The man observed me with critical eyes. A wicked grin playing on his lips. Finally, the silence was broken.
"I've been looking forward to this encounter. My name is Reynald Deviloch. Call me anything you like."
He then starts circling me like a prey, his gaze never leaving my figure. I stand still, waiting for him to make any sudden movement.
"Relax, I'm not your enemy. ...For now at least."
His threat hanging in the air. I cross my arms above my chest. At that moment, I saw the book he was holding, it's identical to mine and I knew I couldn't mistake it for the same copy.
"The book. Where did you get it?"
He raised an eyebrow, it seems my question piqued his interest. He leans in closer, until I can smell the scents of his black robe, its smell of lavender and other things I can't quite grasp.
"It's a family heritage. But that's not important. Let me ask you this — do you know what you're holding?"
I think for a moment, torn between wanting to tell him the truth or to not trust him. What should I do?
I nodded.
"A blood sucking beast that feast on human blood. As far as I'm concerned."
The man smiled before letting out a dry humorless laugh. He then turned to me with a serious expression.
"This is what the folks in white called.. Gospel of Nyx. It's a book with mystic power, but you already know that don't you? Blood for knowledge."
He leans back against the slide and pulls out a box of cigarettes.
"Friend, let me show you the truth of this world."
He takes one out and puts it between his lips lightning it with a lighter.
"There's a little price to pay for a greater good. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice your own being to rewrite what have been—"
He throws the cigarettes on the ground.
"—fated."
The ground caught on fire immediately after the cigarettes touched it, spreading aggressively like a wildfire. I shield myself from the sparks using the back of my arm. My eyes narrowed as I saw him just standing there amidst the spreading chaos.
"Our name will not die in the fleeting history. We see, we write, we change."
The fabric of reality cracked and shattered into pieces, as a faint glow of white creaks between the cracks.
Then.. a big explosion, consuming the past, present and future. I was blown away into nothingness, like a stone in nihility's domain. My body drifted into the empty space without destination. My vision was getting blurry, like a swimmer in a deep ocean.
Then.. a hand reached out to me, I quickly grabbed it as it pulled me upwards, towards what feels like a wormhole.
[??/??/????]
When I finally emerge at the end of the bottomless pit, I look at my surroundings. It's.. strange and otherworldly. It's a world I have never seen before.
"Is this..?"
I looked at the man who pulled me, it was him again.
"My friend, welcome. To the fourth dimension."
Dizziness overwhelmed my head. He offered his hand to me and helped me to stand on my foot. I look around the vast ocean of stars, it's everywhere and nowhere.
Without saying a word, he started walking, expecting me to follow. And so I do. I follow closely behind him, afraid if I were to lose someone in this uncertain domain.
"Fourth dimension? As in time? Why did you bring me here?"
I asked while keeping up my pace with him.
"Perhaps because we are the same. Two people in a vast world of probability."
He then came to a halt, as he turned his face fully to me.
"What lies ahead will be the answer that will favor both of us. Seek, and you shall receive."
I looked at the endless path before me, what kind of answer is he seeking? And what of mine? Ahead is a path of no return.
—Penning a new chapter…