District F was a short-lived visit. Much like the dozens of ones that came before it, Energy sensed Hats and Elegy for but a split second before it disappeared. It was almost as if they were following us, but they couldn't be that fast to keep up with an archangel's speed, right?

"It's actually getting scary now." I clenched Energy's tote bag tightly, "How are they doing this?"

"Now you're afraid of the guy?" Energy groaned, "Look, it's entirely possible that my senses are a tad off and that this is all some kind of mistake."

"That's actually scarier to think about..." Sheep tiredly smirked.

We flew around the entire district in what felt like less than a few seconds at best. Sheep has really gotten the hang of flying at top speed now, which means that even zipping through each and every street didn't take away from our time. We were making good pace, but the results sadly weren't reflecting that.

"Is the feeling at least getting stronger the closer we get to district A?" I sighed.

"Not really, it's all the same." Energy replied, "At best, the duration varies a bit between districts, but the difference is in milliseconds at most. I doubt proximity has anything to do with it."

"Off to district E we go..." Sheep sobbed.

Again, the further out we went, the more we felt like we were wasting our time. It was obvious to anyone that they weren't at the center of Heaven, and we started feeling bad about leaving Pry and Selz alone by this point. That's when the familiar radio buzzing woke us up from the anxious trance.

"Yo? Come on, anyone there?" Sab's voice reached out to us.

"H-Hello!?" I pressed the button to reply, "What's wrong?"

"Which's betta'?" Nerys replied for him, "A man soized chiken, err' a chiken soized man?"

"You idiots! We thought you found something!" I hissed back.

"Your fault for getting your own hopes up." Sab pouted.

"I think a man sized chicken is terrifying..." Sheep answered.

"The question was which is better, so I assume we're fighting it." Energy also gave a surprisingly serious answer, "In that case, punting a chicken sized man would be way easier."

"Grrr...! Don't use the walkie-talkies for stupid hypotheticals!" I interrupted angrily.

They seemed bummed that I ruined their fun, but I really wasn't in the mood right now. With each passing second, we were getting closer to possibly finding Elegy, and the last thing we'd want is for their nonsense to make him slip away. There'll be time for fun, but that time isn't right now.

"Hmph, buzzkill." Sab frowned, "Anyways, me and Nerys are out buying clothes. How are you guys faring on your end?"

"Eres' a significant lacka' blabberin' from thoos Two." Nerys picked up on it.

"We're flying around with Sheep to try and find Elegy a bit easier." I expained.

"What? Gave up on the digging idea already?" Sab jokingly guilt-tripped us, "And after Nerys explained everything to you so nicely, too..."

"Oi'm ah'polled!" Nerys cried out as well.

"No, those Two are still digging." Energy raised his tone, "Actualy—Oi, you Two! You're on this line as well, pick up your talkies!"

Hearing us hollering for them, the Gods finally picked up. Albeit with a reluctant tone, Selz grunted the moment he pressed the button.

"Ugh, we're here. What is it?"

"Rude." Sab noted, "How's it going?"

"Terribly!" Pry cried out from the background, "Migu, Sheep, Energy! Come back quickly, he's making me do all the work!"

"You shut your mouth!" Selz shouted back.

A stern smacking sound could be heard a few seconds later, followed by a painful yelp from the Meditation God. Just what the Hell are those Two getting themselves into? That sounded like a slap, but it could also very well have been a whip crack with the way it echoed through the walkie-talkie. With friends like Selz, who needs enemies? Talk about harsh...

"As you can imagine, we are still hard at work trying to fix this issue." Selz calmly responded.

"Unlike you three!" Pry yelled at us next, "What are you taking so long for? He's not on the surface, we're telling you!"

"Don't worry about it." Sheep reassured them, "You guys just keep digging, we think we're close to a breakthrough."

"Breakthrough?" Selz's voice sounded dire, "Wait, what do you mean by tha-!?"

"Boop." I released my thumb from the button, ending our communication, "They don't gotta know everything."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Safe bet, we'll tell them everything once we find Elegy." Energy nodded.

Even after I turned off the microphone on our end, the walkie-talkie was still eagerly buzzing with static noises and the panicked, distorted voices of the two Gods. In the background, Sab and Nerys kept asking stupid hypothetical questions that I can imagine only served to infuriate them more. Yeah, I stepped away at the perfect time. Pressing the button again now would be nothing if not suicide.

"Then, next stop—D district?" Sheep made sure it was alright to go.

"Godspeed." I nodded, "Energy, try and focus on the direction of where that feeling comes from next time, okay?"

"How fast do you think I am?" He retorted, "You want me to track a feeling that blips in less than a few milliseconds?"

Right, his reaction time just doesn't allow it. If he was just a bit faster... or, maybe time could just be a bit slower! That's it!

"Energy, focus up right as Sheep goes all hyperspeed!" I smiled, "Let's try doing it this way!"

"Hm?" The archangel and brain both looked confused, but shrugged it off, "Worth a shot, at least."

Thus, he counted down before focusing all of his energy on tracking Hats and Elegy's location down. The moment he reached zero on the countdown signalled for Sheep to begin zooming to district D. Theoretically, since hyperspeed slows down time for Sheep because he's focusing on his flying, I believe Energy too could piggyback off that to "slow down" the time around them. This would turn that milliseconds long feeling into possibly a long enough one to get their location. Now, we wait for the results...

"Gah!" Energy snapped out of it the moment we reached the next district over, "Migu, you're a genius!"

"It worked!?" Even I was surprised to hear the good news.

"Yes!" His tone gradually got softer, "And no."

"Huh?" Sheep paused, "What's that mean?"

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He asked.

Oh God, not this again...

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***

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"Good news!" I strongly voted.

"Bad news!" Sheep contested it.

"Alright, I'll give you both, so don't argue." Energy quickly ended the debate.

Aww, I kinda wanted to butt heads with Sheep a bit. Don't get me wrong, he's a chill guy, but that's exactly why we never get into anything too heated. Well, at least Energy's good at damage control. Now we can get to the point quickly.

"Good news..."

"You started with good news first last time." Sheep cleared his throat.

"So what?" I rolled my Eyes, "Does it matter.

"I'm just saying, he's showing clear favoritism and bias here."

"Alright, okay, fine!" Energy huffed angrily, "Bad news is—they disappeared."

"Eh?" We blinked in confusion, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, because the bad news was supposed to play off of the good news."

"So in reality, good news first is the only right answer..." Sheep solemnly exhaled, "The illusion of choice truly is poignant in this one."

I'm beginning to think Energy might just be socially awkward. Despite being smarter than most, and quite capable despite being so ancient, not to mention also just a brain, he seems really bad at holding the flow of any conversation he's in. Gramps, go back to bed, you're not hip with the cool kids anymore...

"Migu, wipe that pitying look off your face." Energy groaned, "Okay, now for the good news."

"Be sure to add the bad news after the fact, don't be shy." Sheep smirked.

"Stop being so demanding!" He shot back, "Ugh, anyways—The good news is, I saw clearly where Elegy and Hats were. The bad news is, they disappeared."

"Oh, the extra context makes it make a lot more sense." I figured, "So, mystery solved?"

"Not exactly..." He worried, "And it has everything to do with that "disappeared" part. You see, they were in the Gods' Abode."

"Eh?" Sheep and I gasped.

Wait, the Gods' Abode...?! But why would...? Ah, I guess we never searched that place, probably because that was where we started from. So they were right under our noses the entire time! Damn, Elegy's way too smart for us, we should've checked that area first!

"But you said they disappeared?" Sheep inquired.

"Not just them, but my entire vision of that area as well." He explained, "One moment, I sensed them doing something inside the mansion, and the next moment—poof—only clouds remained."

"So the entire place disappeared?" I furrowed my brows, "Doesn't that just mean your senses are off? Maybe the fact that it's the Gods' Abode is interfering with your senses?"

"No, I'm positive my senses work just fine, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see inside there at all." He replied, "We need to go ask the Gods about it. This is a huge find."

"Oi, are you crazy?" Sheep stopped him, "Those Two are gonna flip when they find out Elegy took Hats inside their house. They'll be lucky if they even survive the encounter after such a bold move."

"Wait, but isn't the Gods' Abode in district G?" I tilted my head, "If that's the case, then how did you sense them from all the way out here?"

The question stumped both of them. Somehow, Energy sensed Hats and Elegy inside the Gods' Abode from two districts away. His senses are sharp, but not that far-reaching. There had to have been a better explanation for it...

"Sheep, head in that direction." Energy said.

"Which one?"

"Migu, time for hot and cold again." He said with 100% seriousness.

I wanted to laugh and tease him for it, but I knew the situation called for such emotions. With a silent nod, I took him out of the bag and twirled around my axis until he gave us the right direction.

"Lava." He gave the signal, "Where Migu is pointing is exactly where I felt their presence."

"Alright, let's go there and see for ourselves, then." Sheep understood.

"But that direction... Aren't we going towards district C, then?" I asked.

"No, not that far out. They were still in district D." Energy replied.

Just what in the world is going on anymore...? I'm so lost, how is any of this even remotely possible? Elegy, Hats, they were in all of the districts so far? But how did they move so fast between them, and how are they already gone? Nothing makes sense anymore.

"Sheep, will you do the honors?" I braced myself.

"Got it."

In a flash, we had reached our destination. Sheep was silent, almost mortified. He spread his winged embrace so that we could step outside, and the view before us shook us to our very core.

"This is...!?" I couldn't believe my Eyes.

"The Gods'...!? B-But, how?!" Energy was shocked as well, "How is the Gods' Abode in this district too!?"

There's something the Gods never told us. Just how much more will we have to learn on our own... In any case, the sounds of clatter coming from inside the mansion made it quite obvious that there were people inside causing a ruckus. I didn't even need Energy to confirm it.

"That's them, alright." I pushed on the large double doors that towered 15 meters over us, "Except this time, there's nowhere to run."