The first light of dawn barely pierced the horizon when Alucard returned to the warlock's hidden chamber beneath the library.
The crypt's silence felt heavier now, laden with secrets that clawed at the edges of his mind.
"Before I face her," Alucard said, voice low and steady, "I need to know—how do you know all this? How can you speak of the Alignment, the rewriting, and that higher power with such certainty? And how do you know about my old world... and that I was summoned here?"
The old demon warlock's milky eye glowed faintly as he settled into his worn seat.
"Because I have seen it. Not with mortal eyes, but through the folds of the Veil."
He tapped the ancient tome lying open on the table, a book bound in scales and whispered spells.
"I am a Seer of the Forgotten Paths, one of the last guardians of knowledge that predates even the oldest demon kings. My order was tasked with watching the boundaries between worlds, to guard against the madness that lurks beyond."
Alucard's interest sharpened.
"The boundaries?"
"The Veil," the warlock said, voice barely more than a whisper.
"The thin membrane between realities. When the Black Sky Event happened, it tore a small rent in the Veil—an opening that should never have been. Through that rent slipped forces ancient and terrible."
He paused, tracing a rune on the tome's page.
"Elysia's rise was no accident. She was touched, chosen, or perhaps used by these forces. Her power is a bridge between what was and what is becoming."
The warlock's gaze darkened.
"As for you, your arrival was foretold long ago."
He flipped the page, revealing faded scripts and star charts.
"Centuries before your summoning, our prophecies spoke of a 'Crimson King'—a warrior from a forgotten world, born of shadow and flame, destined to walk between realms. We knew a fragment of your soul had crossed into this realm, reshaping its fate."
Alucard clenched his fists.
"So this prophecy knew about my world... and that I'd come here."
"Yes," the warlock replied softly.
"Our records—hidden in the Forgotten Archives—hold fragments of your past, preserved in magic and memory. You are the fulcrum between worlds, the thread that the rewriting pivots upon."
Alucard exhaled slowly.
"Then I'm not just fighting for this world. I'm fighting for all that was—and all that might be."
Outside, the wind whispered through the ancient stone corridors, carrying with it the faintest echo of a distant song—a melody that seemed to ripple through the Veil.
The warlock closed the tome with deliberate care.
"Be cautious, Alucard. The Queen awaits you, but she is no simple ruler. She carries the weight of this cosmic madness—perhaps, a fragment of the higher power itself."
Alucard stood, determination blazing anew.
"Then I will face her with open eyes."
As he stepped back into the waking city, the sun broke over the horizon.
The world was on the brink. And the true battle had only just begun.