[A/N: Chapter Soundtrack: Glow In The Dark - Smash Into Pieces]
Aybel was at a loss for words.
"What... in the name of god am I seeing...?"
A second passed, then two, and three, whatever it was - stared right through his soul.
"Is it... sentient? Should I be afraid?"
Afraid or not, the sight sent a sharp shiver down his spine.
"No way is that real... but still, why is my heart racing?"
He had become accustomed to the sight of people falling from the sky, but Aybel was not yet used to seeing something like this.
"No, it's just my imagination. I need to find her quickly..."
Managing to tear his gaze away, Aybel took a step back from the edge, but before he knew it...
He stumbled back in surprise...
A small body fell from the sky, landing hard just in front of him.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The girl lay on the ornament, her body limp, her long, straight black hair covering her face. She was a cute girl, but that wasn't important to Aybel.
"Would you look at that... This place is just full of surprises."
Aybel walked over to the girl's side and nudged her with his foot.
The girl was completely limp. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving an inch.
...He had to fight back the sudden desire to slap her awake.
But then again, if she's dead, I could just kick her right off the-
Aybel's train of thought was interrupted by the sudden sound of a cough that escaped her lips.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she looked up at him wearily, her irises bright red.
She's fine. I might as well just leave her there. No point in being needlessly cruel. Aybel thought, turning his back on the girl and looking up at the sky.
Aria...
His eyes narrowed as he searched around for her, trying to get a better look for her body in a sea of falling people that all looked alike.
Briefly, he turned his head around to give those red eyes one last look. She continued to lie on the ornament, trying not to make a noise despite her heavy breaths.
She winced once then her expression changed to a sly smile as she looked up at Aybel.
Seems like she's in quite a bit of pain and she's trying to hide it too. From the look of her night wear, I bet she was asleep.
"You must have quite a lot of questions, I imagine."
His eyes wandered back to the sky as he let out a sigh.
So... whatever that thing is made its own entrance. And this girl is pretty much on life support... What a day I'm having.
Crap... This is bad. With Caine being a pain in the ass I guess I really underestimated how much time it would take to deal with that blonde girl.
There's no telling how many bodies had already fallen by now. This isn't good at all.
In a way, I wish I hadn't taken so much time arguing with the bastard to help that girl. Maybe we could've figured out something sooner and I could've already been done with this, I would've had a clean shot to get on with my search.
But I suppose nothing worthwhile in life comes easily...
Hm? The high schooler questioned staring at the falling masses, but there was just no denying it.
What is this...
They don't seem to be slowing down at all... In fact, they're multiplying with each passing second.
Indeed, their sheer number soon obliterated any form of personal space the chandelier had.
Heads jerked and bones snapped violently with every impact as people, in a sudden panic, desperately aimed for the floating ornament, alert to the danger beneath him.
Aybel felt the chandelier sway back and forth, causing his feet to slip and slide with each change in direction.
Meanwhile, the ruby eyed girl rolled forward, grabbing the edge of the platform as hard as she could, clinging on for dear life.
A girl with confetti in her hair managed to get a hold on the opposite edge of the platform causing it to wobble violently, her nails scratched furiously at the metal.
Skrrrrrritch! Skrrrrrritch! Skrrrrrritch!
But it was no use. She fell right into the abyss.
And then, everything went pitch black.
What?
Aybel lost sight of the falling bodies but he could still hear their nightmarish cries.
He blinked once and his vision was restored.
Lowering his head and staring at his feet, an air of solemnity suddenly enveloped his face, as if a profound realization had dawned on him.
Just at the center of the chandelier, a thin crack ran down its body.
"No..."
Its light blinked, spluttered and blinked again, creating creepy shadows on the carnage below.
I refuse...
For the last time ever... its light flickered out. With its light gone, its floating mechanism failed...
I CANNOT AFFORD TO FALL NOW.
The chandelier began to plummet uncontrollably towards the abyss.
Time lingered as Aybel felt the sensation of weightlessness envelop him.
Sparing a sharp glance at the abyss below, the intimidating glowing slits of the beast held it's gaze, its body motionless, as if awaiting his arrival.
He let out a bitter laugh as the irony of the situation bled into his mind.
This was the universe's gentle reminder, that even those who appear invincible... can still fall.
To Be Continued...