Chapter 80 - Phase: 2 Revealed (1/2)
A warm gust of wind flowed silently through the massive grassy courtyard, moving the numerous flowers along with it.
Surrounding this courtyard was a large U-shaped building that appeared to be either a dormitory or hotel of some kind.
Brance, Gabby, and Benny stood at the opening of this large U that led directly into the large land plot, which Brance estimated to be around 15 acres wide (60k meters squared). Unfortunately, only the massive building or grass and flowers could be viewed as far as his eye could see, leaving him unable to determine any kind of location. Even the sky above seemed to just be cloudless and blue, with the identical Suns he had grown accustomed to.
”OH, look at all the pretty flowers!” Gabby broke away from the group and skipped merrily towards an outcropping of purple and pink daffodils, causing Brance to smile lightly and Benny to facepalm and chase after his easily excitable little sister.
Shaking his head and releasing a slight chuckle, Brance followed the two siblings while observing his surroundings. A quick scan around the courtyard allowed him to pick up on several kids sitting around and enjoying the weather while chatting. He watched as bright lights would occasionally flash in seemingly random spots and deposit one or two new kids.
Upon reaching the Sanford siblings, Brance was instantly mauled by Gabby, who mercilessly adorned him with several different types of flowers from head to toe while giggling the whole time. But, knowing resistance was futile when it came to this little blue-eyed, brown-haired girl in pigtails, Brance just stood still and allowed her to do as she pleased.
That is until he heard a familiar snort and sadistic laugh in the mind link.
{HeheheHAHAHAHAH, WHAT THE FUCK MAN HAHA!} From over a hundred meters away, Cynrik had appeared and instantly locked in on his brother's whereabouts only to find him sitting on the ground while an overly excited Gabby dancing around Brance like a pixie, planted flowers all over his head and upper body.
{Why was I even worried about you.}Brance's calm expression turned sour the moment he heard Cynriks snide remarks.
{No idea, but guess what, yah boi got himself a new Legacy Skill. Remember when you nearly beat my ass in the hotel because I blanked out. wellllll turns out it wasn't because of ADHD, but instead a Legacy skill that I unintentionally activated.} Walking over casually, Cynrik quickly filled Brance in on what had transpired in his absence, including what Mindscape did, leaving his flower-covered brother speechless.
{Woah, that makes our story way shittier than yours. We searched the room for a while before Gabby did the Gabby thing, where she tried forcing us to play with new kids and accidentally stepped on one of those tiles you were talking about.} Standing up and gripping Cynrik's forearm as a sign of greeting, he filled his older brother in on their little adventure.
Brance's sudden movements caused all the flowers resting on his body to fall to the ground, drawing an upset noise from Gabby. But when she saw Cynrik, she brightened back up, ”Big Bro Cyn,” and jumped at him the same way she did Brance.
Unlike Brance, who would return her hug, Cynrik effortlessly sidestepped her and caught her by the scruff of her neck, like a tiny kitten. ”Sup squirt, you know better than to throw yourself at me.” He stood there laughing internally as Gabby struggled to free herself from his grasp, but after several unsuccessful seconds, she went dead weight and gave him puppy eyes, pleading to be let go.
Benny and Brance stood by the side and just smiled at what was considered a regular interaction between Cynrik and Gabby. Even though it always ended the same way, Gabby had yet to give up and made it her mission long ago to defeat the evil oldest boy and make him give her ”cuddles.”
If Cynrik knew what was going on in her head, he would have run for the hills. Everyone knew there was one thing Cynrik hated. And that was ”Cuddles.”
”So what's up with this place, big ass courtyard, with a giant dorm-looking building surrounding it, makes this place look like a university of some sort. Hm?” Cynrik's left eyebrow rose up as he spotted three equidistant clocks around the U-shaped building. The more he looked at these clocks, the more suspicious he became. Unlike a standard clock face where the numbers went from 12 to 12, this clock went from 0 to 100 in increments of 10.
Seeing Cynrik's expression, Benny and Brance followed his line of sight and picked up on the strange clocks as well. Even the defeated Gabby, hanging several inches above the ground, turned and looked at the boys' actions.
Making a pouty face and wiggling her nose, Gabby stared at the closest clock for a second before looking back at Cynrik, who seemed to be concentrating. ”Big Bro Cyn, what's so strange about that timer? Why are you guys all staring at it?”