PASSAGE 23: THE HAUNTING FAMILIARITY

Alaric burst through his front door, the adrenaline from the Keep's devastation clinging to him like a shroud. Thankfully, his parents were still at work, granting him some much-needed privacy. He lunged for the television, the flickering images his only hope of finding Selena.

News reports blared across the screen, a chaotic symphony of flashing lights and panicked voices. Then, a scene that sent a jolt through Alaric – the Vermin Claws' convoy, captured from a hovering helicopter. They weren't speeding down a highway; they were parked in front of the imposing structure of Baclaran Church.

Disbelief contorted the news anchor's face as he reported, "The Vermin Claws are… at Baclaran Church? And… and they're opening a rift?!" The camera zoomed in, revealing a sight that made Alaric's blood run cold. The Vermin Claws, brandishing bizarre, laser-like weapons, were tearing a literal hole in reality – a rift swirling with an ominous violet light.

"Seven Vermin Claw members… using some kind of unidentified weapon… how did they get their hands on such technology?!" the reporter stammered, his voice laced with a mixture of fear and outrage.

Alaric stared, transfixed. Baclaran Church. A rift. Selena, likely being dragged towards the ominous portal. It felt like a twisted deja vu, a nightmarish echo of the events that had thrust him into this extraordinary world months ago.

A triumphant smirk stretched across Locust's face as he emerged from the vehicle, Selena clutched tightly in his grasp. "Recognize this little place, sweetheart?" he taunted, a cruel glint in his eyes. "We didn't quite nail the color scheme, but hey, close enough, right? Now come on, someone inside is dying to catch up."

He shoved Selena towards the swirling rift, the ominous violet light casting an unsettling glow on their faces. Several Vermin Claws followed suit, disappearing into the pulsating portal one by one.

"Seal the rift behind us," Locust barked, his voice dripping with a chilling finality. "And make sure no one follows."

With that, the last Vermin Claw vanished into the rift, the gateway snapping shut with a crackle of violet energy. Silence descended, broken only by the mournful wail of police sirens approaching in the distance.

The news helicopters, still hovering overhead, captured the chilling scene - a deserted street, a pulsating scar etched into reality where the rift once stood, and the ominous shadow of the Baclaran Church looming in the background.

A desolate wasteland greeted them on the other side. A sea of sand stretched as far as the eye could see, littered with the bleached skeletons of colossal, otherworldly creatures – the remnants of fallen rifters, perhaps. The sky, a bizarre anomaly, was a swirling vortex of black and purple, punctuated by a single, eerie crimson moon. This was the twisted welcome that awaited Locust, Selena, and the Vermin Claws as they stumbled through the rift.

Selena, still in Locust's vice-like grip, thrashed wildly. "Let me go!" she screamed, her voice laced with terror that echoed through the desolate landscape.

Locust chuckled, a sound devoid of humor. "Pipe down, kid! Don't you want to see the mastermind behind all this?" He gestured with a jerk of his chin towards a dark figure approaching them from the sand dunes.

Selena, curiosity battling fear, followed his gaze. In the distance, barely discernible against the encroaching darkness, a lone figure emerged. As it neared, illuminated by a sliver of moonlight, details came into focus. A man. Tall, with a face etched by countless wrinkles and crowned with a mane of iron-gray hair. He wore a designer black suit, an incongruous note in this surreal setting. His eyes, however, were the most chilling aspect. Cold, emotionless orbs that seemed to pierce straight into Selena's soul.

A jolt of recognition shot through her. Fear morphed into a chilling dread. She knew those eyes. Knew them all too well. It was Mr. Isaiah Barrera, the father of Isaac, her former raid party member, the one who wielded the cursed dagger that had stained her past crimson. The pieces clicked into place. The orchestrator of this twisted kidnapping, the reason she was dragged into this desolate dimension – it was all him. Hatred bubbled up within her, a burning counterpoint to the chilling emptiness in his gaze. This wasn't just about escape anymore. This was about facing her past, about confronting the man who'd set this nightmare in motion.