Chiaki struggled harder than ever, but Elian's clutch became tenser by the minute.
He glared into the distance as a giant gateway materialized in front of his view. It was like a door in the sky. It had two chains lined over to act as its lock.
"See that, Yasuda? That's the forbidden chain. You'll spend the rest of your life there, miserable, hopeless, and regretful of what you've done. Nobody will come to your aid. The "Soul-Linking" traits will finally evaporate from the universe, and part of its tranquility will return. Chiaki continued staring in horror at the gateway as Elian continued to speak. She felt haunted as she heard strange noises and whispers. And the closer she got, the more terrified she looked.
"There are forgotten souls who turned into phantoms inside that gateway. When you're tossed within, your skin will start to decay and you'll experience a horrible, searing sensation that feels like it's attempting to pierce your soul. The murmurs you hear are their way of laughing. You will be devoured." Elian explained, but his way of speaking was calm, without any flaws.
Chiaki watched the gateway carefully, desperate for something she could exploit to find an escape route. She stood stone-cold, equally determined to overcome that fear, "You can't throw me in there. I-I don't-" Elian interrupted her by turning around and grabbing her chin to connect his view with hers.
She became silent in an instant.
"You're still wanting to live? You've at least become more decisive than before. Your faith, however, is led by a perilous spirit that follows you around like a phantom chum. If I let you go, that threat would wreak havoc on your ability to control it. The most secure course of action I've earned is to cast the forbidden spell over your body." Elian explained, seeing somebody approach them from behind Chiaki.
"Aren't you entertained, admiral Elian? You and your comrades brought Yasuda girl all the way from the Craftsman Island." The person paused, crossing his arms while the silver of his glasses shone in the sunlight.
Chiaki exchanged views with the man, and her eyes reminded her of the person in an instant as she felt her eyes shaking. "Admiral Yules. You've come a long way. I'm surprised you managed to get here without any obstacles." Elian spoke as he continued holding Chiaki's shoulders.
"I have my own ways of avoiding unnecessary difficulties. I see you've done a great job in changing Yasuda's perspective." He grinned, lowering his gaze to Chiaki. "Speak of the devil. We meet again, Chiaki Yasuda. Look at yourself. You've become an entirely different person ever since your friends showed up. Perhaps I should treat you to a secret that not even admiral Elian knows of."
Elian crossed his arms behind his back, "A secret I don't know about? Now that reached the peak of my curiosity. Please, entertain us." Elian added, keeping calm. "It's a little... complicated. But not to worry. I'm sure you're both eager to learn it. And the secret I want to share with you is a secret you won't ignore. But did you know that Blythe Yasuda is actually alive and on this island?"
His sudden introduction astonished Chiaki and Elian, and neither could believe their ears.
-
Timothy continued to feel a point of pain in his stomach but didn't stop fighting. "I don't know how your ability works! But I'll find a way to take you down!" He shouted with a reverberating battle cry as he dashed toward Riley.
Riley spread his arms and laughed, "Take me down? I must be hearing things! There's nothing you can do to compete against me! You can get back up as much as you want, but it won't change a thing!" Riley shouted and waited for Timothy to come closer.
Timothy punched in Riley's direction, aiming for his face with a blue fire burning without a second to stop, and prepared to smash his knuckles into the middle of Riley's face.
"Time Skip Swap!" In a second, the room became monochrome. And in an instant, it regained colors as Timothy suddenly popped out in Riley's position instead, striking the air and releasing a spiral of fire into the wall in front of him, "Where-"
He couldn't finish his sentence.
Riley "chambered" by elevating the kicking leg across his body diagonally, then stretched the leg toward Timothy in a straight line while tightening his abdomen.
He kicked Timothy in the temple with a severe kick to the head, using his heel as the point of impact.
Timothy's eyes briefly opened wide before he was thrown to the side and into a row of boxes that cracked as a result of his body collision.
Riley lowered his leg and rotated in Timothy's direction with a confident grin. "What happened, pirate? Have you already given up?"
Suddenly, Timothy darted from the destroyed boxes and held his arms hanging from his left hip, "Shut up! Infernal Slash!" He had a shaped blade made out of flames that continued flaring and prepared to slice forward.
Timothy slashed the burning blade toward Riley's head but couldn't make any difference. Instead, Riley raised his left palm in front of his head, "Time Skip Counter," and came in contact with Timothy's blade.
Timothy's body froze, preventing his attack from connecting. Riley drew his arm behind him before striking Timothy in the head.
When the effect of frozen time vanished, Timothy immediately experienced excruciating migraine torment. "Not being so cool now, huh?" Timothy gasped for air as Riley slammed his knuckles into his stomach, sending a powerful shock through every fiber of his body.
"Paralyzing Needle," Riley murmured while placing both his palms on Timothy's chest.
He experienced a piercing sensation in his chest. It felt as if he had been stabbed by an invisible sword.
Another knee was thrust into Timothy's stomach, causing his body to jolt off the ground and making him cough up blood.
Before passing out, Timothy sprang awake and clung tenaciously to the anguish in his gut. In order for his palms to meet in the middle and form a blue fireball, he held his hands out in front of his chest.
"D-Detonation... B-Bomb!" Although he stumbled in his words, Riley was caught off guard and struck by the spherical fireball, which exploded upon contact and sent wind swirling throughout the room.
Timothy landed on the ground, feeling the heat of his own fire around him, and looked in Riley's direction. He saw Riley's feet skidding on the floor, crossing his face and chest from getting wounded. His skin was practically smoking, but it didn't pack enough power to take him out.
Riley slowly dropped his arms and peeked with serious eyes at Timothy's hurting body. "I will admit. That fireball caused some damage, which is impressive for the state you're in, white-haired pirate. But let's see how much more your body can take."
Timothy stood up straight, taking a deep breath and then becoming serious. "Th-Thanks for the compliment. B-But I don't need it." Timothy answered, his skin damaged, "Not from my enemy."
Timothy's skin started to steam, and his blue flames slowly scattered into blue particles, only to suddenly reconnect and flash with the brightest hues of white.
His body became hotter and warmer and exposed more sweat, nearly turning his skin red. "I intended to try this out at la Isleta Cortada upon attacking the underground station, but I didn't think using it underwater would benefit me," Timothy explained as he squatted on the ground and grabbed his knees.
"And I didn't think I would need to use it until coming across your chief. But it doesn't look like that's the pinpoint. If I want to save Chiaki, I need to take you down as fast as possible," Timothy called, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath. "Remember..." He reopened his eyes and revealed the white pupils beaming brightly and beating like waveforms. "I won't let you out of my sight..."
He softly tapped the ground with the tips of his knuckles until smashing it harder, and then, out of nowhere, white flames shot from the tips of his knuckles, wrapping around his wrists and trailing behind him like hair. Finally, a white flame engulfed his neck, molding it into an ethereal scarf.
"Second Ascension. Ethereal Flame."
To be continued...