Dante Returns Home

After listening to Alistair's recount of the events that lead up to my supposed death I came up with a theory. It is possible that whatever energy was produced during the collision between three planes of existence, the first being my own world and the two others being foreign, caused my body to go through some changes. It is even possible that whatever changes that I was going through might not even be finished yet. The only way that I could see to reverse these changes or even prevent myself from becoming a monster was to gain information on these two foreign planes.

"Alistair, which planes collided with ours?," I asked with some trepidation.

"Well it would appear that the planes of both the Underworld and the Abyss my lord," Alastair replied.

Though much information eluded me after my encounter with the collision of the planes I could at least remember these two places. The Abyss was the location of demons and all manner of nefarious creatures. On the other hand the underworld was the resting place of all souls after death. It would've likely been where I was had I not survived. Both places were not hospitable for human life and held great monstrosities. This could be considered an apocalypse of epic proportions and here I was talking with Alastair about the entire situation in a very calm manner. For some reason I wasn't freaking out and I knew that I should be.

"Is there a way to seal these rifts and protect the people in the estate?," I asked as I could see Alistair was surprised by my calmness.

"Unfortunately not. I'm afraid that our only course of action would be to increase our defenses. It is likely that with time the rifts will close on their own eventually though I can not be sure if this is the case. This is the first time that something like this has happened that I am aware of.," Alistair replied after some consideration.

I noticed the sun sink down past the horizon as the clouds outside became much darker. I decided that since there was nothing that could be done at the moment until I could call all of the councilors of the estate to a meeting.

"Thank you for the information Alistair for now we will wait and see what happens, but I will be calling a council with my father's permission later so please don't leave the estate during this time.," I spoke after finding my conviction.

Though I may become a monster myself that didn't mean that I would forget my duty to my people and my family. One day I may have to step down as heir due to this unfortunate scenario but I would not do so until I was sure my brother could take that position.

"Yes my lord," Alistair replied before taking his leave.

I made my way to the desk within the office and sat in the chair. Though documents that I signed now would not be approved until after I held a meeting with my father I could still get some work done during that time. After working for a while there was a knock on the door. After allowing entry I noticed that it was Renlf. Removing my gaze from the seemingly endless amount of paperwork I addressed him.

"Renlf, has the missing servant been found?," I asked with some guilt but managed to hide it.

"My lord, everything from the crypt to the estate has been searched, but there has been no sign of the girl.," the servant said while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

I noticed that his behavior was strange but still pressed, "...and you are sure that the crypt itself has been searched?"

"Yes my lord. I don't mean to bring personal matters into this my lord but that maid…well she was my granddaughter, after losing her parents to that illness that plagues the rest of the territory I was to look after her..," he stated with obvious worry.

My own heart on the other hand couldn't help but pound in my chest, but suddenly all of the adrenalin stopped and I could think clearly again. I would have to check on that later but for now I realized who the maid that woke me up was. I realized that killing her was something that would never be forgiven by Renlf as that was the last family member that he had. What surprised me even more was that the girl could not be found. I specifically remember placing her in my own resting place so that it would be easy to find her. Whatever caused this disappearance did not bode well. After a moment of thinking I asked, "Were there any traces of someone other than myself leaving our being around the crypt?" Though it was unlikely I couldn't seem to shake the feeling that maybe the maid didn't in fact die when I consumed her blood. I was sure that I heard her heartbeat slow down considerably when I took a bite out of her and that it had eventually stopped. At the time I didn't really question how I could hear her heartbeat at the time, however after recalling the moment I can say for certainty that is what I heard. "We can't say for certain my lord, unfortunately the guards that we sent to check the area were untrained to look for signs and any path through the snow would have been disrupted by their interference.," Renlf said after some consideration and obvious regret when he thought about his missing granddaughter.

The only response I could give, "Damn it!," I realized that this was partially the fault of the Agustus family for not properly training our soldiers in this field. However to train all of the soldiers to that level would require time, a solid plan, and huge amounts of money. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to implement more rigorous training in the past, but most nobles in the empire relied upon levies. The professional soldiers that fought for us for a living were already at their maximum capacity with the budget. Make no mistake that running a territory was extremely expensive. Yes, it was true that most noble families tried to hoard the money of their subjects. However most of these noble families didn't last long. The Agustus family was a responsible noble family therefore we couldn't just throw the budgeting book out the window. From what I could tell from the documents that I had seen, the family was working to find ways to increase our revenue. The problem with this was that to do so they needed more land and their neighbors were in similar circumstances. Perhaps with the dimensional rift the balance of power in the region would shift. I would not count on this however as it was like drinking a poisoned wine. All of the population in the area would be reduced and the entire economy would crumble so all we would inherit would have been a pile of rubble from our enemies. At some point however I would have to track down this maid whether or not she was alive or dead; I at least needed to find the body.

"Make sure that the guards patrol the area until your granddaughter is found. Renlf I can't tell you how sorry I am that she is missing.," I spoke and gritted my teeth through the guilt.

"Thank you my lord.," Renlf said and I could tell that his gaze had become slightly warmer and the stress from his body slightly less.

Since there was nothing more that I could do I headed back to my quarters and prepared to meet with my father in the morning.

.....

The next morning I awoke to the sun's rays that drifted through the window but the moment that I opened my eyes I felt nothing but pain as my vision blurred. Falling off the bed I scurred to the shadows of the room with a speed that I didn't know I had. Quickly grabbing the servant bell I rang it and a maid rushed in and upon seeing my state quickly walked my way with obvious worry in her voice, "My Lord! Are you alright?"

"Yes," I replied through gritted teeth, "Now could you please close the curtains so that infernal sun can't touch me."

The maid replied with a confused look before going over and shutting the curtains at the window next to the bed. As soon as the sun was no longer in sight I could feel my body relax. I realized that this was likely one of the changes in my body. I couldn't tell if this particular change that I was going through was a process that was still ongoing. I realized that I didn't have this reaction yesterday when I was returning to the manor from the tomb. However it had been particularly cloudy that day and my adverse reaction to the sun could've only manifested under direct sunlight. Though no real damage was done to me it seemed to have simply overwhelmed my newly heightened senses. With much to do today I ordered my maid to help me get dressed and ready to meet with my father. She picked out a black vest and pants paired with a white undershirt. It was simplistic but I wasn't like other nobles who dressed in a flashy manner so it was something that I expected and liked. Thanking the maid I dismissed her and got dressed. Though while changing clothes unlike yesterday I saw my body in the mirror and was amazed at what I saw. The black hair of the Augustus family was still the same which I was grateful for, however my eyes had a strange red tint to them unlike previously and my mouth contained two sharp canines. What surprised me the most was my great physical shape as I was a noble. Most of my time was spent managing the territory, and I simply didn't have time to train as much as a soldier. I now had clearly defined muscles and was shaped like one of those marble statues that decorated the emperor's palace. I was definitely more handsome due to all of these changes, though to say that outloud would make me seem vain. I decided to make sure to keep a close eye on these changes since I wasn't sure what else could or would change. After putting on the new clothes I exited the room in a hurry only to find more windows with more sunlight. Placing my hand in front of my eyes seemed to help, though only slightly. So I walked like that under the strange looks I received from servants until I reached my fathers chambers.

Once I arrived at the other wing of the manor I was gladdened to find that most of the curtains had been drawn. My father's illness seemed to share a sensitivity to light to that of my own condition. Though I wished for his recovery, I myself knew that his condition was terminal; not even the magic that Alastair knew could save him. It could be said that was one of the reasons that Alastair, who specialized in alchemy, was hired by the family. Most of Alistair's research went to curing this illness and studying the local flora of the area. Standing inside the darkened hallway I knocked on my father's chambers. "Come in.," a voice that sounded as if it was made of gravel summoned me into the room. Opening the door, what greeted my sight was a dark room that let out just a sliver of sunlight from the window. A large bed occupied most of the room and multiple bowls of clean water laid on one of the end tables. On the other was a stick of incense that slowly burned and filled the room with the smell of medicine and herbs. Laying on the large bed was my father whose hair had turned completely white in stark contrast to the common Augustus black. His body had been decimated by the disease and he looked as though he was made of nothing but skin and bones. I was familiar with this scene as most of the memories that I still had were of my family which I was grateful for.

Waiting for me to sit down on a chair next to the bed; I noticed a content smile on my father's desiccated face.

"Father, I've returned home.," I said in a quiet tone.

"I can see that my son, and I am grateful for it.," he said and though his voice was rough I could feel the warmth in it.

"Now as the heir I need to ask you a question before we can speak further," he stated in seriousness, "What is our family's motto?"

Finding the words within myself I spoke, "Sanguis potestas est."

With those words both my father and I broke out into a smile.