Chương 6: Chapter 5 - A Rift of Perception

Lucid walked down the stairs with a slow pace, rubbing his eyes as he reached the last step. Every chair in the tavern sat upside down on a table, and the floor looked freshly swept. The room was tidy, but something about it felt rushed, like someone had cleaned everything in a hurry and then stepped out without looking back.

'That is strange. She is not open today?' he thought. The idea brought a small bit of relief. Maybe he would not have to deal with another awkward morning with Rebecca. He was not sure why he kept stumbling over his words around her, but it exhausted him. He stretched his arms, trying to shake that feeling off.

"Alice, what do you say we do today?" he asked out loud. There was a pause long enough that he thought she would ignore him. When she finally answered, her voice was plain and stiff.

"I do not know." Lucid could tell she was still clinging to yesterday's frustration. He scratched his cheek and looked around, unsure what to say next, but Alice spoke again before he could find anything.

"Look, Lucid. There is a note on the table. As if someone placed it there for you alone. I wonder who it could be." Her tone made it sound like she already knew. Lucid walked toward the nearest table. A plate of sunny-side-up eggs and toasted bread waited for him, steam rising from the edges. A warm mug sat beside it, and a neatly folded note rested beside the plate. He reached for it and opened it. Good morning Lucid. I made breakfast for you. Eat it before it gets cold.

Do not forget to drink water during the day. Feel free to leave the tavern for a while, but let me know if anything happens. I will be there if you need me for anything, even if you leave town. I hope we see each other tonight. There is something I want to tell you. Have a good day. Alice reacted first.

"She has something to tell you." There was no hiding the irritation in her voice. Lucid forced a small laugh.

"Probably a rule I missed or something like that. Come on, it cannot be too serious. She is kind too." A long sigh drifted through his mind.

"Ignorance is a bliss amongst the male species." He pretended not to hear her and looked down at the breakfast again. The eggs were perfectly cooked. The toast was warm and crisp. The smell was comforting in a simple way. He sat down, picked up his fork, and scooped a bite of egg onto the toast.

"Lucid." Alice's voice hit like a quick tap on his shoulder. He froze. His hand shook a bit, the fork hanging in the air.

"If you eat that," she said in a cold voice, "you might as well call yourself my enemy."

"That is ridiculous!" he snapped. He moved the food toward his mouth again.

"Someone took time to make this. Do you not respect the work behind it? I will not waste food."

"Do as you wish. There will be consequences."

"Like what?" Lucid shot back.

"Find out." He frowned.

"You are being unreasonable." Then he took a bite. The toast cracked softly, the yolk mixing with the flavor of warm butter. It was simple but good. He grabbed the mug and took a sip of the drink inside. The scent reminded him of herbs and wet grass.

"Pffft!" He spat it out.

"Gosh, I cannot stand tea."

"Oh no," Alice replied in a voice full of false worry.

"What will all the farmers think about your lack of gratitude?" Lucid rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure." After finishing what he could tolerate, he left the tavern and wandered through the streets of Tyriana. The town buzzed with life. Merchants argued over prices, kids raced one another, and tall beast-like folk talked among themselves. Lucid could hear the hammering of blacksmiths shaping metal, and he caught occasional glimpses of faint sparks that looked like magic. He wanted to watch longer but felt out of place. A building with a scroll symbol drew his attention.

Through the window he saw shelves of books.

'A library,' he thought. But the sign above the door was written in a script he had seen everywhere since he arrived in this world. Strange shapes that danced and curved, none of which he understood. He remembered how poorly he did in reading and writing back in school, and a faint embarrassment crawled up his neck.

"Alice, what does it say?" he asked. No answer. He stopped walking.

"Oh," he muttered.

"So that is the consequence?" He felt a mix of annoyance and disappointment.

"Alice, come on. It was just breakfast. You are taking this too far."

"Perhaps," she answered, her voice steady and cold. He let out a breath through his nose and pushed the library door open. He told himself he did not need her anyway. He had skills. He had trained before coming here. He was not useless. He only lacked information and maybe some basic equipment. And money. And clothes that were not his old ones.

'I guess I really do need her...' he admitted. The inside of the library was warm and smelled faintly of old pages. Behind the reception desk stood a Demi-human with a pointed beak interrupted by a pair of circular glasses. Light feathers peeked from his arms and back. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The man gave a small nod.

"Hello there, young man."

"Hello," Lucid replied.

"I am new to this town. I want to learn about this area."

"We have many records on history and folktales of Tyriana."

"I was hoping for something else," Lucid said, unsure how to word it.

"Do you have something about the world? The whole thing?" The librarian thought for a moment.

"Not exactly. Although we do have something close." He motioned for Lucid to follow. The building was not large, but the rows of shelves felt endless to him. The librarian stopped near a shelf and handed him a thick volume.

"This is the Tales of the Scattered Realms. It covers geography and the positions of various factions and empires." He pointed toward two other shelves.

"Laws and nature of the world on that side. A history book about a fallen civilization over there. If you need anything, come to the desk." Lucid gathered several books and carried them to a nearby table. He sat, opened Tales of the Scattered Realms, and froze. He could not read a single word.

'I cannot read this at all!' he shouted in his mind.

'Alice... please help me...' Silence carried for a moment. Then her voice returned.

'I see you are struggling, Lucid.' He felt a small sting in her tone.

'Since you accepted that horned woman's offerings, I stopped helping. That was our pact.'

'Please, Alice,' he begged. Another long sigh reached him, this one softer.

'Fine. You sound pitiful. Promise you will not fall for that horned woman's tricks.'

'Promise!' A faint laugh echoed inside him, gentle and light.

'I will share my vision with you.' Lucid opened the book again. Green outlines shimmered faintly over the unreadable script. Shapes shifted and turned into letters he recognized. He nearly laughed out loud in relief. They began reading together. Sometimes Alice read sections herself and asked Lucid what certain parts meant. Most of the time he could not answer, but they tried to figure things out together. It was strange to share a vision, almost like they were sitting in the same chair reading the same page.

He learned that this world was not one land, but many floating ones, known as the Scattered Realms. Great pathways of glowing light connected these lands, and people traveled between them using railway systems that climbed through the air. There were no modern countries, but rather vast empires and kingdoms. An empire named Materna, ruled the largest cluster of realms. The glowing pathways were explained as some form of natural energy that powered the rails and other mechanisms.

Lucid felt something spark inside him.

'So people travel that way. Maybe one leads home.'

'Perhaps,' Alice said.

'Ask your innkeeper. She seems to know more than she tells you.' Lucid smirked a little.

'Are you still jealous, Alice?'

'Do not be absurd.' He could almost feel her shutting a door in his mind. After spending a long time reading, he stepped out of the library. The afternoon light washed the stone street in a warm shade. He took a seat on the steps outside and watched children run around the fountain. Water glimmered as it sprayed upward and fell back in steady drops.

'This world is really large,' he thought.

'Yes. But if it is large, there are more chances. You only need one.' Lucid nodded slowly.

'I will find a way home.'

'Why do you want to?'

'I never told you...' he began. Before he could finish, a chill slid down his spine. His breath grew short. He knew this feeling. He had felt it many times back on Earth.

'A rift,' he whispered. A strange pull tugged at him, almost like gravity tilting sideways. He turned his head, searching for its source.

"Lucid, what is it?" Alice asked, alarm slipping into her voice. Then he saw it. A small shimmer near the fountain, a tear in the air like someone had cut the world open. Wind rushed toward it, pulling loose dirt and leaves into its center. One of the kids had slipped and was hanging on to the stone edge, crying as his feet lifted off the ground. Lucid ran. He did not think, he just moved. He grabbed the child by the arm and pulled with everything he had.

After a fierce struggle, the boy tumbled to the ground away from the rift. But Lucid lost his footing. That was all the rift needed.

"Lucid, I will enhance you," Alice said. Her voice shook as if she were straining under a heavy weight. The pull grew stronger. Lucid clawed at the ground, dragging his nails across the stone. For every inch he gained, the rift dragged him back twice as far. Even with Alice's help, he could not hold on. A guard sprinted toward him. Bjorn. Lucid recognized him immediately. The man extended his spear toward Lucid.

"Hold on, kid!" Bjorn shouted. Alice's voice trembled.

"I will not let you die. Not like this." Lucid felt the pull growing wider. If he kept fighting, the rift would swallow the fountain, the children, the stalls, the whole plaza. He made his choice. He let go.

"Tell Rebecca I will be late!" he yelled.

"Lucid, no!" Alice screamed inside him. The rift swallowed him whole. The world vanished in a rush of dark wind and cold weight.