Nacht knew that in terms of power, the abstract was a far greater threat than any of the other enlightened sinners. That was why he decided to take care of the sinners himself, while Alister prepared to take on the Abstract.
However, Alister by himself wasn't enough to take on the abstract, especially under the cover of darkness where he would be blind. So Nacht had put his trust in him to come up with a plan to deal with the monster.
He had originally planned for Alister to lure him into the caves where he could see, but Alister told him he had something else in mind.
'That lunatic.'
Nacht moved with intent and narrowly evaded the trap that Alister had set. The ground where he had just been began to cave, bringing the abstract along with it. The abstract's screeching wails caused Nacht to grimace slightly in pain.
"Did you miss me?"
Alister emerged from seemingly nowhere with the same stupid grin he always had on his face, along with the earthy smell of mud, which had been strewn across his clothes. Presumably from creating the trap.
The darkness had dispersed somewhat by the light coming from the tunnels, meaning that Alister's sight was no longer hindered.
"Couldn't you have shown up sooner?"
Alister shrugged.
Loud bangs could be heard from beneath the ground causing Nacht to feel uneasy.
He took a few steps forward and looked over the edge into the pit below. He couldn't tell how deep the hole was, but it was deep enough to bury the abstract whole and then some. Even so, it wouldn't be enough to restrain the abstract for long.
Nacht spoke in a hushed tone.
"We should probably get going."
Alister turned and began to walk in a different direction
"Agreed."
Following Alister through the forest, Nacht could still hear the distant struggles of the abstract that had been buried alive. This made him want to leave this floor as quickly as possible but Alister seemed to be taking his sweet time.
"Shouldn't we be running instead of walking?"
One of the smaller trees that was severely damaged by the monsters rampage had fallen down right behind Nacht causing him to flinch.
Alister spoke in his usual whimsical tone.
"Whats the rush? The exit to this floor is nearby."
As he said that, they entered a clearing in the forest where there were no trees, just the pitch black sky and a soft luminous light leaking from a nearby cave. Once they entered the cave, Nacht froze in slight shock as he noticed a dead body on the ground next to a hollow husk of something that used to be alive.
"What? Did you think there was only one group of enlightened on this floor?"
Nacht Shook his head
"No, I'm surprised that you killed them without making any noise."
Alister's smile widened.
"I have my ways."
They walked deeper into cave and down into the tunnels below. The path they followed had many twists and turns but it seemed that Alister knew where they were going. Eventually they came to a stop once they reached a dead end.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?"
Alister put his hand against the wall and a familiar red glow lit up the tunnel.
"No idea."
Unlike the last floor they had been on, they weren't going to stay until the floor was overcome with unbearable heat. After all, they were running on borrowed time since the abstract would escape at any moment.
Nacht waited for a few moments, analyzing the detailed engravings and trying to feel for the power behind the mechanism that was working on him. However, it seemed like his efforts were for naught, because all he could focus on at the moment was when he had last eaten.
"There better be something I can eat on the next floor.'
In truth, he had been starving ever since he entered penance, it seemed that awakening his power core had taken a lot out of him. For now, there was nothing he could do until he reached the next floor besides regret not eating before he came to penance.
Even so, back then he didn't think he would have had an appetite, knowing what he had to do, so he wouldn't have eaten either way. Before Nacht's thoughts could spiral further, the detailed red carvings suddenly became brighter until he was pulled away into someplace else.
Opening his eyes, Nacht let out a small sigh of relief. In front of him was a fountain, which wasn't as good as the food he was hoping for, but satisfying his thirst should be good enough.
He paused for a moment and then mentally shook his head.
He raised his saber, realizing he might still be in danger considering how close he came to dying on the last two floors.
Nacht felt Alister place a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax Nacht, this is a safe floor."
That was all he needed to hear.
He lowered his saber and ran towards the fountain before dipping his hands into the cold water, bringing it to his mouth.
'Ahh, it's been a while since I last had a drink this refreshing.'
In fact it was a little too refreshing. Nacht felt his body become revitalized, his hunger and thirst was satiated as well and his body no longer felt the dull pain from his previous battles he was still recovering from. He even felt the slight tiredness he was feeling slip away.
Nacht looked down at the liquid he thought was water.
"It's more of a healing liquid than water isn't it?"
Alister shrugged.
"Something like that."
Alister brought his hands towards the water and took a drink himself.
While he was doing this, Nacht decided to explore their current floor. The room was quite large and had sufficient light with detailed engravings encompassing the dark walls of the entire room. Besides the fountain which was at the center of the floor, it was mostly empty. Eventually, Nacht made his way back to the fountain and settled onto its edge.
He remembered what Alister had said earlier about the crucible. He said that someone had conjured this place, but for what he did not know. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know where this place was located in penance. He knew that it was somewhere in the first gate, but he had yet to see its harrowing red sky.
Nevertheless, It seemed that whoever designed this floor intended it to be a place of rest. No doubt for the sinners that had passed the crucible's terrible challenges so far. Now that he was no longer in danger, Nacht had a few suspicions about this place.