Solaris looked up at the wall, which was only a dozen or so feet tall, yet it looked so imposing. As he stared up, he felt a horrible presence from beyond the wall, something he couldn't understand. He had not sent his shards to explore it yet and wasn't sure if he should or even could; the wall had a force to it unlike anything he had experienced in the past.
It was devastating. Wondering if Ember had a similar feeling, he glanced over and inquired.
"Do you feel that too?"
"Yeah."
The two stared at the wall for a long time, their breathing heavy and their hearts perturbed; the once-stagnant, chilling air felt different, as if it had grown hotter. The sky now had a glowing hue from the white sun.
Finally, after taking a quick breath, Solaris placed the shards onto his feet and began to float. As he did, Ember called forth the black wings and flapped them down, sending him flying up.
Taking the example, Solaris followed in tow.
The flight took less than a few seconds before they saw the other side of the wall.
Taking no risk based on the feeling, the two landed on the wall, which had little room to walk but had enough to stand. The two observed for a while, the landscape was fundementally differnet than that of the lower-class slums, it was much more urban, and much more refined.
The streets of the slums were either dirt or concrete, while the streets of the middle class were much more refined and consisted of asphalt as well as sidewalks and even seemingly fake grass, or perhaps real grass, in some cases.
"That's not what I was expecting."
Solaris said in shock, the sight before him was almost normal, albeit one thing was different.
Just a mile or so into the distance, a tower sat seemingly in the midst of the neighborhood, out of place, and upon that tower a glint shone.
"GET DOWN!!
Ember shouted at him as he dove into Solaris, pushing them off the wall and into the middle-class district.
The two landed with a thud, rolling for a moment before stopping behind one of the houses within the district.
Regaining his senses, Solaris instantly looked at where they had been standing moments ago. As his eyes made contact with the location, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes shot open. The portion of the wall was annihilated, leaving nothing but a perfect hole in the wall.
Even more shocking, however, is that the wall immediately began to repair itself, reforming the hole, and after only a moment, the wall was as it had been before.
"KEEP MOVING!!"
Ember yelled as he began to run.
Hearing the desperation in his voice, Solaris stood and darted after him. As he did, the house disappeared without a sound, a massive hole piercing through the house.
The house soon followed in the footsteps of the wall and began to repair itself.
Without thinking, Solaris willed the shards to form a barrier around him, spreading them all on the left side of him in the direction of the attacker. This single move paid off instantly.
As Solaris felt something moving towards the shards, he forced them to move as fast as they could, forming a wall from the shard that had detected it.
With minimal effort, this worked, and the shot was blocked, yet it was not without a sound this time, as it hit the wall of shards; a loud blast could be heard.
BOOM!!
The sound rang in Solaris's ears for a moment, hindering his movement for only a moment, before continuing to sprint, the shards once again spread out.
Taking a fleeting glance, Solaris looked at the object being shot at them and almost froze in shock. Had it not been for the fact that if he did, then it would be over, on the ground a bullet sat, one much bigger than those from home, but a bullet nonetheless.
This bullet had a pointed end that looked like the bone of a finger and a blood-red finish.
The two continued running, using the momentary loss of sight to weave and turn around to grow closer to the threat's tower. Every shot of the weapon tore through the building, houses, and shops alike, leaving a massive hole, yet the shards withstood it without very much trouble. It was getting harder to focus on running in an unfamiliar place and moving the shards instantly.
Damn it, come on, do something already... You bastard!
Not even Solaris's thoughts could be freed by the constant onslaught of bullets.
As soon as the shot was blocked, another was on its way, yet this time it was not from the tower; it was going towards it.
Finally!
Ember had not been the constant target of the bullets, as he had been much too quick and agile to be hit, so the shooter had almost always forced his attacks onto Solaris. This gave a considerable advantage to Ember, allowing him to charge up a shot of his own. It was similar in theory to the nuke from before, yet this time it didn't leave him in a disappearing shot but instead left a trail, like a laser.
The orange streak of light rapidly made its way towards the tower, and with a swift flick, the tower was cut, slicing it in such a way that it began to slide and fall.
A small smile appeared on Solaris' face, yet Ember wasn't smiling; his finger still pointing at the tower, a small orb of light at the end of it. His finger pointed as if he were waiting for something
Then something happened, as before it slid all the way off the bottom half, the tower had already begun to reform.
Another bullet was already on its way this time at Ember.
In retaliation, another beam was fired.