Among the swinging ropes in the air, the shadowed head of the Hair Thief emerged from the end of one of the nooses. A bulky reflection smeared across the two walls intersecting at a sharp angle. The play of light and shadow went on for a while longer. A faint shimmer sliced through the darkness — it came from the creature's shell that wrapped around its body. That shell was massive, hard, metallic. It covered the head and torso like armor. Its dangling arms clanked with force as they swung side to side.
The Hair Thief extended like an arrow, arching to reveal his full form.
"Were you looking for me?"His voice came from deep within, like a stone stuck in his throat. His piercing gaze was locked onto Meyer's enormous body.
A crooked grin curled on Meyer's face. As if he had no choice but to grow stronger.
"I'm looking for you," Meyer said. His voice was hidden behind his breath. His chest rose and fell like an earthquake's shockwaves. Everything faded in the cracks of the present. The only thing that stayed unchanging was the gaze of the two adversaries and the silent power standoff between their unmoved faces.
Even the Demon Chip seemed affected by Meyer's strength.
"Slow down, bro! I'm getting dizzy," it said.
Meyer, unfazed by the friendly voice, lunged forward to strike. His left fist moved, toes lifted — what was about to fly wasn't just a punch, but saliva, combat instinct, and maybe some unwanted monologue from the enemy.
"Let me go, you piece of machinery," Meyer grumbled.
The Demon Chip, quite unusually, went completely silent.
I've fallen into emptiness.
The Hair Thief stretched his leg with a groan, looking more feral than cute.He spelled out his name:
"Hair... Thieeef..."Drool dripped from his tongue and down his chin.
Meyer grinned, baring his teeth, and lashed his left knee into the Hair Thief's raised leg. With a 180-degree twist, he moved like a machine — like a giant spider. The Hair Thief reflexively dropped his leg, and Meyer's obsidian-heeled shoe landed on his right thigh. The touch burned, but it was as pointless as pouring a drop of water into a forest fire.
"Is this what you want?" Meyer hissed. "You want me to tear through you?"
The Hair Thief revealed a row of perfectly misaligned yellow teeth — a contrast between rot and symmetry.
They both stared at the fingerprints left by their words.
The Hair Thief reached to his waist and pulled out an object that looked like a rolling pin, the kind a woman might use kneading dough. He twirled it in the air like a parasol.
"A rolling pin? Seriously?" Meyer scoffed. "Is this real?"
The Hair Thief smirked without shame and performed a short but impressive display with the rolling pin.
The Demon Chip's voice echoed again.
"If you don't ease up on him, this won't end well!"
Meyer could feel the electric signals surging through him like lightning. His neurons had begun using myelin sheaths. He knew his energy was decaying. His palms were sweaty.
The rolling pin sliced through the air and slammed straight into Meyer's face.
"What's your reflex level, man?" Meyer cursed through clenched teeth.
"Ninety-nine percent," replied the Demon Chip with a displeased tone — as if Meyer's loss was also its own. For Meyer, that was at least a good sign.
The Hair Thief began shedding his outer layer of skin.
Meyer felt as if his nose had been flattened with a tray. It burned like fire.
He's shedding like a snake...
Time was running out.
I don't have much time to prove myself.
Blood trickled from Meyer's nostrils, and his hands clenched tightly over his face.
Every inch of his body ached.
The Hair Thief, this time, swung the rolling pin wide. A drop of blood splattered to the floor. The metal bars roared like lions. Whoever stood in the way would be crushed. Meyer felt himself flung out beyond the bars. His shoulder and head went numb. A bright pink scar burned on the side of his forehead.
The enemy raised his left arm.
Meyer stared at him.
I'll attack from the right. That's what I should do.
He waited for backup from the Demon Chip. It never came.
"Hey! You always show up when I don't need you, and disappear when I do!" he shouted.
The Demon Chip remained silent.
"Fine, then!" Meyer stepped on the bloodstain on the floor. The sole of his shoe was instantly stained. His laces came undone. The Hair Thief kept shedding skin, his face twitching as if he felt something crawling on him — imaginary insects.
He started itching. He stared at Meyer's shoelaces — and began to vomit.
"Oh, come on!" Meyer groaned and stepped aside.
The Hair Thief's head bowed. The rolling pin dropped with a thunk. It rolled toward Meyer's toes. As it reached him, he blinked and bent down. The pin's texture reminded him of chocolate. Like honey.
He grabbed it and spun it across the Hair Thief's neck — enough to send a shock.
The Hair Thief was still vomiting, all because of those cursed laces. He no longer had the strength to fight.
Meyer climbed the man's back like a spider, planting his foot on the Hair Thief's sweaty neck. His vomit had soiled Meyer's shoes. Disgusted, he pressed down harder and stood on the enormous back. Then, balancing the pin like a tightrope walker, he slid down the body. Gripping the shoulders as the enemy bent forward. His fingers slipped on the damp skin, but he held on.
"Let me go!" the Hair Thief shouted, shaking like a drenched rooster.
"As you wish, sir," Meyer whispered in his ear.
The breath made the Hair Thief flinch. Meyer nearly fell off.
"Okay, okay! I said nothing!" Meyer laughed, wrapping his legs around the man's waist."Terrible mount," he muttered. "Spider backs were better."
The air flickered like broken water, waves coming and going.
Meyer felt like a fleet about to tip over. As the Hair Thief shed more skin, Meyer felt the layer beneath thinning — like a tectonic plate sliding away. The Hair Thief jerked violently. Meyer clawed into his back.
With a roar, the creature flung himself backward. Meyer slipped off like a drop of rain.
He landed in the vomit sea — and immediately puked as well.
The Demon Chip remained frozen. Silent.
Meyer felt its absence.Even the mocking voice that always insulted him — gone.
He raised his fist. As his hand sliced the air, there was a tearing sound.A fabric ripped. Time split open.
Everything stopped. The Hair Thief was frozen mid-motion.
The Demon Chip finally spoke:
"Time Travel activated."
Time travel? But... how?
Everything started rewinding.Like seconds draining from a stopwatch.
Then: total darkness.
End Of Chapter