Small Differences - Chapter 4 (OLD)

	There's a sign on a nearby wall with words etched into it. It reads "In this land, only eyes blinded by darkness can see the way..." The path in front of the human is blocked by a large gap in the ground, with the dark void lying underneath. There's no way Kris could jump that, and he knows it.

	"*You'll see 3 switches just up ahead. Just press the ones on the middle and the right."

	Kris approaches a nearby wall. Three eyes dot the wall, each with three circles underneath. It looks like a puzzle of some sort. Kris simply follows the soul's instructions, resulting in a glass path materializing within the gap punctuated by a loud bang. Kris walks along the glass bridge and eyes another stone slide. Kris bends over to look towards the landing zone and notices a large area filled with more of those giant dust bunnies. There's someone moving around below. Kris can barely make out a shape, but he's able to tell that they're fairly tall. Kris goes down the stone slide with another perfect landing. The sound of metal boots hitting the ground startles the figure, causing them to crouch down behind a giant dust bunny.

	"Hey, uh...do you know what that is? Do I have to fight it?" you question under your breath.
	"*Nah. Just try to get their attention. They'll recognize you."

	"Hello?" Kris calls. The figure hesitates before standing up. "K-Kris? Is that you?" That voice is all too familiar. "Susie?" The tall figure walks towards the human at a brisk pace. The figure's features become clearer, and sure enough, he recognizes that messy hair and uniquely shaped face. It's Susie, but she looks a lot different...and a lot pinker. "You look...uh...different." "Speak for yourself, 'Mr. Tinfoil'" she responds with a smirk. "Were you hiding from me?" "W-what? No, of course not! What do I look like, some sort of pussy?" The soul chuckles to itself at this. "No..." "GOOD! Because I'm not! If you were someone else, I'd leave you cold on the ground in 3 seconds flat!" The pink monster and the armored human both remain silent for a moment before Susie speaks again. "Uh...we should find a way outta here." Kris nods. The pink monster scans her surroundings. "...but where is 'here', anyway?.....IT DOESN'T MATTER!" she suddenly snaps. "YOU got us into this mess, YOU get us out!" Susie orders as she walks behind him. "Lead the way, Kris!" Kris answers with another nod, and approaches a giant dust bunny blocking the way. Kris barely touches it, and it explodes in a cloud of dust and whatever material the dust bunny was made out of.

	"PLECH! *cough cough* ack, eugh...Careful! That shit got in my mouth!" Susie wheezes. "....Sorry." Kris generously ensures that Susie has her bearings, and begins walking again. Susie almost immediately loses her patience. "Oh my god, nevermind. You walk WAY too slow." she says as she rushes past the human, rudely colliding with his right shoulder. Kris quickens his pace to catch up with his classmate and observes her jump down a ledge. Kris slides down another stone slide, lands, and catches up with her as she stands still, looking at something above her. She's staring at the top of a fairly tall wall. The way that Susie's hair parts from her face due to gravity almost allows Kris to see her eyes. He barely catches a yellow glint, but stops looking at Susie's face and follows her gaze. There's a short, rotund person with a spade shaped head. "Hey, Kris. There's someone up there waving at us. Any idea what they want...?" Before Kris can make any guesses, two spade shaped objects materialize out of thin air above. They're both sent hurdling towards Susie, causing her to side-step the attack. "R-run, Kris!" she shouts as she makes a mad dash to escape her attacker.

	"*Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

	Kris sprints in Susie's direction and attempts to keep up with her, making sure to dodge any spades sent flying his way. She heavily outpaces and leaves him in the dust. One spade hits Kris in the left shoulder. It stings like a knife had just cut deep into him and draws blood. Kris tries ignore the pain and keeps sprinting. Small drops of blood leave a trail behind him. A visibly frightened Susie is standing over one large stone slide. The bottom of the slide is seemingly not visible from their height. "Kris, down here!" she yells before sliding down. Without a second thought, Kris follows. More spades are launched at him as he slides down. Kris adjusts his speed to avoid them, but one catches him on the leg and slightly dents the armor. It doesn't hurt, but Kris certainly felt the impact. One spade manages to slice a few small hairs off of his head head. It's times like these where Kris wishes he had a helmet. The bottom is clearly visible from Kris' current position. Susie is nowhere to be seen anymore. Kris' vision quickly fades as he braces for impact.

...

...

...

	Kris slowly regains consciousness with a grunt. His body is sore, his legs feel as if he had jumped off of his house's roof, and his shoulder stings to the point of making him cringe. Kris pulls himself to his feet and notices that there's only one path to follow. He can barely see his classmate staring at something in front of her. There are several noticeable candles on the wall with a blue flame. "Susie...hey, are you okay?" you groan. "Oh hey, you're not dead. Sweet..." "Yeah, thanks for your concern" Kris replies in a pained yet sarcastic tone. "Hey, Kris? What's that red stuff on your arm?" Kris remembers that monsters don't have blood. "It's called blood, Susie. Only..." Kris struggles to push past the pain in his shoulder. "Only humans have it. If I get hit by something sharp, that stuff comes out. I think it's to let you know that I'm hurt." "Well, you don't really look hurt. Well, not THAT hurt, anyway...Say, you got any idea what the heck this place is?" Kris looks to his left and see what looks like a tiny town with buildings in the shape of curved arrows. There's what seems to be a general store, a weapon store, an information building, and an inn all surrounded by smaller houses of similar shape. "Looks like a town I think." Kris approaches the information building only to find that the door is locked. "Hey Kris!" Susie calls. "There might be someone at that castle looking place just up ahead. We should check it out." "Yeah." Kris notices a warm light in front of him. With one arm reaching out.....

	[File saved.]
	The shoulder wound vanishes, the armor is seemingly repaired, and the pain in Kris' muscles fade away in the light's warm glow.

Previous chapter: https://pastebin.com/UNAKuLzx
Next chapter: https://pastebin.com/Rf6K7Dha