“I get that you’re the kind of man who never stops, but I’m about to collapse from exhaustion,” Aliss protested, trailing far behind Cassius. They had trudged through the forest all night while Cassius’ horse appeared visibly relieved to finally have a brief rest.

Cassius remained silent. Aliss had talked endlessly throughout the night but barely listened, focusing instead on the path ahead. The persistent, acrid smell of sulfur and rotting flesh led them onward. Cassius had considered various explanations for the odor but had found none convincing. He was convinced that only Zenior could provide the answers he sought.

“…believed me,” Cassius caught the tail end of Aliss’ words as he pulled himself out of his thoughts and stopped his horse. He tied it to a tree and then veered sharply to the right, pushing aside bushes to forge a path. A few minutes later, he stepped into a clearing among the trees and was stunned into silence by the sight before him.

“What the…” Aliss appeared beside him, her eyes wide with shock. Moments later, she gagged. The forest floor was charred as if a massive fire had burned through but remained strangely confined within the trees' boundary. In the center lay three bodies, side by side, reduced to bones and sinew. They were burned beyond recognition, a grotesque and nauseating sight. Cassius turned away, unable to bear the sight any longer.

“You’re not going to examine the crime scene?” Aliss demanded, her face flushed red after retching beside his horse.

“There’s nothing left to examine,” Cassius replied calmly. “And this isn’t the direction the doctor was headed.”

“What makes you think so?”

“It’s because the stench of sulfur lingers ahead, not around the clearing.”

Aliss fell silent, walking alongside Cassius’ horse without speaking. It was much later that she found her voice, her tone hoarse and strained. Cassius could tell she was grappling with a whirlwind of emotions, stirred by the sight of the charred bodies and the unsettling possibilities about her father’s disappearance.

“He’s not alone, is he?”

“It would seem so,” Cassius replied honestly.

“The clearing looked like some kind of offering, didn’t it?”

Cassius nodded, keeping his focus on their surroundings.

“It was nothing like what I saw in his room. What is this man up to?” Aliss wondered aloud, but Cassius remained silent.

Cassius was unsettled by the sight of the clearing. He hadn't anticipated encountering something like this. What could this man be up to?

Sleep eluded him that night despite the soft snores of Aliss breaking the night's silence and no apparent sign of threat. Even the owls and other birds remained hushed in their nests as if fearing that any sound might summon a predator to leave their remains smoldering on the forest floor. Cassius pondered his journey, the mission, and the disturbing discovery they had made. The pervasive stench had started to give him a headache, intensifying the deeper they ventured into the forest. It felt like they were following a trail, and Cassius instinctively knew they were on the right path, though he couldn't explain how.

Cassius had always had a knack for finding the trail without effort. A faint scent here, an overturned item there, horse tracks, footprints, broken vegetation—it all spoke to him. It was as if the clues whispered in his ears, and his eyes naturally sought them out.

As he sat upright, his gaze locked onto a strange, dark mark on a nearby tree trunk. His horse stood silently beside him, its ears twitching as if listening for any unusual sounds.

"I'll be back," he murmured to his horse, glancing at Aliss' sleeping form. He moved quietly, his cloak barely rustling against the grass, and his footsteps swallowed by the ground.

Cassius reached the strange mark within seconds, his eyes scanning the details despite the dim moonlight filtering through the dense canopy. He stopped just inches from the mark and inhaled. The smell from it was so foul that it made him gag. Holding his breath, he reached out to touch it, but the instant his fingers made contact, he yanked them back as if scorched—they were.

He peered beyond the tree trunk into the darkness ahead. The air seemed to pulse, with smoky tendrils curling toward him as if beckoning. Cassius glanced back at Aliss and his horse; Aliss was still fast asleep. He briefly wondered if it was right to leave her behind but quickly dismissed the thought. He owed her nothing and had made no promises.

Cassius began walking toward the darkness, and it seemed to recede at his approach. He found three more marks on the tree trunks and something on the leaves of the bushes. He followed the trail deeper and deeper into the forest until the trees suddenly ended, revealing a town or what remained of it.

The humble dwellings were dark, their troughs empty. There was no sign of life, not even the distant hoot of an owl. Household items lay scattered as if their owners had just stepped out and would return at any moment. Cassius walked into the town, still following the faint trail of a strange liquid. It was barely noticeable, a detail that would escape all but the keenest of eyes.

When he reached the town's center, the turbulence of questions swirling in his mind began to settle, coalescing around a disturbing possibility.

"The bodies in the clearing could've been the people from this town," he mused aloud, his voice breaking the oppressive silence. "The lingering stench of sulfur and death suggests something sinister—definitely magic and dark magic at that."

Cassius had reached an impasse. It wasn't that he lacked insight, but he couldn't voice his suspicions without solid evidence. He heard Aliss' soft footsteps moving through the night, though she tried to be silent. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips at her attempt to sneak up on him. He remained where he was, motionless, with his arms folded over his chest and his hood pulled low over his head. He kept his back to her and made no move to acknowledge her presence.

"Now, what sort of dark magic could require the dead? Or death?" he mused aloud, knowing Aliss would hear. She stopped ten paces behind him, and her breathing quickened.

Cassius had figured out something about her.

"Your knowledge would be invaluable," Cassius said quietly. Aliss let out a small gasp, and she stood before him within moments.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"That shouldn't matter," he replied calmly. "Not when I'm also hunting your father's killer."

Aliss' eyes locked onto his, but he remained composed. She was just a girl driven by revenge, relying heavily on her emotions. Cassius intended to extract whatever information she had and then leave her to her own devices. If things went as planned, he would reach Zenior long before she could confront the powerful wizard.

Aliss said nothing. After one last look in his direction, she turned and walked back into the forest.

Cassius hated to admit it, but he needed Aliss if she knew anything about the dark magic the wizards wielded. Proceeding without knowledge would be like walking into a trap.

"Stories are all I have," Aliss said as Cassius returned to where he'd left his horse. She sat against the tree she had been sleeping under, her right arm resting on her raised knee. Her gaze grew distant, as if she were recalling the day she first heard the tales. "Wizards who desire great power often deal with the evil on the other side of the veil."

"Stories often stem from truth," Cassius interjected. Aliss shot him a look that made it clear she wasn't seeking validation. He mimed, locking his lips and signaling her to continue.

"Over the years, the people of Adaria have turned to various deities to fulfill their desires, and not all of them were benevolent. Evil is on the other side of the veil, and when human wishes feed them enough, they become powerful enough to cross over and enter this world."

Cassius had heard such tales before; the Axis of Seraphim (TAS) often dealt with humans who sought out dark forces. Zenior had been clever enough to evade TAS's detection, posing an insignificant threat. But judging by the state of the town they had just returned from, it was clear he had killed far more people than TAS could account for.

"It seems Doctor Zenior has made a deal with one of the devils," Aliss said.

"And which one might that be?" Cassius asked, mentally sorting through the list of known evils. Based on TAS's records available to the public, his knowledge was undoubtedly filtered.

"Lard."

Art above by Sakhatokan

Cassius narrowed his eyes at Aliss.

Lard wasn't just any evil entity beyond the veil; he was a vicious deity. He had fed on many in the past, and in recent years, with TAS's intervention, his presence had almost vanished. If Aliss was correct, it meant that this gluttonous evil was back and playing smart this time.