A group stumbled out from a familiar Godsfall Tear, their expressions solemn.
There was a look of rage on Belladoll's face, and her head kept snapping back as though trying to find someone. But then, her expression froze.
"…Where is Crux?" she asked slowly.
She had been standing, waiting to explode. She had been certain that somehow Crux managed to get his hands on the Talent at the end of the Godsfall Tear—somehow snatching it right from under her nose.
While her first instinct would have usually been to suspect Zarek, the problem was that there was no sign of him. She had spent so long by Sona's side that there was no way that someone she had never even seen could make an impact.
But comparatively speaking, Crux had been given the second most important position outside of her. He was the one in the best position to change things.
Logically, the odds that Crux could do such a thing were also quite minimal for the same reasons. How could he take more credit than her? It didn't make any sense.
She was the one who ended up saving Sona in the end and ending things on a positive note. Unless… she had been meant to kill Sona? Had they failed the Godsfall Tear?
But then where was Crux?
Slowly, the reality settled in for her as no one answered her question…
Crux…
Crux was dead.
Belladoll's heart turned to ash.
This wasn't because she had feelings for Crux, or even a care for him. Her hatred of the man was very real and not some sort of petty crush that came out in snide remarks as though they were on a school playground. They well and truly didn't like one another.
The real reason her heart turned to ash was because… there was no way the Godsfall Tear was responsible for Crux's death.
The only way this made any sense was if—
Belladoll's head snapped toward the Godsfall Tear just in time to watch it snap closed. Her face drained of all color.
The only way for that Godsfall Tear to close was if the mission had been completed. Otherwise, it would loop.
Sometimes failures caused you to get stuck inside, but that wouldn't always happen, which was why Belladoll hadn't made the connection immediately.
This meant that…
"ZAREK!" Belladoll shrieked at the top of her lungs. The effects of the Godsfall Tear's imprint on her mind were still lingering. And without Zarek to point out what was happening, she didn't even understand what was stirring in her thoughts at all.
"Ma'am, you—!" Dalton quickly tried to get Belladoll to relax. They were still in a Turned-dense region. Screaming like this wouldn't do them any good.
"SHUT UP!" Belladoll shouted, her umbrella suddenly unfurling as she raised it up.
The blood moon high in the skies reflected its light off of it, causing it to shine resplendently.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Beams of light shot in all directions, mowing down the Turned as though she were holding up a machine gun instead of a pink diamond umbrella.
In an instant, the entire city block was leveled, the skyscraper behind them even showing signs of tilting that filled the group with fear.
"I don't know how you did it this time. But I'll never have a day of peace until I bury you into the ground…" Belladoll gnashed her teeth.
This Talent would have changed everything for her.
In an unknown city, a familiar handsome man sat at a marble dinner table, lounging with a glass of wine.
In the kitchen, a disheveled man shuttled from pot to pot before he came to a pause.
"They failed," he suddenly said.
Jiade looked up from his glass of wine. But before he could speak, Suki spoke once more.
"Crux is dead."
Jiade's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What happened?"
"Unsure," Suki replied.
"Interesting…"
Suki had his methods of monitoring things properly. The fact he didn't know meant that the wool was pulled over his eyes at some point, and that was almost harder to accept than anything else.
Of course, what they didn't know was that it was the Godsfall Tear itself that had triggered this "wool."
"And I assume this means that Priya has also not been captured."
"Nor has the Time Fractal been used yet."
"Mm…" Jiade fell into his thoughts again, stirring his wine.
"Are you sure that you want to take this route with the Time Fractal?"
"Some things are better accepted for yourself. Priya loves him too much—having the news of those events broken to her through word will never be enough. She needs to experience them."
"And then?"
"He's always the most vulnerable when he loses her."
Suki tossed some sauce and pasta in a pan with a flick of his wrist, his gaze flickering.
"We both know that he's sharp enough to see through this."
"It's a good thing then that he loves her too much too. He will do it because he believes it's what's best for her."
Suki didn't say anything as he looked down at the pasta.
It was a shame that Jiade was so dead set on this method. His understanding of love was far too superficial. If he understood it…
Suki tossed the pasta once more.
'It's a good thing I'll be protecting you.'
**
"Holy shit, this is fun!"
Zarek's voice howled through the night, his figure swinging from building to building, long lines of sticky black sending him flying forward.
He had seen this in comics more than once, but it was far more practical than he thought. Gravity and momentum were quite strong when they worked in tandem.
It would have taken him hours to make his way out of the city normally, but this trip took him less than ten minutes. It was just a shame that there weren't skyscrapers and tall buildings to swing from everywhere, and a forest would probably be too compact to use this method—but damn was it a hell of a joy ride anyway.
His laughter filled the night air as though he couldn't be bothered to hide himself.