Nearing the Crumbling End

The terrifying wall of gas left everything it touched in a solid state of stone, mossy and crackled, fragile to touch. The grass, the cars, the lampposts, and buildings, were all petrified into a specific yet dangerous state of stone that broke upon impact. Due to the composition's fragility, and the weight of the ruined skyscrapers, tall buildings that were petrified instantly crumbled into pieces that began to fall towards the three Sins like an avalanche of stone.

"Run!!!"

Ian, Gian-Luca, and Veronica all began running for their lives.

"South City's right by the outermost boundaries?!!" Gian-Luca was surprised.

"Yes! I should have mentioned that!" Ian ran ahead of them.

"Wait!" Veronica called out. "Venus is still at the printing shop! We need to get him out of here too!"

Ian was conflicted for a moment, but his morality got the best of him. "Yeah… Let's go! Luca, you okay with carrying him?!"

Gian-Luca nodded, ecstatic with fear. "I've got too much adrenaline running through my bones right now, I got it!"

They were gaining speed away from the wall, realizing it was slower than they thought. Still, they made pace in order to avoid the immediate elimination.

"Here!" Ian pointed down an alleyway. "That's towards the shop!"

They all full sprinted through the cramped lane and came out on the other end of a street. Right across from them, the dusty colors of a sign that read { Kassel's Printing Shop! } could be seen. Gian-Luca bouldered through the already detached door and found Venus, still lying unconscious in the shadows.

He sighed with slight sadness. "I've got you Venus, let's go!"

Gian-Luca exited the building, and upon coming out, he saw that another building behind them began to crumble due to the gas.

"Ian! Veronica! Move!!!"

They were on their toes, bolting for the South City's exit.

"We need to make it past the bridge before the gas reaches it! If it does, it'll crumble, and we could fall to our deaths!"

Looking below the bridge, a tall height towards some concrete flooring could be observed. Without physical-enhancing abilities like Midas' or Reed's, death was plausible.

"Run!!!"

The four of them, Ian, Veronica, and Gian-Luca with Venus over his shoulder, made the fastest sprint they could towards the end of the bridge. Without looking back, they could already feel the presence of the gas wall approaching. It was gaining more and more speed. The more obstacles in its way that it turned to stone only lightened its path forwards, creating an increase in momentum.

"Go! Go!!!"

The four Sins were just past the halfway point of the bridge.

"Hurry! We need to hurry!"

The gas was coming upon contact with the bridge. By now, the Sins had surpassed just a quarter's worth left of the bridge.

"All the way!!!"

The three jumped from their positions with notice on the ground crumbling beneath them. The gas had petrified the bridge, and its crumbling properties would soon reach the other end that the Sins approached. They could only leap with hope that they'd all make it towards the solid platform of ground.

Thump!

Stumble!

—Schwip!

Ian and Veronica had made the jump, but Gian-Luca's foot was swept up by the gravel ledge.

"No—!" He held his grip on Venus' body tightly. Losing all hope in the next matter of seconds, Gian-Luca closed his eyes at the fate he'd been bestowed.

"—Urgh!!!" Ian strained his neck.

Gian-Luca's ankles were suddenly very tightly gripped. The momentum in his fall slammed his back into the wall of the platform he'd missed. Still holding onto Venus, now hanging upside down, Gian-Luca looked up at what held him from falling to his demise.

A scrawny hand held his right ankle, while a feminine hand held his left. Ian and Veronica caught Gian-Luca just in time. Together, they pulled with all their might, slowly easing Gian-Luca back up towards the ledge. But due to the weight given by his height, Veronica's strength wavered. She felt her hand lose grip for a quick moment.

"Ah—!" Her foot slid forward, scratching gravel off the surface onto Gian-Luca's face.

"Sorry!" She continued to tug. On the other side, Ian's face was reddening with fatigue. He tugged with so much strength that his neck vein was on the verge of popping.

"Urghh!!!!!!" The rupture was close, but so too was Gian-Luca and Venus.

Tumble!

Ian and Veronica suddenly fell onto their backs. Gian-Luca and Venus came tumbling over them.

"Oh my god!" Gian-Luca's adrenaline became even more vast. "You guys saved me!!"

They all looked back at the main threat, the gas, that was now crossing the crumbled gap that was once the bridge.

"We gotta go… We gotta go guys!" Gian-Luca tried to help Ian and Veronica back up on their feet. Still tired, they slowly regathered themselves while Gian-Luca put Venus back on his back. Ian shook the pain in his neck away, and took out his device to take a quick scan of the map.

"We need to get to the center," he said. "It's that way." They looked in the direction Ian pointed. It was north-east, halfway towards the North City yet on a tangent off to the right. With the gas slowly trailing their paths, they began making their way towards the final destination of the tournament.