"...Game?"
Her suggestion caught him off guard.
"What are you on about, now?" Yuuto narrowed his eyes.
Sparkle hid her laugh from slipping. "I didn't expect it to be soo soon but I'm here to redeem my promise I told you earlier. Aren't you excited?"
"You know I'm not in the mood to play with you right no—"
"Tsk~ Tsk~, Yuu! Don't be in such a rush to say no. You might want to hear me out first since you might regret it if you don't~~"
Sparkle let out a bright smile and hopped her way towards Yuuto before patting his head a few times.
Completely ignoring the atmosphere he gave off just a few seconds beforehand as if it was a trivial matter.
Yuuto was dumbfounded at this point and was already questioning himself as to what was happening.
First he was suddenly ambushed by Phantylia, next chained to a wall, and was now being reassured by a psycho who suggested that they play a game.
He honestly wanted to brush her off and focus on knowing where the hell he was but the last bit of her sentence told him not to act on that feeling for now.
Since knowing that his current state had Phantylia's cunning fingers all over it. He needed to be careful going forward.
Other than Sparkle, Phantylia finally deciding that it was time for her to interfere and 'mark' him for whatever reason was rather sudden.
He wondered what would have prompted this aggressive approach but he wouldn't get any answers to that question any time soon.
'Why can't I just have a time where it's peaceful for once…'
He thought to himself while collecting his composure, watching Sparkle grinning silently.
'Let's just cooperate and see how it goes going forward.'
The longer he stalled.
The more future him will suffer and curse his past self.
He buried his worries for now.
His mind chilled over as his expression relaxed and his mind felt a sense of clarity form. A flicker of white appeared in his eyes before fading away and he raised his head.
Sparkle silently watched as their eyes met and a feeling of satisfaction bloomed within her.
"Fine, hurry up and tell me what you want."
A feeling that sent goosebumps down her spine.
"Yuu! I thought it would take some time but you buy in fast! Are you that excited to play with me?"
She crouched down to meet him at just about eye level and used one of her fingers to raise his chin.
An attempt to examine his face closer.
Something that merely started as curiosity to give herself something to bite on for the time being.
Suddenly turned into her current source of fun.
She has been watching him closely.
His interactions. His connections. His own self.
The more she looked into it, it was almost like he was just dropped into this world to create a chaos of ripples in every step he took.
Acting in a way that always brought a hint of surprise on this large stage.
Seeing such a person, it was hard for her not to get involved. How could she not?
She already had a feeling before but now it was certainly.
'What kind of performance will you show me this time, Yuu~?'
She couldn't help but feel a shiver with her expectations of the game she planned and looked at the reflection shown within his eyes.
Sparkle's pupils flickered brighter as she continued to look over Yuuto's face which now curved into disgust with the way she raised his chin.
This was truly going to be a fun game for her.
"What's with that face? Don't like how a cutie such as me is holding you? You can always swipe my hand away if you don't like it!" Sparkle teased him.
Yuuto held his gaze from frowning further and waved his wrists that were chained.
"Who knows, it's not like I can do anything like that at the moment."
Other than waving his arms, he exerted a bit more force than usual as a test and all that came back was the cuffs digging deeper into his skin.
"Hmm— I knew that special restraints were needed for someone like you but I didn't expect it to work this well."
"And I also didn't know that you were more than just a girl with a loose screw in the head but here we are."
"Hey, how rude!"
Sparkle puffed her cheeks which received a dismissive reaction from him. So as soon as she was about to teach him some manners, the cell they were in shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling and continued to fall for a while before finally stopping.
Yuuto looked around before catching how calm Sparkle was, as if already anticipating this would occur.
"Looks like the act on the surface is already rolling out." Sparkle's face eased over while glancing at the ceiling.
This only lasted for a few seconds before she gave Yuuto a light smile and hopped a few steps back.
"While I feel like I could talk like this forever, we should at least get this show on the road since that dull emanator has been putting that favor to use."
He turned silent and focused all his attention on her.
Sparkle casually dropping her involvement with Phantylia was not at all surprising since it was rather simple to connect the dots by now.
But this mention of a favour didn't sit well with him.
Even after the fact that Sparkle had some sort of personal goal she wanted to accomplish and one that seemingly involved him.
He didn't even want to imagine the deal they came up with.
"What was that?" Yuuto asked her, trying to get some information.
Sparkle didn't immediately answer but instead waved her finger around.
"Let's just say that a loong nightmare for some people in the Luofu decided to show up."
Pink smoke filled the air and from the corner of his vision, illusions of koi fish swam past him.
Each one circled the cell before one reached Yuuto who tried to understand what she was saying.
"Confused? Well, don't worry too much since you'll be meeting it sooner or later. I would suggest trying to escape this cell quickly, as it may start crashing down on you."
Sparkle's figure vanished and her voice seemed to echo through the cell. Her words itching at his skin.
"What was it again? Ra… Ro? Rura? What was that thing called again… Ah! My little head can't seem to remember."
Yuuto could sense the sarcasm in her tone and even though she was hidden in this smoke, he could already imagine the smirk she had on her face.
"Welll, maybe since I can't bear to leave you so clueless, let me give you a small parting gift. No need to thank me~!"
The koi fish that finally began to surround him shattered into pieces before shaping into a small pink object.
A simple pink gun.
[So let's play a game of tag! You have 1 hour to catch little ole me and you win! However, if you fail…]
Pink text swirled from the gun and reading the obnoxious contents it had, Yuuto didn't even feel shocked anymore.
[I'll give you a little setting hint, okay? You're in a prison if you can't already tell. But it's not just any prison but one that carries tons of scary criminals~]
[Pretty sure it goes by the name Shackling Prison.]
Yuuto tuned in and noted what he knew about the prison as it sounded familiar.
It is a prison where those who pose a significant threat to the Xianzhou Alliance are imprisoned by the Ten-Lords Commission.
The types of prisoners vary but what all of them had in common was committing at least one of the most serious crimes in Xianzhou, known as the "Ten Unpardonable Sins."
'Dan Heng previous reincarnation was someone who did just that…' He thought about his friend who had a past with this prison.
[I even heard that some may have a bit of history with your friends, even that scary cold-faced woman you play swords with!]
[This little prison of yours will go BOOOM once the timer runs out and who knows, it may also involve some parts of this ship too!~~ . Just a reminder though, you can only tag me with this gun that has oneee bullet.]
[Pretty exciting, right! I know you're thrilled.]
"I would rather sit through a twelve-hour lecture with Dr. Ratio than do this..."
Yuuto clicked his tongue and continued to read the words that appeared in front of him.
[Of course. you can ignore this game of ours and rush to your friends however this decision can cost you just to let you know. So don't regret it.]
[Let's have some fun, Yuu~]
[But you better hurry~ 'THEY' are waiting~~!]
The smoke faded and Yuuto was once again alone as if that brief encounter was just a mirage.
His eyes landed on the pink gun that was strikingly out of place.
"She has a strange taste for objects covered in pink."
Mulling over Sparkle's interests, the unease he originally felt only grew stronger after all the vague pieces of info she decided to leave behind.
Especially that illusion of a timer appearing just above the surface of the gun. Seeing the timer starting, Yuuto could feel the situation setting in.
A scare tactic? Providing advice? He couldn't push the possibilities away.
But what he knew right now was to get these stubborn cuffs off him.
Once again, he tried to use brute force which caused the chains to rattle strongly and as he expected, the cuffs began to shrink and crush his wrists.
It wasn't like he was expecting them to break apart so easily but there was something that he wanted to test out.
Mist formed around the tips of his fingers, slowly forming into a thread that he could use to create a sword but as he was about to give it a form, the thread broke.
Failing to give it a form, Yuuto tried to conjure his mist once more. Just like his previous attempts, it failed to even reach a hair's breadth away from his body.
"I know I felt something off when I tried to pull myself off."
Yuuto looked at his arms that radiated thick golden lines and the heat around his body made the cell's temperature rise. Golden flames grew but just like his mist, they quickly died down.
Even more, he felt like his energy disappeared each time he circulated the Stellaron's power.
"Phantylia must really want me to rot down here." Yuuto was in awe at the preparations she seemed to have made to tie him down.
Cuffs that disrupted his ability to release mist from his body and also seeing that the material could easily handle the heat that came from a Stellaron, was more surprising than scary.
Especially how it seemed to conduct this very energy away from his body. Draining him slowly.
His eyes looked at the cuffs with strong interest.
"It's annoying but I have to give props to her."
These restraints already confirmed that Phantylia had a rough idea of where his strengths lie.
It could have been his fight with Mauve Moon and how he used both mist and flames to break down his powers as a Saint.
These two were possibly what she deemed necessary to remove to prevent him from trying anything that could disrupt her plans.
So her restraining those two elements of him made sense but also made Yuuto let out a sigh of relief.
"I should be happy that it went under her radar."
Yuuto concentrated and instead of his Stellaron, he looked at another source of power he began to use more frequently.
His [Core Esse], a small budding that carried a single leaf that held a pure white hue.
Glass-like fragments danced on the surface and sensing Yuuto's intentions, it flickered.
In an instant, Yuuto felt a change in his body and saw how both his arms were slowly replaced by countless prismatic fragments.
Making both of his arms transparent.
He felt the rapid loss of energy and how his senses took a sudden shift. It was like a special lens had just flipped inside him.
[....]
The feeling was strange. The damp and dark cell took the form of a sharp contrast of white and appeared as if the world itself was made out of glass memory fragments.
It felt… cold.
*CLANG*
Yuuto looked at the ground and saw how the cuffs easily came off and taking one last look at the fragmented world, he turned his memetic form off.
"I should be careful when using this form, just in case."
He rubbed his wrists and knowing that it was still unknown what dangers this form brought, he felt it should be used as an ace card instead.
Finally free of those cold restraints, he picked up the pink gun Sparkle left behind and hid it in his back pocket.
Mulling over what he should do next, a blue flame instantly bloomed from his chest.
[Finally, I can finally come out! That felt too suffocating…]
"Star? You're here as well?" Yuuto felt shocked to suddenly see his little fox friend.
The ambush of Phantylia was all too sudden, so he thought that she was left behind and it appears that his guess was wrong.
"Wait, so if you're here then is Boo also…"
[I don't sense them here. It was only a coincidence I tagged along since I was lucky enough to hide in your body so that women won't notice.]
"Surely, you didn't poison me in the process, right…?"
[Of course not! I can somehow control what I poison, okay…]
'Somehow it's not really reassuring. On the bright side looks like I'll have some company.'
Yuuto tried to forget the scene of Mauve Moon getting poisoned from the inside and returned his focus to finding Sparkle and shooting her.
He created his sword and looking back at the chain and cuffs, Yuuto waved his blade.
With a flicker of moonlight at the sword's edge, he chipped the wall and tore the restraints off the wall to take with him.
Star looked at the cuffs and wondered what he would do with them but didn't ask as Yuuto was already looking at the sole door blocking his path.
[So how are you going to escape now?]
"It's obvious I break it down."
[Huh.]
"How else do you think I'll do it?" He said glancing at her.
[W-Well, usually you do some tricks and have a unique way of handling things…]
He felt like his image in Star's eyes was a bit exaggerated and felt flattered but when a simple solution is right in front of his eyes, there's no need to go to such lengths.
Yuuto already used [Archive] on the door just in case and seeing the internal structure, he already knew where to strike.
Sometimes a bit of brute strength is all that's needed.
And he had the right tool for the job.
His sword burned and transformed into its greatsword form before releasing heat that caused the ground beneath him to instantly char.
How the restraints were able to handle this heat, he didn't know so it was reassuring to see that the door was the complete opposite.
–BOOOM!
A small explosion propelled the door off the cell wall and crashed into the dull hallway where Yuuto stood.
Other than the dust signifying how old this section of the prison was, there was something off with the atmosphere.
"It's empty." He muttered while looking at the hallway that only had a few lamps casting a faint green light.
For a prison that was stated to house prisoners of all different types, there was a surprising lack of them that not just his section but even the cells further down were empty.
[I'm not sure about empty but I feel the energy of a few spirits down the hall.]
"Not living beings but only spirits?" Yuuto asked while running towards the area Star pointed to.
[I wouldn't say only spirits but you can judge for yourself once you reach the room.]
Yuuto took Star's words and moved faster, reaching an area where the space was much more open yet the remains of a battlefield were laid bare for him to see.
Deep crevices and the broken pieces from the original structure were scattered.
Star took the opportunity to look around and see what type of spirit she felt but to her surprise, it disappeared as soon as they walked into the area.
[I was sure that something was here…]
Star muttered to herself and Yuuto's eyes shone after using [Clarity].
He took a deep look at his surroundings before a shot of moonlight covered his body.
[New Moon: Sever]
His brandished blade shot upwards and the feeling of pressure pushed against his sword. Yuuto narrowed his eyes. "When did it…"
Yuuto shifted his stance and gripped his sword tightly while locking eyes with the entity that attempted to ambush him.
Its body was humanoid but it was hard to make out a full shape since its form hid into the space it occupied.
Fortunately it was unable to handle the force that came from [Sever] and a smooth sensation came as its blade was split in half.
This greatly shook the entity which Yuuto didn't miss.
Yuuto approached it so fast that the entity couldn't feel it. In a blink of an eye, several slits appeared on its body before it lifelessly fell apart.
"I feel like this is more than just a spirit don't you think?"
[It still feels like a spirit and the more I see it, it's most likely possession.]
"I thought the Ten Lords Commission had a tight grip on runaway spirits especially in a prison housing criminals yet it appears I'm wrong."
[Do you think this prison even has people watching over it?]
Yuuto paused for a bit thinking about how his cell shook when Sparkle was talking to him.
Along with the lack of personal and empty cells, it was hard not to think of the worse case scenario.
"It's possible since it seems like the surface is facing something huge nonetheless having a prison abandoned like this…"
If this reached the ears of some prisoners here, especially the more dangerous ones…
"They really placed me in a burning building while telling me to chew on a bomb. So this thing is not just a spirit but…"
[One of the prisoners that may have escaped.]
"Just perfect."
Yuuto's frown grew deeper and he glanced at the timer.
[52:32]
"I'm going to waste time at this rate."
He still needed to locate Sparkle, who was hiding, so learning that some prisoners had broken out of their cages was not something he wanted to waste his time on.
His eyes snapped to the severed body and looking at the humanoid figure that had features similar to a fish, Yuuto used [Memory of the World] and took the memories it had.
"Let's see if I can get a lead with this."
Trying his luck by using the library, he quickly skimmed through the memories the prisoner had since the majority of the contents were mundane.
Yuuto tried to focus more on the time he escaped from his cell.
***
[Are you coming along?]
The prisoner was silent and fought the urge to curse at the person speaking to him.
Past the bars was a male whose long snout and crooked features curved into a large sneer seeing him so quiet.
[Scared that your sentence will increase once you leave your little cage? Hah! I already told you, there's something dangerous happening on the surface that made the majority of the guards leave.]
The man let out a deep chuckle.
[Our section has already begun breaking out due to some outsiders so be my guest and be the only straggler. If that's the case, at least do your job and be useful.]
Leaving a couple more curses behind, the man left him alone and he sat in silence. Only after a few minutes did he begin moving again.
Mainly reaching towards a familiar doll wearing a pretty ominous smile.
***
Yuuto took a while to digest the memory and his eyes turned sharp.
"A small lead is a lead regardless."