Running on the steps with as much speed as he could muster, Cale discovered that while he wears the crown and is essentially an entity, his physical capabilities have been enhanced beyond human and even surpass the limits of lesser aberrants.
Without much physical strain, he ascended the countless steps while around him, the rest of the steps buckled and fell into the void with a final burst of light.
The sound of shattering glass was no rare occurrence within the harrowing corridors of cracks.
Once the crack mends or someone walks through it, the stairs fall together with them. Looking down at the abyss, Cale picked up pace.
If I fall into the void, I don't think the crown can pull me out.
Thus, he quickened his pace along the ebony staircases, which shifted and writhed beneath his feet — thankfully, Cale's balance was firm.
Even after running for minutes without sparing any effort, Cale didn't even break a sweat. It was an exhausting effort, but he still didn't sweat.
But it was more like…
I can't sweat.
With the crown on my head, my body completely changes.
He was a completely different being entirely; he could get tired, but he couldn't sweat. As he scaled the steps, he felt completely fine, which made him look at his black gloved hand.
While moving, he upturned his black leather glove — there was nothing underneath except the similar black shadow which the crown cast over his face.
An artifact like this has to come with latent contamination effects; I shouldn't wear it for long. I shouldn't keep it in Covenant either; I need to get a good hiding spot in the city for it.
But until he had a good spot, he was forced to take the crown with him and ignore the contamination it could cause.
Slowly reaching the top of the staircase, in front of him, the mirror was a complete anomaly, some of its fragmented parts reflecting the figure of the hollow king while the rest of the mirror brought the other side in full view.
It was a dilapidated house's inside. Without much doubt, Cale stepped forward before the crack could even have the chance to mend.
As his body collided with the glass-like surface, the sound of mirrors shattering could be heard again. By the time Cale blinked, his vision was met with the sight of dust particles visible through the light cast by the tattered part of the ceiling.
There has to be a reason for a crack appearing here, out of all places. If a crack is here, an entity must be present as well.
For the time being, he had to put away the tarnished bronze crown, so he put it back into the space opened by Covenant and called for Moonless, who appeared right away with a burst of white essence.
"You finally missed the presence of little ol' me? I knew you were going to miss me sooner or later." The raven with mismatched feathers jumped a couple of times while flapping his wings in excitement.
"I need you to fly approximately twenty meters in the air and share your vision with me. Make a couple of circles around the block, and if nothing suspicious is around, gradually lower in altitude but continue to circle the block.
The raven's excitement died down immediately, and he stopped flapping his wings.
Casting a disappointed one-eyed glance at Cale, and with a sound only comparable to a scoff, took flight out of the torn-open part of the ceiling.
Without a prior warning, Cale's right eye twisted into the shape of a crescent moon, his vision abruptly shifting to an aerial view, forcing him to lean onto a wall for initial support.
Through the eye of Moonless, Cale could recognize the part of the city they arrived at.
The buildings were mostly deteriorated, with very few people around; those who were here in the first place were tramps, their eyes following the Moonless.
Just out of sheer hunger.
City outskirts, the trails of poverty always lead here. He is here somewhere, but what did he do to open a crack in the process?
As he watched the world fly by rapidly from his right eye, countless figures were caught in his vision.
Without having to call out to the Lamb class Entity, Moonless made his way on his own towards the numerous figures.
The dust around them occasionally stirred in thick and wide clouds.
Aberrant Corps.
Even if their outfits differed from the blue and black of those present in his trials, Cale could distinguish each of the divisions inside the Aberrant Corps.
The figures he observed from Moonless' eyes were the Catastrophe Management Bureau.
Even with his sight obstructing his normal motor functions, Cale still approached the figures locked in conflict while leaning against the wall, staggering forward.
From the eyes of the raven, he saw increasingly more dust clouds expanding out of nowhere, obstructing the view of the agents.
From the corner of his left eye, he saw a broken iron rod, which he picked up right away. This time, the dust cloud exploding was closer to him.
Only a single house block away.
And with the way the Entity was moving, it was clear which way it was fleeing — the crack which now mended itself back together after Cale used it.
And it was rapidly approaching the same location he was in.
So were the agents after the entity.
Thankfully, all this dust was a clear indicator of what he was against.
An Entity weaponising dust, Cale just read about it in the same document as Renoir's son was being kept tabs on.
Devouring Bagger was the only Wolf who could act similarly to a Shepherd, taking souls and assimilating them into his own in his endless greed.
According to the documentation Gilran had on the kid, he's supposed to have three bodies currently, but if he was up here for a day now, he could have acquired a fourth or a fifth one.
Suddenly, Cale ducked and hid behind one of the broken buildings.
In front of him, the dust thickened.