At first, I considered hiding Rai and Vick's bodies. But I realized it would do nothing. These were no longer the secretive days of being an HP Fractal executioner where I had to cover up their deaths. I was public enemy number one in the heart of an organization that previously had me at the top of their to-kill list. Rather than waste time on hiding bodies, I had to consider the remaining dangers moving forward.
I know for a fact that there's at least one guard outside the door to this room. He has no clue what's happened in here due to the sound-proof nature of this room, so I can easily catch him by surprise. It would also be safe to assume that there must be multiple guards scattered throughout this hideout as well.
I still recalled the directions that led me to this room from the entry ladder. Other than that, I had no idea what the rest of the layout of this place was like. My only option was to wander aimlessly and nullify whoever I could along the way. The only thing was that I had to be more wary than ever. With Flow State gone, my instincts no longer exceeded those of an HP Fractal user. However, a lot of my physical attributes such as strength and speed had improved vastly in the time I had Flow State—all of which were things that did not part with Flow State. So I still had some things to work with, but I could no longer rely on my instant reaction timing to save me in near-death experiences.
How am I going to counter Delfina's Chronostasis without Flow State though..?
This was something I had already considered during my time in Time Prison. Without the capacity to react before Fractal abilities transpired, I had to find another way around that didn't rely on pure instinct. Instead, I chose to depend solely on my knowledge of Fractals.
I know for a fact that Delfina's Chronostasis is dependent on voice-activation.
All throughout Melysia there's always been a running belief that Fractals could be categorized into two primary types, despite their capabilities: voice-activated, and non voice-activated. There are countless people who only gain access to their Fractal's abilities after announcing them vocally, aloud. On the other hand, there are a handful of individuals who can use their Fractals without saying anything. However, during my time at A.X.A, I learned through research that the distinction between these two types was not about voice-activation. The difference between people's Fractals was actually their mind-to-body connection. Fractals inherently originate in the mind, but require a specific part of the body to be used. A Fractal is like a bullet, but without a gun—the body part—it cannot be put to use at its fullest potential. However, a gun cannot fire a bullet unless it has gunpowder for ignition. An individual may have a Fractal residing in the mind, and have the body part necessary to use that Fractal, but it requires a mind-to-body connection in order to ignite the use of the Fractal itself.
That mind-to-body connection is a Fractal's gunpowder—a Fractal's ignition.
The reason people came up with two types of Fractals—voice-activated and non voice-activated—was because using a vocal announcement was the most commonly used mind-to-body connection to use Fractals.
Ninth always said "Gravity Imbue." Cynthia always needed to say "Harden" in order to use her Fractal. Soho also always announced her Fractal and its type: "Kinetic" or "Static." Vick, too, required to say the word "Cheese" in order to use Polaroid.
A lot of people had essentially created activation-words for their Fractals forming that necessary mind-to-body connection. Meanwhile, there were other people whose mind-to-body connections were stronger than average, so much so that they didn't need an activation word to use their Fractals.
Kyra was always able to use Panorama on a whim without saying anything. Emanuel and Celeste with Eagle Vision and Trajectory always seemed to be constantly active, never requiring activation words. Sav formed wormholes whenever he chose to with Gateway. Even Rai and Purgency didn't require voice-activation. I especially can't forget about Seris.
Out of anyone I'd ever known, the Sin of Discrimination herself had probably the most impressive mind-to-body connection I'd ever seen in a Fractal. She was an anomaly in all regards. Up there with her, though a unique case on his own, was Ian with Control.
Ian's Control has a supreme mind-to-body connection. However, the Fractal itself actually requires voice-activation through voice commands. That isn't to say the mind-to-body connection isn't strong. It just so happens that Control was a Fractal manufactured with voice-activation as an actual required condition in mind.
With all of this taken into consideration, I could deduce my plan moving forwards with the next biggest threat: Delfina and Chronostasis.
Delfina's already displayed it to me on numerous occasions—she absolutely needs to voice-activate her Fractal.
Everytime Delfina's used Chronostasis on me, she announced it vocally. That was my key in beating her.
If I could react in time before she could get the voice-command off, I would win. But that's what Flow State helped me do. I no longer have that advantage.
I realized that instincts and reaction timing wasn't going to cut it in my current state. Instead, I had to make sure she couldn't say the voice-command to begin with. Either that, or cutting it short before her Fractal could transpire. In those short moments was when I needed to draw blood and use the Null as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I could be trapped in Time Prison for all I knew.
This is going to be hard.
I took a deep breath, cleaning the blood off my blade and gripping its handle tightly. I approached the door, ready to step outside and confront the rest of Chrono with the Null.
I've got this though.