Margana: To Seek The Truth

9. The Call of Connection

The moment we went through, I felt as if I'd been warped to a different place. Trust me, I know how it feels. Was the shadow a portal? It's messing with our minds... Two choices that both seem relatively dangerous. We ended up in a cyber-like city, it looked real abandoned, though there were lights, a lot. Lino and I looked around, moving towards the east and west, there was an electric barrier. It seemed more powerful than the one earlier, I don't think we should go through it. There are only two options left, forward and backward, which is a wall behind us. The last choice standing? We only go onward. A flashy purple beam came from the sky, there was something in front of us. Like, some kind of throne. Could that be 'She'?! Extreme feedback rang through this abandoned city.

Lino and I saw a little petite woman on the screen, she looked quite cute, total anime material. Her dark blue hair bounced, it must be silky... And she looked like a princess? In things like these, I feel like she'd be the guide. However, bit by bit, her aura became more ominous.

"Helloooo dear travelers! I'm pleased to have you on this stage! I'm 'IT', I've been observing you every step, pretty brave I must say! You've overcome the challenges of a petty human-like mind. (Gasps) Time for a fun activity, but first... Hmmm, let's collect some puzzle pieces! We'll use it for later! For now, too-da-loo!"

The screen turned off, the barriers disappeared. We were free to roam around. Lino also found some kind of wristband on the table in the corner of the first building. We wore it hoping nothing bad would happen, luckily for us, a mini-map appeared to guide us. There were yellow pieces on my map, and blue pieces on Lino's map, all in different locations. I see, he takes the left and I take the right side. It made sense, I told Lino to start searching, and I did the same. Alone again, at least I had this map to guide me properly. "0/50 pieces collected. Timer left: 50 minutes. Good luck, traveler." There's a timer?! Holy... I better hurry up. I found the first one, it was in an easy location. A good 10 minutes later, I found 14, I currently have 15 pieces, it's just ¼ of what I'm supposed to get! Hurry... Hurry... Hurry!

Lino's POV:

It's been 10 minutes since we parted ways. I should start finding things quicker, I only found 9 pieces so far... Mine are hidden well, the map is inaccurate, it gives the general location. Should it be 2 people searching the same side at once? The watch 'spoke' again saying, "Click the hint button to reveal the location of pieces! Use it wisely. Charges left: 5" This is a huge advantage, I should get up to the roof. Right, now that I'm here... (Clicks the hint button) "Damn it!" I exclaimed as an electric shock came from the wrist band, I fell on one knee, the shock was way too sudden. The first shock was.. unpleasant, to say the least, it wore off quickly though. After some time passed, I got 30 pieces now thanks to the hint. I only have 22 minutes left, should I use another one? I'm afraid the next one will be stronger than the last, do I take my chances? Would it wear off as quickly as the previous one? You know what... (Clicks the hint button once more) Great, I've been paralyzed, my body's completely numb. I didn't hurt too much but I couldn't move. Hints have been flying all over the place, when will I be able to move again? Time's ticking, I can't let it slip by like that.

Back to Margana's POV:

I've got 45 pieces already, I have to find the last few ones quickly... I'm down to 9 minutes left! The last ones are on the far side of the eastern city! I've gotta hurry up. After running aimlessly through the entire city, I was greeted by flowers in the middle of the only path going to the east. These look poisonous, that's what "It" do. It's a really long jump, given my capacity, it's impossible to do such things. I'll have to find an alternative route, and fast. I went through a lot of buildings, I just had to find one with stairs somewhere! These towers aren't normal, only a selected few have access to the rooftop. This is the last building before the border is shown, this has to be it! I entered the building, and I finally found the staircase I've been looking for. I swiftly went up, then it started shaking like crazy! One wrong step and I could fall off, but there's no other choice, I had to run like the speed of light if I wanted to pass this. Step by step, I reached the second floor to the top. Acid started flowing from the door, I was so shocked.. I froze. A bit of acid got onto my foot, and boy, it hurt like hell, I almost crouched but I tried to resist, it was hard. Now with absolutely no time to dilly-dally, I had to come back down in the shaking stairway with acid pouring from the top. I heard Lino from the ground floor saying "Hey! I'm coming up, take my hand, it's easier!" I just said a simple yes. Thank God, I would've melted by it given the condition of my foot. I knew Lino's capabilities of climbing things, could it be that he's completed his side? Yeah, it has to be that! He came up swiftly, and grabbed my hand helping me to cling onto the railing to get up. As soon as we opened the door, the shaking stopped, the acid disappeared. I doubt it was an illusion, my foot was affected by it. Now, no time for thoughts! Hold on.. Those are the last five pieces of the puzzle! Right there, I heard a countdown, "5... 4... 3..." I collected the pieces like lightning, I don't want to lose my life. "2..." The last piece, attained! "... 1, activity over."

Right there, I just made it through the first half of  IT's game.