The barrel brightened, a metallic cylinder flying straight to my heart.

Am I going to die like that? Against a pathetic sinner, who's even weaker than me?

As I closed my eyes, I started thinking about my life; it was one of sin I lived. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be so bad if I were to die right then and there. As my cloud of thoughts kept me occupied, my body became cold and the beatings of my heart lessened. When I opened my eyes back, a surprise stood before me; the world surrounding me was cold, slowed down, and only I wasn't affected, seeing this out-of-the-norm phenomena with my own two eyes like it wasn't anything to be impressed about.

"What the..."

An illusion. The last hope of my subcouncious playing tricks to try and make me believe in my survival. Or reality? I couldn't say, but there do is a way to confirm wether it is true or not.  

While my world was slowed down to the point one could believe it was totally stopped, I calmly walked, trying and touching each object, feeling every of their subtle definitions, observing a world I grew with like I saw it for the first time, I was like a newborn who just uncovered the secrets of walking, tempted I was by every details of my surroundings. The bullet, little, still hot from the firing. The harsh skin of the shooter, who almost killed me, a strange mix of joy dancing alongside pride in his eyes. Finally, this same gentle yet firm, slender and sharp, spellbinding texture: my dagger.

"I gotta check something!" I exclaimed to myself.

Without waiting for an answer, I ran back to where I came from. I stopped dead in my tracks, the sight in front of me too unbelievable for me to react; two beings were still fighting, and I could see their movements though I had to concentrate.

"At what kind of speed are they even fighting to still go so fast!? But... why are they not reacting?"

After all, Time had slowed pace all of a sudden and they did not even question it? Unless... Time hadn't changed - for them, I mean - and only I was truly affected? Then could we still call it Time slowing down, wouldn't it be more like my reflexes surpassing the threshold of what a human is capable of doing?

I took a long breath out, closed my eyes, and decided to wisely use this heavenly gift.

"First, I have to return to my fight, I don't know when Time will resume its normal course. It'd be best I kill him while I'm in this state. As for these two guys... I would die were I to try and intervene, so I'll stick out of that fight."

It was then I felt it. Something. It ran through my veins. It was odd but...it felt like the Blue. Deep Blue of the ocean. Swallowing everything, even Space. Its waves as torrential as they were peaceful coming back on their track without rest. From left to right. Back and Forth. Walking like a tightrope walker on the slim line that is Time. It was in me, and It let me toy with Time.

My steps slowed down as I understood more and more this feeling that seemed buried deep within my self. It was...supranatural. Nothing I felt nor lived could stand up to this feeling. It wasn't the most intense feeling that had awoken in all of my life, nor was it one that would shape me for eternity, no, I would have forgotten all about the liveliness of it taking over all of my body, the drums of my heart orchestring Time to the right tempo, my steps distorting the course of Reality, all of that would soon be forgotten. But it was the most unique, yet familiar feeling I ever felt. It was like...having a second heart..a second vital source...was that what had happened with N.? What was sure was that I did not understand It, and no one probably could.

I cannot forget the mission I must accomplish - well, more like the escape, given how things turned out.

I found myself in front of the smiling face with the gun. Without slowing the least, I took hold of the dagger and cut the trachea of the poor fool with a rapid, hard and experimented stab. The room where I found the dagger blurred before my eyes, after that it was followed by the room of the tortured soul. And one room and hallway later, I was outside.

My first step outside alleviated all my worries, and Time resumed.However, as soon as I breathed out a sigh of relief, a deafening screech boomed from inside the building. When I looked back a giant pillar of Light proudly stood instead of the building. I could see specks of darkness floating amidst the pillar, trying and taking over any less-bright-than-average parcel of Light.

"How is that possible...?" I said to myself, my voice nothing more than a shakened whisper full of disbelief.

Seeing such a thing, my legs gave way and I crumbled down the ground. How? Were they able to achieve such a feat because of It? Was It in them too? Then they had to know when I slowed Time to a break! Yet they did not react... Was it not the same thing we had? It couldn't have been my imagination, after all I was still alive!

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I need to go, far, far away. I have to flee, I must escape. I thought I would be safe once outside, I was wrong. It's the whole fucking town they're going to blow up at this rate!

My steps are out of order, my heart aches, I am...crying? Hot damn, what am I even doing, did I already forget all about his teachings?! Like hell I'm going to go back to my primal instincts, I've long since passed that pesky phase of mine!... But, can we really blame me? After all, it's not an every day occurrence, not like everyone has to one day clash against gods - true Gods - and not anyone discovers something hides deep within theirself and let them play with Time itself, and not everyone has to... to - fuck, I can't think straight. I have to empty my thoughts. I slipped my hand down my pockets and let my fingers gently stroke the Glock Vespid, its cold, metallic contour reassured me, convincing my heart to stop its frantic run and stopping all thoughts, however pressing they might have been.

I saw houses turn ablaze, living fires running like headless chickens on the street, others losing limbs after touching fireflies of Void. Despite the chaos, I could still see still eyes glowing in the dark alleys, eyeing people, eyeing me, they seemed to want and do something, but instead settled for watching me.

Explosions echoed behind me, each wave bringing forth more destruction, annihilating surrounding buildings, bringing more death. Yelps of surprise and pain birthed from all the chaos, however, few survived. It's scary to run for your life, not knowing what will happen afterward. Right, what am I going to do? The... God will probably want to take revenge on us, well, more like on me, after all I'm pretty sure it'll be easier for him to kill me than the other one. There's no reason for me to return to Leolio's hideout, it will only bring the ire of that monster on him. Although he's the one to have given me this mission, I was the one to accept. He doesn't deserve to die because of my incompetence.

Wait, there's something that doesn't feel right... An informant died to give him intel on Tezca, he also emphasized on the truth behind his said divinity; that this wasn't just a mere nickname given to please his ego, but what he was. How could someone aware of the Obscure Past - because how else would he know about Gods that were supposedly there before even the birth of Montezio. It's not all, he also seemed well-versed in the arts of war - how could he have possibly mistaken me as capable to take care of this, how could he have possibly mistaken anyone in this town as capable of such feat? And he had to know I would die, else he wouldn't have sent the other God to my rescue. Then... he knew how everything would ensue. The bastard, he knowingly sent me to the slaughterhouse! I'll show him what I do to bastards who try and fuck me!

After hours dodging pillars of scorching Light and trickles and fireflies of Void, I found myself in front of a somber building devoid of soul and semblance of joy. I reload my Glock Vespid and shoot on the magnetic lock, something behind all these wires catches fire and the door opens.

I entered a dusty rectangle lacking furniture. I walked to the center of the room, and kicked the ground slightly too strongly than necessary, it was followed by a robotic voice answering the kick.

"Greetings, dear master." So it doesn't use facial recognition I thought to myself.

"Hello, Hera."

A trap agremented with a labyrinth of stairs leading down the ground revealed itself to me. The room downstairs hadn't changed in the slightest; shelfs packed to the brim with books, the stong smell of ink permeated the air, and a chair hovered centimeters above the ground in front of a table made of unknown material. Only difference was the thick pair of spectacles lying on the table and the man sitting on the chair, his back turned to me.

"Leolio." I growled.

"I assume you survived your encounter with the God. That is great. The experimentation has thus been a success. You can be proud of yourself, dear 0., you have transcended the limitations of your body and now can bend one of the Truth, or a Concept of the Universe, if you prefer. Clearly, it was not the expected result, it is nonetheless great, you even have surpassed my expectations. Hats off to you."

My blood's boiling, he just admitted to having sent me to the slaughterhouse and he sees no problem with that? He doesn't even look shocked to seeing me alive and standing. Is it another part of his great plan, is he still not taking me seriously?!

I run to him and grab him by the neck and let him discover what it feels like to fly, "stop playing dumb! I know you knew how it would all end! You knew I'd die by the hands of that monstrosity! What do you expect - am I supposed to shut my trap, listen and be proud of myself for hearing all that shit spitting out of you?!

"You say I transcended the limitations of my body and what prevents me from killing you with my new powers, huh!" My voice resounded across the room, and I could now see the scientist's eyes: they were devoid of any reaction, it reminded me of the look on uncle Roger's face when we buried him. That was the kind of person I was most wary of, nothing to live for, the same lack of spark than the Sinless, and to make it worse, he was a smartass with his own schedule. Fuck smartasses.

"You can see it this way, indeed," answered he after few seconds. "However, let me enlighten you of my perspective. You're hemmed in. Admit it. You can flee to anywhere and still, he'll find you, and you know very well who I am mentioning. You don't have any way to learn and master your newly found powers. No matter how splendid and potent they seem to you, it is nothing compared to Him. He is born with these powers and has lived for millenia. However, I possess a card capable of salvaging your future; you don't know it yet, but I possess a God-"

"Stupid bastard, you're talking about the Void boy?"

An awkward silence answered, followed by a disherteaned sigh.

"And I told him time and time again about how he mustn't intervene. But oh well, I suppose one cannot have everything go his way." He stopped talking for an instant, intently gazing at nothing. "An anomaly might have occured, even so, I still stand my point. I possess this God, and as of now, he is one of the only beings on this world capable of bending the Truth and that will not jump down your throat upon seeing you.

"What is your choice, then? Kill me, or live one more day?"