Chapter 94: Sync

Her suggestion made Eren pause. He hadn’t thought of that.

"If there’s two of us standing on the tile, then it would lessen the chances of both our feet to leave the tile at the same time. We’d be able to keep the tile afloat."

Eren couldn’t say anything else. She was right. Her tactics made the most sense. However, what made him pause was the fact that he’d have to traverse these trap-filled tiles with Celeste.

Now, did he trust that she wouldn’t push him into the trap?

He didn’t know the answer to that question, which was why he was so hesitant.

However, if he wanted that flag, he’d have to set aside his own doubts and trust Celeste for once. As much as he wanted to keep her away, he knew that he needed her so that they could get that flag on the wall.

Otherwise, he’d have to trust Sierra and the others to do that. They may be harmless, but they weren’t that skillful. He couldn’t trust them to be calm if an accident were to occur. At least with Celeste, she had proven herself to have the composure needed in order to overcome a terrible situation.

"Alright," he said.

If she pushes me, I’ll take her down with me, he said to himself.

"You worry too much," Celeste said to him. "I can see that suspiciousness in your eyes. You really think that I’m going to sabotage you?"

"...I can’t guarantee you won’t."

"Well, you must have forgotten that I’m in the same boat as you now. If you lose this Second Test, I lose too. So whether you like it or not, you will have to trust me. Or would you like to put your hands on Abe or Henry?"

Eren didn’t say anything anymore and eventually just nodded his head.

Sierra and the others took point at the entrance of the tunnel to protect them in case other groups happened to enter this tunnel.

Meanwhile, Eren and Celeste both stepped foot onto the tiled floor.

He immediately used his Primal Step. The fiery Ræzoň around his feet created a vacuum in his soles, allowing him to be anchored to the tile, and for the tile to be anchored to him.

The tile depressed for a little bit, before the Array Formation activated and pushed him back up.

Beside him, Celeste stepped on her own tile. Her movements were quick, agile, and with confidence. She put her toes forward, like a cat gracefully stepping on a delicate glass pane. Claws appeared in front of her feet, anchoring to the tiles like he did.

She’s... good.

Even he couldn’t help but admit that Celeste was skillful. Amarantha would have liked to meet her. She would have appreciated someone using her Martial Manual very gracefully.

He shook his head. He was getting distracted.

They both nodded at each other before taking another step. This time, the tiles had become slightly bigger. But still, it was only enough for them to stand on their own tiles.

It required a lot of patience and focus from both of them. Applying Ræzoň onto the tiles wasn’t an instinctual feeling. It had to be purposeful. Otherwise, they would just be pushing the tile downwards, before they would plummet to the chasm down along with it.

He was able to do it because of his knowledge of Array Formations and his Primal Step. Celeste did it through a skillful use of her Martial Manual.

He thought she’d need a little bit more time to get used to it, but surprisingly, she was able to do it effortlessly.

It annoyed him. Some people were just born talented.

"We’re way past the halfway mark. What’s making you look so dour?" she asked him.

"...nothing. Focus," he said to her.

"You’re the one not focusing. I can see your eyebrows furrowing."

"If you can see my face, you’re not focusing on the tiles in front of you."

"If you don’t like something about me, then just say it—"

And in the middle of Celeste’s outburst, Eren raised his hand and stopped her.

They’d reached the final tile. This one was bigger than all the other tiles combined. It was basically a platform all on its own, enough for twenty people to stand on comfortably.

"One last tile," Eren said to her. "We need to step on the tile at the exact same time. Use all of your Psions."

She realized the magnitude of the situation and nodded wordlessly. With one look, they jumped onto the large tile with both feet forwards. It was the only way for them to supply such a large surface area with Ræzoň.

They landed perfectly. At the same time.

But their force caused the tile to tilt backwards. Eren felt his feet slowly slide back, into the abyss below.

Without words, both of them immediately ran forwards to counter-balance the tilt.

Heishtå, he cursed. It was going to mess with their timing.

Now, with them running, it was very likely for their feet to no longer land on the tile at the same time.

Eren felt the large platform slowly slink downwards. They weren’t supplying it with enough Ræzoň.

Heishtå, he cursed again. Listen to her footsteps. Time your steps with hers.

He ignored everything and only focused on the sounds of her shoes tapping on the tile.

She was running faster than him.

I’ll up my pace for a bit.

At her next step, Eren stepped his right foot forwards and ran at the same speed as her.

They weren’t in sync. He was taller than her, while she was more agile than him. Despite them going at the same speed, their footsteps went at different paces.

It would take time for him to adjust to her steps. Time that they didn’t have.

The tile was falling. It had depressed at least five meters down into the abyss at this point. And it was falling faster and faster.

And suddenly, their footsteps stomped the ground perfectly. And the next, and the next, and the next...