Come on Josh!
He pushed hard against the thick membrane and was rewarded with agony beyond measure. He was thrown backwards by the shock and grit his teeth, backing up and shaking his head to clear the lingering tingles coursing through his mind.
You can do it, Partner!
He ran full speed into the wall, howling in pain as he forced his way through the outer layer. Wave after wave of red, angry torment did their best to smother him or repel his advance. His skin peeled off like a banana at least five times as he continued to move through, the crimson lotion caused by this only easing his travels. He pushed forward, eyes wide open to watch flesh tear and fall away every time he advanced deeper into the wall.
Finally, with one last heave, the Composer was at last met with the sweet relief of the Other Side of the wall. What stretched before him was a vast desert, littered with the sands of his memories. He strained, he yearned….yet still, silence was his reward. He sighed and sat down in a huff, paying no mind to the shadow that hovered above him. His hand brushed a rather distressful memory, and he tucked his legs into his chest and sniffed softly as it played out.
Haineko watched from above, her wings wooshing softly as she observed her charge below. Her orders had been clear: in order for Shibuya's Composer to be restored, he must face these trials alone. She was there for support and to keep Erasure from creeping up on him unexpectedly, as well as keep Apollo's will from disturbing the young immortal as he made the journey to restore his soul and re-attach himself to the district he loved. Other than that, Joshua was to solve and endure the journey without her interference. She could not give him hints, help him fight his fears and failures, nor could she help him win the battles that were to come.
What battles they would be, as well. The Wall was only one trial, and it had taken her old Partner a few attempts and countless failures just to endure the pain long enough to touch it, let alone push through it. His first attempt to go through resulted in the flesh of his entire left half to be stripped off the bones, nearly causing his erasure right then and there, the only reason it didn't was because he pulled out in time. The Angel shuddered as she recalled the earsplitting, gut-wrenching, inhuman shriek/scream the teen had howled then. It was a sound no one should ever utter even at their most pained moment.
Shaking off the horrifying recollection, the Angel looked down at her charge again. He'd decided to traverse the desert of buried memories; a space in his heart barren and filled with pictures of his regrets, failures, and those memories he wanted to forget. The danger here would be that he's start remembering why he went to war against the world, and decide to simply let himself be buried in the sands of his heart just to spite that which had shunned him. This would lead to his erasure, or worse, trap his true soul here forever.
Josh! Easy now, breathe Josh!
The echo knocked her for a loop, and she gasped in surprise. The voice of Neku Sakuraba had pierced the barrier that kept out the Music! This was unheard of, but not totally unexpected, she realized. The boy was the Proxy after all, plus the bond he had with Yoshiya transcended mere friendship. They had been Pacted, and that was enough to crash through any normal barrier.
Joshua himself looked up in mild puzzlement before realizing that his traversing the Wall must have had some effects on his body. He didn't know nor care why that was a thing, and soon shrugged and continued his trek across the barren wasteland. It was true that he'd heard Neku call while trying to get past the Wall, but that voice had been airy, faint...a memory. This time it had been like his Proxy was talking directly in his ear. He held onto that voice as he slogged through more hard memories, determined to get past this barren land and enter the next trial. The next area of his Soul…
Where he felt that he would at last be undeafened to the sound he longed to hear.