'What?'
Unless Elias was mistaken, he had just sworn the sky had spoken.
He turned his head toward Claire; she too had the same shocked expression.
[Claire] "You heard that too?"
Elias simply nodded to affirm their confusion.
It seemed that the sky really had talked.
As if hearing their conversation, a snicker could be heard from the air, then it dissipated.
Both Claire and Elias stood there staring at each other in silence. They didn't want to miss the opportunity to hear the voice again.
It was a ridiculous instinct; the sky had done nothing but mock them earlier. Why did they have to bother with its words?
Elias shook his head at their situation; he himself was wondering if he should listen to the sky's words. How had this become something he could so casually say?
It was all his teacher's fault. When Elias found him, he would definitely punch the crazy out of him.
Suddenly, a palm came flying toward Elias, landing on his cheek.
He recoiled from the pain, then looked toward his attacker.
[Elias] "Claire, what was that for?!"
For a second, Claire glared toward Elias, a clear intent to harm clouding her eyes.
[Claire] "What was that for? You used me as bait against a creep, and on top of that, you were late to save me."
Elias tried to respond, but she wasn't done.
[Claire] "Also, you just threw a memory shard at me. Do you have any idea of the value of these things?"
After her rant, she exhaled loudly, then shot a look at Elias.
[Claire] "You can speak."
The rather sassy remark left Elias stunned; he still saved her, didn't he? On top of that, he had already apologised for his tardiness, and he even gave her compensation.
Of course, Elias said none of these things out loud; instead, he replied with a measly, "I'm sorry."
The sun was setting now. The time they had to enter the world in between had turned from four to one hour. Time wasn't on their side, it seemed.
[Elias] "Claire, I'm sorry. I should have been a bit faster, but we need to get going now. If we can't find the door, we'll both be trapped here during the reformation."
His words were persuasive, but still—persuasion could only get you so far with an angry Claire.
[Claire] "To hell with the reformation."
She muttered this under her breath. Even if her words seemed to challenge it, the reformation wasn't something you could speak negatively of.
This world was very spiteful.
That spite was the reason Elias saw a single piece of debris starting to change.
His eyes widened in shock, then he broke off into a run.
[Elias] "Claire, follow me!"
His instincts kicked in first; they were the reason he was running now, and the reason why he called out to Claire.
'Why did it have to start now?!' Elias was panicked.
His breathing was getting heavier—air was becoming thinner. Elias needed to find that door and fast if he were to survive.
His gaze landed on Claire behind him.
If we were to survive.
Neon colours began flashing on the ground, then they faded to black. The world was changing once again.
Elias's breath was stuck somewhere between his lungs and throat now; neither wanted to leave. He felt, in that moment, that he had learned the true essence of being suffocated.
Suddenly, a noise could be heard from behind him. It took a while, but Elias was finally able to make it out.
[Claire] "Elias! Which one is it?"
What was the 'it' she could possibly be referring to? And why was it so important right now? They were in the middle of—
Oh.
[Elias] "It's a healing shard!"
With that confirmation, Claire paused, and Elias remained confused. A healing crystal would do them no good here, would it?
Healing crystals were among the most common of second-tier crystals—shards. Shards were able to store things until released. Obviously, things were a broad term, but there really was nothing else to call them. What else were you supposed to call something with such a multitude of functions?
A crushing noise could be heard, then the noise of falling glass. She had absorbed a memory of health; with it, her overall physical health would temporarily peak.
Still, that shouldn't be enough to outrun the reformation—
Golden hair, followed by a gust of wind, moved past him. How was she so fast?
Shards don't do this—especially healing shards. She would need something like a speed shard, which would bring her to the speed she was currently going.
Elias looked forward; she was going faster than him. That shouldn't be possible; his own agility was much higher than any normal human.
'Was that really a healing crystal? Did I switch them up?'
Those doubts were most likely the correct ones—
[Claire] "Elias!"
He paused there. Did she find something?
A hand suddenly grabbed him by the collar, then pushed him around a corner.
Elias stumbled back, facing toward the spot he was just standing in.
The spot was now gone, a hole replacing it.
A chill ran down Elias's spine. He could have easily died there without her intervention.
[Elias] "Claire?"
The noise of the reformation, along with the now lively nightlife, was deafening. If she responded, Elias didn't hear it.
[Elias] "Claire!"
'Where is she?'
Panic, panic greater than the feeling he had when the reformation started—sprouted.
[Elias] "Where are you?!"
A pause, then a distracted voice called back.
[Claire] "Right here, idiot."
The voice sounded distracted, as if she were focusing her attention on something else.
Elias turned his head to where the voice came from, then he spotted it too.
An irregularity in a dark alley; a pure white door.
[Elias] "That's it!"
He looked down and ran, hoping to see where the reformation was at. There was none in this alley yet; all he saw were his legs.
Elias hadn't even noticed; his form as a 'ghost' had run out. Maybe that was why he felt so much strain right now.
A step, another step, more steps. He finally reached the spot where Claire was.
Finally, they were back together, and they could finally go somewhere safe. Elias looked behind him, seeing the reformation one last time. It was certainly nearing them.
He opened the door.
[Elias] "Ladies first."
Claire smiled and walked into the room—
[Claire] "Ow!"
She recoiled back upon touching the door.
'What?'
[Elias] "Hurry up!"
[Claire] "I'm trying, it's not letting me!"
To demonstrate, she tried running into the world in between again—she was pushed back.
'That shouldn't be possible.'
Claire extended her arm out, putting her palm where the world in between and this dream world met.
Elias could see it clearly now: a barrier was stopping her from getting in.
[Elias] "Hold on, let me try."
He stepped through the doorway with no problem.
Elias stepped back again, watching Claire's hand stay motionless.
He looked behind him one more time, and Elias saw the reformation approaching them.
Suddenly, Elias heard a yelp from behind him. Claire stumbled across the doorway.
Almost immediately after, she got up. She shouldn't have. Claire's consciousness should have gone through that white light.
Elias stepped through as well; this time, he didn't go through that same thing either. Rather, he noticed something odd.
His wrist was warm; it felt like somebody had put pressure on it, too.
He glanced at Claire's wrist. A white area enveloped it, and she was also holding the area as it hurt.
A slam was heard behind them; the door shut.
Elias also saw the doorknob turn.
It was then he realised it: he and Claire didn't enter naturally—someone, or something, let them in.
Then, Elias went dark.