Nana couldn't believe she was running alongside the enemies—how embarrassing! She quickly swerved in another direction, pausing for a moment before resuming her search for her brother.
After a long run, she finally entered the same alley where she, Raymond, and Vivian had discovered the club entrance the previous night.
Ahead of her stood Mason, trembling. Nana wanted to call out to him, but then something unexpected happened. Mason's eyes suddenly glowed with a sapphire blue light, and he muttered words in the same language Nathalie typically used when conjuring her portal.
At his command, a flameless fire engulfed him, revealing two figures in robes standing in front of him.
"Devarna!"
The two assassins trembled on their feet. But before they could act Mason extended his hand forward, and one of them was lifted off the ground by an invisible force.
The snake-man flailed wildly as he struggled against the invisible grip around his throat, but it was all in vain. The second snake-man charged at Mason, wielding his scythe, but before he could reach him, flames engulfed him. He screamed and thrashed in agony as his life slipped away.
Meanwhile, the first snake-man dangled helplessly in the air, trying to break free. With a subtle flip of Mason's hand, the monster's neck snapped and he fell lifelessly on the ground.
Nana's eyes bulged in horror as she saw the lifeless bodies. She couldn't comprehend the sheer scale of the power display she had just witnessed. Raising her head, she saw Mason staring back at her, his hand raised as he began to mutter arcane words.
He was trying to attack her! She'd be dead if she hesitated for even a moment. However, running was no longer an option. Whoever or whatever had possessed her brother at that moment didn't seem to care who she was.
"Mason!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Mason! It's me, Nana!"
Mason's hand dropped, and he stopped whispering. He gave her a lopsided grin and trembled on his feet.
"What a wise move, human" he whispered, before his glowing eyes dimmed back to his usual transparent blue. The flameless fire that had engulfed him flickered out also.
Now in his right senses, Mason stared at the bodies lying on the ground, his mouth wide open in shock. The charred corpse emitted a foul stench that filled the air.
The expression on Mason's face told Nana that he, too, was as dumbfounded as she was by what had transpired – or was it not him controlling his actions?
"What the hell are you, Mason?" she gasped.
Mason fell silent; he didn't know how to explain what had just happened, and he couldn't understand it either.
Something—or someone—powerful had taken over his body earlier. He could see everything unfolding before him, but he felt repelled from taking control of his own body by the unknown invader.
"My Lord!" Nat called, running toward Mason with Raymond a few feet behind. "Are you o—" Her words trailed off as she laid eyes on the body in front of Mason. "What in the nine hells happened here?"
"Don't tell me this happened when they touched you," Raymond said, his gaze probing.
That might have been a good explanation, but none of them had laid a hand on him. Was what happened earlier caused by his necklace? Many thoughts bombarded Mason's mind.
Nathalie's eyes narrowed at the necklace around Mason's neck. She hadn't had a chance to inspect it since he'd retrieved it, and the only time she should have was when she was overwhelmed by pain from touching him.
Nathalie stared closely at the necklace and gasped as she saw the image of a lion engraved on it.
"The emblem of the royal!" she whispered, though her voice was barely a whisper.
"Do you know something about it?" asked Mason in curiosity.
Nathalie uttered some incomprehensible words and then collapsed to the ground, affected by whatever spell or curses she had muttered.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," she whispered.
"What did you do?" Mason demanded, his heart racing with anticipation.
"I erased everything from my memory."
"What did you erase?"
"My memories of who you are and your place in Africlaux."
"What's Africlaux?"
"The Kingdom you belong to. I'm sorry, but there's nothing more I can tell you."
"Why?!?!" Mason yelled, prompting Nathalie to scream. "Why did you deny me such vital information?!"
"Forgive me, my Lord," Nat insisted amidst her agony. "It's not my place to reveal who you are. You must discover it for yourself."
"What are you talking about?" Mason demanded.
"Whatever I say will leave you with more questions than answers," she replied, her words tumbling out. "You must return to Africlaux and discover who you are. The emblem of the royal will be your clue."
"Am I a royal?" Mason asked, surprised.
"You are not safe here, my Lord," Nat warned. "He will never rest until you are dead."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I've forgotten."
"Darn it!"
"Just take us to this Africus or whatever you call it," Nana said.
"It's not a place you can just visit because you want to. It's located in a parallel dimension," Nat explained. "A realm beneath yours; an upside-down world."
"That doesn't make sense," Mason said.
"It certainly doesn't. But there's only one way to find out," Raymond said, beaming with a smile.
"To get there, there's only one gateway," Nat said, turning to Mason. Her pain had disappeared. "What do you fear the most? Or what unsettles you? It might serve as a portal to another dimension."
Mason furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. "I don't think what I fear the most can be considered a—"
"It's water," Nana interrupted. "It feels weird to admit it, but rather than fear, he's strangely drawn to any large body of water."
"Then we have our gateway," Nat said. "We need to find a swimming pool—one that's large and deep."
"Fuck! We have to hurry, guys," Mason exclaimed, his gaze fixed in the distance. "Two assassins are coming this way! Why won't these things just leave me alone?"
The group turned around, but only Nathalie could see what Mason had seen. As she spotted the two approaching assassins, her eyes widened in fear.
"Dammit!"