"Does a Silent man ask for help when drowning?"
Who said that? What is this place?
"No, he doesn't, he drowns."
As stated before, "Time can be warped in these places," and it seemed like Garius' time was being warped.
"Does a Silent man ask for help when falling?"
"No, he doesn't, he falls."
[Garius looks around, franticly trying to find the source of the voice]
Suddenly, hands are placed on Garius' shoulders, frightening him and making him turn around quickly.
AHHHH
turning around to see who was touching his shoulder, Garius looked only to see.
A circle formed on the ground, with the outer lining of the circle looking to be made out of chalk.
At the sight of this, Garius knew what it was meant for.
Marbles.
Looking down at his hand, he could see the bag of marbles, sloshing around in his palm.
Reluctantly, Garius opened the bag and let out the bag of marbles, rolling onto the ground.
"dink"
"dink"
The marbles hit the circle coming out one by one, until there was one left, Garius's shooting marble.
Holding his shooting marble, Garius's hand trembled in fear, and he began to play.
"Clink"
"Clink"
Marbles began flying out of the circle, as Garius shot, with every new marble exiting the circle, Garius could feel the world around him start to break apart.
At the start of the game, there were 20 marbles in the circle with Garius holding the 21st, and now there were only 2.
"Tick"
Now, only one remained, knowing that the game was virtually over. A tear came out, but not from Garius or Mikalo.
So fixated on the game, Garius failed to realize that Mikalo's body had formed right in front of him on the opposite side of the circle.
Hey buddy, how's it going?
The left side of his face was disfigured, entirely covered in the liquid that surrounded them, and his right side, his eye shed a tear at watching Garius play this game of marbles.
Who are you?
Something about the man felt familiar to Garius, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it; he knew he felt safe and relaxed in his own body.
While waiting for a response from the Figure, he finished his game of marbles.
Consecrating on the single marble left, he cocked his finger back and let it go shooting it.
"Dink"
Garius' body felt as light as a feather, as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. he then knelt to pick up each marble, making sure he didn't miss one.
After picking up the 21 back, he gently slid it back into the bag, giving it a good twirl to ensure it was locked. He then placed it back into his pocket and looked back at the Figure.
But the Figure was no longer on the opposite side of the circle; in fact, there wasn't even a circle to be seen anymore.
Confused, Garius looked at the horizon to see if he could spot any sign of where the Figure might have gone.
No luck until he heard its voice, "Does a greedy man ask for help when he has failed his men?"
His voice was cracked, sounding as if he was sobbing uncontrollably. Garius turned to see where the voice was coming from, only to realize it was from above.
Looking up, the eye was now gone but replaced by a ceiling. A whole in it, the Figure reaching his hand down to pull Garius up, continued to repeat the same question.
Garius grabbed hold, being pulled up, and saw that it wasn't a hole in the ceiling, but rather an observatory to view what was below.
Standing on the observation deck, Garius looked at the Figure's stature, noticing how he could tell he was wearing clothing. However, the liquid that covered him was so thick that he couldn't see through it.
Finally, the Figure finished what it said: "No, he doesn't; he fails his men, and in return, he fails his blood."
After saying this, the liquid covering his face began to thin out, letting Garius get a better view of the Figure's clothing. Looking carefully, he noticed his family's crest, and then it clicked.
Grandfather? He said in a cowardly voice
It's nice to meet you, Garius, finally.
Standing next to Garius was the man who had caused his father to work, who had caused him to rob and steal throughout his childhood. Emotions flowed through Garius as if he were a fountain.
Hate, Confusion, Anger, Joy, and Desperation flowed through him, for the picture of Mikalo in Garius' mind was not what lay before him.
Despite all of that, Garius clenches his hand, making a fist and striking at Mikalo, directly towards his head.
"Sowmp"
Garius's hand had gone straight through Mikalo's head, exiting on the other side, making Garius realize that Mikalo's whole body was made up of whatever that liquid was.
That's understandable, but how bout we have a chat?
Emotions high, Garius cried out into the abyss as an escape, "AHHHH!" His voice turned the once-silent sea into a boisterous one, making the liquid clash against each other for a moment.
Mikalo grabbed his hand, pulled it out of his skull, and placed it directly outside the pocket where the marbles were held.
I see you took my bag of marbles after my death. Did your father hand those down to you?
You know, you remind me a lot of how he was as a child, oh, what I would give to go back.
Garius' eyes widen, making him look feral. "WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING OF HIM IN THAT WAY, AS IF YOU DIDN'T CHOOSE TO DO THIS TO US?"
HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE? I THOUGHT THE DEVIL OF GREED KILLED YOU.
, look at me, I'm not alive; this body is just a husk, and so am I. I'm just a husk of the great adventurer Mikalo.
I've disgraced my blood and my cause. I am a failure, but that's beside the point: you can't change the past.
I had a dream that was beyond my reach, one that I was told I could never attain. I was given a chance to get it, so I took it.
I don't regret it.
I regret how I left you all; that has and will never change.
Conflicted, Garius unclenched his fist, knowing it was pointless to try and fight, and instead asked, "What is this.."
Mikalo raised his hand, placing it close to Garius' lips as if he were shushing him, and with the other, he pointed down below them.
Garius' eyes switched from focusing on Mikalo to what he was pointing to. As he watched closely, he saw Aoto appear at the table with a deck of cards.