A Hand-Woven Universe 27 27. Res

Noone held his hand out in front of him as he looked down at the ball. He let it rest there, being very careful not to add any pressure onto the numerous spikes which lined its body. His eyes however, were staring daggers at the thing.

Ever since he had landed in the ocean it has been nothing but a bad time for Noone. Initially, being man handled by an uncaring universe he had expected. Thus, he did not mind too much the turmoil he had gone through when he initially landed. The sea was not the domain of humans.

While using the bird to float, and kicking in the water, he had made slow progress. Though the work was hard, Noone was strong and had a tough body. He would not be exhausted so easily.

A few times he had attempted swimming without using the bird to float. Swimming was something everyone who went through their coming of age had to go through, all with varying degrees of success.

Noone was not successful in the slightest. He understood the basics of course. Flail yourself about to create enough disturbances in the water that you can fight against gravity and propel yourself around. Or something along those lines.

But no matter what he did or what he went through, Noone sank like a rock as soon as he let go of the bird. If he fought extremely hard, he could postpone the inevitable, but only for a little bit.

Finally, he gave up. If he had not been tied to the bird, Noone dreaded to think what his fate would be.

He continued to push the bird until he reached waters shallow enough to walk on. A revelation he experienced by kicking his foot into the broadside of the earth itself.

Once Noone recovered from the pain he stepped up into the shallows. He nursed his pained foot. "Luckily it's not broken." Noone thought. Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief. He looked back onto the ocean and felt extremely intimidated. Everything here wanted to kill him, he realized.

Noone took a few steps towards the cliffs breathing a sigh of relief that he had returned to using his legs. Noone immediately swallowed a mouthful of water as he fell into an underwater hole that had formed in the shallows and dropping a full 8 meters.
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Once he climbed his way up using the rope which was still attached to the floating corpse of the bird, he became much more careful in watching his step. Noone payed attention to the shadows and silhouettes in the water, avoiding deeper portions.

Now that Noone knew what to look for, his tension eased slightly. What he had not been aware of, were these inconceivable spiked b.a.l.l.s, which he now held one in his hand.

When he stepped on it, it had immediately sunk deeply into his foot, leaving no room for negotiation or mercy.

Noone had stumbled, lifting the foot he had just set down and lost his balance. In the next moment, he had sunk 10 meters into another cave.

…

Now Noone was well up and close with the cliff, this area he had found to be very safe. No sudden pits to fall in, no weird spiked stones. To Noone, this might as well have been heaven. All he wanted to do now was to find a place out of the water where he could rest for the coming night.

He looked out at the horizon. Noone wasn't entirely sure, but he a.s.sumed he only had a couple more hours of light left.

Continuing to walk in the shallows he eventually came to a crack in the cliff, wide enough for him to fit his body into. It only went up the cliff a couple dozen meter - and ended at what looked like a small shelf.

He walked around the crack trying to determine if there was a flat shelf at the top.

Suddenly his body lurched and the hand he was holding the spiked stone in was empty. The stone was shooting towards the top of the crack. There was a small audible clack as the stone bounced around on the outcropping, before finally coming to a rest.

Noone nodded his head in satisfaction. He didn't know what the stone was, but he was not willing to give it up after the pain it had caused him.

Noone set his pack in the shallow water and took a moment to re-tie the rope connecting him to the large bird. The creature would be able to serve as food for a long time once he cooked it. Finally, he hoisted his pack back onto his shoulders and latched his hands onto the crack in the cliff.

"Hmph." Noone's arms flexed with taut muscle as his fingers dug into the stone. Slowly his body lifted out from the water and he began to climb his way up, his fingertips and hands gripping onto every small outcrop they could. Once he was 10 meters up the cliff, his weight nearly doubled, and the bird was lifted off the ground by its feet. It dangled underneath him, swaying slightly.

Breathe Noone. He reminded himself. He set his eyes to the edge of the crack above where the shelf was and continued to climb. Incrementally his progress increased, and he picked up speed.

At first he was worried about the stone in the crack not being secure. Especially when the weight of the bird was added onto his own weight and his pack. If whatever he was gripping onto were to suddenly become undone from the wall, Noone was not sure how he would stop himself from falling.

But the stone itself was extremely dense and tough, no matter how much weight Noone put on it, it continued to support him as he gained alt.i.tude.

Time pa.s.sed, and the sun began its descent onto the horizon. The world around Noone was bathed in color as the sun illuminated everything around him. Finally, he approached the top of the crack, his fingers latched onto the edge.

"Hooo," Noone let out a long breath and his muscles all flexed instantaneously, causing a ripple under his skin. All at once his body was hurled onto the top of the shelf.

"Am I going to need to climb like that all the way up...?" Noone sprawled out onto the flat stone and stared into the sky and the clouds above.

Wait for me. Elder Azelle. Adria. Tapestry.

Noone rolled over on his side and closed his eyes for a moment. Even when he had spent three months mining out the tunnel around Tapestry, he still took breaks and slept when he needed to.

But ever since he started the fall, Noone had done everything he could to remain awake and aware of his surroundings. Along with adrenaline pumping in him and the thrill of a new environment, he did not have a hard time staying awake.

The exhaustion had gradually acc.u.mulated. The thrill of the initial fall compounded with the adrenaline from his fight with the bird. Then continuing to stay awake this whole time, and battling the sea for survival.

He was battered and bruised. Tired. Exhausted. And right now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

The sun lowered below the horizon, and the world plunged into darkness. Along with it was Noone's consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.