After hearing my question on who they are, the bangboo itself widen its digital eyes in shock.
"W-wait, are you serious? You've never heard of us?" The voice of a girl came from the bangboo, while it turned to Billy and Anby to confirm.
"Sorry, but he's serious, no clue about you guys, the hollow, or even anything in particular." Billy shrugged, slumping down next to me and take a breath.
"Anby?" Anby herself just shook her head when she was brought into the conversation.
"The chief himself was trapped in a large red crystal, with etherials surrounding the crystal, even bowing towards it." She spoke.
"Wait, did you say chief? As in, a chief for PubSec?!" The bangboo visibly panicked and was about to flee, not before Anby picking it up.
"You misunderstand, he does not work for PubSec, or for H.A.N.D.S." She said, glancing at me, while Billy tried to lift me up.
"He works for an unknown organization, and I believe he is not from this world." She spoke all of that with a neutral face.
I don't know weather to be worried, or impressed at the conclusion she made. But it didn't help calm down the bangboo at all, in fact, it began to squirm in Anby's grasp.
"That doesn't make it batter! You need to stop believing those fiction movies, he can't be from another world!" Billy then stood up, leaning down until his face was the same level as the bangboo.
"But Phaethon, this guys was stuck inside a large crystal, it was red, the etherials were acting weird, and they didn't attack us when we got close!" Anby nodded her heat at Billy's words and placed the bangboo down.
"No, that's impossible, etherials don't just bow, they attack anyone that's non-etherial." Phaethon replied.
"T-then explain why do some of them look like that!" Billy grabbed the bangboo and both peaked out.
Some etherials were close by trying to find us, and they saw what Billy showed. Some having bone and skin, while flesh began to drop onto the ground.
"There's no way etherials look like that, could it be a person who wasn't fully corrupted?" Billy shook his head at Phaethons question.
The bangboo nervously made its way towards me, staring at me with fear in its eyes.
"A-are you really from another world?" The now named Phaethon asked me.
"Well, it would seem so, since I never heard of PubSec, or H.A.N.D.S." I replied, causing Phaethon to blink in place, only for it to freeze in place.
"Um, did I do something wrong?" I asked both Billy and Anby, then looked at each other, then at me, shrugging their shoulders.
"I don't know, but…" I was then caught off guard when I saw the bangboo moving, only this time, it didn't speak normal.
"Enah-enah enah-nanana enah!" Seeing act like this, I turned to the others, hoping to see if they knew what was happening.
"Oh, this is how bangboo normally act, since Phaethon has low resistance to ether, they made a- ow!" Anby used the hilt of her sword to hit Billy on the stomach.
"Billy, don't compromise the proxy's methods, it would cause many problems, you never know who'll be listening." A new term, proxy.
"Can I assume the proxy is some sort of guide when entering these, hollows?" I asked while struggling to stand.
"Yeah, all proxies guides to all major companies and hollow raiders." Billy explained.
"However, hollow raiders are illegal and will be arrested on sight, but, with your rank and attire, PubSec will most likely rescue you and ask questions." Anby stood in front of me.
"Now, it's your turn. What is mania, and what are sinners?" Anby asked, her eyes changed from calm to serious.
I sighed and soon had enough energy to stand, fixing my hair and pushing it back to make it easier for me to see.
"Where to begin? It's going to be difficult with the information I know." I looked at the sky, watching how theirs not a single cloud in the sky.
"Just the two terms I have mentioned, that would be a good start." Anby asked, Billy then grabbed some rubble for us to sit.
"Mania itself is a disease, an irreversible one, it originally affects anything organic, causing either two things to happen." I began to explain.
"One, it causes any organic matter to undergo a mutation, the body deforming and becoming something that no longer represents a human, including no longer having the conscious of one." I explained.
"Two, they gain enhanced strength, defense, and abilities that no normal person can have." I spoke while placing my chin on my palms.
"Woah, does that mean if I'm infected with mania, I can gain wicked cool abilities like controlling fire, water? Oh oh oh, what about being able to transform?!" Billy stood up, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
However Amby stood next to Billy, smacking him up on the head, only to look at her hand and hold it gently.
"Ow." This caused Billy to gasp and rush to her side, somehow moving at an impossible speed, since I could now see three Billy's in front of me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, does it hurt, is it broken? Please don't tell Nicole!" Anby just waved Billy's worry away and soon focused her attention back on me.
"Back to the topic on hand, you said they gain abilities, however, I can assume that it comes at a cost?" She asked me.
"Yes, instead of losing their sense of reason, their minds become twisted, their desires and emotions take hold, and their abilities manifesting through their desires or trauma." I close my eyes, reminiscing the sinners I had detained.
"Some were abandoned as a child, others had to fight to survive, some let their work take control, others let their emotions run rampant, while some had their minds twisted beyond repair." Billy began to shake in fear, his eyes somehow showing his fear.
"T-that's so creepy, and sad. How can anyone survive like that?" He asked, hiding behind Anby for protection.
"Billy poses a good question, if their ability is manifested through trauma or desire, it would cause problems for many people, do you have a methods to detainee them?" She asked, her eyes then becoming slightly hostile.
I moved my trench coat to the side, lifting one of my arms, instantly Anby and Billy reacted instantly.
Billy with his revolvers aimed at my head, while Anby, her sword drawn and the blade barely pressed against my throat.
"This is how they are detained, what keeps them from destroying all of humanity in my world, what protects them from harming themselves." The air then crackled and turned red, with thorn like shackles appearing around my hand.
The bangboo, Billy, and Anby all stared at the shackles in awe, however, Billy's eyes showed a hint of fear, while Anby showed caution.
"I don't blame you if you are scared, since we are all afraid of the unknown, however, we are all on the same side, just trying to survive." Hearing this, all three of them looked at each other and sighed
"Sorry, it's just… etherials having skin and bones, seeing you in that giant red crystal, even seeing the ethereals act strange was kinda scary." Billy looked at the ground.
"I concur, this has never happened before and must be notified to the proper authorities." Anby commented.
"B-but that would lead to your arrest, you guys can't do this." Phaethon spoke, waving its little arms in the air, I couldn't help but find it cute.
"I would volunteer, but without proper I.D I'd be seen as crazy, and even if they did believe me, I wouldn't tell everyone." This caused both Billy and Phaethon to look at me in shock.
"What do you mean, not tell everyone? The people deserve to know about this, this disease, a way to hold it back." Billy spoke.
"This may sound harsh on what I'm about to say, but, with how you are thinking, you have no sense of danger if I do tell everyone." I stated as a fact.
"If I did tell everyone, there are some who are willing to use mania to experiment on innocents, or even infect themselves intentionally, you don't know what would happen if the public gets infected." I finished, causing Billy to clench his hands.
"Are you willing to bear the guilt? Knowing you released such information to the public? The amount of people who would be sacrificed to harness such power?" I asked him, Anby then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know someone who can be trusted, but they will have trouble believing you with the lack of evidence. However if you are lying." Anby looked at me with hostile eyes.
"I will eliminate you." I only nodded my head and soon stood up. Holding out my han, Anby then took it, applying pressure to it.
"I understand." My eyes never breaking from hers.
"Phaethon, can you locate the nearest exit?" Anby asked while staring at me.
"Y-yeah, but once we get out, Eros can't meet us in person, I'm sorry, I hope you understand." I only shook my head and smiled.
"It's fine, I had to go through the same treatment to protect myself." I reassured them.
Before anyone else could say anything, the sound of screeching was heard. The four of us then peaked out and saw the etherials getting closer.
"Let's continue our conversation later, since our current setting isn't appropriate for this discussion." Phaethon began to lead us away from the etherials while also sneaking glances at me.
I wasn't surprised on why, since it's hard to believe that a stranger you met says their from another world.
But with how things are, sometimes logic needs to be thrown out the window and you have to accept the answers you get.
"So, when you mentioned that you receive the same treatment, do you stand in the back lines, giving orders to your subordinates?" Billy asked slowing down to run next to me.
"No, I have to be in the front lines, my existence is a threat to all sinners, so I have my identity hidden to prevent them from finding me." I explained.
"A-ah, sorry that I asked." Billy spoke with shame.
"It's fine, I made my choice to detain them and I knew the risks." I reassure him, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Soon, Phaethon stopped and hid behind a small piece of rubble. Pointing in front of us, a few etherials were blocking our way.
However, they were different to the ones back then, no bones or skin were seen, only the black rocks.
"Looks like these are natural etherials, Billy, cover me." The two of them rushed forward, causing the etherials to notice them.
"Phaethon, were some of the etherials human?" I asked watching Anby cutting one of the legs of the etherials.
"Yeah, that's right, when a hollow is formed, etherials are born inside. Some of us have resistance to it so we can enter, but if their resistance is too little, or if we stay for too long, we become one of them." I only hummed.
"I see, we have similar situations in both worlds." One of the etherials was about to ambush Anby from behind, only to be kicked by Billy, who then shot at it and began to fire both his revolvers.
He mostly kept his distance, making sure to keep an eye on any etherial that tried to attack her.
However, one of the etherials tried to attack him with its blade, only for Billy to bend his legs and duck underneath the attack.
He then flipped one of his revolvers and used its handle as a hammer to knock it back, firing the other revolver as soon as it was knocked back.
"Anby, cover me!" He shouted and jumped back and flicked the revolvers down, while Anby soon made her way in front of him.
Her blade crackling with lighting streaming up and down soon made its way towards one of the etherials, stabbing inside its stomach caused it to howl in pain, and sending it rolling back.
She then rushed towards the next one and slid in between its legs, slicing both of its legs and pushing herself up with her hands.
And cutting it through the middle, causing the black ball to split. Once landing on her feet, she cartwheeled to the side, avoiding a blade that struck where she was.
She placed her foot on top of it and cut off its arm and soon did a round house kick to force it back and rushed forward to jump on it.
Stabbing the black sphere with her sword, once it began to disintegrate she jumped off it and spun in the air, sending her sword to another one.
Once it landed on its back Anby landed on it and twisted it, making sure she had made it incapacitated and stomped on the sphere.
"Alright girls, time for a drive! Anby, duck!" Hearing this, Anby did as Billy told and covered head.
One minute, Billy had finished reloading, the next, he disappeared and soon aimed both guns opposit of one another.
He began to fire at random, hitting the etherials that surrounded him, their arms, legs, abdomen, and even the spheres themselves.
Once things calmed down, Billy stood still, his body releasing some steam, while both of his guns released steam from the barrels.
"Geez, that still takes a major toll, there goes my bonus." He whined while helping Anby up and soon waved at the both of us.
"All clear you two, let's get out of here!" Hearing this, Phaethon began to lead us once again through the destroyed train station.
However, with the noise of gunshots behind us, more of those etherials appeared, chasing after us towards train bridge.
"You two, go find cover, we'll hold them off." Anby said before rushing towards them once again.
"What she said, we'll be back!" Billy ran after her, leaving the two of us to find cover.
"I'll admit, I haven't felt this useless after entering the black ring." I muttered, jumping over rubble, with the bangboo in hand.
"Black ring? What's that?" Phaethon asked me.
"Another topic for another day." I replied while ducking down to avoid being seen. Soon, I felt something pass over me, as if trying to weigh me down.
"Geh, ether levels are rising!" Billy shouted, soon, a shadow began to grow bigger under Billy, causing him to dive to the side.
An ethereal, one that is larger appeared. Both its hands had rubble, metal and stone acting like spikes, while the sphere was more guarded.
"Oh shoot, Anby, this one's got heavy defense!" He shouted, trying to shoot it, only for the bullets to bounce off the rocks that protected the sphere.
"Billy, cover me." Anby rushed forward while sheathing her sword. I saw the strange device on her back began to hum, and the blade itself began to glow.
The new ethereal only roared at her and was about to slam both its fists onto her, only to block the coming bullets from Billy.
"Nice try you bag of rocks, taste the power of a starlight knight!" He shouted and soon ran forward, only to be swatted away.
"Ahhh, my shining light has failed me!" How it was enough time for Anby, who was in front of it, the blade hummed loudly, while sparks of lighting began to leak through the sheath.
"Eliminating target." Was all she said before drawing the blade itself, perfectly cutting through the dense rock that protected it.
A small slit soon appeared, one side moved up, while the other moved down. Both half's then moved in opposite directions and disintegrated.
"Ethereal eliminated." Was all she said before putting her sword away.
"Good job you two, now let's get out of here before we're caught!" Phaethon shouted, but not before something happened to the screen.
"Alright then, which way do we go?" Billy asked, only for the Bangboo to point at the wall.
"Full steam ahead!" Billy nodded at her words, his eyes closed.
"Understood, full steam ahea- wait!" He looked at the Bangboo in a panic.
"That's a wall, you just want me to smash through it?! I don't have that kind of fire power!" He was about to continue, only to be cut off by another voice.
"Don't worry, I've checked the ether fluctuations, and the exit is right in front of you." The voice of a guys played through the bangboo.
"Took your time, I was worried that you were having trouble." Teased the female voice.
"Sorry, but it takes time to make sure that the exit is safe." Replied the guy.
"The hollow is always distorted, so…" He was about to speak.
"A dead end may be a way out, but a dead end may just be a dead end." Amby finished.
"Anyways, now that the exit is located, we'll meet you guys at our place. Except you Eros, sorry." The Bangboo then slumped forward, not before jumping up and looking at us.
"Welp, time to exit, let's go!" Billy shouted and ran towards the wall, not before stepping through it and disappearing.
"Reckless as always." Anby then stood in front of me and grabbed my hand, placing something on it.
As I pulled back, I looked at what she gave me. It looked like small silver coins, what I could assume to be the currency in this world.
"This is the currency we use, good luck." Was all she said and walked through the wall, leaving me all alone.
I sighed and looked at the coins, then back at the disaster behind me. My shackles glowed faintly and I could feel them, Hecate and Hella, the two of them were somewhere in this place.
For now, I had to leave, I don't have any strength to go through this, nor do I have any people to help me.
"I'll be back, that I can promise you." I then stepped through the walls, feeling my sense of balance being thrown off, until I felt my foot touch the pavement outside.
Not long after did I step out I heard a voice, female, only to be smacked behind on my head, losing conscious.
'What a shitty start.' Was my last thought before closing my eyes.
[How dare that bitch do that to my chief, if I could get out of these… oh heyyyyy, you guys didn't hear anything right?]
[No? Good, now that he's out of the hollow, will he encounter more allies in this strange new world? Or will he encounter some old foes that tried to cause some problems? Stay tuned to find out, oh, also, the character reference sheets are now up, go check them out! Bye bye!]
LOG 2 END