Chapter 136: James City (4)
A tree pulsating in deep blue and these majestic walls… It was like something out of a dream.
As I watched the glass fragments twirl around in those mysterious colors, I heard James’ voice cut through my reverie.
“We should head back now. It’s not good to stay on the wall for too long.”
Ugh, really? I felt a pout forming, but I just sighed and hopped onto the cart, cradling Reaper, who was lazily hanging in my arms.
I could always come back later to see it again, right?
We rode down the wall in the cart, which hummed quietly like it didn’t have a care in the world. James, who was driving, had this smug look on his face as he spoke.
“If you compare the time on your wristwatch with your phone right now, I bet you’ll be surprised.”
What was he on about? With a huff, I pulled out my phone to check—and yep, just like he said, I was totally shocked!
I could’ve sworn I set my watch right when we landed at the airport, but it was nearly two hours off! Like, how does that even happen?
While I fiddled with my watch, setting it to match my phone, I shot a question at James.
“Is this whole time wonkiness thing because of the wall we just climbed?”
“Bingo! I don’t know if it’s the tree or the space where that tree’s hanging out, but yeah, the flow of time on the wall is a complete mess.”
Reaper must’ve found that interesting because it paused mid-pudding and perked up to look at James.
I mean, I kinda wanted to go back and stare at that tree some more, but the thought of time being all messed up made me squirm.
“Still, it’s manageable on the wall since time only speeds up or slows down by, like, fifty percent. But if you go beyond the wall, that’s where things get tricky. Even if you just spend a day inside and then come out, the time gap would be huge.”
Reaper’s little antennae started wiggling like crazy. Hehe! It must be curious about what was beyond the wall.
Wait a minute… Reaper wouldn’t sneak past the barrier, would it?
I wondered about that while giving its antenna a playful lick.
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