The standing bodies looked at the ceiling, and others looked at the floor. No bodies were kneeling or sitting, all were strangely straight. 

The women were dressed in precious stones and expensive fabrics. The men wore refined suits and expensive ties. The waiters and waitresses were the most basic victims of the room, wearing only their uniform and a standard and boring mask, just like the drink spilled on the lobby floor.

Mine walked among some bodies and noticed that most of them didn't respond to the stimuli he gave, such as poking or calling the person, who didn't even blink or react.

What's happening? Mine thought, looking at the big room he was in, but nothing seemed to give him an answer.

Something made all his hair stand: the prostitutes were also in a trance, and some of them he knew.

He quickly approached the tallest woman wearing the same dress as Lydia's and grabbed her arm.

"Talia! Wake up! What's going on?!" Mine shouted, his hands grabbing Talia's arms, but she gave him no response. "Oh no…" he breathed, "so Lydia… I need to find her, and find a disguise."

Mine snatched the nearest fancy woman's mask and placed it on his face instead. Also, he took the rose ornament from another woman and fixed it on his hair, which he quickly combed with his fingers and tidied its strands so he could blend into the environment.

When he looked back, Talia was still standing the same way, and her mouth slowly opened like the rest of the bodies in an eerie mode. Her throat vibrated like the other people's, and a harsh, male voice came out from every throat and mouth in that lobby.

"I will find you, my dear Chronos~"

Mine covered his mouth when he saw gargoyles crawling on the ceiling and quickly started crawling, but on the floor and using people's fancy long garments to hide under, like long scarves, dresses' tails, and even some bold men's capes. 

The gargoyles emitted an eerie sound, and all the bodies shivered, so Mine stopped.

Another screech made the bodies walk, so Mine quickly stood up, hiding his hair under someone's long and fancy adorned hat he borrowed.

Blending into the crowd and adjusting his steps, Mine followed the herd.

On his right side was the same girl he picked up the mask and rose ornaments from. Her skin was pale as porcelain, with a few spots on her face and nose and a mole under her right eye. Her hair was jet black and long and wavy, contrasting with the paleness of her smooth skin. She wore fancy clothes, but hers were different and much more sophisticated. Apparently, she must be someone important because she had the VIP brooch in rose decoration around her neck.

On his left side, a rickety man with weather-beaten skin was trying to remain standing. His snow-white hair was struggling to stay on his head, and he was already showing his devastating baldness.

In front of him was a tall young man in a clean suit. He looked a lot like the mysterious person Mine had met a few hours ago. Still, this person standing in front of him had a burning, alcoholic stench that wasn't compatible with the guy Mine had seen earlier.

Despite being curious, Mine didn't dare look back, as a gargoyle in a suit was walking through the crowd like cattle.

"Come on! Walk!" the gargoyle screamed and flapped its wings impatiently.

I need to find Lydia. Mine worried, looking around and no longer being able to identify who was who in the crowd. The locator spell... I need to go somewhere quiet- Ah! A bathroom!

Mine couldn't act out of character, but he could do something to help achieve his goal.

A poke at one of the bodies and five of them collapsed in a row, causing a great commotion among the gargoyles who were swearing at each other. One of the "domino" bodies had caused six others to fall under the same effect and even knocked over one of the leading gargoyles.

Chaos was ensuing, so the march was stopped, and Mine had the opportunity to locate the nearest bathroom precisely.

Two, three, four pairs of people in front of him was the distance between him and the nearest bathroom, hidden among the potted plants and simple and exquisite white marble statues.

The large and majestic chandelier that decorated the hall was still hanging and shining, and two to three gargoyles guarded the aerial perimeter so Mine could be spotted if he acted recklessly.

He took one of the roses from his head and, with the help of an impulse spell, threw the ornament onto the head of one of the gargoyles that was inspecting the bodies beneath the chandelier. The gargoyle got irritated and threw the rose at the gargoyle hanging from the chandelier, who got also enraged and came down to fight. More chandelier gargoyles jumped from the pendant and went to calm down the heated fight.

Taking advantage of the gap, Mine quickly ran towards the bathroom and closed the door without making a sound.

"Whew!" Mine sighed, removing the mask and placing it on the side of his head.

The bathroom was clean and fragrant and looked very ordinary. However, it was much more refined when compared to the bathrooms in the dressing room hallway the administration sorted for the performers and prostitutes.

It had white china and marble in the sink, and the golden soap dispensers were a refined touch. The cabins were all closed, and Mine couldn't risk investigating if there was anything inside.

Mine quickly grabbed a piece of paper from the dispenser and started rummaging through the cleaning closet, looking for something sharp so he could write on the paper. 

A bottle of disinfectant fell from the cabinet and rolled into one of the cabins. It rolled and rolled and rolled until it hit something.

Its noise was muffled.

Huh? Mine stopped his search and turned to the cabin, which soon high-pitched noises came from.

The noise was soft but also desperate. It also seemed like it wasn't just one sound source but several.

Mine slowly approached the cabin, and the bottle of disinfectant was thrown from underneath, rolling away as the noises emitted a sign of satisfaction.

"Erm... Hello...?" Mine knocked on the door, and all the noises ceased.

A single leafy being peeped from behind the door, and its round eyes widened when it saw Mine. Immediately, it started yelping and wiggling its arms until more of them approached, making the same noises and gestures.

"Oh... Hi little guys... What are you doing here...?" Mine crouched, and many leafy beings started climbing his legs.

One of them pointed to the door and started making a specific sound. Then, the others followed the intonation and started making the same noise.

Mine slowly touched the door, and it was, of course, locked. A small gap between the door and the floor was enough for Mine to check what was inside; so, he crouched, and the many leafy beings cheered.

In that cabinet, a young lady was curled in the corner, but it seemed she froze that way and didn't move an inch.

"Lydia!" Mine gasped, desperately trying to open the door with a spell. "C'mon... OPEN UP!" he shouted, and the door dissipated.

Mine quickly approached Lydia, and she bore the same expression from the bodies outside. Still, she had a leafy being guarding her body, and when it saw Mine, it started yelping and biting.

"Ouch! Ouch! I came to help!" Mine took the leafy being away from his face. "I'm Lydia's friend."

The leafy being soon emitted a single noise and jumped off Mine's hands, landing on the other leafy beings.

Mine took Lydia from that small space and placed her on the small couch near the tall mirror at the end of the bathroom. He took her mask off and examined her pale face. She wasn't ok, but she wasn't hurt - probably, thanks to the leafy beings.

"I'm sorry..." Mine hugged Lydia. "I'm so sorry to put you in this trouble..."

Lydia was lifeless but alive.

She didn't react, but she breathed steadily.

She didn't blink, but her eyes watered from being opened for too long.

She didn't talk, but her mouth wanted to talk.

Lydia was a doll dressed in a human body.

It didn't matter how much Mine called her or tracked the spell... she didn't break free from the trance.

"This spell... I don't know this spell!" Mine cried, slamming his fist on the wall.

The once beautiful porcelain cracked into many pieces, letting only the concrete beneath it show to the world. The noise was loud, but outside was louder from the gargoyles' screeches.

Then, one screech made Lydia stand up and wobble to the door. The leafy beings immediately grabbed her toes and made a vine to hold her back and Mine helped them by pushing Lydia back to the couch, but she insisted on obeying the order.

"No! Lydia! No, please don't!" Mine cried, still holding his friend.

Mine's hair turned golden at the last shout, as well as his watering eyes. He desperately grabbed Lydia more as she slipped through his fingers and the leafy beings' grasp.

One more screech made Lydia stand up again and head towards the door. Once again, Mine and the leafy beings struggled to keep that woman in place.

You're too weak! Put the mask and let's have fun!

"No! I may hurt her! You may hurt her!"

So, scream for help, you useless shit! Scream! SCREAM! SCREAM! SCREAM! HA HA HA HA!

"Lydia...!" Mine struggled to pull Lydia, who started tensing and being as heavy as a statue, determined to exit the bathroom. "Please, Lydia... I don't want to hurt you..." he cried.

"You never learn, don't you?" Agarath's voice said eerily in the bathroom. It seemed he was in every nook and cranny of that place, but still, he wasn't there.

A snap of fingers resounded in the bathroom in an absurd loudness.

Mine fell limp on the flooring and screamed in pain like before at the mysterious garden-cage. His body, skin, organs, and tissues were burning from the inside out as an electric current. Even his eyeballs itched so much he wanted to pull it out, but his entire body was in enough pain.

As he screamed, his fingers slipped from Lydia, and the pulling loosened. He fought the weakness, but the pain only intensified when another snap of fingers resounded.

The more he resisted, the more fingers snapping resounded, and the more the pain increased.

The leafy beings were now worried about Mine, tapping his thighs as he held Lydia with the last bits of effort he had in his body. The pain was numb, but he still felt his body cry for help.

He still could resist. He just-

Snap

With a snap of fingers, the pain ceased, but his body was aching and heavy. He quickly hugged Lydia's legs, trying to stop her walking, but he was being dragged instead.

"Lydia... No..." Mine sniffled, trying to force his already heavy body to weigh more and interrupt Lydia's walking.

The leafy beings started panicking and started grabbing on Mine's torso to stop him from being dragged outside the bathroom with Lydia.

One.

Two

Three.

Four.

Five fingers loosened. Mine lost an arm for tiresome.

One.

"We'll take good care of her. Don't worry, my dear Chronos..." a voice pierced Mine's ears, and his eyes widened in horror.

"LYDIA!!! WAKE UP!!!" Mine shouted, desperation burning his throat.

Two.

"Is she that valuable to you, my dear Chronos?" the voice said, faking a pitiful intonation.

"PLEASE!! DON'T TAKE HER!!!"

Mine wailed, shouting to nobody.

His hand was tired, but he gathered enough stamina to make the other hand grab Lydia's ankles.

"SOMEONE, HELP ME!!!" Mine shouted, but he knew no one would help him.

"I told you I can help... Just give me the permission, sweetie."

"SHUT UP!!!"

The exhausted hand slipped, and Mine felt the other vacillating as well. The leafy beings were struggling, but they were fierce!

WEAR THE FUCKING MASK!

"I..." Mine looked at Lydia and then to the mirror beside him.

He was miserable. It didn't matter how much makeup was left, but he was still miserable anyway.

Mine slammed the flooring, and his hands glowed those scripts that soon filled his whole body. The semitransparent cloak also appeared, fluttering as his hair glowed.

Everything turned slower and slower until everything stopped except the leafy beings.

Strained, Mine panted, and through the mirror, he saw the Chronos mask on his head, waiting to cover his face. 

The last complete transformation and quick recovery made Mine's human shell unstable, so activating another transformation was risking his life once again... and maybe some unknown time far from the human realm-

Just... Don't do such reckless thing again, please 

Let's promise to don't things by ourselves if it's too much...

"I'm sorry... But I need to," Mine grieved, remembering such words. "I hope you and Lydia forgive me," he touched the mask.

A leafy being tried to stop him. Not only one, two, or there, but many of them also started making it difficult for him to do so. The more he struggled, the more he felt warm drops rolling down his cheeks and his fingers slipping Lydia's ankles. A little leafy being climbed his chest, and its face turned into Lydia's.

"Mine," Lydia's voice came from the leafy being's mouth. "If you're hearing this message, I'm probably being abducted, or I was abducted already. Gosh, I'm so scared Ha Ha Ha Ha!" she chuckled nervously. "The lobby was too weird, and people were disappearing. The ones who fought the weird-assed creatures got killed in one breath," she said, uneasy.

"I need you to focus, ok? I know it's hard, and you're probably scared too, but don't freak out, and don't wear your special mask!! I need the leafy cuties to secure your core before you can use it, but it'll be too late for you to save me."

"Look, I'll be fine… don't worry! It's not the first time I'm in a weird, dangerous situation Ha Ha Ha…" her voice faltered in a nervous gulping. "Mine, I need you to listen very carefully: look for Younri. He knows something we don't. I saw him earlier with a man and... please, go seek for him and... Shit! I… I have very little time before I go into the same trance as the people in the lobby but focus on seeking for Younri. He does know something."

"If you're holding my body so I don't leave… oh buddy…" she dearly said, but her voice was tainted with sorrow. "Let me go… and please, stay safe. Again, don't worry. I have some spare leafy buddies hidden in my dress. Stay safe, little buddy! I love you so much," she chuckled mid sniffles.

The leafy being turned to its usual form and hugged Mine's face. The time-stopping spell slowly faded, and his cry increased.

The other leafy beings crowded around him and slowly took his hand away from Lydia's ankles. They covered his eyes and started vibrating soothing waves to calm his desperate cry as Lydia left the bathroom.