OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 325: They Pass Like Sand

Chapter 325: They Pass Like Sand

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Emir's managed to step back in time, or so he would've been able to in the real world.

There, all that he could do was watch as his body got blown up to smithereens, body parts flying off with his blood painting the ground.

Blink.

His body, a so-called Icon, was reconstructed in the same building but there was no destruction around him. It seemed that alongside his death was the reset of the virtual world, as it returned to its original state.

He didn't move a step forward, awaiting another boom, body staying still, eyes locked on the dining table in the room before him, which was separated from the room he stood on by a white void that cut the house in multiple halves.

This void of white was all around him, cutting through every structure and object, making each building have a random distance of nothingness in between.

Now the buildings themselves were old, dusty, rotting almost, looking to be a washed-down copy of the slums, if not for them being so separated and the world's peculiar gravity, they would've leaned over each other as well.

It was a place that could only be called broken, truly, it seemed the kid's mind was way beyond repair, not only because of the structures but the very dining table Emir was staring

at.

People were eating...

Eating their own bodies.

The father went first, his smile twisted with cruel anticipation as he brought the blade down, severing his arm with many a sickening squelch.

Satisfied, he passed the bloodied knife to his wife, who followed suit without hesitation, the metallic tang of iron filling the air as her limb plopped to the table beside his.

When passed the knife their daughter hesitated, tears welling in her eyes as she stared at the gleaming blade. Yet, under the weight of their expectant gazes, and a force unseen, she too succumbed.

With a trembling hand, she brought the knife to her flesh, the sharp edge biting deep into her elbow with a crunch.

A choked gasp escaped her lips while her features contorted in shock and agony as crimson cascaded down her arm. But as the initial shock faded, her expression shifted, her tear- streaked face morphing into an eerie smile that mirrored her parents.

As the deed was over, the room fell silent, the only sound present being the steady drip of blood pooling on the floor.

After composing themselves, they crudely cleaned the table and wiped the blood from their bodies with tissue. Then, they began to clean the arms' innards, removing the bones, tough muscle, and gunk, throwing them away in a metal bowl that was placed in the table's middle. Once done, they bit into their own arms, tearing off chunks of flesh and skin. Blood dripped from their mouths as they greedily devoured said skin as if it were the best of foods.

Their faces were twisted in a grotesque display of ecstasy, hunger, and even desperation as if the world would end if they couldn't eat the hands in time.

Meanwhile, the bowl began to float, slowly at first, only to rapidly accelerate upwards, flying into the void above.

[Go.]

Emir stepped forward at Lyra's telepathic message, nearing the crack, and then jumped up, his hands launched themselves as well and they latched onto the room's roof.

He pulled himself above the cut without struggling, even though his Icon didn't have his body's original strength, only a mortal version of it, he still was plenty strong.

The bowl continued to fly, heading towards a specific house in the distance.

It was different than all the others, while still cut up, the house itself was massive, with a

beautiful and luxurious design, screaming Elite, contrasting strongly with all that was around

it.

'Felix is waiting there I bet.'

After a moment of thought, he looked up at the sky and said:

"Kill the feed."

Lyra complied, or so she was about to, but Nathan stopped her.

[Are you sure Emir? Unwatched, even a single second might become years to you, it's too dangerous, your mind will-]

Emir chuckled, interrupting him with a grin:

[I've gone through worse Nathan, thanks for worrying about me but I'll be fine, I know what I'm getting myself into.]

[He does.]

Lyra confirmed and shut off all the holograms that showed the life feed of Felix's virtual world.

Emir decided that there was no other solution than to go at it and chase the bowl down, but if 'seen,' his time would be the same as the outside world. If not, then a time dilation would be created, an utterly random one, where a year spent inside could be only a few seconds outside, or on the other end of the spectrum, a minute inside would be a year outside.

They obviously hoped for the former but if the latter occurred, that was no blood on their shoulders, they could just get him out and repeat the process.

Another potential issue of doing this, was that it would kill any chance of them helping him, but they had an objective already, so there was nothing else to do but to try.

"Well then..."

Emir cracked his neck and began routing a path towards the bowl's destination. From the house he stood on, he could clearly see the other floating fractured buildings, which spread out in three directions, each branching out even more the further away it was from the spawn

point.

"Let's get it-"

BOOM!

Blink.

He chuckled, materializing before the family once more.

But this time, without waiting for them to eat themselves, he climbed up, reached the roof, and ran towards where the bowl previously headed.

Emir jumped from building to building, from roof to roof, swinging through windows and

rushing-

BOOM!

Blink.

He chose a different route, running up the side of a house, and just before his momentum died, he pushed himself up the wall with his right foot, reaching the roof's ledge.

And while he threw himself up, his eyes were suddenly blanketed by a storm of wind and dust. He stepped back, his intention to fall off the roof, but he wasn't fast enough.

His body got picked up by the storm and was thrown into the void.

Splat!

Blink.

He chose the same route, however, he didn't go up the wall this time, instead, he horizontally wall-ran the house, managing to reach a window that led inside.

Emir rushed under the storm and through the dust, his body creating a-

BOOM!

Blink.

His body created a trail that was quickly replaced by the congregating dust that blurred his

vision.

BOOM!

Blink.

Yet he was familiar with the room, it certainly wasn't his first time there, the attempts

might've passed like sand, but he remembered each grain, so he navigated it with no

difficulty.

He jumped out the room's window and latched onto the building next to it.

Pausing for a moment, he looked around, trying to see-

BOOM!

Blink.

He saw no other way than to jump from the building he was on and land on the one below.

After a sigh, he did exactly that-

BOOM!

But an explosion occurred while he was mid-air and unfortunately, he didn't die

immediately, it seemed that the fall saved him.

Emir wouldn't call it saving however, for he now landed on the ground with charred and

missing limbs, alongside broken bones.

Most of his ribs were cracked, his spine and legs completely broken, even his left arm, yet

thankfully, his right arm was still functional as he managed to protect it.

He didn't need to bleed out to death. He could kill himself.

"Hah... man, this'll take long."

Chuckling, he brought his trembling hand up to his neck and squeezed.

Crack!