Andrew wandered the streets alone after dropping Bella off. Albeit he took the shortest path when going to Bella's home, that wasn't the case while returning back. He changed directions multiple times and roamed aimlessly, and he had no plans to return home early. Kara knew about this odd behavior of Andrew and even after years of complaining when her son showed no signs of changing, she simply gave up and accepted it.
"Kal. My mind." Andrew rapidly channelized his Jenna even as the night grew older, all in order to prepare for tomorrow.
"I'll stop her this time."
Unlike his usual style, he didn't activate Aj and Goto before using Kal. The sequence was necessary since any change in relative movement speeds of a person would appear odd to a third person.
"Anastasia, was it…" Andrew cultivated with vigor and prepared a plan to counter Anastasia. He had always believed in the capabilities of his Samay arts, and losing once wouldn't deter his trust in his techniques.
Afterall, that was the only thing holding him together now. Losing both his previous life, and his girlfriend, Andrew's mind had plunged into an irreparable state where only his unique cultivation gave him the self confidence to keep on moving ahead.
To the people present around Andrew though, he appeared normal, for Andrew had only used Kal to speed up his internal self. This sped up his cultivation and thoughts however physically he appeared to be moving at the same speed as others.
As he took the subway from Dum station, he got lost in thoughts about his upcoming days. He started to wonder whether he really would go back to the future anymore even if he reached the sixth domain of his cultivation.
"Yes, prepare the docs, I'll.."
"No, her boyfriend is so cringe, he.."
"Tell them that it's not possible to…"
The slowed down chatter of everyday people fell upon his ears in this crowded subway. It sounded slow since Kal was also acting on Andrew's senses.
"Ouch…"Not only was he having to torture himself by dealing with a body that was lagging, but he also had to hear the lagging random surrounding sounds which was too slow for his cultivating mind that was being affected by an unperfected Kal. He was having to do this all just for the sake of blending in.
"My head hurts…Why is everybody talking so much?"
Andrew always considered these citizens uninspired, and overworked. For all they did in life was relentlessly chase after a higher societal spot that earned them more ease in living. That came with benefits, like more luxury, higher social status, less danger from the corrupt government and the law enforcement groups, and obviously, the other groups that opposed the law.
"Stop Kal…" Andrew muttered like usual as he stared into his reflection in the window. The slow moving dark scenery outside was grim and it reminded Andrew of a certain night's darkness.
Suddenly, the white lights inside the subway started to flicker.
Andrew turned his head and looked up at what was happening.
Some of the people too looked around at the flickering lights while others showed no signs of moving their eyes from their mobiles.
Andrew felt a weirdness, something he couldn't explain, as he watched the monotonous heads of other people standing and sitting in their spots.
He pressed his chest and after finding nothing abnormal in his heart rate, he decided to investigate.
"Aj." He started to walk amongst the stopped time.
The lights had dimmed down exactly when Andrew had activated his skill, and that's why the inside of the subway train appeared dark.
Andrew slowly walked ahead, towards the pathway connecting to the adjacent car of the subway, and it was then that he heard the footsteps of a person.
Ting Tang Ting…
And the sound of metallic tangs of a chain.
"…" Andrew looked straight towards the end of the subway segment, as far as his eyes could see.
A stunning woman, with long silver hair, wearing a menacing gothic dress, was leisurely walking towards him.
Andrew cautiously stared at her, focused his entire vision on her.
Ting
The entire passenger segment of the train got covered with chains which jutted out randomly from everywhere, the walls, the doors, the windows. The chains thoroughly covered up every empty space, leaving one to wonder whether it was a metallic jungle of some kind.
Tang
And then the chains suddenly disappeared.
Andrew was appalled, he was sure he didn't blink, but it felt like he did.
"Hello." The silver haired woman flashed right infront of his face.
It was as if spacetime distorted and she warped through the long distance.
Andrew immediately began to retaliate but it was then that he saw something odd.
"Anastasia." The girl offered Andrew her hand. It was crimson and wet.
Andrew hesitated for a moment, before angrily speaking.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No." Anastasia smiled a very normal looking smile.
"Why?" Andrew asked as he loaded his jenna and stared at her bloody hand.
"Formalities before a duel." Anastasia's smile didn't change.
Andrew understood what was coming, so he thrust his hand forward, concentrating all his power to activate the moment he felt her touch.
And right then, the sound of a ringing phone interrupted them.
"Oopsie, wait just a second." Anastasia smiled kindly and flipped out her smartphone before picking up the call.
"Why are you disturbing, Anna?! I'm busy with another guy!!" She shouted angrily at the caller.
Andrew looked at her begrudgingly, but his eyes pressurized him to look down.
A sharp blade connected to Anastasia's death chain was floating in the air, and it was aimed right at Andrew's chest. It was vibrating violently, waiting to be released.
"What?! Mama is sick? Wait! I'll come right away!" She then ended the call and put the phone back.
"Sorry, I'll have to go back tonight. Meet you later?" Anastasia sent Andrew a flying kiss and then she flashed and disappeared.
Andrew waited a few seconds, his guard still up, and then after about a minute, he finally calmed down.
The bright lights around helped him recollect himself and he next looked towards the window on his left side. His reflection was hazy and red, and the moving scene outside was dark.
"Wait.." And it was only then Andrew realized as he turned his eyes to look at his surroundings.
All the people inside the crimson train were dead, everybody's heads chopped off from their necks.