Jevan left Verona's office, the mask hiding his smile. He hadn't expected to get an opportunity this quickly. He knew he didn't have a clear plan to topple the gangs of the Lower District on his own. His temporary plan was extremely simple: absorb his Authority by fulfilling more wishes and desires, using the notes left to him by the original Jevan, in the hope that he might one day find a way to crush them later or that by then the war would have resolved itself. At that point, he intended to break the deal between himself and those spirits and leave the Lower District immediately, then find a way later to drive them away from him. The only reason he made such a deal with them came down to two things: first, he knew carrying out such a request would take years, which would grant him peace of mind for a long while. The other reason was a strange feeling he couldn't explain.

As soon as he passed through the door, he saw Quil standing by the entrance. Jevan smiled behind the mask and extended his hand toward him in an exaggeratedly friendly tone:

"How are you, my new colleague?"

But Quil shoved his hand away harshly and entered the office without saying a word. A short laugh slipped out of Jevan before he continued walking lazily through the palace corridors while whistling.

Inside, Quil remained standing before Verona's desk without speaking. She hadn't noticed him at first, as she was absorbed in reading a set of papers. Nearly half an hour passed before she finally lifted her head and found him standing before her.

"Quil, how long have you been there?"

He answered in a steady voice:

"For a short while, my lady."

She placed her hand on the desk.

"What is it? What do you want to discuss?"

He replied firmly:

"My lady, we must stop dealing with that lunatic."

She turned her gaze away from him with boredom.

"We've already discussed this, Quil."

"But my lady, this man cannot be controlled. He killed one of Claw's assimilators simply because they disturbed his meal."

"That exact level of power is what we need."

"And what if he suddenly turns against us?"

"We don't have better alternatives."

"We could form an alliance with the Coffin Men."

"It has only been a few days since Skull betrayed us. I don't think any gang will risk a new alliance. Besides, our vision doesn't align with that of any other gang."

"But my lady…"

She cut him off:

"I will not accept any more objections."

Quil stood still for a moment before bowing slightly and leaving. Outside the office, he walked through the long corridor until he collided with Corvin, who was trying to pass quietly. Corvin tried to step aside, but Quil's hand gripped the collar of his coat tightly. Flustered, Corvin gave a small, nervous smile as he tried to pull away, but Quil didn't let go he yanked him forward with force.

"Quil… do you need something from me?"

Quil clenched Corvin's coat harder, then drew his face close and said sharply:

"Listen, your job is to watch that masked man. If you notice him doing anything strange, report to me immediately. Do you understand?"

Corvin replied while still trying to wriggle free:

"Can't you assign someone else? I mean… Adam is better at these tasks."

"You're already close to him. Didn't you write in your reports that you two were old friends?"

Corvin forced another nervous smile and swallowed before saying:

"That's true, in a way. And that's exactly why I can't. How can you ask me to spy on a close friend? What kind of bastard do you think I am?"

"I didn't know you had that kind of principle. But don't worry. Your old friend has officially joined us. And as a new member, you are the one responsible for keeping an eye on him."

"Can't you really give this job to someone else? I'm already busy with gathering information."

Quil shoved him roughly to the ground, then turned to leave, saying:

"He's your old friend after all. Watch him."

Corvin wanted to cry, but he held himself together as always. The lies he had invented were starting to turn against him. He never imagined he would one day be forced into such a situation.

He muttered:

"Why did Verona agree to bring in that lunatic? And why am I the one assigned to watch him?!"

He couldn't understand her reasoning. If he were in her place, he wouldn't have allowed the man to come within several kilometers of the palace. He began seriously thinking about retirement. But retirement? He knew just as well as anyone that the only way out of the gang world was death especially if you carried an Authority. Most Authority users didn't even live to see forty. Corvin had always thought he would be one of the exceptions, but now he was starting to realize he wouldn't be.

***

[Vincent Perspective]

In the Lower District, at the former headquarters of the Street Sons gang. The same scene was replaying itself again. The place was surrounded by men from every direction. Jevan stood alone, pushing forward to buy us time to escape. I wanted to reach out to help him, but as soon as I approached, the scene shattered before me. The ground disappeared under my feet, and I fell into an endless void.

I gasped my body drenched in sweat. I was lying on a wooden chair tossed on the floor, and on my stomach was Timaeus, Jevan's cat, sleeping peacefully. Feeling nauseous, I quickly put him down and rushed toward the bathroom, but I couldn't hold it in I vomited directly on the floor.

I sat on the ground, wiping the sweat off my forehead with my palm. I tried to remember what happened yesterday. I had drunk a lot, just trying to squeeze some information out of that man about his connection to Jevan. But all I got from him was his name: Corvin.

I stood up and looked at the vomit stain I left behind, then at the mess in the place. I needed to clean this up. The place was dark I could barely see and Corvin wasn't here.

"Where did he go?"

I searched the storage room until I found a mop tossed among piles of rusty armor and discarded swords. I tripped twice but finally managed to grab it, lifting it triumphantly before going back to wipe the mess.

When I was done, my mind still wouldn't rest. So I kept cleaning the entire place, hoping it would help calm me down but in vain.

While wiping a sword beside me with a rag, I caught my reflection in its blade. That reflection began speaking to me, staring at me with contempt:

"You're a cowardly bastard."

"You couldn't face Jevan with the truth."

"You couldn't even ask him about the others."

I let out a deep sigh and returned the sword to its place. That was when I heard the sound of the door opening. I turned toward the source, but the room was still shrouded in darkness. I saw two figures step inside. I couldn't make out their features, but I noticed one of them was carrying… a crow? On his shoulder.

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