25. The Rift (IV)

Raziel led the party of alchemists back to the library.

All four of them were mind-bogglingly beautiful.

Which was how Raziel knew they hadn't given up their Facades. From the bits and pieces they’d revealed so far, it seemed like they’d fallen into the Rift by accident. Raziel recalled the bright azure aurora hanging above the Rift - above the sky-river itself - and how light would at times spear into the Rift.

He wondered if they had their own methods to get out of the Spirit World. They were Level 3 alchemists, after all. Becoming an alchemist in the first place was a massive achievement. These four people had gone a step further and advanced past Level 1 and Level 2. Their skills and power level surpassed his imagination.

“Are we really following a [Mimic] to an unknown location?” grumbled Boudine [Bandit]. “This is textbook amateur behavior.”

Klaas lo Luras [Spellslinger] threw his arm over Boudine’s shoulders. “Don’t you know that once you’ve mastered the rules, you can start breaking them?”

Boudine flung Klaas away from her, the stacks of black bracelets on her arms jingling.

Raziel glared at them from the corner of his eyes, but stayed quiet. If the alchemists were determined to believe he was a [Mimic] then he wouldn’t keep arguing with them about it. He just had to wait until they laid eyes on Yz’kharj the Devourer’s corpse for themselves - then he would be vindicated.

He wondered if the alchemists were from one of the other villages that bordered the Dark Forest. They had strange names.

Of the four party members, Raziel was most leery about the leader, Aric of Mandeville [Warrior]. He was a golden-haired man who looked like he could wrangle an angry stallion to the ground with his bare hands. Aric reminded Raziel uncomfortably of his father - the soft, measured voice, and the too-calm expression. The total control over himself. There was a lot of power in him. But unlike Ferrin Ravenbone, this guy wasn’t on Raziel’s side.

“What are you thinking in that empty head of yours?” Boudine asked Raziel. “Remember, we can kill you in the span of a breath.”

Raziel snorted. “There’s four of you. Aren’t adventurers supposed to be in groups of five?”

“That’s a rule set by the Delver Guild,” said Nanette of Malleville, the gentle, silver-haired princess. She was like something from a fairytale. Raziel’s heart beat a little faster - he was excited to show her his kill most of all. “We aren’t affiliated with them, so we can operate however we want.”

Raziel nodded, intent on remembering that organization - Delver Guild. He got the impression that Nanette believed that the Guild wasn’t good enough for her, so if he ever ran into them, he wouldn’t join them either!

//

The four party members stood awkwardly around the [Basic Rodent]’s corpse.

“...”

“...?”

“???”

“.....................”

Raziel crossed his arms, pleased and proud as a peacock. He and his beast summons had almost died taking down the Devourer. It was just his luck that his silver-haired savior also ended up wanting the Devourer gone too. Raziel had been afraid that he wouldn’t be able to repay her at all but it seemed his concern had been for nothing.

Aric scratched his chin. “That is a very large rat…”

“Oi,” said Klaas lo Luras roughly. “What gave you the idea that this thing was Yz’kharj the Devourer?”

Raziel offered the map to the black-haired man.

The annoyance on Klaas’s face smoothed. “Aric - come look at this.”

Klaas licked his thumb and wiped at the map. “Is this spot of blood yours? Don’t presume that you may offer your fluids in His name, [Mimic]. What an insult…”

Aric took the map. His face lost all color.

“What?” demanded Boudine.

“The Great Devourer is merely one of seven horrors,” said Aric. “On this floor.” He paused. “We’re in a raid.”

Raziel glanced up at Aric questioningly. “You didn’t know that?”

“No.”

“What do you mean we’re in a raid!” Boudine’s voice cracked. “Are you fucking insane? There are only three raids in the entire world, what - “

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Apparently,” Aric sighed and beckoned Raziel closer, showing him the map. “We are over here, little buddy.”

Aric pointed to a miniscule divot in the hallway near where Raziel had entered.

Raziel’s eyes searched the map uncomprehendingly. What do you mean he didn’t kill one of the horrors?

Then what had the rat been?

Just some vermin wandering around?

Then how large was this place? If this map was scaled accurately, and Raziel was only in the small crevice by the entrance, then didn’t that mean that Yz’kharj the Devourer’s lair was ten thousand miles away?

And… didn’t that mean the Devourer’s lair itself was ten thousand miles in length and width?

“Oh,” said Raziel.

“I concede. The [Mimic] was of some use,” Boudine said to Nanette, who was inspecting the many books around them with interest. “With a map, we actually have a chance of getting out of here.”

“But where is ‘here’?” asked Nanette. “Are we still beneath the Dead City?”

“We’re near Bramblebog,” replied Raziel. At their looks of confusion, he clarified. “The Dark Forest?”

Angry shouts erupted from the party members. Before, they’d been in various states of tentativeness, unwilling to commit to any emotion without all the information. The name ‘Dark Forest’ snatched that bit of hope away from them.

“Are you saying we’re in the fucking Rift?” said Klaas.

Boudine threw her arms into the air. “He’s a [Mimic]! What does a [Mimic] know?”

Raziel’s jaw was suddenly grasped by Aric, who tilted his face up at a painful angle. Then, “He has no face.”

“What do you mean?” asked Nanette. “He clearly has features.”

“You’ve never been to the Spirit World before, Nan. Nothing in the Spirit World has a true identity anymore - just impressions that they’ve cobbled together.” Aric jerked Raziel’s head to face Nanette’s direction. “Look. Can you see a mother in the curve of his mouth, or a father in the bones of his cheek?”

“He’s a [Mimic],” said Nanette unsurely.

“Close your eyes,” said Aric. Nanette complied. “Try to recall his face. Can you?”

She paused, scrunching her brows.

Raziel caught his footing as Aric released him. “[Spirit Mimics] - “ Aric gestured to the [Basic Rodent]. “Beasts infested with corruption. There’s too many coincidences. We’ve fallen into the Rift.”

The tension in the room was palpable.

“Again - not a [Mimic],” Raziel’s voice was harsh and overly loud in the silence. “I came here on purpose to - “

“I’m going to kill you, Klaas,” said Boudine quietly. “I’m going to fucking run a butterknife through your guts and fucking murder you.”

Klaas reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out a string necklace with a thin white crystal on the end. It sang with light magic - something bright that reminded Raziel of both holy magic and spirit magic. “I may not fear death, but I don’t intend to die before my time. Let’s at least try to figure a way out first?”

“We only have this one night to escape the Spirit World,” said Aric. “Or we’ll become part of it.”

Nanette put a comforting hand on Aric’s arm. “Fate always leaves a path, no matter how small.”

“I know a way out,” piped up Raziel as he crossed his arms. “I’m looking for a wraith. If you can help me find him, I'll show you. We can all leave together.”

Boudine raised a single curved brow. “Oh? What is this wraith’s name?”

“Uh…” Raziel paused. Did his ancestor even have a name? “Ravenbone?”

“Yeah right! You think we’re really gonna buy that? The illustrious Ravenbones wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this with only a [Mimic] for help!” fumed Boudine.

“Maybe we should bring him with us,” snickered Klaas. “A bit of comedy to lighten the mood.”

Aric grasped Raziel again, locking eyes with him. The man’s irises shimmered gold. Just as Raziel realized that Aric was channeling mana into his eyes, agony erupted in his brain, and he lost control of his mana. His forehead node exploded with light. Raziel’s glyphstone shone blindingly red.

The man rifled through Raziel’s mind in flashes of sound and color.

As soon as it started, it stopped.

The half-ruined statue stood before them, taller than the storming heavens themselves. A field of supplicants bowed down, prostrating themselves. “You want to have a look?” an ambiguous voice said - decadent and mischievous and silk-smooth. “Then don’t be shy. Come and see.”

“Welcome to my domain.”

Aric reeled back, clutching his head. His eyes flashed as years and years passed by him.

“Gods-” Aric gasped, “I’m sick of Gods!”

Nanette reached for him but Aric waved her back. “I was right - this is no normal [Mimic]. We can’t waste any more time here. We need to start looking for a gateway ourselves before its too late.”

In a crouch, Raziel braced his hands on the cool floor to regain his grasp on reality. He blinked rapidly to clear the darkness, channeling his mana away from his forehead node.

That statue…

Even as the party of alchemists left the library, with only Nanette bothering to cast a final glance over her shoulder, Raziel was still crouching, his mind spinning with this newest revelation.

The Red Figure Card really managed to repel the mind attack from a Level 3 alchemist. By all rights, Raziel’s mind should be completely shredded. He was only a mortal. Raziel curled his fingers into fists. Was Aric right? Was the card related to a God? Father Linus had theorized that all those years ago, the Great Immortal Zu’en personally trained his distant ancestor, giving him specialized tools and techniques to defeat one of the twelve ancient dragons. Had one of that person’s cards reappeared in his bloodline descendant - in Raziel?

When Raziel found the wraith, he had so many questions for him. His parents, the dragon egg, the card -

In the meanwhile…

Raziel brushed himself off and quickly caught up to the party of alchemists, following behind them in the shadows. He was still safer with a group of morally questionable Level 3 alchemists than on his own!

Also, they had taken his map.