The Price For Immortality

Broken and Whole Again

Nighttime is cold and dark. What time is it, anyway? It seems like everyone has lost the ability to feel time, or see it. The clocks seem frozen, as if time itself has stopped. It wouldn't be a big deal if it has. There doesn't seem to be a reason for it as of now. The only thing that time is good for is telling when the Blading Hour is. That's all that matters as of now.

He can't give in to Luinor. Shu tosses and turns, sleep getting harder and harder to come by. He looks at a clock on his nightstand. It's two in the morning. The sample of Luinor's power still tingles in his veins. He can't let it get further in. He just can't. There's nothing else to it. Once the Blading Hour hits, and Luinor begs him to give something up in return for strength, he'll forget about the taste of power and say no, like he's supposed to. He can't break his promise to Valt.

Why aren't they breaking it now? Why are they waiting for the Blading Hour? Isn't Luinor the strongest during that time? Shu sighs and shuts his eyes. Luinor might be the strongest during the Blading Hour, but the Bey itself, the forge disk, should be the most brittle by then. Despite the fact that a spirit is possessing it, it's still a toy. It's still a piece of cheap metal.

Shu stands up. He walks out of the room, and knocks on a door. He jumps when it opens, even though he expected it to.

"It's too early for this, Mick..." Zac rubs his eyes. He then looks and sees who it actually is. "Oh, ha! I guess I was still half asleep."

Shu stares. Zac isn't wearing makeup, and his hair isn't done at all. His pajamas are all wrinkled, and the dark circles under his eyes signify how tired he is. Despite that, he still forces a smile onto his face, and forces his voice to sound perky.

"What are we waiting for?" Shu asks.

Zac tilts his head. "What are we waiting for? For what?"

"What I mean is... why are we waiting to break Luinor? Why are we waiting for the Blading Hour? Why don't we just break it now, get it over with, stop it before it hurts somebody?"

Zac ponders this. He looks at the door frame and rests his hand on it. "Honestly, Shu, I don't know. I would've broken it the second I found out, but... I don't know what everyone else is thinking."

Shu stares, and repeats what Zac said in his head. "Zac?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did your accent go?"

Zac's eyes widen. He covers his mouth. "Oh no. I slipped out of it, didn't I?" He fakes a laugh. "Confession: when I first got here, I had a producer with a bunch of British singers. The fans loved it, so they told me to fake a British accent. So I did. I've been a fake this whole time." He laughs nervously.

"So, you're not British?"

"Not even a little bit."

Shu stares. "Zac..."

"Don't look at me like that! What would you do if your record producer told you to fake a British accent or else find a different label?"

Shu smiles and looks away. "I'd fake a British accent."

"There. You see my trouble." Zac looks away. He then meets Shu's eyes. "Don't tell anyone I told you that."

"I won't. So, back to the topic. Why are we waiting to break Luinor?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I don't know what everyone else is thinking. If it were up to me, it'd be broken already."

"Then why are we waiting?" Shu turns and walks back into his room. Zac follows. Shu turns around and jumps. "I forgot you had crutches."