Chapter 50 - Disclosure

Finding Alaric was a simple affair. The man stood at the side of the main road quietly speaking with an elderly woman. Behind them, two workers hammered boards onto a worn, rickety building, covering gaping holes between the original planks. The home looked like it must have been built and rebuilt several times already, its many different colored pieces of wood speaking of endless troubles.

Alaric turned just as Lazar approached, and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Lazar? Is something wrong?” Dark eyes quickly scanned him. The seraph noted the woman and the workers glancing curiously at him as well, but he kept his attention focused on Alaric.

“I need to discuss something with you. It’s quite urgent, I’m afraid.”

The man’s brows furrowed at that, but he nodded. Turning back to the woman, he bowed politely.

“I’ll speak with you again later, Margaret.” He directed his attention to the workers. “You two be careful now,” he said, voice a combination of stern and genuinely concerned. One of them saluted while the other waved cheerily.

Seemingly satisfied, Alaric strode forward to where Lazar waited.

The two walked steadily, but briskly down the dusty road. The streets were much more crowded today, every Carran resident eager to take advantage of the rare cloudless sunlight.

“What did you wish to discuss?” Alaric spoke in a low voice to avoid drawing attention.

“Ciel and I were in the forest earlier today. We found a dangerous area, and we thought it would be best to inform you.” Lazar kept his words deliberately vague while they were still within earshot of Carran’s inhabitants. There was no point in causing mass panic.

The two quickly reached the edge of the small village, the distant tree line drawing near as they proceeded past the little slanted buildings. Alaric frowned, glancing back first to check that there was no one listening, then asking, “What do you mean?”

This was the difficult part. What they’d seen defied common explanations; a collision of planes had never been heard of before—not to this extent.

Lazar turned to face the man, choosing his words carefully.

“In a section of the forest,” he said slowly, “it appears this plane is merging with the Abyss.”

Alaric stopped walking. The seraph, having expected the reaction, continued.

“I understand it’s difficult to believe. That’s why I was hoping you would come see it with your own eyes.”

“And you’re certain this isn’t a tear?”

“I’m certain.” Lazar made sure to keep his eyes steady and body language confident. Alaric studied him, and after a brief pause, he heaved a weary sigh.

“As impossible as it sounds, I don’t see why you would lie about such a thing,” he muttered. The human shook his head. “Very well. I will see this for myself.”

Lazar nodded gratefully, and the two proceeded deeper into the forest. The strips of fabric the seraph had tied up for navigation earlier were no longer particularly necessary, the route already ingrained in his mind, but he decided to leave them on the branches. They would act as a warning to anyone who drew too close.

Around them, the trees grew denser, but the clear blue sky was still visible in patches behind the barren canopy. Lazar slowed his pace as they soon reached a familiar location where a wall of hanging cloth strips billowed in the wind, marking out an invisible boundary.

The seraph turned his head, looking around. Ciel was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps he should’ve been more alarmed at the demon’s absence, but a part of him had expected it. After their earlier conversation, he suspected they would both need a bit of time to themselves.

Perhaps he should’ve been even more alarmed at how confident he was that the flesh eater would show up again soon.

“It’s past here,” Lazar said, gesturing behind the hanging fabrics. Standing there, the forest beyond looked plain and ordinary, not a hint of the warping distortions that had so thoroughly altered the landscape within.

Alaric stepped closer, his brows furrowed as he squinted past the strips of cloth.

“…Is it deeper inside the forest?” A trace of skepticism creeped into his voice, but the man otherwise hid his unease well.

“It is, but it’s rather dangerous.”

Alaric frowned and turned to face the seraph. “Even so, I would like to see it for myself. You understand how unusual this situation is.”

Lazar nodded slowly. He would’ve done the same if he were in the man’s position.

“Alright,” he said. “But please be careful.”

The seraph stepped forward, halberd still held securely in his hand. He noted the way Alaric’s eyes lingered a little longer on the hanging pieces of cloth before he, too, stepped forward, one hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword. It was a practiced motion, holding just the right amount of pressure necessary to quickly draw the blade should an attack occur.

Up ahead, Lazar could still see faint footprints marking his and Ciel’s earlier excursion into the area, and he retraced them at a steady pace, eyes sharp as he scanned their surroundings. Alaric stayed close, and he noted the growing tenseness of the man’s shoulders the denser the trees became, the thicker the shadows of the canopy.

Around them, the distant rustling of leaves and the calls of birds died down until there was only the soft crunch of their footsteps and the occasional snapping branch.

Lazar slowed his pace, tightening his hold on the halberd. The metal was cold and grounding against his skin. They should be nearing the area soon.

Beside him, Alaric stopped walking.

“Is it—”

The ground quaked.

Alaric leapt backwards just as a gleaming black spire shot out of the earth. Stray stones scattered and displaced dirt sprayed outwards as the pillar kept climbing higher and higher, spiraling up into the inky canopy.

Alaric skidded on the ground, dark eyes wide as he took in the jet black stone, so unlike anything seen on the first plane.

Movement flashed in the corner of Lazar’s eye. He lunged forward, grabbing and pulling Alaric back just as the ground bubbled.

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Where the human had just stood, soil warped and twisted, folding and buckling in on itself until there stood a quivering mound just like the ones in the Abyss’s fields. A nearby tree bent, waving like a blade of grass. Lazar’s eyes narrowed, and he spoke firmly.

“We need to leave.”

Alaric’s usually stoic expression had morphed into one of shock, his eyes wide as he took in the shifting landscape, the mangling and deforming of a place he’d assumed he’d known. The man inhaled, visibly shaking himself out of his stupor. His jaw clenched and he nodded grimly.

Another rumble sounded, low and deep. The two took off running, feet pounding against the forest floor. A narrow crack crawled up the ground, surging after them in jagged, curling lines.

“This way!” Lazar called to Alaric, swerving around a large grey stone jutting out from the earth. The crack abruptly swerved, rushing past them and suddenly splitting apart into a widening chasm.

The seraph didn’t hesitate. He vaulted over the fissure without pause, managing to land roughly on the other side. He hurriedly turned and saw Alaric approaching from behind. The crack kept growing, the two sides of the forest pulled apart like a ripping seam.

At the last second, Alaric leapt, and for a moment, suspended over the inky chasm below, Lazar was certain he wouldn’t make it.

Then the human’s hands moved in a quick pattern. A deep umber glow flared around his fingers, and a blast of fire burst forth from his palm, the propulsion just enough to get him across.

Alaric landed hard on the ground beside Lazar. The seraph hurried over to help the man up. He didn’t hear any more sounds nor could he see anything coming towards them, but that didn’t mean they were completely safe yet.

“Thank you,” Alaric said gratefully as Lazar helped him heave himself up. His clothes were rumpled and streaked with dirt, and some of that shock still lingered in dark brown eyes. Even so, he remained impressively composed in spite of it all.

The man’s gaze shifted past Lazar to what lay behind him, and he stilled. The seraph turned.

There, half obscured by towering trees, were four void-like eyes peering unblinkingly down at them. Matte antlers thicker than tree trunks fanned out from the creature’s head, its shadow alone large enough to completely swallow the earth. It didn’t move. It simply stood there, watching.

It was the demon hybrid from before.

“Let’s go,” Lazar urged quietly. It took a moment for him to respond, but finally, Alaric nodded. He didn’t take his eyes off the creature.

Even when they turned and ran back to the safer parts of the forest, even as they pressed themselves to move as fast as they could, Lazar could still see the man occasionally glancing back long after the demon hybrid had vanished from view, unable to erase the creature from his mind.

The two sprinted in silence. Only the sounds of their own pounding footsteps registered, and neither spoke until they’d crossed the crude border of swaying fabrics.

Here, the blue sky was once again visible, the light of the realm gate shining from the barren field. The sharp branches of the trees fanned out normally without any warping in sight.

Alaric slumped back against a tree, though he didn’t allow himself to fully sit down.

“It was real,” he whispered. “You were telling the truth.”

“I’m sorry for the abruptness,” Lazar said apologetically. “I couldn’t think of a better way to warn you.”

“No.” Alaric shook his head and straightened. “I should thank you for telling me. I’ll need to inform the rest of the village at once. No one should approach this area.”

Lazar remembered the umber glow and flames jetting out from his palm, and he eyed the pieces of cloth swaying on the branches. They appeared thin and frail against the wind.

“Are you able to create barriers?” he asked hopefully. Alaric shook his head.

“No, I’m afraid I never learned. If my husband were still here he would be able to, but he passed away years ago.” The man’s voice quieted a little at the end. Deep brown eyes temporarily clouded, lost in a distant memory. He cleared his throat, and the haze vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“We’ll have to hope the others heed our warnings. The only difficulty I can foresee is that some may be skeptical, but I believe most will remain cautious.” He paused, frowning a little. “Admittedly I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it myself, even after just witnessing it. You’re certain this is a collision of planes?”

Lazar nodded. “I am.” He stepped over to tighten some of the looser pieces of cloth, and Alaric moved to help.

“Earlier, Ciel and I made it deeper into the area. There were some features there that were clearly Abyssal in nature, and we saw no tear.”

“Light help us,” Alaric muttered. Lazar was careful not to react to the name.

The seraph stepped back from the branches and glanced up at the sky. The sun was beginning its descent down the horizon, and some of the crystal clear blue had shifted into a warmer, rosier shade. They would need to head back now if they wanted to reach Carran before dark.

“We should return soon,” Lazar remarked. Alaric nodded in agreement, but before the seraph could begin walking back, the man stopped him.

“Just a moment please.”

Lazar stopped. Shoulders tensing slightly, he turned to face the man. Alaric was studying him carefully, eyes darting over to the halberd still held firmly in his grip, then back to the seraph. His brows furrowed, but he didn’t appear hostile or angry.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he spoke.

“I do not mean to accuse you or Ciel of malicious intent,” he said slowly. “However, in the interest of transparency, I would like to know what the two of you were doing in the forest.”

There it was. Lazar had suspected this question would come up sooner or later, and he was careful not to react with surprise or sudden movements that might put the man on edge. Alaric didn’t seem to harbor any ill will towards them, and he didn’t want to break that trust.

“We haven’t been entirely truthful about our intentions,” Lazar admitted. He couldn’t reveal that they’d come from the Abyss or that they were a fallen seraph and a flesh eater respectively, but he could, at least, allude vaguely to their goals.

“We’re trying to ascend to the second plane,” Lazar explained. “We were using this forest to train.”

Alaric nodded slowly, taking in the information. He didn’t seem as surprised as Lazar might have expected him to be, nor did he seem especially doubtful. The seraph wasn’t sure what to make of that. Perhaps they hadn’t been discrete enough.

“I see. I wish you would’ve been honest from the start, but I can understand your caution.” A beat passed, then another. For a moment neither one spoke until, to Lazar’s surprise, Alaric smiled a little.

“I suppose Matilda’s guess was wrong after all.”

The seraph’s eyebrows raised at that. “What do you mean?”

The human chuckled and shook his head. “Matilda is a very intelligent woman. She’s rarely wrong with her theories. I suppose this is a rare case where her assumption proved false.”

Lazar remembered seeing Matilda speaking quietly to Alaric after she’d seen the scars on his back. It was clear she’d deduced something about his background, but not what.

Alaric seemed to sense his thoughts. “You should ask her yourself,” he said. He paused, then added, “It wouldn’t hurt to tell her and Madeline about your ascension plans either. They had a friend who managed to ascend a few years back. I believe they still have some of his notes.”

“Besides, they can stay in Elliot’s room.” Lazar hummed consideringly, recalling Madeline’s words and the shelf filled with papers. The hollowness in his soul was still a lingering reminder of the gap there, but perhaps learning more about human methods of ascension would help him find a solution to his own issues with essence manipulation.

“I will be sure to do that. Thank you,” the seraph said sincerely.

Alaric shook his head. “Please, there’s no need for thanks.” He turned, and by now the sun had sunken low enough to cast the bare trees in a warm, golden glow that softened their harsher edges. The ground darkened beneath lengthening shadows, and even the light of the realm gate seemed more washed out against the sky.

“We should return,” Alaric said.

With a final sweep of the forest, eyeing the hanging grey strips of cloth and the empty stone where Ciel had been sitting, Lazar turned away and made his way back to Carran.