"You planning on coming down here soon, Aoto, or are you just gonna keep watching!?"
Sound got down on all four as if he were an animal, and prepared to lunge Aoto's body from the top floor of the guild directly into the depiction of time.
His legs tightened, having the LD condense around his leg skin, tight, almost touching the bone, his arms became loose at the muscle insertion, turning into liquid itself. In contrast, his hands turned as hard as stone. Kicking up his left leg, he leaned back and sprang.
"Zoom"
"Tick tick tick tick tick"
Sound had leaped toward time, but at the moment of impact, he had returned to the guild's top in his stance and put himself into a time loop.
It looks like you are still having some fights after all these years. I just can't wait to eat this part of your soul.
"ERCKKK"
"You aren't the boy, are you? You're the devil. What plans do you have?"
Oh, don't mind me, Mr. Warlord. I won't be pulling any funny business here today. I'm just gonna handle this devil. You just stay occupied with those followers, or else our job will get a lot worse.
-Garius and Heathrow-
Where are we, Heathrow? What even is this place?
"This Garius is what is called a bay, it's a place where these devil followers hide out, it's the only way that they can live without being killed since it's a 1st offense to be caught worshiping any of them."
This place is absolutely massive.
The area was a simulated mountain terrain with metal and industrial pipes and machines incorporated. The area was enclosed by these ginormous metal walls that went on for ages in height and length. Still, you could tell they were there; the room was so large that its own ecosystem had begun to grow, with animals and plants around, but there was something strange about them.
Woah, what the? Hey Heathrow, come look at this dead animal. It's got what looks like metal vines wrapped around it. Is that what I think it is?
"Yes, yes, it is Garius."
The animal's whole innards were exposed, allowing Garius to see, but it was not what he expected. At the same time, on the outside it looked like an elk the inside was as from it as possible. The blood was pure LD, and its intestines were half metal and half organic, and the most shocking part was its heart, which was a clock.
Am I going crazy, or did you confirm my theory that that's a CLOCK in replacing a heart?
"No, I did not, Garius. Don't you know everything? Everyone who follows a devil, even the animals, must be forced to give something up."
I didn't know what you meant by " give up, Are you saying that this elk gave up its heart and had it replaced with this clock?
"Exactly, there's a price for eternal life, and for time, it's the thing that keeps you alive, your heart. He controls it and replaces it with a clock. Each of those followers is heartless."
Garius's mind was blown away by this revelation that the followers of time had no hearts, which got him thinking if followers of a devil sacrifice something to that degree, what must a host sacrifice?
What did Aoto sacrifice?
Garius expected Heathrow to go silent and say something dire, but instead, he remained neutral, maybe even positive.
"He didn't sacrifice anything. Normally, you give up your sense of hearing to follow sound. Then your other senses are heightened, turning you into a superhuman. Still, for Aoto, he had already lost his hearing, so that's already one thing he hasn't had to sacrifice. For him, being a host, it's unknown what he sacrificed. See the last 5 hosts of sounds chose to remain in solitude, afraid of their power, so it's unknown, that question you'll have to ask him yourself."
I will thank you.
The two had been walking until Heathrow could see what looked like the exit in the distance.
"You see that out there in the distance, Garius, that's our ticket out of here, now all we have to do is reach it."
"HEY, IS SOMEONE THERE?"
A group of followers commanded to patrol the surrounding area had heard Heathrow and Garius's chat and were now looking for them.
F*ck what do we do? Garius whispered.
"We make a run."
Wait, what a run. Hold ON!
Heathrow began making a run for the Gate, with Garius following behind. The two ran as fast as they could, and the group was alerted to them by their feet stomping against the ground.
"STOP COME BACK HERE!"
The walk towards the exit had gone from a mission to get everyone out to a whole race.
The two ran as fast as they could, the others trailing behind, trying to catch them. As they ran, they crept closer to the Gate until the followers began to form these strands of time that reached out and attempted to pull them back. Being only mere feet away from the exit, Heathrow knew this power. He pushed Garius forward, having him trip into the Gate and exit directly into the Bounders' hangout in the wealthiest part of Nycon.
While Heathrow let himself be captured, the followers could not cross into the main world due to the fact that time worked differently. Hence, all they could do was watch as Garius made it out, but the same rules went for Garius now; all he could do was watch as Heathrow was slowly pulled away.
"Woah? Hey guys, am I crazy, or did this kid just fall through a gate?"
"No you aren't we all saw it, and what the F*CK!"
The hangout erupted in noise as high-class and high-ranking Bounders circled Garius excitedly, wondering where he had come from and what had happened.
Overwhelmed, Garius didn't know where he was and who the people surrounding him were. All he knew to do was to ask for help.
PLEASE HELP US.
-Heathrow-
"How noble you chose to sacrifice yourself to save that boy, no matter that we'll send someone to bring him back, but for you, you're going back to the guild to be fed to time, I hope you enjoy."
Unknowing of Garius as Heathrow pushed him into the Gate, he shoved the crystal into Garius's pocket, giving them a chance at victory.
Oh, I will, and I hope you enjoy this.
Heathrow spat on the followers. In return, they took out what looked like a gospel and slammed it down on the back of Heathrow's head, knocking him out.