[Jevan Perspective]

I was wandering around Iris's apartment, looking for anything that might help me on my next journey or even give me a good reason not to throw myself out of the window. Right now, I'm wanted by the gangs of the Lower District. Lucky me, as always. Getting out of this pit has become almost impossible. Sure, I've survived death more than once, but I don't think blind luck will keep bailing me out forever.

Physically? Well, I'm stronger than most humans kind of. And I can grant wishes, too. But they're so worthless it's embarrassing every time I use them. Opening a door? Cleaning clothes? Fantastic, isn't it?

Sometimes I think after I get out of this place, maybe I'll open a little business: "Instant Laundry Services." But not now. Right now my goal is simple: leave the Lower District. Everything else is just extra baggage. The problem is, my pathetic power hasn't been much help. All the wishes I've granted these past months have barely strengthened it at all.

I need a system piece. Like Raven Water Sword. Those pieces made it possible for me to face Iris in her fire form. Which means collecting them will be my next move.

But where in the name of the Creator do I find them? In all my time with the Bloody Fang I've only seen one piece. That piece was Raven Water Sword. And now it's in the hands of those bastards from the Bureau of Investigation. Absurd as it sounds, I decided to search Iris apartment. I had nothing to lose, so I turned the kitchen and even the bathroom upside down. I even looked under the sink. Nothing.

I sat on her bed and let out a deep sigh. While wondering why I even exist on this planet, Raghu appeared beside me and said:

"I didn't find anything."

Of course. As if I expected otherwise.

I muttered sarcastically.

"Big surprise."

I looked under the bed the last place I hadn't checked. To my shock, there actually was something. A thick leather journal, buried in dust. I grabbed it, blew on it, then opened it. On the first page it said: "It's been two days since the Mester Masked left, and only now do I realize how empty this place feels…" Oh, apparently this is a diary?

The diary went on about that Masked Mester in excessive detail. Twenty pages literally just about him. Finally, it moved on to her past, and that's when I started to feel angry.

She wrote about the experiments they did on her. How they burned her alive and healed her only to repeat the process. She begged and cried for them to stop but in vain. The one responsible for all that doctor, researcher, whatever doesn't matter. I felt my fingers digging into my palm without meaning to.

I kept reading. She described the day the Mester Masked stormed the lab, how she fought him and how he beat her (this is the first time in my life I've seen someone describe the person who defeated them with such reverence). But instead of killing her, he freed her and helped her adapt to the Lower District.

That Mester Masked is really intriguing. Maybe I could ask for his help? Unfortunately, I discovered he left the Lower District years ago and hasn't returned. What a bastard, leaving her alone like that. But that's not my problem now. So I kept reading.

She wrote about joining the Bloody Fang. She said she walked into the Broken Glass Tavern and sat in the corner. A bunch of idiots gathered around and tried to mess with her, but she simply burned them. Garod, who had been watching from afar, liked what he saw (I always knew he was a weirdo). He approached her, offered her a place in the gang, and she agreed.

Just like that? Maybe it wasn't so strange back then. The gang was probably still new or more likely, because Iris had already assimilated a power. Having a power alone makes you an extremely valuable card. That's not my guess, actually; it's hers she wrote it in the journal.

She wrote about her daily life, her missions with the Bloody Fang, detailed notes and observations on other gangs' movements. Then suddenly, with no warning, she started writing about her cat, Timaeus. Timaeus? Oh, right. That cat. I remember when Iris asked me to find him, and of course I did using my power. Another useless wish fulfilled.

But no time for those memories. I went back to the journal. She wrote about hating Raven because he carried the Mester Masked sword. So she interrogated him after requesting to speak with him. And here things got interesting.

According to her, Raven said he had been held in one of the labs, and the Mester Masked broke in and got him out along with another red-haired girl. The Mester Masked faced Valentine there, used a strange pendant, made a wish, and threw him the Water Sword. Then they escaped without the Mester Masked. When Iris asked him about the Mester Masked fate, Raven answered he was probably dead. A simple sentence, but it drove her mad.

Clearly she didn't believe it. She was in denial. She wrote: "I'm sure the Mester Masked is still alive." She repeated it on every page.

I closed the journal and muttered:

"Sorry, Mester Masked, seems you weren't the bastard I thought you were."

Curiosity pulled me back to keep reading. She wrote about personal stuff, thinly veiled insults at Raven, breakfasts she had. Useless details, yet still entertaining. But the weird thing? She mentioned the Mester Masked on every page. Even when talking about the kind of bread she ate, he came up. Is this some sort of obsession? And finally, I reached the decisive moment.

She wrote she decided to visit the old building where she used to live with the Mester Masked after giving up the search. She entered his apartment, found the door lock broken and the furniture trashed. Blood everywhere. She looked at the window and noticed the glass shattered. She moved closer and saw a trail of blood on the ground leading away. She followed it to an abandoned house.

And there was the Mester Masked? I reread the sentence over and over. The words didn't shock me what shocked me was the description of the Mester Masked. His hair was brown, his eyes crimson.

"Wait a second…"

I read the description three times before connecting the dots. The Masked is me? Or rather, the original Jevan?!

***

[Ash Perspective]

I opened my eyes to complete darkness. The smell of burning wax hit my nose. I was tied to a wooden chair. In front of me stood the Masked Man, his face still hidden under a black mask painted with a wide white smile. On his shoulder sat a large crow. The only light in the room came from a candle on a table in the corner. An uncomfortable silence filled the place. I stared at him and he, I think, stared back from behind the mask.

In the end, I was the one who broke the silence:

"Where am I?"

I got no answer. Instead, he punched me in the face, snapping my head back.

Then the crow spoke in a hoarse voice:

"We're the ones asking the questions here, not you."

This situation felt disturbingly familiar. Escape one deadly mess only to fall into another. I wanted to cry but held myself together. No point in fear now, no point in resisting either. The man standing before me crushed six men on his own. Thinking of resisting is insanity. I need to survive, and luckily, I'm good at licking the boots of the strong.

I said submissively:

"What do you want to know, honorable Mester Masked?"

The man pulled a wanted poster from under his cloak. He held it up in front of my face and pointed at it with his finger.

Then the crow said:

"Where is this man?"

I looked at the picture it didn't take me more than a second to recognize him. That bastard with the strange eyes. I swallowed hard. This Masked Man didn't look like he wanted to hand him over for a reward. But honestly, I wasn't in a position to ask questions.

So I started telling him everything I knew from the moment he entered the tavern, to fighting us, then his strange return from death, up until I ended up tied in an unknown apartment. I deliberately spoke of him with contempt. Clearly this Masked Man wasn't after him to shake his hand. It was my attempt to win his favor.

I finished talking. Silence fell again before the crow said:

"How dare you…"

His voice pierced my skull, like a hammer pounding it over and over. Apparently that was a bad move.

The Masked Man raised his hand. I thought he was about to kill me, so I screamed:

"I can help you find him! I know the Lower District like the back of my hand! If you let me live, I'll get you to him faster!"

He didn't reply. Instead, he drew a thin dagger from a leather belt at his waist and stepped toward me. I tried to pull back but he didn't stab me he just made a small cut on my arm. Then he took out a strange leather-bound book from under his cloak. In its center was a large red eye surrounded by small symbols forming a circle.

He opened the book. The symbols glowed red, and a huge mouth full of knife-like teeth appeared in the middle of the pages. That mouth devoured the blood from the dagger, and then the crow said:

"Do you agree to sell your soul in exchange for staying alive?"

My limbs trembled. I wanted to refuse instinctively, but I knew if I did I wouldn't leave here alive.

I muttered:

"Agreed…"

Then a transparent version of myself, glowing dark red, floated out of my body. It rose into the air, then flew into the book and was swallowed whole. After that, the Masked Man cut the ropes binding me.

Then the crow said with obvious disdain:

"Move."

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