The Land In Between

C H A P T E R 3 6

-The same time in the past, for a final time-

They run. As far as their legs could. They didn't even bring anything with them except for the damned codex in Alab's arms. Agapito glares with his entire being, but doesn't stop running.

They pass through the trees and due to Agapito's upkeep on the protections of the forest, some of them have chosen to aid them. They continuously shroud the roads they take, the well-paved earth disappearing as if Alab and Agapito had never used them. It was almost as if their home and road to it never existed.

Agapito grits his teeth, and while jumping over a fallen log, he slams his hand to its trunk. The earth that surrounds us, help us! The blue energy disappears quickly, flooding over and the land rises to a height that almost looks like a steep cliff. It gave them a moment of reprieve, with their lungs feeling like fire as soon as they settled down. Alab frantically looks through the pages of the codex and Agapito, still feeling the resentment from earlier, spats out "I know good damn well that that thing is what landed us here in the first place. Why are you still looking through it?!"

Alab settles on a certain page, tapping it twice and giving its contents a full once over before looking around. He scours for things in a hurry, but he still answers Agapito. "The Grimoire is damned for a reason, and it's the same reason as to why I never let you read it." Alab's eyes phase to a rather sharp rock and he grabs it, slicing a small cut on his fingertips. Despite his anger, Agapito winces.

Alab continues, "I knew the consequences reading this damn thing, but it's too late once I found out. I can bear the curse it entails." Agapito, still confused, looked around at the strange land formation Alab was hurriedly forming. "Why didn't you throw it away, then?!"

This makes Alab stop, his posture stiffens as his fingertips continuously drop blood onto the wooden sticks he held tight. Over the distance, they heard clamoring and sounds of metal. Agapito growls before throwing his hands down on the earth once more, I don't care what you do to those warriors, don't let them come get us! The earth sends an ebb of energy in response before it ripples away and sounds of an earthquake and commotion take over. Alab's eyes widened, "Agapito, stop this! We need to find a way to get out of here with as little bloodshed as possible!"

Agapito scoffs, "Now you speak of goodness? Really?!" He does his best to limit the volume of his voice, otherwise all this misdirection would be worth for naught. Alab finally strikes a fire in the center, and he opens the codex. He silently mutters a prayer, and the thunder above them begins to rumble. It grows perpetually, to the point Agapito jumps.

"You hated the heat." Agapito turns to Alab, whose voice has turned solemn. "You hated moving too much. You hated rice. You hated being close to people." Alab meets his gaze, and for the first time, Agapito sees light. "So I made it rain. I built our home. We sell kamote instead of rice. And we live in the forest, where the village would be a few walks away." He clenches the codex in his hands, "And I did it all, thanks to this codex. Even if it had, has, damned me forever..." Alab turns away, "At least for the lifetime we've had, it made you smile. And maybe I'm selfish for keeping the Grimoire purely for that reason."

'Oh.' Agapito falters. 'You've already damned yourself for me.'

With a final flick of his hand, and the wispy, ever-present flicker of Alab's orange energy, the ground around them ignites bright. "Agapito, by the powers of the dark forces within me, I bargain to the Universe...to have you forget me." 'What?'

"A-Alab, wh-what are you saying–"

"Through the entities around me, and through the grace of Manisilat the Infidelity..."