The Mayor of Sant Flores and the other city authorities were puzzled by Cole's statement. Was he implying that he had created a contingency plan? Or that he would find a solution at a later time?
The question of whether to trust Cole's vague assurances hung in the air. Cole remained still, watching them communicate using subtle facial gestures and eye movements.
This carried on for about two minutes before the Mayor addressed the situation. He cleared his throat. "Just what exactly do you plan on doing?"
Cole raised both hands like an apprehended suspect and hummed.
The Mayor furrowed his brows and gazed deeply at Cole before stretching a yielding smile. With an uncertain voice, he accepted Cole's offer. Nobody opposed him, and thus the verdict was final.
Cole celebrated internally but remained calm on the outside. Once the authorities completed the necessary documentation to finalize the deal, Cole set his plan in motion.
Silently, he slipped away while the authorities were still conversing, sneaking through the crowd of spectators. Nobody noticed him leave; then again, such stealth was expected from someone in his field.
Many things could go wrong with Cole's plan—he was aware of that—but he engaged it anyway. Cole dug his hand into his pocket and brought out the bottle.
The blood inside had long since hardened, radiating a faint, ethereal red glow like a crimson pendant.
Cole glared at it peculiarly. 'So, how exactly does this work?'
The bottle's edge refracted colorful lights that stunned Cole's eyes. On reflex, he dropped the bottle and rubbed his sockets to clear his vision.
Landing on the floor, the bottle spun in a circumferential direction. It gradually increased in speed until it gathered surrounding matter like a dust devil.
Cole was sucked in against his will, though not physically. From his perspective, he was being dragged by a powerful force, yet he could see his physical body tumbling backward.
Clanking sounds played repeatedly, as though calling to those nearby. The bottle rattled excessively until Cole was fully swallowed.
Afterward, a high-pitched ringing followed, and the dust dissipated. The bottle seared hot and rolled to the side of Cole's body.
Some people attracted by the noise ended up finding Cole unconscious with the bottle beside him. From their perspective, Cole had been ambushed; worst of all, he had no pulse.
In a state of panic, they picked up his body and rushed him to the nearest hospital, leaving the bottle lying on the ground.
Meanwhile, Cole felt himself warp through a rugged storm. His body distorted within a chaotic haze before stabilizing in a shallow pool of sparkling water.
He lifted his gaze to the sky; above him, a green moon monitored him eagerly beyond a flock of white clouds. The atmosphere was cool, and the scent of herbs and Nature was prevalent.
'Am I back in True Earth?' Cole wondered.
He scanned the area for any signs of the deity. To his dismay, she didn't seem to be present. It wasn't that Cole couldn't carry out the task himself, but the fact that he was in extremely dangerous supernatural territory was a major conundrum.
Even with his new immortality, Cole still lacked sufficient training or power to deal with otherworldly entities, especially since his knife had been shattered before his very eyes. That might well have been his only trump card.
Cole slowly wandered deep into thought, forgetting he was ankle-deep in a pool of strange water. A repeated poking from behind pulled him back to reality. Cole shifted his view to see what had disturbed him.
He saw a young woman with red hair, wearing baggy jeans and a hooded shirt. Her lips were occupied by something resembling a lollipop, though smoke drifted from its end.
Cole's mind flashed to the figure he had seen during the Atasa incident; the features he glimpsed then and what he saw now were almost, if not completely, identical. Disregarding the outfit change, Cole had long concluded it was a visual mistake on his part.
But to see the same figure standing before him, despite what he saw when he first arrived in True Earth?
"Are you her?" Cole asked in a conspiratorial manner.
She stretched a grin across her left cheek. "Indeed, I am she. I'm guessing I appear different to you now?" She tilted her body, folding both arms behind her. "Or rather, you perceive me as someone or something different."
From her body language, it was obvious she was trying to elicit a specific response from Cole. With that in mind, Cole straightened his body and composed his expression.
"Not really," he lied with a collected form.
She then asked with a conniving smile, "What do you think about my outfit? Do you think the colors align?"
Cole was stumped by her question. "I think it looks nice..." He paused to formulate a believable response. "The kimono looks good on you...?"
She further inquired, "What about my hair? Do you like the way it's styled?"
Cole squeezed his face as he curled his lips back. "I give up. What's up with the new look?"
The deity giggled in a disturbing fashion—an exaggerated sound that switched between a happy, embarrassed titter and a maniacal laugh.
She ceased. "It's because of you, Cole," she uttered, her tone unsettling to Cole's ears.
The deity twirled like a princess at a ball. "Thanks to you, I'm slowly regaining my powers, little by little." She gleamed with ecstatic joy.
Cole had many questions but was pressed for time; still, he had to at least get rid of the doubt clinging to the back of his mind.
Cole's lips shook as he attempted to speak. "Wh... what exactly is your ability?" His eyes darted back and forth as he stood.
She stopped twirling and composed herself. Looking at Cole's nervous yet eager expression made her cells pop with joy; a surge of weak energy spread across her veins as a sort of rejuvenation pulsed within her.
Shining a pleased smile, she joined her thumb and index finger, placed them over her right eye while closing her left, and viewed Cole through the circle.
Boldly displaying a cocky grin, she responded, "Perception."
Cole tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "Perception?"
'What does that even mean?' he asked himself.
"When the time comes, you'll see my power in full swing. As of now, this is all you get." She stretched a bit.
"If this is your power and you regained a little of it just now..." Cole merged his words meaningfully, "Then when we first met, how did I see you like this?"
The deity's expression darkened in an instant. Her eyes shrunk in their sockets as she landed a heavy gaze on Cole. "I wonder about that too."
Cole was at a loss for words; it was better to keep quiet than to stir up something else. Instead, he just changed the topic.
"Moving on, where will we find this Potter, if you don't mind?" he asked with a bright, focused demeanor.
The deity adjusted her behavior to match his. "He's in the Null Centura. Much like you, he's a fugitive, so he won't be easy to find."
"Why is he a fugitive?" Cole's interest was slightly piqued.
"How should I know?" She shrugged off his question with a cold remark. "Just follow me, and if we're lucky, you might just get positive results."
Her words embraced Cole like a loving hand. "Thanks for your help, I really mean it. Without you, I don't think I could have come this far." His expression softened like wool.
The deity held in a mocking laugh, but small chuckles still escaped. Cole was torn between being offended and being worried.
On top of that, a feeling in the deepest, most cramped recesses of his mind, beneath a storm of other relevant and unimportant thoughts, kept screaming desperately without a listening ear: 'This isn't me.'
The deity turned back partially, her face painted by dark shadings from the nearby tree's shadow. "A word of advice." Her words seamlessly heightened the pressure around them.
"Don't let your heart take over your mind and body."