As expected, he still couldn't adapt to that world-spinning dizziness; it felt as though his brains were being scrambled. Even with Lin endurance, he nearly didn't recover. However, there was no time to wait for a full recovery. Lin forced his body to stand and observe the surroundings.
Whether it was unexpected or expected, when the noisy chatter of people hit Lin ears, he knew Yama wish had come true. What exactly did the person who trapped them here want...
"Yama..." Lin struggled to lift his head and look around, but the moment his gaze landed on his surroundings, he hesitated.
He turned around, then looked front and back. Once the dizziness in his head completely subsided, he stood in this crowded shopping mall, silent.
Yama was gone. She had vanished after the bell rang.
...
"Welcome, gentlemen, ladies, ladies who are men at heart, gentlemen who are women at heart, and many non-binary individuals I can't name. Whether you identify as an attack helicopter or a hang glider, welcome to this banquet."
"I am your good friend, good brother, good sister, good toy... eh? That line isn't there? Oops, you remembered wrong..."
The people below fell into a bizarre silence, looking at the person on stage who "seemed" and "should be" someone they were very familiar with, but who was saying nonsensical words with a playful, out-of-character grin.
"What do you mean, 'welcome'..." A man stood at the very front, his hand shaking with rage. A simple mask trembled on his face. Seeing Lin joking manner, he roared: "LIN!!! How many times are you going to provoke me!"
"Isn't this my good bro, Kalpas? Do you want to come up and say a few words too?" Lin nonchalantly handed the microphone toward him, only for it to be slapped away.
BAM!
"You had that woman bring me here just for this?" Kalpas anger was overflowing.
Not just Kalpas, but others like Su, Ato, and Rin were equally confused. Especially Rin, who knew nothing of the MOTH and found herself in a place looking like a futuristic sci-fi movie set, not knowing what to do.
"Could it be you actually like staying in the Deep End?" Lin looked enlightened. "What was your name again, Kal-something?"
Kalpas flew into a total rage: "You just called me by my name! Stop playing dumb!"
"Haha, you're as humorous as ever, my brother. Well, I hope everyone has a good time, and then you can welcome your good friend Lin back."
Lin smiled and waved, ignoring the fuming but unable-to-act Kalpas, and walked backstage.
The others looked at each other, not knowing what to do next, but fortunately, several people capable of warming up a crowd had already begun walking around and chatting.
"Kevin, that person just now..." Su found Kevin, who was sitting like a block of ice in a corner. He wanted to ask what was wrong with Lin, but Kevin just glanced at him and sat motionless without a word.
"Kevin?"
"...Su, do you know how to remove glue?"
"What?"
"No, nothing."
Kevin took a deep breath, his expression actually looking somewhat melancholic. Su looked strangely at the chair beneath him, which stood in stark contrast to the banquet decor. It was a white plastic chair—the kind you'd find at a roadside night market stall.
Why was Kevin sitting on this chair? Better yet, why was there a chair like this here?
"So what Lin said was true; some parts of you haven't changed, Kevin." A laughing voice came from the side. Elysia and Mei approached in evening gowns. Elysia, seeing Kevin dark expression, giggled: "If there's a food stall chair here, you'll definitely sit down to try it."
"...Elysia, did you do this too?" Kevin showed a rare look of embarrassment.
"Need something to eat? I'll get it for you." Mei also couldn't help laughing. She felt as though she were seeing that boy who strode toward her in school and shouted his confession; in some ways, he hadn't changed.
"...Noodles are fine."
...
"Hey, hey? Sakura, you ready?" Lin knocked on a door and asked the person inside.
"Ah? Um..." Sakura hurried voice replied. "But is this really okay? Rin, she..."
"She'll definitely love it, don't worry." Lin assured her confidently.
Given such a confident answer, Sakura gathered her courage, pushed the door open, and walked out. She was never afraid of anything, except facing her sister in her true form. However, upon seeing Lin outside, she nearly fled back into the room.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lin asked, adjusting his outfit and confused by her stiff face.
"Y-you... what is this..."
"Oh, to match you, of course. Otherwise, wouldn't you be too conspicuous and awkward alone? Rin would be suspicious."
"A-alright then..."
The two walked side-by-side out from backstage and into the banquet hall. Their appearance immediately drew everyone's eyes. Not many knew Sakura; most had only a vague impression of a cold girl they'd passed in the hall. Those around Lin were slightly more familiar with her, but only as a cold assassin.
But today, she had traded her functional gear for a pure white gown. She wore elegant lace gloves and crystal-like high heels, highlighting the lines of her straight, beautiful legs. Her face wasn't cold like usual, but wore a subtle smile.
"Sister?" Rin stared blankly at the radiant girl.
But aside from her, everyone else's attention was actually drawn by the other person. Or rather, he was practically assaulting their retinas.
"Almost forgot to mention, this is actually a masquerade ball. You can dress however you like." Lin stood with hands on his hips, chest out with pride... and making the thing dangling between his legs even more bizarre.
Facing the stinging stares, he didn't care: "So, is my look..."
BAM!
"Boogah!"
A fist slammed into his stomach. Lin knelt on the spot and spat out some blood. Prometheus wiped her fist in disgust, staring at the twitching Lin: "What are you doing..."
"Cough... I'm dressed as an elephant..." Lin scrambled up, pointing at his pants which featured an elephant pattern with a trunk long enough to drag on the floor. He pulled out several identical pairs from behind him. "By the way, I prepared the same for Kevin and the others. Anyone want to join our elephant family?"
BAM!Prometheus dragged Lin by his elephant trunk back to the dressing room.