He was at a loss for words as he began to fly around the area from above.
Rio couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The world seemed to move around him normally but no matter where he went, the town was always directly below him.
He didn't understand how something like this was possible but it was beginning to get on his nerves. He had been traveling from place to place with danger lurking at every turn. During his time at the Order, there were never this many abnormalities out in the world so closely knitted together.
"What are those Order bastards doing!" Rio shouted as he tried and tried to escape the boundaries of the town.
Rio's rage began to get the better of him and he could feel his heart beating rapidly.
Returning to the ground Rio formed Panoply into a cannon, firing haphazardly at his surroundings.
The cannon blasts were powerful, and were able to destroy the houses with ease.
The blast caused the ground to shake as he began to run around aimlessly trying to find a way out.
While he was on the ground, the humming had returned, along with the rest of the town.
It was as if the town was larger on the inside than what could be observed from the outside.
Rio's head throbbed as he regained his composure. The rapid firing of his cannon had left him with a bit of a headache.
He decided that random acts of destruction probably weren't his best bet for uncovering the mysteries of this town and turned his attention elsewhere when suddenly, he heard a rough voice.
"Hey! Where the hell did this mutt come from?!"
Rio looked up and saw a man with a large hat on his head walking down the street towards him with two skinny men in tow.
Rio stood up and watched as the men approached him.
"Do you think this is another gift? Definitely don't look like a normal pup to me."
"Yeah Pa, Look at the little fella, it's got wings or something on its back. I aint neva seen a pup like that."
The men looked at Rio curiously as they walked closer to him.
The one with a big hat spoke up. "Well, Are you a gift from the lord or not? Show us what you can do already."
He looked over Rio and sighed impatiently.
Rio was a bit confused at the sudden interest from the trio but if they tried anything, he was sure he could easily take them on with Panoply by his side. He thought for a moment to The older man's displeasure about what they could be talking about.
They thought he was some kind of gift from god? If that wasn't weird he didn't know what was. Aside from the fact that there were actually people living in this nightmare town.
Deciding to show the old man what he was asking for, Rio began flying around the trio at high speeds before stopping short of the older man's face. He didn't quite know if this was enough for him but it would be a good start.
"Well, pa. Doesn't this little guy seem swell."
"Yeah, Why don't we take em back with us. I'm sure we'll get a big ol reward for this one."
"It might even push us ahead of that old bastard Remy. Always getting the good scores."
Rio was now surrounded by these three men who seemed to have no intention of letting him go.
"You may be right, boys. We just bagged ourselves a big one!" The man with the large hat says excitedly to his two young companions.
He then turns his attention to Rio. "You'll be comin with me." The man says while forcing Rio into a large bag.
Rio could have easily avoided this but knowing that these three fools were his closest thing to a way out, he decided to see where they would take him.
If Push comes to shove he could always just escape later.
The group begins to walk away with Rio in tow as they make for a seemingly normal building that seemed to be made of bricks.
A few hours passed since the group walked into the building.
"How long are they going to keep walking for? There is no way that this building is that large." Rio grumbled.
He was starting to get cramps in his uncomfortable position.
Soon, Rio could hear the sound of a large metal door sliding open as it scraped against the floor.
After the door had closed behind him, Rio was met with the trio's voices. The room was now dim and filled with smoke as the trio sat around a table. A small candle was placed in the middle of the table as the flame flickered in the air.
Rio was still in the bag and the bag had now been placed onto the floor.
He could now hear their voices clearly as they talked amongst each other.
"Oh great lord of our soil. We have come once again to provide you with our sacrifice. With this beast of flesh, We pray that you may bless us with your bountiful boons so we may honor your grace once more."
"These guys are nutcases," Rio mutters while listening to the trio pray to an unknown deity.
Rio continued to listen as the men began to chant in a language that he couldn't understand.
As their chants ended, Rio could feel the ground tremor when suddenly he could feel the ground give out from beneath him.
Feeling the bag falling, Rio sprung from inside to fly back to the surface. But as he left the bag, all that awaited him was a ceiling that appeared to consist of pulsating flesh.
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