Path to Transcendence

"Oh?" She turned to look at Declan who was smiling at her with an uncharacteristically charming smile, a totally different look from the normally stern-looking man. "What can I do for you?" She asked him with a bright smile.

Declan turned to Julius and gestured at him. Julius knew what Declan wanted him to do and pulled out the black face mask from his ring. He had taken it off before they entered back into town and stored it away in his storage device. But now he took it back out and presented it to the shopowner.

Declan pointed at the piece of black cloth in Julius\'s hands and said, "I was wondering about this piece of clothing Julius bought from you. I wanted to know if there was some sort of possibility that I could get into contact with the creator of such a brilliant piece of craftsmanship."

The woman seemed to know right away what Declan was asking and nodded her head in understanding. "I see you know your stuff. I would love to say that I made it personally, but unfortunately, I did not."

If Declan was let down by this admission he didn\'t show it. "Do you happen to know who did or remember where you got it?"

"I do, but I don\'t know if it\'s appropriate if I share the details." She made an apologetic face. "Don\'t get me wrong, but I don\'t know the two of you and the person who made this is a private person. They don\'t make things for the purpose of profiting off of them."

Declan looked at the woman with sincere eyes. "I promise you that I only have the best intentions for meeting this person."

The lady seemed to believe his sincerity but she eventually shook her head. "I\'m sorry. I want to believe you but again I don\'t know you well enough."

Julius watched as Declan looked disappointed but he also appeared to understand her position and didn\'t seem to blame her for her choice. He chose not to pursue the matter any further. Declan politely bowed his head and told her, "I understand, but thank you anyway. I appreciate your time and I hope you have a wonderful day."

Declan looked put out but he still turned around to leave the woman\'s shop. Julius made to follow him and was about to leave without another word when he abruptly turned around.

"There\'s really no way you can\'t help us out?" He put on his biggest sad and depressed face. He was even quivering his lower lip, trying to sway the woman. He made sure to sound as sincere and desperate as possible.

He could see that it was working too, because when she looked at his face he could tell by her expression that her resistance was crumbling. Thus, he went in for the kill.

"Please! He won\'t say it himself but this means so much to him. I don\'t get it myself, but he rarely gets this excited about something. I promise you he is a trustworthy person. Please just help him out." Julius pleaded.

Still, the woman didn\'t break. He could feel she was so close, but she still shook her head. "I\'m seriously sorry, I wish I could help you and your father out, but I can\'t."

It was Julius\'s turn to shake his head. "He\'s not my father."

She put her hand on her chest. "Oh, I\'m sorry I just assumed…"

He waved his hands at her brushing it off. "No, I get why it can be misunderstood."

He turned from the lady to face the door. "He actually is the first person I met when I arrived at Heston." He sighed morosely. "When I got here I had nothing, not even a shirt on my back. No parents or family. I was in a completely new and scary place. I was covered in shit and smelled so bad that nobody wanted to get near me. I even made children cry at my stench. The only person who extended their hand was Declan. He took me back to the guardhouse where he bathed, fed, and clothed me."

He looked back and looked at the woman who had her eyes wide in surprise. "He is the only one in a city of countless people who gave me a chance, who gave me a little piece of hope." He smiled somberly. "If there is one person you could place your trust in, then it would be him."

Julius didn\'t stay to hear her reply and quickly strode his way to the door where Declan was standing, who had an undecipherable look on his face. The two of them walked out of the shop and onto the street that was bustling with people.

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However, they didn\'t get very far before Julius sensed the lady with [Spatial Perception], who was swiftly making her way to the door of the shop. He smiled to himself. Gotcha.

"Okay!" She yelled from the entrance. "Maybe I can help you guys out."

Declan just gave him a side-eye look that had an equal mixture of being impressed and exasperated.

She brought them to the back and sat them down in some chairs around a table. She then brought out some tea and some snacks. Julius found the tea and the little shortbreads surprisingly delicious. The tea was the perfect blend of floral, bitter, and fruity. The shortbread was buttery and flaky, a good pair for the tea.

He found himself completely absorbed in the food. He had a big smile as he gorged himself on the tea and snacks. Almost forgetting about the reason why they were there in the first place. The shopowner thankfully didn\'t seem to mind and actually seemed happy that he was enjoying it so much.

She gave one last smile at Julius before talking. "Okay, first off my name is Liz. I don\'t think I introduced myself yet. The person who you looking for is an old family friend. His name is Dante and lives just outside of town. He really doesn\'t like visitors, which is why I was hesitant to help you, but I am going to take a leap of faith and trust the two of you."

Declan made sure that his appreciation was known. "Thank you for reconsidering. I promise you I just want to speak with the creator of such a wonderful piece."

She laughed and said, "Don\'t thank me, thank your young friend. He was the one who convinced me."

Julius looked up from eating and looked innocently at the two of them with crumbs around his mouth.

"I have to warn you though. Dante is a strong individual, he has been alive for many years. He used to be close friends with my grandfather. My mother and father believe him to be around Tier 4. So do your best not to anger him," she advised them.

It was a nice forewarning. She was only Tier 2 herself so she couldn\'t tell that Declan was a Tier 4 himself, but it was the thought that counted. Angering a Tier 4 could be very dangerous to normal people. Only a small number of people got to that level and usually only those who fought monsters. This Dante if he was Tier 4 was most likely a very strong and experienced former adventurer, who was just living out his life in peace.

"He\'s a crafter who makes clothes?" Julius asked through a small mouthful of shortbread.

"No, he doesn\'t usually make clothing items. The black face mask was just something he made randomly one day. At least that was what he told me when he gave me it. He said that I could keep it or sell it at the store. I didn\'t see the need for it and decided to sell it," she explained.

Liz then went on and told them where Dante lived. She also told them to let Dante know that she had sent them over, that would make him more receptive to whatever they had to say.

The two of them left after finishing their tea and shortbread. Julius himself had several servings and Declan apologized for his behavior, embarrassed that Julius was stuffing himself. Liz laughed it off and said that she was glad that someone enjoyed her food so much.

As they left the shop and headed toward where Liz had directed them, Declan turned to Julius and patted him on the shoulder.

"Thank you for doing that. I don\'t think she would have helped us without you. But you didn\'t have to go so far and even lie to her."

Julius turned to face Declan and gave him a gentle smile. "Who said I lied about anything?" He walked away before Declan could say anything else, but he still caught the smile on the stern man\'s face.

The two of them arrived right outside of town and were close to where Liz had said Dante lived. It was on the other side from where they had gone for the rift and there were way few people around. Julius spotted the occasional cabin or house, but there was a lot more dense forest in this area.

He could even hear the flowing water of a nearby creek off in the distance. It was quite a peaceful little piece of land. He could see why this Dante person lived out here.

They eventually arrived at the front of a dark reddish-brown wooden cabin. The cabin itself was very beautiful and was built with a surprising quality. Every log was cut perfectly and was lacquered with clear care. The cabin was also surrounded by intricate metal and glass lamps that lit the entire property with a warm golden glow.

Julius didn\'t want to make any assumptions, but he was sure that they had found their crafter. However, Julius wasn\'t able to sense anyone within the house with [Spatial Perception]. He thought it was weird because Liz had also said that Dante seldom left his house, only going out to get groceries or materials for one of his projects.

Furthermore, the lights were on within the house. He was about to tell Declan what he was sensing with his skill but the man was already on the doorstep of the cabin and was in the process of knocking on the door.

Julius didn\'t know when Declan had moved so quickly, but the man must have been even more excited than Julius thought.

"Hey Declan, I don\'t think-"

He cut himself off when he saw the front door open. A broad-shouldered older man with graying hair by his temples opened the door.

"What do you want?" The man demanded in a deep growl.

Julius took a better look at the older man. He was tall, around Declan\'s height. He had muscular arms that were thicker than Julius\'s legs, but what caught his attention were all the scars the man had. He was only wearing pants and a short-sleeved shirt but he could see dozens of scars spiralling around his forearms up to his face. There was one particularly large slash across the man\'s nose going down his cheek and all the way to his neck.

However, what really shocked Julius was the fact that he could not sense the man with [Spatial Perception] at all. For the first time since he got the skill, he felt nothing that would indicate that the man was standing not a dozen paces away from him. All he felt was an emptiness where space would have otherwise else occupied. It was like he was a ghost, an empty void.