He laid on the shore, water lapping against him, washing over his face and drifting back, his eyes shot open suddenly and he woke up, gasping in large amounts of breath while pushing himself off the wet sand and shoreline, the sun had started to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, Lucid sat upwards, breathing heavily, looking toward the distant seagulls and fishing boats that bobbed gently in the harbor.
That was right. He was in Port Vexis.
He allowed himself a quick breath of relief, a quiet exhale that carried the weight of everything he had just survived. It happened so fast, he had been carrying a rift seed and suddenly activated it while Arthur was beside him, his motives were, at the time, something between calculated and suicidal, but the name Arthur reminded him of a distant urgent memory of a name he should have recalled. He looked around and saw a figure laid in a similar fashion, his face hitting the sand, a crab poked the side of his head, it was almost comical, but comicality had lost its meaning in that navel warfare.
Lucid allowed himself a quiet sigh, he knew what he was activating at that point, but he had never expected it to be this bad, he took the rift seed and it disintegrated into his palm, carrying through the air to wherever the air current was leading it, as practical as they were, they had their limitations which were disintegration upon use, they would immediately fade into nothing, he did not really know the science behind it but he speculated that they had some kind of capacity within them, if one person were to channel colossal amounts of fate essence into it, they would burst and fade away into nothing.
He shook his head, trying to recall what had happened in the rift, Lucid was fully aware of what he was signing himself up for, but not the intensity of it, a Zeta Rift functioned in a similar manner as a Beta Rift, they attached themselves to a person's thread of fate, but Zeta rifts imitated those threads, they acted as a counterfeit thread of fate while the original user's threads of fate lied somewhere in the real world or somewhere else, they were echoes, similar to how Vestiges were echoes of their true self, now nothing more than hollow things, Zeta rifts acted as recollections of one fate, or a future, or something tied to that individual specifically. If one were to completely alter the key event, it would dissolve completely, ending in a complete soul erasure.
Lucid had tried to peer into the past of that girl who had scammed him of seven gold coins, she seemed the most ominous out of everyone Valen, Fenwick and the magistrate, he took his ring and looked at it, but he remembered nothing of that rift, he remembered up to the point he had sunk two ships, then there were twenty eight more, and suddenly he felt ill and drowned, after that his memories were blank.
A voice resonated in the air. "Good morning, darling..."
It caught him off guard, he looked behind him, looked around, there was no one there, then a grim realization settled into him, he remembered someone, he touched his lips.
"Lucid, are you alright?" the voice came again.
He replied slowly, "Yes, it is you, Alice." He lingered for a moment, not sure whether he meant it or not. "You were gone for so long."
A faint hum of confirmation entered his ears as Alice confirmed his words, "I am glad that you are alright, your mental state is my only worry and serves in your best interest." Her voice was elegant, almost kind, carrying a warmth that seemed out of place given everything that had happened.
"Why... were you gone... for so long," Lucid whispered in a half relieved tone.
"I have my limits darling... revitalising your soul took quite a lot from me..." She whispered.
He couldn't believe, she was... awfully mord direct now, like she didn't hide her particular affection twords him.
A slight blush crept up his face once again.
He could feel being observed again by her — all knowing eyes.
Lucid went through his recollections of what had happened one more time, a ship, drowning, then he had succumbed to whatever it was that took him away, was it during the fight? No, if it was drowning then the Chain of Heart would have just healed him again, if he had drowned then Arthur would not be alive and the rift would have claimed him, the realization was now more chilling than ever, if he had been incapacitated in any shape or form he would have perished, which led him to believe that exactly what had happened after he sunk those two ships, he had gained just enough to stir her.
Alice spoke quickly, "Lucid, do not think of such thoughts, you are alright, that is what matters."
He froze...
She read his mind.
She wasn't supposed to do that...
He shot back at her, his anger growing for the first time in what had seemed like weeks, "But how!"
The presence seemed to recoil, suddenly a hand materialized just above his head and caressed his cheek, the touch was gentle, almost loving, but it carried a weight that made his skin crawl.
"Your friend, it would seem," Alice said softly, "he did a remarkable job."
A green glow suddenly flared up his body, his body felt numb, and there it was again, the feeling of being watched from within.
"Rest your bones," Alice continued, "your body is in terrible shape."
A familiar green glow settled deep into his bones.
it was... calming in a sense.
But he knew it was poison.
Resiting it... would be...
Lucid remained quiet for a while, then exhaled slowly, "Yeah."
A quiet nod of confirmation could be felt at the back of his head, but he knew she had omitted something, Lucid knew the principles and foundations of which rifts operated, there was no fooling around, something had happened in those last minutes which he could not recall, and the unknown terrified him, mere seconds, moments, so much could have happened.
He started walking toward Arthur, taking the crab that was crawling over Arthur's head, holding it in between both of his hands, he twisted, a resounding crack filled the air as he bit the crab leg, something at the back of his mind stared at him, watching in astonishment.
"I did not know you liked to eat raw creatures," Alice said, her voice carrying a hint of surprise.
"Raw creatures, the hell with these terms," Lucid muttered, nibbling on the leg, "hush, go munch on your fate essence or whatever, I think I managed to get three million."
A quiet sigh could be felt inside his head, "I remind you that is not enough, my chosen."
Three million was what the specter had announced, but when clearing a rift there was always a reward upon clearance, if then why didn't he hear any announcements of reward and conclusions.
He summoned the Specter, it shone with its usual brilliant white shadow, it was much less the same. Right next to fate essence were the infinity sign which he had always seen. He had no way of telling if there were changes.
Then something started to set inside him.
"Alice, may you have been in control?"
Silence.
"Goodness, no, why would you think that, Lucid?"
He thought it was complete bullshit from the way it took her a solid second to formulate a response, but he had no claims to back up his proof, only the absence of his consciousness, if he truly cleared that rift, then maybe he would have better chances.
It was a shame he never got to know the past of that suspicious little merchant he had encountered, nor the true origins of this town, only a deep sea storm and a pirate ship escaping.
He speculated... Escaping from what? The ships he had sunk and the war the girl had spoken of, she had said she was from Vex, he did not interact with her other than the fact he had held her in a suspicious manner, but Arthur seemed to have been around her, maybe he had answers.
"That girl seemed to have fought for something, a lost cause, she seemed like a true martyr," Alice continued, her voice carrying a chilling edge, "for an individual to be in so much despair and pain, she never lost faith, she never lost hope, such a mortal is a value no other god could ever dream to ask of."
Lucid stopped talking for a minute, something in her words felt wrong, felt hollow, "What is up with her and her god complex, was this a thing before?"
"Yes, I do believe myself to be superior," she said, as if answering his thoughts.
He closed his eyes, not sure whether to say something back or just ignore her, "You know what, maybe I preferred you slumbering like before."
"That's sad, then you would not have anyone to soothe you to sleep, Lucid."
A nerve twitched in his head.