A story featuring featuring the Sovereign of Dawn, Bondrewd The Novel from "Made in Abyss" discovering a tiny human being with an odd fascination with his feet~

Contains minor spoilers for Made in Abyss!

Special thanks to  Sons00 for brainstorming ideas for this!

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Bringer of Dawn

And there he was, the Sovereign of Dawn himself looming over Markus’ miniscule form down on the table. The giant’s hands clasped together and the small man instinctively took a step back. He felt both fear and awe for the person in front of him, Bondrewd’s reputation demanded no less.

And then there was the scale, the sheer size of the man in front of Markus. The little guy had no doubt that Bondrewd would loom over him normally too, but now that he was so small… The torso alone was more than enough to take up most of his vision.

"My my..." Bondrewd’s filtered voice echoed from above. "Is it not curious that a creature like yourself has managed to make it all the way down to the 5th layer?" The light of his helmet gleamed down as he studied his curious find.

He raised his hands, causing poor Markus to flitch in fear, only for Bondrewd’s gloved hands to firmly come together again as he began to clap.

"I am impressed, that is no small accomplishment."

As the clapping stopped, Markus would find himself yelping once again as he was easily plucked up from the table and brought before the legendary cave raider’s helmet.

"I am sure there is much we could learn from one another." As Bondrewd mused aloud, his internal thoughts were overflowing with questions and hypotheses. Such a miniscule human was a truly remarkable discovery. Was this another side-effect of the curse of the Abyss? Perhaps even related to the blessing?

His thoughts were cut off as the tiny man in his grip meekly spoke up, the quiet voice just barely perceptible to the looming figure. “S-sir, before I am of any use, would you allow me to live out my fantasies? Down…” Bondrewd’s head tilted to the side. “Down at your feet?”

Immediately the head turned upright as the Sovereign of Dawn just… Stared at Markus. Blankly, somehow, even with the helmet. And then a soft chuckle emanated from within, a deep rich sound that shook the tiny in Bondrewd’s grip slightly.

"Ah, well you did manage to make it this far. It would be a disservice to your efforts to deny a request so easily given." Without hesitation the giant lowered Markus back down onto the table and then leaned down, showing off the top of his helmet as he reached down for his boots and pulled them off.

*Thunk!* *Thunk!*

Two socked monoliths landed right in front of Markus, the thick fabric a little loose around the soles towering right there in front of Markus. At the little guy’s size, each of Bondrewd’s toes seemed like a feral monster in its own right, all of them wiggling within the confines of those dark socks. It was hard to imagine that the man was merely teasing.

However, just as the two feet slid on either side of Markus, enveloping him, about to indulge the little deviant’s desires. Bondrewd got a ping on his communicator, the muffled voice of one of his subordinates sounding from it.

A moment later Bondrewd responded with a simple “Understood.” Before allowing his gaze to settle back on the tiny creature before him. “I must apologize, but I am afraid I must postpone our current arrangement. Not to worry though, I will properly indulge your desires in due time."

And with no further warning, Bondrewd would move his feet away and reach his hand down towards the human, enveloping him in its grip and lowering him down, down towards the floor.

“In the meantime, I’m certain you will find your temporary accommodation sufficiently enjoyable.”

The closed fist opened and Markus found himself falling a short distance, tumbling down into the abyss of Bondrewd’s boot. As the darkness enveloped him, the smell of dried sweat and strange chemical compounds filled Markus’ nose. The human smacked against the bottom, feeling about at the slightly damp surface of the insole. A moment later he’d stand up and stare around with unrestrained fascination. Mouth agape, the human breathed in through his nose, allowing the thick musk deep within himself only to notice his surroundings begin to darken.

His head would snap upwards, only to be met with the sight of the mammoth socked foot promptly re-entering the boot, wiggling itself in the tight confines, like some unsightly beast of the abyss.

And Markus was forced to run. Further, deeper into the boot. Racing across the damp insole only to find his efforts meaningless as the socked appendage rammed into him from behind, pinning him down and dragging him across the pungent surface.

With a gentle tug, Bondrewd ensured the boot sat tight on his foot, feeling the minor disturbance underneath it and wondering just how blessed the little creature had to be feeling at that moment.

“Such a strange desire. But perhaps that is what allowed you to make such a treacherous journey. I am glad to see your wish come true.” He rose from his seat, allowing the weight to fully settle on top of his tiny guest. “Perhaps you can help me reach my aspirations as well…”

With that the Sovereign of Dawn headed off to go deal with the issue at hand, keeping Markus in the back of his mind, theorizing on ways to use the tiny creature to conduct more experiments on the true nature of the Abyss. He could use it to test the effects of minimal ascension, or maybe vivisect it to analyze the cause of its current predicament. Or perhaps someone like that could even cause him to benefit from the blessing just from the confines of his boot? That would certainly be something to see.

…

It took a while for Bondrewd to settle all matters within the base. By the time he was free, it was already time to rest. Still, he hadn’t forgotten about his promise.

Pulling off his boots and tipping one of them upside down over his bed, he watched as the miniscule figure that he had left inside – one that had fit so snuggly under his foot that he had almost forgotten all about it – tumbled out into the open. Setting his footwear off to the side he settled his fascinated gaze on Markus once again.

"Remarkable! You seem to have held up rather unscathed."

However Markus himself certainly did not feel unscathed. His breath ragged and uneven, his chest aching from the strain that had been forced upon it for so long, and his head woozy from the lack of fresh air.

Coughing and sputtering, Markus watched as the socked monoliths moved upon him once more, carrying a dry aura of musk with them.

Bondrewd poked his test subject with a toe. "I suppose I should test your limits, hmm?" A quick shift and Markus found himself tipped over and pinned under the big toe instead. The digit pushing down on him, pressing him harder and harder into the sheets until he felt a spark of pain in his shoulder, accompanied by a soft pop.

"Ah!” Bondrewd observed as the creature writhed in pain from its shoulder being dislocated. "Remarkable! Your resilience is quite impressive, I had to apply more pressure than I thought." The words weren't cold, it was easy to tell that the compliment was genuine, even if it brought Markus little comfort as he screamed out, his pitiful voice dispersing in the air long before it could reach the giant’s ears. "Given your desire to spend time at my feet, I suppose it would be advantageous to make use of the opportunity. Would you be so kind as to rub my soles for me?” He politely asked.

The vast surface of his socked foot would shift as Bondrewd shoved it over little Markus completely, before the tiny could even respond.

As the pain shot further throughout Markus’ body from the increased pressure, he grit his teeth and – partly out of fear, partly out of the obsessive reverence for the Sovereign of Dawn – got to work.

He raised his working arm and shoved his face into the arch hanging above him, squirming about and wiggling his body as much as he could in a desperate bid not to disappoint Bondrewd.

The efforts managed to elicit a soft hum from the man above. As fleeting and pitiful as the creature’s attempt to "massage" his feet was, it was still just enough to amuse him at least. "I wonder what the world must look like to you, small creature. Perhaps if we used the Zoaholic on you, I could gain a new perspective? Perhaps eventually I could even replicate the effect of whatever relic shrank you?” A loud chuckle would reverberate through the room. “Isn’t that exciting? We could see just how small it could make you. Imagine this sock becoming a new world for you to inhabit.”

“Ah…" Bondrewd sighed contently, somewhat surprised at the how enjoyable the feeling of a tiny creature squirming underfoot could be. "Perhaps there are other things you could assist with as well. Comfort is somewhat of a rarity down here, especially for my umbra hands. You are familiar with them, yes? My followers." He slid his soles over the human, dragging the fabric across the delicate form. “They may enjoy giving you a similar treatment. And you have proven your desire to please, at the very least.” Speaking of which…” The titan of a man leaned down, plucking Markus from the ground and holding him firmly between his fingers. “Hmm… You do seem to be in quite a lot of pain, allow me to assist.”

Markus would immediately feel a tight grip on his limp, hanging shoulder a grip that effortlessly shoved at it until a soft *pop* announced it being pushed back into the socket, causing Markus to howl in pain.

“There we are. I suppose I will have to inform my researchers that you aren't quite ready for the next phase yet. We wouldn’t want them to get ahead of themselves, now would we?”

Ensuring that the small creature’s arm was back in its socket, Bondrewd would ponder for a moment before peeling back his sock and gently dropping Markus into the opening, feeling him slide deeper in, settling between the thick black fabric and the top of his foot, noting the outline of the small body, barely visible from the outside.

"I believe this should prove to be a less hostile way of keeping you close." Bondrewd observed with a nod. “Do try to mind yourself around me however. I would hate for unnecessary harm to come to you, after all.”