"Alright..." He took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

A carriage from inside the Blue Rose arrived in the Withered today. He had asked a shadow who it belonged to, and it had told him that inside was not only both the Princess... and the Prince, but also a very well-known mage with knowledge about the Abyss.

'Meaning I have to be careful with this.' He fidgeted with his sleeve, nervous that someone might see what was under, so that was why he had gotten a rope and tied it. That way, he didn't have any accidents.

He turned around to Riven, taking his hood off to look at the boy.

"They are most likely going to go to the marketplace to ask for some information. Could you go there and spread false information?"

He put his hand to his heart as he nodded with determination.

"Yes, sir, with my affinity, as I've told you, I will be able to slip through their minds and take the place of each merchant I go to. I just need something to beat the ones I wish to imitate."

Riven had a great affinity; he was able to manipulate perception, not illusion in the pretty sense, but the absence of attention. He existed in the blind spots of others' minds, slipping between focus and forgetfulness.

If others had the power to stand out, he was the complete opposite, easily forgettable.

He smiled.

"Very well, I did as you asked and brought your dagger to be transformed into a relic. It cost me a lot, not that it's hard for me to gain money with my skill, but you should be grateful."

Riven bowed slightly with a happy smile on his face that was shaky from excitement, the same for his voice.

"I couldn't be more honored."

The codex appeared in front of both of them as the transfer took place. After it was completed, Aether tossed the dagger. Riven could have just summoned it, but he thought it was cooler this way.

"Very well, I am counting on you. If everything goes well, then they will realize that they will have to gain all the information themselves, meaning I can limit the spreading of my identity, and guide how much information they hold for my benefit."

Riven examined his blade. It was only a Reader Fragment, with the simple skill that made it harder to be noticed, but it was perfect for someone like him. When he became stronger, he was fit for an assassin. It made him wonder what his role would be in the future with his affinity.

"The Abyss is truly evil. I wanted to ask, Aether, if you don't mind, do you hold a path?"

Aether didn't respond, staring in a direction, yet Riven couldn't see anything, maybe because the Codex couldn't be seen by others when showing the powers of the Reader.

[Path]: —Vessel of the Abyss—

> You were never meant to hold this power. And yet… the Abyss has chosen you.

...

It was a fair question to ask; he had already made it clear that he was also just a Reader, and since Readers didn't hold paths unusual for him to have one. The only way would be to have it from a God, the creators of the Codex.

"I do. Yet it is isnt as much of a blessing as it seems."

Riven nooded, turning away, and saying his goodbyes before he left.

"I'll see you after this is done."

...

"Don't get yourself caught, or else your bane won't allow you to save yourself."

Aether, but his hood back on, backing into the shadows, and waiting for the right time.

...

...

Summoning [Shadow Dagger], his new relic and weapon, he killed one of the merchants silently without anyone noticing, even though he had almost done it in brought daylight.

He then waited, as a mage and other people dressed approached him. Just like Aether had said, they had first approached this merchant. Apparently, the mage knew him, so it was funny how it didn't even slip his mind that the person he was seeing wasn't him.

His affinity was great, but if his identity was found, his bane wouldn't allow him to get into this state again; he would become the center of attention, instead of being its absence.

But while his affinity helped a lot, he had to keep in here, even if she was here.

Iris, the Princess of the Blue Rose... he hated her more than anything. He didn't know why, but he just hated her presence. Even before Aether told him who she was, he already got a bad feeling about her.

The mage took out a cloth with a mark drawn on it, the mark of the Abyss, of course.

"Have you seen this mark around, or rather, someone who bears it?"

Did he know someone with it? Hell yeah.

But was he going to admit that?

'Never.'

"Hm... while I have seen it around, on many walls and others, I've never seen someone who bears this mark on their body. What is it even?"

The mage sighed, leaving, trying to find the next merchant. But as he left, he had already sneaked into the shadows, observing, and predicting who he was going to approach next, he killed him, taking some of his clothing just in case.

This was a hard mission, so he had to do everything to win, not just rely on his affinity.

He also got some shards; they weren't a lot, but that was still cool.

This continued for a while; it was hard, it consumed a lot of essence, but it would have consumed a lot more if this were an ability instead of just his affinity. He wondered if Aether's essence was also used whenever he hid in the shadows.

Luckily to him, the mage gave up after a lot of trial and error. Meaning that he was left with a bunch of stands waiting to be robbed, he couldn't steal the relic since they vanished with the Reader, but many other things were waiting.

'Aether would be proud.'

But before he did that, he had to signal that he was done. So he turned to the shadows and gave them a thumbs up. Even if Aether wasn't hiding in them, there was still a chance that word from them would reach him.

...

...

"So he's done? I'm impressed."

Aether smiled, thanking the young shadow that had come to tell him about his success and the awkward way of signaling it. He waved it goodbye as he left and climbed on top of the many arcs that were like a ceiling to the Marketplace.

Looking down at the Marketplace, he noticed the mage and the others, greatly disappointed, trying to leave the place, so he positioned himself just so he could notice them. Which was what happened, the mage had seen him, but didn't seem interested in him.

He laughed behind the veil of shadows that covered his face, as he ripped the rope that tied his sleeve, and rolled it up, for the whole Marketplace to see his marks, though he was sure that he was the only one to see them, and even if others had also seen them, he doubted most would know what they were. Plus, he had only painted a fraction of his marks; he didn't have the talent to paint the whole thing.

As the old man saw them, the man instantly rushed to get to him. Aether smiled, seeing how everything was going just as he planned. He ran and stepped into the shadows so that he couldn't be seen.

Leaving the lanterns behind was not only a way to show he was there, but also as a way for them to find him, or at least, for them to try to find him.

...

After that encounter, he met up with Riven, who had also brought stuff from the stands of those he had killed their owners. He really made him proud, seeing how much his disciple was learning.

"Good work out there, you proved yourself."

Riven rubbed the back of his neck, embereesed but also pleased with the Praise he was getting.

"You flatter me, now, what's next, if I may ask?"

...

"Next? Well, if things go as I think, they will try to find our location. We're going to plant a trap, but while I am doing that, you're going to continue my work inside the Marketplace. I'm sure I can count on you, do your worst. Since after you're done, all the blame will go on them, if everything goes right, of course."

Riven smiled ecstatically at his role, nodding his head in approval.

"After that, the people who still have the spirit to go against the Blue Rose will show up, and we will recruit them. If none show up, then bad luck, we'll have to think more about it."

...

"But even if we recruit someone, or we don't, we're going to have to finish some unfinished business."

...

...

> Sync Rate: 73%

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