[Jevan perspective]

The voices didn't calm down. On the contrary, they kept getting louder and louder, as if the spirits found a special pleasure in screaming inside my head. I gripped the mask tightly, then tore it off and put it back on again, but none of it worked.

Raghu was floating near me, and even though he didn't say a word, I felt that he pitied me. I think he should pity himself, not me. I'm the living one here, and he's the one dead in a pathetic way, not the other way around.

I took the mask off and smashed my head against the wall again and again until my skin cracked and blood ran down my face. But the wounds healed quickly, and the cycle began again. Blow… bleeding… healing… then again.

"What are you doing, you lunatic?!"

I laughed and kept smashing my head, answering without stopping.

"I'm trying to silence these voices."

"All you have to do is find Valentine and kill him!"

I stopped for a moment, leaning my bleeding forehead against the wall and exhaling.

"I won't."

"Why?!"

"Because someone wanted me to stay alive. Wanted me to live. And I still want to fulfill his wish."

"You can kill him and still stay alive."

I didn't answer. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wouldn't die if I tried. But defeating him? In this short time? That's absolutely impossible. Even my ability to heal I don't know if it's endless or if there's a breaking point after which I'll die.

And I wasn't ready to risk it. Not after two people sacrificed their lives for me. And what about that researcher? Where would I even find him?

I pulled out the leather notebook again and started flipping through its pages like a madman, searching for any clue about my Authority, even though I still don't know its name.

Finally, I found something.

"The Authority of Miracles its assimilators can grant simple wishes. With deeper assimilation, they can grant greater wishes. But they cannot grant wishes to themselves. If they try, they must pay a price equal to the wish, or even more. They can also sense the desires of others."

I shut the book and exhaled sharply. "Great… all this just to discover what I already knew." I had already paid the price for that knowledge.

I kept searching until I stumbled upon a chapter about the Authority of Madness.

"The Authority of Madness is one of the most dangerous authorities to both the assimilator and those around him. To assimilate it, the bearer must act insane: killing, violence, mass slaughter. The form of these acts differs from person to person, but the result is the same walking human disasters. At advanced stages, the assimilator loses his mind completely. To regain it, he must sink into heinous acts, and even if he resists, his body will drag him toward them. In the end, the mind might return, but too late, after the devastation has already happened."

I closed the notebook and put it back in my pocket, then picked up the mask lying next to me and put it on. After that, I sat where I was, staring at the void. The voices finally faded, and the spirits slowly vanished. That's when I became sure that every wish I grant myself comes at a price, and the price of a wish is always many times its value.

I have to find a way to stop this. I can't bear seeing those spirits. I can't bear seeing their desires. If they keep appearing to me like this, I'll lose my mind.

I held the mask without it I would have lost my mind long ago. How ironic. A mask meant to make me insane is what's kept me sane until now.

***

In the main floor, Corvin was speaking with Vensen.

Corvin said as he studied him closely:

"How long have you been working with that man?"

"Working with him? I'm not working with him."

"Then what are you doing by his side?"

"Didn't I tell you before? I don't know."

Corvin didn't hide his suspicion:

"Then how long have you been accompanying him?"

"Are you interrogating me now?"

"No, just general questions, nothing more. I've never seen him bring anyone along before, so it made me curious."

"And it seems you've known him for a long time, haven't you?"

"I suppose so."

Each was trying to extract information from the other, but neither wanted to reveal anything. They both stopped speaking at the same time as Jevan came down the stairs to the second floor.

Jevan didn't look at them. He went straight for the door. Vensen started to follow him, but Jevan raised his hand.

"There's something I need to do. I'll be back soon."

Then he left the shop without another word.

…

Outside, Jevan walked without a clear destination. He kept walking until he stopped in front of a modest restaurant. He stared at its front for a moment, then pushed the door and went in.

Inside it was full of wooden tables. He sat at one. He waited a moment until a waiter came a boy no older than fourteen. Jevan ordered a plate of meat with a cup of water.

After several minutes the boy returned with the order. He set down before him a piece of blackened meat with a foul smell and a cup of water full of impurities. All of it cost ten bronze coins a high price for such poor quality. But Jevan paid quietly, without complaint or argument.

As soon as the boy left, Jevan began eating silently. The meat tasted like everything except meat, but his expression didn't change. When he finished eating, he rested his elbows on the table, staring at the reflection of his face on the cup's surface.

The door of the restaurant burst open, and through it entered a group of men with snake fang tattoos on their arms. They started making chaos in the place, flipping tables upside down.

The boy waiter tried to stop them, but they shoved him to the ground. He tried to get up again, and they beat him mercilessly. None of the seated patrons moved to help him.

Jevan had placed his hand on his sword's hilt before the cook intervened. She rushed out of the kitchen a young woman in her early twenties. She stood in front of them despite the fear clearly on her face.

"Leave him."

Their leader stepped forward, a man with harsh features and a filthy smile.

"When you pay us the remaining amount."

"I paid you yesterday."

He turned to his men, mocking.

"David, did she pay us anything?"

David laughed loudly:

"No, she didn't pay a thing."

Then he turned to another man.

"Liam, did she pay us?"

Annoyance showed on Liam's face, but he answered:

"No, she didn't pay."

A more disgusting smile spread across the leader's face, and he looked back at the woman again.

"See? You didn't pay anything. But there are always other ways to pay."

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