"Sure, lead the way," John confirmed to Chase, who instantly turned around and began to leave the house.
'I'm not sure what's going on, but I'll follow Chase for now and see what this is about.'
John quickly followed Chase out of the building, who instantly began to speed down the mountainside towards the valley below. He kept pace right behind Chase, but was surprised at how fast he was moving.
The two of them quickly reached the valley, and moved towards a certain direction, speeding past all the other disciples and Elder's in the valley who turned in surprise and confusion at seeing Chase and John speed away like that.
"I wonder what's got them in such a hurry?" a disciple asked his nearby friend.
"Not sure, but if even someone like John is speeding off like that, it must be quite important," the boy's friend replied.
Chase suddenly turned into a busy business district of the sect, and sped down a secluded alleyway. After entering the alleyway, he paused for a moment and made sure the coast was clear, before he turned to John and gave him a new robe to put on.
"Here, put this on," Chase instructed.
John found the situation odd, but didn't argue as he quickly changed robes. Chase did the same, and the two of them quickly disguised themselves as sect merchants instead of sect disciples.
After changing, Chase began to move once more before John could speak to him. John let out a frustrated sigh, not liking that he didn't know what was going on, but followed behind Chase nonetheless.
They both slipped onto the main road of the sect, and meandered with the crowd, aiming to leave the sect grounds. Like this, John and Chase travelled through the sect for quite some distance, before John reached out to Chase and grabbed him by the shoulder. Chase tried to shrug off John's hand, but was not able to and came to a halt as he turned to look at John.
"What is it? We need to keep going!" Chase said to John with a frustrated voice.
John frowned as he heard this tone from Chase, but kept his opinions to himself.
"What is going on? We've been speeding forward for quite some time now, and yet you've yet to tell me what is going on. The rest of the sect seems to be fine and at peace, so why are we the only ones rushing off like this?" John asked.
Chase's expression turned into one of slight anger as he heard John's question. "Can you not just trust me this one time? Do you not consider me a friend?" Chase asked, his tone growing more and more frustrated.
John was slightly taken aback by Chase's tone, but remained calm himself.
"Then why don't you explain what's going on, and I'll follow along willingly then," John replied.
Chase's expression changed from anger to frustration, to eventually defeat. He grabbed John by the shoulder and moved him to one of the side alleyways of the main road, and spoke to him in a hushed tone.
His expression changed several more times, as if he was trying to formulate his words, before he let out a deep sigh of defeat and looked at John directly.
"I've just come across some news that you're a target for the higher ups of the sect, who will try to capture you tonight. As such, I'm helping you escape," Chase replied, clarifying a bit of the situation.
"Huh?" John replied, his voice slightly tinged with confusion. "The higher ups are targeting me? Why would they be doing that? Did I do something wrong recently?" John asked.
His mind replayed everything he had done in the sect, and confirmed he had given away no information regarding his real identity.
'There's no way they know who I truly am, as I've given no clues. This must be related to something else.'
Chase remained silent for a moment, once again thinking of how to explain his next words, before he sighed deeply once again.
"Fine, I'll just come out with it, as it seems you won't admit it yourself. I know John. I know," Chase replied.
John felt his heart leap in his chest at Chase's words, but his face remained confused.
"Know what?" John asked for clarification.
"I know you're not truly John Harren. I know that you are John Fenix, at least, those at the top of the sect believe there's a good chance you are," Chase finally replied after some time of silence. "And they're going to find out if you truly are John Fenix once and for all tonight. So before that happens, you need to leave."
John's eyes widened slightly, but they quickly returned to normal as John did his best to maintain his composure.
'I don't know how they've even thought to associate this identity with my true self, but maybe they only have a hunch and this is a test to see if I'll crack. I need to remain clueless about this situation.'
John remained speechless for a moment, as if he had no idea what was going on.
"What? I'm John Fenix? Who the hell is John Fenix? Is that why you've dragged me into this mess? Because you think I'm someone else? What the hell is this bullshit?" John replied, his voice steadily going from confusion to anger.
"Besides, even if I was somehow this person you're mentioning, and the sect truly did want me, you helping me escape can only end badly for you. Why are you doing this in the first place?" John asked.
Chase remained silent for a moment before replying. "I'm not just doing this for you. I have my own personal reasons for allowing you to escape. In fact, helping you escape is mostly to help myself, so just leave now, okay?" Chase replied.
John stared at Chase with a mix of confusion and contemplation.
'Helping me escape helps him? If that's the case, then maybe I should follow him. He already knows my true name somehow, so I'm sure he's telling the truth. And he doesn't seem to be lying, so I'll follow him for now.'
"Son, you disappoint me," a new voice entered their ears as a person suddenly appeared before them. "But after tonight, you'll become a changed man, and we can put this situation behind us."
Chase's face turned into one of anger and desperation, while John's turned into stunned surprise.
It was as if the grim reaper himself had shown up, which sent a shiver down John's spine. He instinctively began to plan his escape, including crushing the talisman, as there was no fighting his way out of this situation. He couldn't help but call out as he looked straight at the person who had appeared before him.
"Allfiend!"
