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“Where is it… I know I left it somewhere around here…”
Y/N was searching around the Midnight Lounge's dressing rooms, in their full attire. What was supposed to be a relaxing experience turned into a dire situation. One of their guns was missing from their locker, and to make matters worse, it was their favorite.
The rails for Citria to use to move around the Lounge's onsen area, which stretched between the reception desk and in the dressing rooms were enough of a signal that she could help. Could, if not for the fact that she was currently aiding another Knight who was trying to prove the art shop owner wrong about themselves. Bothering her right now with a gun search was not going to do Y/N well on time, so they stuck to trying to find it by themselves. As if they already weren't running low on it… The bullet train to Wall Omega was probably not going to wait for them to find their gun.
And a different spirit, the observer of the Walls, knew that as well.
This little voice in Y/N's head was there for as long as they could remember being a Knight. It seemed to always be there to aid them, and it just was clearer the closer they got to leaving Wall Alpha and into The Junction, located early into Wall Omega. At times, it was asking for small favors that were quite easy, such as petting a kitty's head, but sometimes some interesting comments fell from it as well.
“Knight?” the voice rang in Y/N's mind. The slight echo of it was there, as always. It took on a bit of an urgent tone, as if to get them to leave for the train now. “The train won't wait for us.”
“I know,” they replied, their own voice having a hint of stress to it. “I can't find my gun anywhere, that's what got me stuck here… Not only is it my favorite, it's also going to be a necessity in the Junction.”
A short breath sounded through Y/N's head, as the Voice Beyond seemed to think. It did grow quite fond of them over time, that much was certain. And… it couldn't just leave them alone in here.
“Try to focus on us, as well as our sense of sight. Perhaps we could sync this way, so that we could help.”
Syncing with the Voice Beyond? Right now? That would technically mean that they'd get to share a body with it for a certain amount of time, and the sync itself would prove to take some of the precious minutes.
“Look, I- I'm not sure about this. Not to say anything, but the train is likely leaving in a few minutes…”
“Please.”
Given that the search wasn't giving any results for a good while now, perhaps taking the offer could be a good idea in the long run.
“Alright, fine, just- if we don't find it, or run out of time, I'm going to be returning here to continue my search after this Dive is over.”
The stress connected to the loss of a favorite item wasn't helping Y/N much with the sync attempt. They shut their eyes, focusing on its voice and their own sight. It was… the first time they were doing that, honestly. They had no idea how it would go, what could go wrong, they knew next to nothing about syncing with the Voice Beyond.
They couldn't, however, miss the chance to find the gun that was dear to them. Their most precious G/T. Taking a few deep, somewhat shaky breaths, Y/N suddenly felt a surge of foreign energy go through their head, around their eyes, coming from the inside of their head. The surge caused them to open their eyes, but trying to look around, they found their vision being a little hazy at first.
“If we may… what color was the gun, and what type was it?”
The voice was far easier to hear now, Y/N thought as their vision returned to semi normal. Did they successfully sync with the Voice Beyond? Sounded and felt like it… probably. Y/N had no way of knowing right now. There, however, was no way that they would forget what their favorite gun looked like.
“It was F/C, a G/T, too.” The Voice Beyond now knew what it was supposed to look for.
“Let us not waste time then, and keep on looking.”
Time was running short as Y/N searched for the gun, this time aided by the Voice Beyond, which could not exactly leave the area they were heading for. The slight haze of their sight wasn't of much issue as they could still see clearly.
As Y/N passed a corner, they heard the voice again.
“We see it, Knight. Someone placed it in the corner we just passed.”
Y/N's eyes lit up as they heard that, turning to the corner they just were about to pass without checking. The G/T was, in fact, there, very much intact. Why someone moved it was beyond them, but at least it was found in one piece. They picked up their weapon and let out a relieved chuckle, returning to their locker to take the rest of their things.
“I don't know what I would've done without you. Thanks… uh-” At this point, Y/N realized that they never learned the voice's name and had no real way to address it.
“There is no reason for you to have to address us by our name, for we were one in this situation. Now, it may sting a little.”
And it sure did sting, as Y/N's vision returned to normal and the direct connection with the Voice Beyond was severed. It still was there, but they just weren't exactly sharing a body anymore.
“Let us make haste, however. Our bullet train is leaving soon.”
Leaving through the wooden doors at the end of the area, Y/N waved at Citria, who waved back, before she saw them practically run down the stairs as they were doing their best to get to the train as quickly as it was possible. They had their gun back, teaching the Throne a lesson again wouldn't take much time, and they could always just quickly pick up the region reward from the chest and rush towards the train.
“We are so close to our Dive's end, Y/N. However, our journey will be far from over.”