"Ahh. Must be the scent of nature, of the real world." Julius breathed in calmly, but then remembering what had become of Kaelan, his mind was quick to devolve into worry.
Kaelan... What happens to him now? Should I just pray he lives?
Julius wiped the sweat from his brow, his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths. The rush of adrenaline still pounded in his head, but he had done it. He had escaped, but at what cost?
Behind him, the massive gate to the other side loomed, shifting and writhing like a living thing. Darkness churned within, the very air around it pulsing with unnatural energy. It was no ordinary structure. It was something that should not exist. And yet, it did. If one passed through the gate, the seemingly impassable material would let them through, into almost an entirely new world.
Julius tried to make sense of it, on his right was a huge black border that spanned out for as far as his eyes could see. On his left, nature bloomed innocently.
"I wonder which direction I'll prefer..."
A bell tolled in the distance. A single note, then another. An urgent, frenzied rhythm that sent a shiver down Julius' spine. They had seen him.
He turned. The village sprawled before him, small and unassuming, yet every window, every door seemed like an eye staring at him. The houses were crooked, the thatched roofs sagging, as if exhausted from merely standing. And then, from the shadows, they came.
At first, just a few. Then more. And more. Faces pale and thin, bodies wrapped in patched cloth, moving with an eerie, synchronized purpose. Julius could feel their gazes like fingers pressing against his skin.
A man stepped forward, his back hunched, his hands trembling as he pointed a knobby finger. His voice, cracked and breathless, barely more than a whisper.
"You… you came from the Other Side."
Julius' mouth went dry. The villagers murmured, their voices a rising tide of awe and unease. A girl with shining blue hair stepped forward, her expression twisted between reverence and disgust.
"No one returns from the Other Side," she said, each word trembling with restrained emotion. "Yet here you stand. You must be an apostle."
Julius' fingers clenched. "I'm not—"
"He wears strange cloth," a woman in the crowd whispered, voice feverish. "I've never seen anything like it."
"His flesh is unmarked," someone else said. "No scars… untouched by the beasts…"
Julius took a step back. "I'm a human. Like you guys. Do you want me to do a backflip or something?"
A hushed silence fell. Then, someone laughed—a quiet, trembling thing, like wind rattling bones.
"A hero," they whispered.
"He must be one of them...," another voice murmured.
"No—no, listen to me, I'm just—"
The hands grabbed him before he could resist. Thin, bony fingers curling around his arms, his wrists. The crowd surged forward, overwhelming, a tide of desperation.
"You must come."
Julius tried to appraise the crowd, unsure of how to get them to calm down. Maybe this will show them.
"Appraisal." He cast a blue light on the entire crowd. Soon flashing texts flooded out before him.
Kheria- Level 12 Farmer
Dain- Level 15 Butcher
Meeger- Level 30 Blacksmith
Alicia- Level 29 Healer
Zoe- Level 19 Beast-Tamer
"Appraisal? He must be a hero."
"Only heroes can use that skill!"
"Does it pay well?" Julius wondered.
The crowd instantly began to cheer and then suddenly they all ran up to him, tousling his hair, touching his skin.
This has to be some form of harrasment-.
"I'm not a-." Julius was cut off as two guards walked up and invited him into the village.
"The Count will want to see you."
Julius struggled, but their grips were like iron. His protests were swallowed by the murmurs, the whispered prayers, the breathless hunger in their eyes. He was being offered up.
The manor rose from the horizon like something wrongly placed, its silhouette jagged and unnatural against the sky. The banners draped along its walls bore the insignia of a twisting lion, its shape writhing under the flickering torchlight.
The large oak doors creaked open.
Inside, the air was thick. Heavy. The scent of something oily and cooked lingered beneath the rich perfume of burning incense. Julius' stomach turned, his muscles tensing as he stepped inside.
A figure lounged at the far end of the grand hall, draped in extravagant silks, his body half-sunken into the cushions of an ornate chair. His face was pale, stretched thin over sharp bones, yet his stomach bulged beneath his fine clothes, shifting with a slow, sickening gurgle.
Julius swallowed hard.
The man's tongue flicked out, wetting his lips.
"A survivor," he murmured, his voice smooth and deliberate, each syllable curling like smoke in the heavy air. "From the Other Side. A hero I presume. Oh, I love heroes. You don't even know..."
Julius didn't speak. Who's gonna tell him?
The Count's golden eyes gleamed with something unreadable. He leaned forward, fingers tapping against the chair's armrest. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"You saw it, didn't you?" His voice was softer now, yet somehow it crawled into Julius' bones. "The things on that side? Perhaps you killed a few, nevertheless to have escaped alive you are either extremely lucky, extremely powerful or extremely favoured..."
Julius' breath hitched.
The other side.
The things that lurked on that side. The ones that whispered just beyond the threshold of reality. He hadn't dared to try to think back, he wanted to leave that place in the past. Kaelan's smile resonated in his mind, causing him to flinch.
"I saw a lot on that side, as you can tell it wasn't a smooth experience."
Julius pointed to the beast blood covering his clothes.
Leonold smiled. His tongue slid out again, tracing the edges of his teeth.
"Ah," he sighed. "So you did see everything. As I thought, you heroes are so brave and strong. You set great examples for the people."
Julius remained silent. He could feel the weight of the servants in the room, standing too still, their heads bowed but their eyes watching from the corners. The guards by the door hadn't moved since they entered.
Leonold's stomach grumbled.
"You must be hungry," he said. "I certainly am."
"As long as you don't eat me." Julius laughed and Leonold did too.
Julius stiffened as a servant appeared at his side, placing a silver tray before him. The lid lifted, and a rich, glistening scent spilled into the air.
His stomach turned.
"Yeah... I'd die for a meal right now."
"Of course you would."
The meat on the plate was dark, almost purple, its surface slick and too wet. A single bite sat poised on a silver fork, waiting.
Leonold's eyes did not leave him.
Julius' fingers twitched.
"You've had a long journey," Leonold murmured. "Eat."
The servants stood silent. The guards were unmoving. The room was a cage, and the meal before him was an expectation.
Julius' breath came slow and measured.
He reached forward, his fingers closing around the fork. The weight of it was solid, too solid, pressing into his palm like a demand.
'Should I really be eating this?' Julius thought, suspicion hitched in his mind. But I'd rather not starve to death.
Leonold's lips curled.
Julius lifted the fork. The meat gleamed in the dim light.
"This one's for my arrival to this world!"
He opened his mouth.
And bit down.