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 Lionheart. 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. Unless you wanted me to be."
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.
"Yes, it's 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.
"What you're holding, is the Gospel of Nyx, a book that can traverse through time and space at will. Once you leave your timeline, the current timeline will forget about you as if you never existed."
He leans back against the slide. He pulls out a box of cigarettes, takes one out and puts it between his lips. He then lights it up with a lighter.
"But that's just the little price we pay for a greater good. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice your own being to change what have been—"
He throws the cigarettes on the ground.
"—fated."
The ground immediately caught on fire, 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.
"After all.. Video, Scribo, Obliviscor."
The fabric of reality shattered, 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.
When I finally emerge to the top 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.. the universe..?"
Was my first question after being pulled out. I looked at the man who pulled me, it was him again.
"My friend, welcome. To the fourth dimension — time."
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.
"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. There are countless possibilities."
He then came to a halt, as he turned his face at me.
"What lies ahead will be the answer that will favor both of us. Go and seek, and you shall get."
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…