Zarek stared at the circle of Godsfall for a long time. It manifested almost like a ring light, looking like a simple optical illusion emitting from the floor. But that only made the situation more troublesome.
This meant that the level Suki, the Godsfall Matrix Master, was currently at was already beyond what Zarek's scouting Skill could keep up with.
He couldn't see any of the Glyphs used in it at all. And if he couldn't see the Glyphs, he couldn't predict what a formation would do ahead of time. At best, he could guess.
For this one, he knew that it was likely used to help Old Grizz amplify his Talent's abilities, and it might have a secondary effect of controlling the Godsfall properly so that their walkie-talkies could continue to work.
But there was no telling if there was a third effect or not.
Luckily, this formation was just a small dot compared to the overall size of the room, and Zarek could just walk around it. The problem was the vault…
Zarek looked up to the large, circular, heavy steel door ahead. Old Grizz had been standing right before it, making it almost too obvious that what Zarek was looking for was inside.
But in that case… just what protections would Zarek stumble into on the inside? Assuming he could crack the manual code in the first place.
All of these problems were bad enough, but then Zarek also had to consider the fact he was on a time crunch.
And yet, he suddenly grinned.
Zarek stood up and did the most ridiculous possible. Rather than walking around the Matrix, he took a step right into it.
BANG!
It felt like an explosion had just gone off in his mind.
**
Godsfall Tear {Skull Demon}.
Two men sat around a fire of black. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the scene, but the closer attention you paid, the more oddities one would pick out.
First, the two men themselves seemed out of place. One was almost too handsome to be anything other than a carefully sculpted piece of art, while the other was the direct opposite of that—a man who could only be described as gross to the point of making one's skin crawl.
This latter man had bits of food sticking out from his unkempt beard, sleep crust hanging in long trails down the corners and ducts of his eyes, and a row of jagged yellow and black teeth that looked moments from falling out any moment now.
By comparison, the first man was almost delicate. He had a jaw that could cut glass and a pair of warm brown eyes that left one feeling at complete ease. He didn't have any standout features like blond hair or a ridiculous height. In fact, everything about him felt to be almost standard…
He was just about 5'10" or so, his hair was black, his eyes brown. His shoulders were broad, though not too broad, and his hands were strong, but not to the point of having pulsing veins running up and down his forearms.
But it all came together to form the image of a man that was almost too pleasing to the eye.
This man was none other than Angel Jiade.
As for the gross man… he was none other than the Matrix Master, Suki.
The oddity of the pairing of the two men was far from the only weirdness, though…
The flames they sat around, rather than being a burgeoning red-orange, were instead an odd shade of black and flickering greys.
Then, as though that wasn't weird enough, it burned not on top of wood, but instead… bone.
And it was then that the flickering flame changed and an image manifested within it.
~
Zarek was decisive in his movements. The moment he saw Belladoll and Crux, he knew that this wasn't a fight he could get into right now, not without his usual cards to rely on.
He didn't run toward any one of them, and instead stomped a steel-toed boot into the ground and rushed forward with a violent movement, leaping right out of the window.
~
The eyes of the two men narrowed when they saw this, their thoughts much the same as the two Heralds. Was Zarek leaping to his death? But that was foolish. This was definitely his final life.
But then it happened.
~
Zarek struck his palms out toward the air. All of a sudden, large masses of something black and heavy began to take shape. It rippled and wound around themselves, until it reached a weight that was double that of Zarek's.
With a kick of his foot, Zarek slammed against the ridiculous construction. It looked like nothing at all, and when it crashed to the ground below, it disappeared as though it had never been there at all.
As for Zarek, he used the momentum to grab onto the ledge of the window he had just jumped out from. His eyes were almost blazing with excitement as though he hadn't just put his life on the line for a gamble at all.
He swung his body back, slamming a steel toe into the window below. His Limit broken Strength displayed its might, breaking it to pieces.
There wasn't even the briefest of pauses between him landing on the lower floor and accelerating forward. He made it to the hallway and heaved out a body, sending it soaring out of the broken window.
Not a moment was wasted. There was no need to spend time on whether he had successfully fooled them or not. He knew that he had.
That was his confidence in himself.
There was never a need to hesitate.
~
Jiade and Suki continued to sit in silence, watching it all without a fluctuation in their expressions.
"I'll never die so long as she breathes."
BANG!
The images they were watching were suddenly cut off the moment these words fell. Without the amplification of Old Grizz's talent, there was no connection there to maintain.
"He's just as dangerous as always, it seems." Jiade said calmly.
Suki grinned. "It doesn't matter whether he gets into the vault or not. The result will be the same."
Jiade stood and gave Suki a glance. "You've always been too confident. The memories you have now aren't the same as mine. I experienced my deaths, you just dreamed them.
"Expect failure. Let's go. Now that we've confirmed that he is not in here, this Skill is ours… as is the Role that will come very soon."