With the beast towering over him, Grey could do nothing but cower in fear. His head was pounding, strange intelligible voices screamed at him, it felt as if the world was spinning.
Once again the sound surrounding him ceased, however, it was different this time. All of the noises that hadn't been present the last time sound stopped, had still been making noise.
What was once the raging beat of his heart akin to the tempo of a drum, had become nothing but a subtle whisper not unlike the sound of wind. The sound of his breathing was dampened, and the world around him slowed until it came to a complete halt.
Grey's vision locked onto the abomination in front of him. It was completely unmoving stuck in the same position it was before. His eyes darted around in search of what had caused the world to stop.
Peering to his left, Grey only found an empty house. Just as he was about to look forward again, the boy heard a faint crunching sound. The sound got louder and louder as it got closer to him, and then the source appeared on his right. Grey's eyes turned to the wispy figure.
It was holding a lantern in its left hand, Grey's eyes moved up towards the body, it was wearing a cloak, clad in darkness. Smoke emitted from its thin body as if trying to conceal its true identity. A large blade held in its right hand, presenting itself proudly. The figure raised its arm and pointed the blade at Grey as if it was challenging him. Finally, the boy's eyes floated toward the face of the figure shrouded in smoke, instead of eyes he found two blue glowing orbs.
Grey did not need any more clues as to who this figure was, because to him it was without a doubt death. Upon coming to the realization the figure seemed to acknowledge Grey's instinct. Giving the boy a curt nod, the figure disappeared with the smoke, and the world around him resumed.
***
Mono's systems were going out of control, he was getting warnings and random pop-ups, his scanning had abruptly stopped. He couldn't even stand, all of the power was being sapped from his body. He heard the abomination screech once more.
'I'm getting tired of this damn bird.'
Mono groaned in pain.
'Looks like it's over… what a pathetic life, what have I been doing all along?'
Mono let out a wry laugh, what a depressive state.
He waited for the raptor's attack, yet it never came.
"Still alive back there?"
He called out. The boy answered a couple of seconds later
"Barely, guess we're really lucky!"
He said with false excitement, in a sarcastic tone.
"We should get up."
Replied Mono, with exasperation. Mono forced his body to move and sat up.
"Grey, what happened to that thing?"
Grey thought about how to explain it for a moment before answering with,
"The air around it got weird, and then it just kind of popped out of existence."
Mono's face paled. What could that abomination have done to escape?
"Alright then let's get out of here."
The boy sat up waiting for Mono to rise. Mono got up and walked to the village's entrance where he left the bear's corpse. He had to pick it up as it would be their main source of food for the rest of their journey to the capital.
"Well… let's get going."
Grey hesitated.
"My leg seems to be uh, dislocated."
The boy flashed a pained smile at Mono.
Mono sighed as he hoisted the bear over his right shoulder once more, preparing for a long trek through the tundra one last time. Although he did pop Grey's leg back into place, he probably wouldn't be able to walk without support for a while. With that, Mono grabbed onto the boy's shoulder so he could support him, and set off.
***
After a week of stops and countless hours of walking, Mono and Grey had been graced by the presence of the great city. Their source of food had run out the day prior, leaving them to starve throughout the entire day before finding the entrance of the imperial capital.
During their search for the imperial capital, Mono found out new things about his body.
The first being that he could scan anything as long as he had come into contact with it at least once, including himself. Using this knowledge, he ran background checks and scanned his body to find any new features that he had not previously had. While running these scans he found out that 30% of his body was now made of some sort of steel alloy, tough enough to withstand bullets. Alongside this, he discovered he could output around 70% more force than before.
***
Grey had only taken a few days to regain his ability to walk, albeit it wasn't as good as before.
But the boy had to trudge on despite it. With the imperial capital appearing in front of him, he couldn't be more ecstatic. Yet a stray thought intruded his mind.
'What if Mono abandons me?'
Since they had reached their destination, Mono no longer had any obligation to take care of the child, if anything he might sell him off for money! The boy hesitated as he watched Mono step into the city's border. Even so, he had no choice but to enter this city otherwise… he would perish in a presumably gruesome way.
Grey followed Mono closely as they entered what he guessed was an immigration and customs building. As they walked into the large building, Grey couldn't help but notice the many families that looked to be in poverty, entering and talking to people that he assumed were security and inspectors. Mono walked forward, stepping to a booth numbered "5", Grey stepped into it after him. Inside there was one other person, probably the inspections officer. Again Grey was left unsure with his terminology of the people. Not that it mattered, he just wanted to be sure of what to call them.
The man looked up from his computer and observed the two individuals. He sighed and moved his mouse around, clicking multiple times per second. Finally, he addressed the two people facing him.
"Hello, are you here for trade or residency, or are you on a vacation?"
"Residency."
Replied Mono. The man typed swiftly on the keyboard without looking away.
"Alright, could you tell me where you came from?"
"A small town not connected to any civilizations, it was hit by a disease and wiped out everyone except for me and my younger brother."
The stoic man went into the specifics on how they had gotten here and why they came, whilst excluding the weirder crucial bits such as being attacked by a weird monster and possessing a firearm. Grey was surprised that the man could lie so easily and thoroughly as if he was speaking from the heart and it was not just a made-up story. Then again, it would be harder to explain what had happened and would make for a difficult entry into the city. Presenting themselves as villagers who had no outside connections was a good standpoint, especially when Mono spoke clearly, warding off any suspicions from the inspector, it made his words seem genuine and truthful.
***
Mono and Grey walk through the bustling city, without any regard for people they may bump into. They find a public bench and without changing their pace, swiftly walk over to it. They sit down and observe the large city's many interactions in silence. A man selling apples at his stand to a young child, an old woman walking her dog across the metal-plated sidewalks. A couple sharing a kiss on the balcony of a fancy restaurant, both wearing purple clothes. At the sight of this marvelous city, Grey's hands were doused in sweat, and his heart started to ache. He didn't want to be left alone again. After what seemed to be ages in quiet, Grey broke the silence by blurting out the question he had meant to ask when they reached the city's border.
"Hey so um… are you going to abandon me?"
Mono's eyes widened in shock as if he heard a question he wasn't expecting, and yet he couldn't contain his emotions and let out frumious laughter. The boy was even more surprised at the sudden laughter.
"So uh, are you not going to leave me by myself?"
He asked curiously. Mono barely cut his laughter short before answering,
"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to stay with me, seeing as you have nowhere else to go."
Indeed Grey remembered that Mono was a rather heroic figure. He even saved Grey multiple times while they were out in the tundra, and brought him all the way into the city. The boy answered eagerly without any forethought.
"I'd be glad to stay with you!"
He didn't have anywhere else to go anyway. Mono smiled warmly. He turned his head back towards the streets of the city, teeming with people and lights.
"That's fine. We should probably go find a place to stay though."
The man added as if it were a mere thought and not a rather concerning matter. Mono stood up and started to walk into the street. Grey quickly popped up out of the bench, following closely behind him.