The sight was an aberration to the earlier portal plunging.
It was unexpected!
To Axel, it was an abnormality.
It wasn't that Axel wasn't used to something as anomalous as this, but this was shocking.
His heart ached now and…
Time paused.
Everything was slow again, and it felt like he could pick out a morsel of the air and chew it.
Slow motion.
It was a usual thing for him, but he wondered why it was happening now.
[DING]
Axel's eyeballs moved around, trying to find where the noise came from.
Just as he was about to release the breath he had inhaled, he heard an angelic voice:
[TIME PAUSED FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE SITTING ON A FENCE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THIS SITUATION]
Axel furrowed an eyebrow.
He thought: 'Should I enter the portal as instructed or should I go after Corusca and Dust?'
The angelic voice seemed to be hearing his thoughts because soon it said:
[IT'S LEFT TO YOU. AND SO AS TO NOT BE TORN UP WITH CHOOSING, EVERYTHING HAS BECOME SLOW IN YOUR SIGHT]
It was true. Everything was indeed slow.
Axel looked around.
Electro Sonic Fists was now moving at the speed of a snail (actually, X3 slow motion). It felt so slow that it ached Axel's brain. He looked at Dust and Corusca. Corusca's hands were lit with electricity, and Dust was looking sideways, making sure no one saw him. That was how they paused, by the way—not that they were doing the act or had done it, just that they were in the middle of doing it.
Axel's head almost throbbed. Everything was too slow. He was sure this would be a hell of a punishment for prisoners; they would even prefer death over this—over having to stare at this, this seemingly classical-looking slow musical art!
Axel decided that he would do one thing at a time. Since everything was slow, he would just fly over to Dust and Corusca, throw them punches, and tie their hands with a rope. He would then lift them up and fly towards the portal that Electro Sonic Fists would have opened. Then everything would return to normal, and he would quickly fly inside, and they would be at Superpolis, with Dust and Corusca behind him.
Axel wouldn't want to hurt his best friend, but since he had chosen the dark path, Axel would do the same (in a good way). He would have to do what was right, even though it went against his best friend.
With that, he decided to go with his plan, but then, that was when the angelic voice came along:
[IF YOU MAKE A DECISION, TIME WILL TURN BACK TO NORMAL]
'Shit!' Axel thought.
That was the disadvantage of the goddamn power, he realized. Any decision taken would result in time returning back to normal. That meant that he had to act with wisdom.
He decided to do something weird. He squinted his eyes, and by doing that, he could see a tattoo on the side of Dust's shoulder.
He couldn't go near the villain, and that was a setback because doing so would result in time returning back to normal.
Axel then resorted to squinting his eyes even harder from where he stood, not moving a bit so as not to trigger anything. Doing so, he saw that the symbol was exactly the same as the one on the dead monster's shoulder.
It was three spaceships and a stylish lettering of:
'ROYSTED ETH DLROW'
Axel quickly interpreted its meaning:
'DESTROY THE WORLD'
This made Axel think. This was pretty interesting. While facing Dust back in the Khaos Realm, he had discovered that Dust was working for someone. Dust had said the person was more cunning and strategic than him (Axel) and that he could never defeat him.
So Dust is working for 'IT' also.
'Fascinating,' Axel thought.
He then put his mind back to the situation at hand. What should he do now?
Enter the portal with Electro Sonic Fists?
Or
Go face Dust and Corusca?
But Axel was stubborn. He really wanted to ask something from Dust, and he wanted to stop Corusca from following Dust, as that would make a real bad villain.
He decided to check his system, perhaps something useful would be there.
He closed his eyes, thought about it, and then:
The screen that showed his stats was in front of him.
[HERO PROFILE SCANNING]
A blank screen.
[HERO PROFILE COMPLETE]
A screen full of words.
[HERO PROFILE]
Name: [Axel]
Rank: [Amateur] [F]→
Hero Points: 0/800
[ATTRIBUTES]
Power: 40
Speed: 70
Endurance: 25
Intellect: 65
[HERO SKILLS]
1. [Active Skill] Power Punch (Rank F) – Throw powerful, tooth-aching punches. (Next Upgrade: 10 more uses required)
2. [Passive Skill] Battle Instinct (Rank F) – Slightly enhances reaction speed in combat. (Next Upgrade: Defeat 3 Elite Enemies)
3. [Unique Ability] ??? (Locked) – (Unlock at Rank C)
4. [The Pinch Swoop Loop] {RANK 1} [Takes your opponents on a swoop loop, flinging them into the sky]
[UPGRADABLE]
[INVENTORY]
Golden Armor (Rank F) – Makes your flames golden and fierce. Can burn opponents easily.
Inferno Sword – Cuts through your opponents with the force of flames.
Basic Combat Suit – Offers minor protection. (Upgradeable at Rank E)
Energy Potion x2 – Restores stamina in battle.
Axel nodded slightly. What could he choose here now? It seemed nothing could help him at this point.
What would he do?
That was the question actually.
What could be done?
He almost felt a bit of a headache. His head throbbed, and his eyes were glazed.
Perhaps he would have to do what he should do, or he would do what his mind wanted him to do?
But then, he came to a conclusion. He was going to choose something. He would have to pick something from his inventory. Something he hadn't wanted to use, at least not now. He would have to use it.
What?
He would have to use the—
Golden Armor.