied me for a long moment, then smiled faintly. “Then let’s find it. Together.”

“Together,” I echoed, my heart filled with a renewed sense of purpose.

Silence descended, punctuated only by the faint, distant sounds of the Abyss breathing around us.

We shared the last of our rations, preparing ourselves for whatever lay ahead.