She made sure that the two men with her understood the complexity of the situation before deciding to follow her. This is the part where she goes in blindly, hoping for whatever instinct she has to protect might resurface just in time to save Sasha.
She felt a rush of tears threatening to free fall but she kept herself in check knowing that the two men are waiting for her to show any sign of doubt or wavering and she wasn't going to give them that satisfaction so she soldiered on. "she said she only has an hour" she reiterated to quicken their time for travelling. She stole a glance at the old man, hoping he will produce a magic wand to zap them in and out of this safe haven straight to the park where Sasha stood waiting.
"Patience Princess, all things under the sun require patience. You don't want to get to her too early nor do you want to get there too late. Every second counts"
She was pretty sure those were some wise words that was gained through experience but right now she couldn't fully comprehend them. She couldn't afford to be late, she didn't know the consequences of being early if any but she sure as hell couldn't bargain with late. She breathed in and out trying to get a grip on her frantic nerves which was noticed by her companions.
"If you dont-"
"No I'm fine!" she almost yelled at the Sentinel that was only looking out for her.
"Okay" his was his flat reply
They walked out of the supposed safe haven and though Dana's head was in turmoil, she wondered if her mom was going crazy over her disappearance. If her superhero was truly safe in her absence or it was just another miscalculation on her side that stemmed from letting her emotions run her out of her sane mind. She smiled bitterly wondering what they could be doing at this moment. Family... her family. Her steely resolve to do whatever it takes to come out triumphant hardened even further at the thought of a peaceful life with her family, even if it's short-lived.
They got to the park just in time to see Sasha seated, facing opposite the direction which they came with. She had a brooding aura around her which drited in waves to her surroundings, causing nature to dance all around her with trees making soft whistles which made Dana question if she was too late from the light scent of darkness that lingered on her. She clenched her fists and opened them a few times, possibilities making a pile in her mind and none of them good.
"We are too late" she glared accusingly at the old man who seemed rather indifferent to her non existent daggers.
"hush child, do not make a sound. Stay still and just observe" he said halting any further tantrums from her, "do not try to run to her as of yet, you might spook the natural order of things"
"Are we waiting for something to happen?" she was getting confused with all the waiting when Sasha was just there, infront of their eyes. She was sure the hour was barely hanging by a few minutes but still the old man wanted to insist on them waiting which made her question if it was a good idea to bring him along seeing as his intentions were seemingly not aligned with saving Sasha's soul. She was about to dash towards her with all that she had but the Sentinel grabbed her hand and yanked her back to where they stood hidden from being easily sighted.
Was he in on this too? Letting Sasha become a slave for all eternity and letting her soul rot to nothingness?
She started fuming inside which was apparent on her face but when she turned around to face the two men, she found their gazes fixated ahead which puzzled her. They looked like statues that have been made in a manner that they stood straight with their arms by their sides, their shoulders squared and their faces looking straight ahead with blank faces. She followed their line of sight to see the women rocking herself back and forth, her head hung low almost touching her knees that she had drawn up to her chest. She was visibly shaking and it was no rocket science to figure out why, the menacing figure standing before her emanated an aura that was so dark and chilly that resonated with the nature around them. Everything stood still as if it was covered in snow, not moving even to the slightest as if frozen in time but it still wasn't it... did that mean the Lord of Vengeance could also do the time travelling thingy that the old man normally pulls oh so subtly on her? That couldn't be right. She figure she had to do something and very fast but seeing the statuesque state that had befallen her two companions she tur ed around, ready to storm in the direction of the man not caring if his aura chilled her to the bone from this distance. She promised to save Sasha, or rather what remained of her soul and standing there watching her rock herself back and forth roused an indignant feeling within her. She puffed her chest and made a silly resolve to go confront the ridiculously powerful monster but before she could take more than two steps, she felt a firm grip on her wrist and whipped her head around to see who had dared to stop her when they are not willing to do anything other than watching.
It was the Sentinel that had a vice grip on her and she knew it would be hassle to break free without commotion so she looked at him for an explanation and saw him put his middle finger to his lips in a shush signal and she frowned.
"We are being baited" the old man saod calmly.
"What do you mean! He will kill her if we don't do something and fast" her panic was on the rise, shooting for the sky.
"Look closely Princess" the old man's stoic face never let up anything except that his gaze remained with the Lord of Vengeance.
Was she supposed to see fairies adorned in white, flapping their magnificentwings to Sasha's rescue?
"We have been hidden within the shadows but you really think the man doesn't know we are here? He may not know for sure who we are that is why he is taunting us... he wants us to come to him and not the other way round.
"So what? We just watch and do nothing?" she fired at the old man.
"Focuz Princess... focus on your surroundings"
Like she was entranced, her eyes started moving around and widen in shock with the realisation. She raised her left hand into the air and observed the snow that fell in super slow motion.
Gah!
"He can also do the time manipulation thingy like you?"
Her face paled considerably with the odds ever so tilting to this vile man's favour.
"No... not like me. He manipulates time in a different way by momentarily skipping time to favour the execution of his senile plans"
"Like a total time skip... But how? I mean there is a certain timeframe for everything right? When people wake up or go to sleep or do their chores" the concept was hard to grasp for her.
"Are you farmiliar with the term mortals refer to as Deja Vu?" it was the Sentinel that asked.
"I am" she knew it was wrong of her to feel this way but the man both thrilled and annoyed her... if you will have such.
"The time manipulation technique he uses is the cause of that. Waking up feeling like time has grown stagnant... like you are doing the same thing you have done the day before"
'Cool' her mind screamed but she scolded herself for even having thought like that.
"How do we even win against someone like that" she felt the dejection seep in through her pores but she couldn't dwell much on that as another ear shattering shrill sounded in the cold forest.
"Now" the old man said stepping out of the shadows and made their way to the duo.
"I thought I sniffed something foul in the air" he tsked "Should've known its you" he said without turning around to face them.
"Let the girl go Rudrik" the old man's aura suddenly turned sharp and brooding.
'Wait...these two know each other' Dana thought to herself but to her surprise, the monster flashed her a smile as if answering her question and her breath hitched.
"Are you going to make me?" he continued taunting the old man with a wicked smile.
"If I have to" he countered.
"You know... after searching for the girl's soul for some time I realised that I've been betrayed and I came to take her soul to oblivion but now..." his smile turned vile and his eyes burned with something dark and dangerous "Now I wouldn't mind taking all your useless souls and send them to the abyss" the madness in his eyes clearly visible, looking like a mad dog about to pounce.
This is going to be one long helluva night!