Falling freely, letting gravity do the job while surrendering to the flow of natural elements, hence moving through air without expected disturbances, Skylar like he usually do when he is stumped opened his channel of subconscious thoughts—delving deeper into his mind—practically meditating like yogas do.
At the moment, the only thing occupying his conscious mind were the sensations of divine nature, her whispers—otherwise spiritual natural energy and physical natural energy in tandem and perfect synchronization.
In this state, seeking answers from the deeper layers of his mind—his subconscious that contains all knowledge of the cosmos, past, present and future, otherwise his boundless sea of knowledge—Skylar continued this for a while, until suddenly he opened his eyes that glowed green while a victorious smile blossomed on his face.
It wasn't that hard, I guess. I just have to admit Its what it is and live with it.
While still holding a smile, Skylar changed gear. His speed that was at free fall multiplied many fold in a short time. Practically, he starts to move at a speed that made his figure as seen by an average eye looks like it vanished or like it was never there.
A moment later, completing a time significantly shorter than the previous one when he dived alongside Starboy in his strange experience like a time loop, having put into account that he spent time free falling this time... Skylar like he reappeared as he is now decelerating rapidly, look like he will sooner hit the surface of a turbid and calm glowing sea below; however, he gradually angled his downward direction to be parallel to it—skimming over it with a huge wave rising behind him and tailing him. Then again, he gradually angled his direction, flying away from the turbid glowing sea, going upward into the dark empty sky where he came from, but accompanied by the pointed tip of a huge water jet that keeps extending from the sea and is chasing the tight gap between the two soles of his barefeet pressed together. Then, few thousands of meters later from the clear sea surface, he came to a halt and the water jet also stopped it chasing movement and it starts to spin fast like a spiral or like a tornado.
"This guy, for creativity and ingenuity, I will say he is just one level below me."
Muttering with a smile, Skylar tilt his head downward to look below him at the sea of clear water that the jet of spinning water below him extend from, forming a funnel mouth at where they connect.
"I was waiting." Suddenly like he teleported, Skylar moved about ten meters backwards in a split second, looking like he barely dodged the sharp tip of a gigantic woody vine that extended from the depth of the turbid sea and through the water jet it obliterated, looking like it would have obliterated him also if he hasn't dodged in time.
And yet again, in the next instant and in the same manner, he moved sideways to barely dodge a gigantic tentacle that extend from the depth of the clear sea similarly like the woody vine. Then moving midair here and there inhumanly fast like he is teleporting, he starts dodging a rapid barrage of several woody vines and tentacles that are extending from the depth of the clear sea and are set to obliterate him.
This is fun..
Thinking to himself with a happy smile on his face, Skylar moving like a dragonfly in midair, continue to move zig zag like he is teleporting among extended woody vines and tentacles of all colors and are armed with dangerous outgrowth that failed to get him—randomly moving backwards and forwards, sideways, and up and down, never relenting.
Something big is coming.
Just after he got two vines tangled with each other because of his rapid movement as he dodged them tactically, his sixth sense picked up a new and worthy energy signature emerging from the turbid sea below him at a fairly close distance to the spot he is above.
Can't tank this, gotta run...
Already anticipating the lethality of the attack the creature emerging is about to release as a meeting greeting; he chose to discontinue his fun play with the low level tentacles and vines, so he bolted far into the distance, running in mid-air like he is on ground, covering about ten kilometers in a second.
Then in the next moment, just as he felt an intensifying burning sensation at his back; he suddenly switched his travel direction downward, barely dodging a wide area white energy beam from behind him that its radiated heat alone managed to singed his super tough silver hair that is coated in layers of natural energy.
"Fucking hell!" Greatly surprised, Skylar watched in disbelief as the blinding and diverging destructive energy beam continue into the far distance, passing through his former path, lightning up the few air particles in the air.
"Fuck!" Suddenly anticipating a similar attack that is coming from the turbid sea few hundred meters below him and is aimed at him, he bolted yet again, barely dodging it because its source is closer, and therefore its diverging radius isn't wide enough yet to sweep him.
I have to acknowledge this guy...
Thinking to himself, Skylar once again barely dodged another one of this attack that once again came from the sea below him that might really stretch endlessly, by bolting. And just then, he rapidly decelerate, barely stopping in front of a colossal black creature like a whale that dived out from the sea to swallow him, but instead blocked his path.
Shit! That was dangerous.
Feeling a bit of the pressure the colossal sea creatures that look coordinated are mounting on him, Skylar in the same second he halted quickly activated overdrive—a combination of hypersense and hyperfocus—that will help him see the world clearly in a relative slow motion likethe world in his perception slowed down.
Then accelerating—flying skyward in order to avoid supersonic missiles of compressed hot water coming from all available angles simultaneously—he tuned his sixth sense to the maximum in order to sense changes in energy gradient around him that will be owed to creatures lying stealthily in ambush.
And not long after, he decelerated rapidly again and swerved—barely avoiding the colossal pecking beak of a flying creature he couldn't see—which in turn made him barrel roll uncontrollably before he regained his balance midair, and before he accelerated skyward again, barely dodging four coordinated destruction beam from below him that however managed to disintegrate his legs up to his thigh.
"Guy, do you really want to see that punch?"
Still managing to fly skyward, despite his legs that are still regenerating, Skylar amplified his voice, making it echo as far as possible.
["Big bro, why be stupid?"]
As a voice transmission reached him, his flight path suddenly took a backward parabola midair like he will do a backflip, barely managing to dodge the sharp colossal beak of a creature he still couldn't see, owing to its comparable speed thst his overdrive have trouble limiting, and the fact that everywhere is dark except for the region closer to the glowing sea far below him.
I can't find this bastard location, very clever...
"Let's end this. You see, I can barely control that punch, so there is a possibility I will destroy your illusion..."
After thinking to himself, Skylar once again amplified his voice, replying the person responsible for the voice transmission who is hiding and watching from where he can't find. And in the next instant, having anticipated an attack, he quickly willed natural energy to shield him totally and just as he guide his face and chest with his upperarms pressed together, he felt a worthy force from above slam him crashing down towards the glowing sea far below.
["What if you break my illusion?"]
As Skylar neared the sea where glowing colossal creatures that look like mantra ray that are positioned in a ring are, he first received the voice transmission of the person in hiding before he was totally engulfed in a bright pillar of destructive energy that sweeps a radius several times than what the earlier diverging destructive beams can reach in width.
***
"...!!..."
Yet again, like he woke up from an amusing dream this time and not a nightmare, Skylar reclining on a chamber chair smiled after which his eyes on the chameleon glass ceiling became unfocused, meaning, he entered into contemplation.
...Maybe I should reward him... its because of him I can now see my weaknesses clearly.
But I didn't expect I will be this susceptible to an illusion even if it was aided by substance. I have been assuming my mental defense is peerless, not accounting for freaks that have taken their time to hone their craft. That's kind of arrogant coming from me.
But anyways... now I know where I should invest...
"Big bro. You find anything?"
"Idiot. You are still on this?" Skylar sounding sarcastic and annoyed replied Starboy who interrupted his thoughts and is approaching him from behind.
Like he is talking to no one in particular since he has remained as he was when his consciousness returned—not even turning to look behind him or beside him at Starboy—he continued, "And, are you stupid? When I said let's end this, did you think I was speaking nonsense? Or you thought I am stupid... there is no way I will figure you out?"
"What gave me out? I vanished mid-flight to the bottom?" Starboy adjusting his newsie cap came in front of Skylar and jumping a bit, he sat on the right edge of the table in front of him, facing the direction to Skylar's right side and he starts dangling his bare feet like an excited young lady.
Skylar chuckled, "You are really stupid. Who is talking about that? I am talking about your reason for stealing panties. I have an idea why you are doing something that stupid and long-winded. Maybe I should say, I know your target."
On hearing Skylar mentioned target, Starboy's eyes narrowed and the fingers of his right hand curled around the edge of the table, holding it, tightened.
And as Skylar sensed his emotional shift his energy fluctuations also gave out, he chuckled, "You know this place is ground zero right?"
On hearing Skylar's words this time, Starboy calmed down by sereptitiously taking a deep breath.
"..." He parted his lips. "What if I am just stealing panties because Its fun? What if there is nothing else to it?"
"I would have believed that, if you weren't oddly specific." Skylar smiled. "Why will you only steal from Kitty land and their star prostitutes... Yes there."
Skylar smiled brightly like a gotcha because when he mentioned prostitutes, Starboy showed a subtle reaction he tried to hide but couldn't.
Skylar anyways continued, "I am now certain... one of the star prostitute is your target, and I can bet, she is one of those who got more panties stolen than the others, right?"
"Can we not call them prostitutes?" Starboy requested pleadingly.
"If we don't call them what they are, what should we call them?... Performers. What are they performing?" Skylar chuckled from amusement. Then both maintained silence—no one saying anything, even barely making a sound—for about half a minute, until Skylar resumed:
"I guess whatever mushroom you might have fed me was mixed with that cake?"
"Its not mushroom. Its a rare hypnotic mix." Starboy corrected, sounding like he was offended.
"Okay. Whatever. So, what's the deal with that prostitute? How is she related to you? Your mom?"
"She is my fiancee in the real world." Starboy replied right away, sounding melancholic.
"Oooh! I get it." Skylar's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't seem to like her line of work in the simulation, so you are stealing panties where she is working, hoping she will get scared and quit?"
"Yes and no. But how did you get to that conclusion? What if I am just obsessed with panties that have been worn by Kitty land star performers only and nothing else?" Starboy gave Skylar who is smiling a side glance. And in his protruding round eyes is a look of genuine respect mixed with curiosity.
"You are right. Its just that if that were true, you wouldn't be this persistent to the point you will make them consider selling the establishment..."
"What if my goal was to make them sell the establishment and not a star performer?" Starboy interjected. And in response Skylar chuckled:
"That's why I said you were long winded. If your goal was to make them simply transfer the establishment, there are more effective way to do that. You are a pro at what you do. You would have simply gone for the owners and not the star performers that are the actual assets... Right?"
"Hmph..."