Chapter Thirty-Eight: Mason

I can see there’s something off with Daffyd the second Brooke and I step into the room. The tensions are high, his face cut and bleeding from nose, lip, and above the eye. His pristine suit is ruffled. Hamish cowers behind. Something just went down, and whatever the fading specter was had something to do with this reaction.

“If you’re not here to tell me that the wolves are all dead, I don’t want to hear it.” The only words that spill from his mouth. The grim attitude surrounds him and the power in the room. All of this together only leads me to think one thing. One thing that has nothing to do with the other but everything at the same time.

“Daffyd,” Brooke says calmly. Patiently. Afraid, almost. “We need to talk.”

“What do you want, Brooke?” Daffyd snaps.

“Remember the favor Mason did for us?” She sighs. “My payment was you, my love. Your head for the wolves. You are going to be the beginning and the end of this war. The wolves will take you as a peace offering for both Mason and I. I’m sorry.”

Daffyd snaps. Pure rage burns through him from the deepest pits of his core outward. I understand it. Betrayal is not something one easily deals with. It’s never something that you come to terms with. He opens his mouth to speak, but I raise a hand and he holds his tongue.

He may be on his most recent power binge, but he still knows his place among the true vampire hierarchy. “Daffyd, you will have no say in this matter. If you come willingly, there will be no issue. This is where you meet your end. For better or for worse. You are no longer to walk this Earth. It has been written in the stars.” I try and sound prolific. What a waste of time.

“You think that I’m just going to bow down to you? Who do you think you are?” The question is directed at Brooke. He knows as well as I do that I am just a mercenary. A gun for hire. I had no part in this apart from benefiting my own agenda.

“They blew up the chicken man in Philly last night…” I say calmly. In the state of confusion, I dash toward him, restraining him. One arm around his throat, the other hooked under his right arm to keep him from moving freely. A simple quote from a song I heard on the drive over here. Something that was so unexpected in this situation that no one was expecting the latter.

“Hamish, I need you to…” I squeeze Daffyd’s throat so that he can’t utter the rest of his sentence.

“You will do nothing, Hamish, but bow to your queen.” Again, I begin my dash, this time with Daffyd in my hands. I move fast. Many vampires do, but my speed is so much greater than theirs. A flash of lightning against a jackrabbit. An apt description given to me when I was first learning under the man in black. I wonder tonight where that Mason is. Where he finds himself. Is he joining me in handing over Daffyd?

And before I can complete all the thoughts rushing through my head, we are deep in the forest. Behind us, the war wages on. We moved, and I do believe the vampires know that their king has been apprehended between the battle grounds. I make my way directly to the meeting point where I have already sent word to Romulus. When we get there, Romulus sits in his human form, watching the small clearing where I drop Daffyd. His legs are draped over two branches as he reads a parchment before looking down at the pair of us.

“And what’s this?” he asks.

“This is a peace offering,” I feel wolves around us. They growl and snarl, all their ill intentions directed at Daffyd.

“A peace offering?”

“Yes. Brooke and I believe that this war must now come to an end. How better than to deliver the man you seek? This is to call an end to the war. She wishes to inform you that her reign is to move away from the fighting side, giving you Daffyd as a peace offering and to bring the wolves and the vampires together instead of pushing them further and further apart. I am to deliver this message to the wolves as soon as I finish here.” He knows that there is more to what I am going to say.

“Go on. What’s your end of this bargain?”

“For me? An apology. You lost your family too soon. This is my way of giving you a way to get the revenge you deserve. In doing so, getting us back on good footing where we lost it. Do you agree, Alpha Wolf?” He nods, pushing himself off the branches. The wolves begin circling in.

“I agree, Ancient One.” I move away, leaving the wolves to do what they must. Calling peace between wolves, witches, and vampires.

A new dawn.

Prologue: Olivia

The world has moved on.

Alone.

I find myself in this state more often than not lately. The hope of anyone finding me, the hope of anyone guiding me, teaching me, loving me…

All gone. There’s nothing in this world that I would do now but go back to where I was when I was a human. Making the mistake to trust the vampire that promised to take care of me after my turning was one of the biggest mistakes I could have ever made. Trusting a vampire, the biggest. I’m hungry. Normal food doesn’t really have any effect on it. I’ve even started eating uncooked steak to try and get my blood fill, but that doesn’t seem to work.

I don’t know how to do it, though. How to kill a person. How to drain them. Do I just drink it normally? Will that even taste nice?

So many questions with no answers. I can’t be the first one that’s been abandoned, though, can I? I can’t be the only one that doesn’t have a place.

“All aboard!” a boat captain shouts. I pull my coat off my lap, get up, and head toward the small boat that’s meant to take us on a journey around Miami. I don’t even know why I’m still here. I bought the tickets with friends weeks ago. Back when I was still a human. How quickly things change.

***

Have you ever wanted to be a vampire?

Have you ever dreamed of being a creature of the night?

Do you have what it takes to be the master or mistress of your own eternal destiny?

Then this is the website for you.

By simply filling in your information and taking part in one of our courses, you will be welcomed into the fold.

I browse over the website before me, with Allyson and Meghan snickering over how bad it is. I’ve never been one to buy into the supernatural mumbo jumbo. Why would I? It’s all just fiction. Good for a fright and scare, or the rom-com setting that people are pumping out in books but to ‘become part of the fold,’ well, that’s just nonsense.

“We’ve already joined up with the site; you should, too,” Meghan nudges me on the arm. She puts on a pair of plastic Halloween vampire teeth and does her best impression of the Count. Her and Allyson snicker as she does it.

“Fine, fine.” I begin tapping away at the keyboard until all my details are in. I press ‘send.’ The internet is slow. It takes a while for the page to load, so I turn to my friends. “Are you happy now?”

Allyson doesn’t say anything. I can see the set of cheap teeth are too big for her mouth. The reserved, shy kind, even with her besties, she would rather not sound as silly as our more outgoing Meghan who doesn’t care if she sounds the fool with the oversized chompers in her mouth.

“You’re now an honorary vampire student,” Meghan says. “We will teach you the ways of the shadows and the night,” she continues. Only when I turn back to the computer screen do I realize that she’s actually just reading over my shoulder.

What total nonsense, I think.

“Alright guys,” Meghan continues, “let’s go on the prowl.” I’m not really much into this idea. We’re eighteen. Just left high school. First years at university. My family had to work and struggle hard to put me in here, and I don’t want to squander the opportunity on petty things like partying. Work hard now so that I can do all that later.

Allyson slips the teeth out of her mouth. “Where do you guys want to go?” The softest voice you’d ever hear. Dainty and adorable.

“Just around, you know? Look for some trouble.” Meghan jumps up off the bed and already starts walking to the door. Allyson follows.

“Not for me, guys. It’s a Tuesday night. I’ve got an early class tomorrow.” I usher them out of my dorm room. “But don’t go getting into too much trouble without me.” A cheeky wink to end the conversation, letting them go and make noise all the way down the hall before I return back to the comfort of my bed.

A few minutes go by. I lazily pull myself off the bed and get back to the computer, where the site is redirected to a homepage for ‘members only.’ A few private forums are for ‘seasoned vampires,’ and others are just random message boards for any and all to take part in.

“What nonsense have you signed onto?” I giggle, sliding my mouse over to the red ‘x’ to kill the page. Before I can, an instant message pops up on the site:

Bellcall University? Nice. Me too, the message reads. I think for a short while. Should I continue with this? Or is it just some nonsense?

Intrigue finally gets the best of me and I reply, Great. It’s pretty fantastic to be here. First year.

A while goes by without a reply. The longer I wait for it, the more I begin thinking the worst. This is probably some old creep, waiting on the other end to murder me. Or worse, it’s probably some hot young guy that has so many issues that he has to make friends and find support on a vampire support group.

A tremendous sigh rolls through me.

Then his reply comes: You look pretty good for a first year. That sounds bad, but my momma taught me that compliments are a good way to start a relationship. My name’s Allan. What’s yours?

I immediately know I’m in trouble.

***

It’s been a week since Allan and I started messaging each other on the site. A week of me rushing back from my classes to see if he’s replied. The constant struggle of wanting to know more. Have him notice me. The picture he sent me was far from the grotesque man I thought he’d be. So, I can’t complain.

Today is like every other. I get back to my dorm, from my classroom and log on. Allan’s message reads: Hey, Beautiful. Have a good day at your classes?

He’s been charming me from day one. This is something I could get used to:

Yup.

The usual. You know how it goes. Can’t wait for the break, though. Meghan and Allyson have already booked our trip down to Miami. So, it looks like we’re going to have quite a good time in the sun.

My reply comes out and I watch a second. For a moment, there’s nothing. He must be busy. I get up and start walking around the room, preparing a quick lunch, getting back to the desk and pulling out my notebooks to start studying. I bite into my tuna mayo sandwich, looking up at the screen, and I see ‘the dark prince is typing.’

Good.

He’s not in class. I feel the butterflies exploding in my core, still chewing on the sandwich. Then his reply comes:

I thought you relinquished that for eternal night. :P Well since we go on break next Wednesday, maybe we should get together tonight. You know, it’s a Friday night. And let’s be honest, I don’t think I could go a whole month just thinking about you without having actually seen that pretty face…

I always knew this day was going to come. The day that he would ask me to actually meet up, and though I’ve thought about it, I never really considered what I would answer in the event that it did happen. Yes? No? Maybe?

My three choices. I’ve heard stories of predators on the internet. And so, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to just rush into it.

But the campus has some good nightlife spots. Tonight, in fact, there’s a garden party. Good amount of people. If he’s actually some kind of creep he won’t be able to pass into the party. Or well, I hope so. He could be one of my teachers posing as a kid.

My heart’s racing as I begin to type my reply: Meet at the garden party at eight.

Simple. He replies with a smiley emoticon. Now there are four hours of torture until we get together. I bring Allyson and Meghan in on this with a phone call and they rush over.

Together we prepare.

***

“We didn’t think you’d make it,” Meghan says, chewing on bubble gum, overlooking the water the massive ocean expanse before we head off. When they made plans to come to Miami, with my change into a vampire, I didn’t really think it applicable to move with them through daylight. So, I left university a few days earlier under the guise of family issues. Disappeared into myself and moved by night until I got here. It was easy enough. University students and tourists alike were traveling down to the coastline, so I could catch a ride with them. What you can get away with, being a young girl. No one seems to have an issue saying yes. Even the creepier truck driver sorts.

“Yeah, sorry, my mom’s pretty sick,” I lie.

I only found them now, but we’ve been sailing for a while now. There are no more than fifteen people with us on the boat. I can feel their hearts beating. Every single one of them. Tempting me to break into a feasting fit. I can’t do that, though. No, I’m not a killer. Still, the thoughts of how it works wash over me. Do I just bite in and suck until I’m full?

I can’t really quite say.

“Well, now that you’re here, we’re in for an adventure, wouldn’t you say, ladies?” Allyson speaks up. I’m not sure, but I think she might be a little drunk. Both of them have orange juice in their glasses, but I know that there was orange juice for younger passengers and mimosa’s for the older.

“You don’t know the half of it,” I reply.

Meghan chuckles.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,” the voice comes over the announcement system of the ship. “Regrettably, we have to turn the boat around and head home. The storm ahead,” one that none of us even picked up on, “seems to be heading directly for us, and we’d prefer to keep safe.”

Boos and awws come from across the board. Meghan spits her bubble gum into the ocean. “Well, that’s total nonsense.”

I can’t say I’m not happy we’re turning around. It just seems safer, if not for all of us, for the people on the boat who are tempting me to bite down. We start moving back on our course to the mainland, but it doesn’t take long for the winds to catch up with us. Next, come the clouds. Such a powerful burst of energy passes through them that the captain has to come out of his little safety zone. In the thunderous echoes that the clouds brought, no one noticed that the engines were shut off. Something I believe I only picked up on because of my newfound powers.

“We’ve got a bit of a problem. We’re going to be out on the water a little longer.” Cryptically, the captain gives the message out, but it’s only followed by applause. “This is not the time to celebrate. Whatever’s caught us has fried our circuitry,” he announces and I regret coming on this boat, yet again. “The winds are pushing us off course toward the Bermuda Triangle. If we don’t get back on course soon…well, we all know the stories.” A flash of white, brought by lightning that strikes a mast before me, switches me over. In that moment, I lose myself. I lose control. I grab Allyson by her red locks, snap her head to the side and bite down. It was so instinctive that I can only assume it’s the vampirism. Meghan screams the whole way through, watching me feed off our friend. She stops for a second, only to have the same fate fall on her, grabbing her frizzy black hair and pulling into her. I can feel it nurturing me. Each drop of their blood filling a void created over five days’ worth of going without. Two lifeless corpses at my feet, the rest of the boat by now already horrified by this.

But one by one I begin. Tearing and ripping through the crowd until there are only a few left who have to hold up on the lower decks. The captain and a few other crew members with him. A second explosion of light on the same mast and I snap out of my daze. I look around, realizing what I have done, I drop to my knees, weeping. The clouds are gone, though. The rain that soaked us for what seemed like an eternity as I fed is replaced by the dry night air. The low hum of the engines return.

Something is wrong, though. The air is different. The pure sky is without a sight of the clouds or storm. Even the water seems a little bit lighter.

I laugh it off to the feeding. How am I even laughing right now? I shake my head.

Didn’t the captain say something about the Bermuda Triangle?

I can see the sun peaking over the horizon.

A terrifying fate for a vampire with no shelter to hole up in. Fear grips me. I fall to the floor and await the agony.

***

“We didn’t think you’d make it,” Meghan teases me. They left a little earlier than me to get to the party so I could collect my thoughts and calm down before I came here. It’s eight o’clock. He’s either here, or he isn’t.

“I’m nervous, guys,” I admit.

“Don’t be,” Allyson smiles at me. “You’re safe here. If he’s some kind of creeper, my dad gave me pepper spray, so take him down with it.” She slides the bottle into my hand, and I put it in my purse.

Something taps me on the shoulder, and I jump with fright, turning to face a tall, handsome man. The same man from the pictures, with his ash-blond hair, strong jawline and dashing good looks.

“Allan, I take it?” Meghan says, cocking a suspicious brow at him.

“That’s right.” He smiles and it melts my heart.

“Well, you take care of my little girl.” She points a finger directly at Allan’s face, and he casually snickers.

“I intend on showing her the time of her life.” My heart melts.

“Are you ladies going to join us?” he asks, and they shake their heads.

“No, we’ve gotta find our own boys for the night.” Meghan winks, Allyson blushes, and they walk off, arm in arm.

There’s a moment of awkward silence between Allan and me while we wait for someone to say something. His hands in his pockets, kicking at the ground. I can’t get the stupid smile off my face. Every time I look at him, it gets a little bit bigger.

“So, vampires…” I finally say.

“Right, vampires…” He nods his head. “Aren’t they just great.”

“I guess,” I add, still too shy to formulate full sentences. His eyes lock with mine in that moment.

“You know they’re real, right?” He adds to our conversation. I just laugh it off, “Close your eyes,” he says. I do so. I feel his hands on my wrists and then movement. Quick, abrupt, and peculiar.

“Okay, open,” he says. I follow instructions to find that we’re back in my dorm room. It hasn’t been more than a few seconds. How did we get here so quickly? “Don’t worry. I’m not here to do anything bad. I’m just here to be your guide into vampirism. You do still want to be one, right? A vampire.”

I open my mouth to say something. He can see the frustration on my face.

“No. Don’t say something that will put you off. I’m not here to hurt you. I know this all seems so sudden. You’re going to be okay. We’ve selected you. We have thousands of entries a day, and only a few get chosen. You are one of them. I will turn you and teach you.” He kneels down before me. “Just say yes.”

“I don’t know if I can. This is crazy. What are you talking about? Vampires? They don’t exist. Stop messing with me.” I fall down onto my bed, looking up at the ceiling.

“We most certainly do. The website is an easier means of approaching new people. Not many really get to make it into our group. I know this is sudden, but you wanted to join.” The frustrations have turned from me to him, it seems.

“It was supposed to be a joke. Between me and my friends. What? I don’t understand. Vampires aren’t real. How did you get me back here so quickly? Have you drugged me?” I shout. It’s the only way to believe that the journey here felt like a few seconds, where in fact it’s a ten-minute walk.

“No, I didn’t drug you. I’ve told you already. I’m here to bring you into the fold. Do you accept?” he asks. His tone is serious now. I’m feeling a little scared.

“You’re scaring me. Stop.” He lifts a hand. My eyes are drawn to it. He brings it forward against my head. I instantly stop worrying. His touch makes me calm. He takes his hand away and everything rushes back into me. The fear and doubt.

“You know of vampire mind control?” I nod. “Good. That’s what I just did. A very minimal form to see how strong your mind is. It’s powerful. I made a good choice in you. Now just say yes.” He forces it onto me, and I shake my head. “I can’t do it without your consent. Give in. Be one of us. The eternal life of a vampire, how can you waste such an opportunity?” He’s getting angrier. Angrier and angrier.

“I’m uncomfortable,” The words come out of my mouth softly. He brings his hand onto my head again and the serenity I felt a few seconds ago returns. It’s peaceful. Calm. And suddenly it comes out. “Yes.”

He releases me and begins to laugh.

“You’re strong, but easy to taint.” He smiles, leans in, and bites down. I feel his teeth tear my skin; blood pours from the wound. The same fears rush through my mind. This is where I die. They’re a cult, I think. It’s the only explanation. My mind goes empty. Then I start slipping out of reality. Passing out.

I wake up. There’s knocking on my door. I look at the time. It’s nine at night. An hour has passed? That’s not so bad.

“Olivia!” Meghan’s shouting. “Open up.”

A grunt of disapproval comes from her. I get up and open for her. Allyson isn’t here.

“Where were you today? You missed our test. A wild night with mister Allan keep you from waking up?” She nudges me.

“The test’s only tomorrow.” I reply, rubbing my head.

“No. It’s Saturday. Have you been asleep all day?” She looks astonished. “What did that boy do to you?” She winks playfully.

“Nothing. We just…talked.” I need to get out of here. I don’t know what happened, but I know something is off. “I’m not gonna be in next week. My mom’s sick. I need to get back home,” I go to my cupboard and pull out a bag, starting to pack.

“You’re gonna be there on Thursday, right? Miami?”

I nod. “I’ll be there...”

***

Night turns to day, and the warm rays of the sun begin hitting the boat. I have huddled up against the side of the boat where the shade keeps me safe. At least, I think that’s how it works?

Nothing’s happened yet, so until the sun comes overhead, I’m safe. In the distance, I can see land from the front of the ship. When I get back, what’s going to happen to me? Am I going to be taken in? Am I going to make it back alive? The sun’s rising quickly. I’m scared.

Fulfilled but scared.

I watch how the sun’s light slowly shrinks the shadow. I give it another few minutes, and it will be on me. A few more minutes, and I’ll feel the same stinging I did the first time I walked into its rays. The brutal suffering that was endowed onto a race of creatures that I have no idea about. What have I agreed to? What am I?

A monster.

That is the answer.

The thoughts bring the sun ever closer. I bite the bullet. If I’m going to die, I may as well do it on my own terms. I test the water, the irony of this statement not lost on me, by pushing my hand out into the rays. To my surprise, there is no stinging, no pain. In fact, for the first time in just under a week, I feel warm. I look behind and overhead. The sun is not the same. It’s not the yellow orb that I’ve come to know, but instead, it’s orange. Almost as if the setting sun has trapped itself in that form. I stand up and let its rays strike me. The warmth fills me up to the core. A beautiful, powerful feeling. One that washes away the thoughts of my slaughter hours before. I turn to my friends, the families that are dead and then the captain’s quarters. We return to the beach, but there are no cops. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I felt the difference the night before. I knew there was something different. Did the Triangle do something?

I can’t help but wonder. I walk over to the door leading down to the captain’s quarters. I knock. There’s no reply but a few terrified screams. We aren’t far now. I place a flat palm on the door and push. It doesn’t budge. I can feel strength from the sun coursing through me. I don’t understand why it didn’t do anything. I’m supposed to have the strength of a vampire, after all. I place my hand against it again, concentrating this time, but the force that pushes on the door is not from myself. The force that pushes on the door seems more like energy, and the door blow inward. The screaming continues.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell them, walking toward the captain, who’s already got a gun aimed at my chest. He pulls the trigger. Three times. Three bullets strike me, but none pass through me. They tear through my jacket and shirt and just stop there, dropping to the ground. This is not a vampire, I think. This is something else completely.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to know where we are,” I repeat.

“I don’t know,” the captain replies. He’s terrified now. The fact that no bullets made it through me. I’d be scared, too. The strength one feels when behind a gun, replaced by fear when there was no effect.

“We’re almost on land,” I say, walking back out of the door. And then we do land. A pier, much like the one from the world I knew. The boats around us are old looking. Much older than ours. No engines strapped to them. In fact, everyone’s dressed in clothes I’ve never seen before.

The captain steps out of the lower deck and looks on at all of this.

“The Redcoats?” he asks, more to himself than anyone else.

“Looks like it,” I reply.

“Did we go back in time?” We hop off the boat, walking among the crowd. Everyone’s looking at us, shocked and confused. To them, we don’t fit. To us, they don’t.

“What year is it?” the captains asks.

“The year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five,” the man in his red coat answers.

This is going to be fun.

***

It’s been five years since the captain, his crew, and I came to this world. In that time, I have done my research. Wherever we ended up on our journeys, it seems that the British won the war here in America. In taking the victory here, the superpower that was the United Kingdom took over the world in the two hundred and nineteen-year separation between our two worlds, this one seems to have had the queen conquer. Though it seems supernatural communities do exist among the normal people, they are far laxer about it. In our world, I would have never known about it had they not come for me. Here, they co-exist. I can tell the difference between them all. Man, vampire, witch, werewolf, and whatever else comes onto my path.

The interesting side effect of the British empire taking the win over America meant that they dominated the world. Bringing all races, creeds, and religions into a kind of stasis. An unchanging, balanced shift where if you are against the queen then you are instantly sentenced to death.

This stasis brought about no new technological discovery. The world continued spinning on its axis without change. Without a need to fight or the need to bring the latest, greatest warring tool out to win the next big battle. They stayed in the eighteen hundreds…or well, our eighteen hundred.

I find this unique. Interesting. A perplexing state to be in.

With the orange sun, I find my own powers have magnified greatly. Wherein the yellow sun that my old world revolves around brings death to my kind, here it strengthens us. The captain and his crew seem unchanged. The vampires here cower to their sun. All kinds of rumblings and rumors circulate about gods in the skies. The true threats against the normal human kind. There is no fun for a god in a world that is perfectly peaceful.

Introduce a little chaos into the mix, and everybody loses their minds, though.

This is what I see myself as. The chaos this society needed. And not even quite as vigorous as that. As I learned my abilities here, I learned that I had become rather great. With all the benefits of a vampire, each one only becoming enhanced by the sun, not even their own strongest forces could stand against me.

Manipulating matter and minds. Forcing my way into every seat of power, I sit at the head of power in this world. Technology quickly becomes something that this world had to come to grips with when our boat came into port, and the world has evolved from our entrance.

I am their queen. I am their goddess. I will protect them from the strike of whichever god comes after them, and I have, as their tales will recall for eons to come.

It’s been five years. In those five years, I have become so attune with my powers and abilities that I believe I have far exceeded where I would have been had I remained on Earth, a lost, scared girl, shifted by a cowardly vampire that forced his will onto me. Giving the say so, where I had no part in the answer.

“Your majesty.” A soldier walks into the room, bowing down as he would to the old queen, who quickly relinquished power after I set my sights on her seat.

“Yes?” I reply. I have set my throne up in America. Bellcall, in fact. The University of Bellcall having never been created. Bellcall in general, never coming to light. This world is missing out on a lot, it seems. But how great for me that I have multiplied from a young girl, into a great being, basically overnight due to the effects of something that should have killed me the moment I stepped out into it.

“You have a visitor. She tells me her name is Meghan.” I open my mouth to speak but say nothing. Could it be? Could she have somehow survived? No. She was buried shortly after we docked. Does that mean I possibly created a sireling? A vampire child and only now figured out about her? The struggles she went through in order to get here. I could have nurtured her.

A hand rips through the man that announced her, one last beat from his heart even once it’s been removed from his chest.

“Olivia Lockhart.” Meghan walks into the room. Her black, curly locks unchanged. A stern, cold look in her eye.

“M…Meghan?” I ask.

“Not quite.” She walks up to me. I’ve already gotten out of my seat and walked toward her. I did this without even realizing.

“What do you mean not quite?” I ask, stopping dead in my tracks as she gets closer to me, standing not three feet away before she speaks again.

“I am not your friend. I merely took her form, as to see my own you would not be able to comprehend me. Your mind would shatter,” she says. “You have committed great crimes here. You’ve stepped from the reality and destiny set for you, replacing it with taking control of a world that does not belong to you. Abusing a temporal loop in the multiverse, you traveled here, took control, and obliterated the very fabric this dimension was created on. You must be punished for your crimes.” I laugh, rising into the air by lifting my hands up before launching forward with a fist ready to strike.

A flat palm stops me in my tracks, the hand closing around my fist.

“I am not one of them, nor am I one of the Forsaken…” She contemplates something for a moment. “Wrong timeline,” she adds before getting back to what she was saying. “I am an Ethereal. You do not know of us, and you’ll never encounter another again. I am order and to restore it…” a blink of an eye, and we are back in Bellcall. I collapse in pain as the light of the sun strikes me. “You must suffer.”

I scream out as the sun begins burning my flesh away. We’ve returned back to my old world, it seems. Left in the sun to suffer in agony.

Is this where I die?

Is this how I die?

Alone?