The Magician of Miracles

[Corvin perspective]

Alright, something is seriously wrong here apparently. I leave that masked lunatic for one single day, just one day, and he comes back with a hole the size of… I have no idea, half his torso, in his chest, acting like it is some minor scratch.

By the creator, this maniac seems to have no concept of the word injured. Is he dead, alive, or something in between?

Anyway, not my problem now. We have officially arrived in Night Wolves territory. Anything related to that lunatic is now Verona and Quil's responsibility. My job is done.

I can finally close the report log and stop monitoring him from afar like some miserable government employee.

I just wonder where Adam disappeared to. I did not find him in his shop, and the man who delivered the carriage pretended to be deaf when I asked about him. But I am sure that annoying bastard is still alive and perfectly fine. Adam could escape a natural disaster if he wanted. That is his only real skill and the only useful thing you can get from him.

Now I think I will settle down in this area controlled by the Night Wolves gang. I have not visited this place in years, not since a long time ago, and what I had in mind looked nothing like this.

When I returned here with the masked man for the first time, I was shocked. This place is actually better than most of the Lower District. Quiet, somewhat clean, and most importantly, I do not have to worry about the other gangs.

And the best part? I will not have to deal with the masked lunatic again except on rare occasions. One week next to him caused me all this trouble. I do not even want to imagine staying with him any longer. The stress alone almost killed me.

And honestly, thinking about it, he is not that bad. He did try protecting me. Sure, he caused the problem in the first place, but fine. Deranged? Yes. Insane? Probably. But at least he has limits. He has not crossed them yet. Or that is what I tell myself because he is now part of the gang I belong to.

And even though I will not see him often, I will inevitably run into him a few times no matter how much I pretend otherwise.

Still, something is off. He seems… I don't know, broken? Like he suddenly lost the will to live. Usually he moved with that strange energy, like the energy of a madman, acting like nothing could kill him.

But now he looks miserable. Like he has no soul left. Is he depressed? Or am I overthinking?

Whatever. Not my business. I am not his doctor, and I probably will not see him again except rarely. That is enough for me.

Or so I thought.

Because a small flame suddenly lit up on the table in front of me, forming a letter made from yellow paper.

I sighed deeply, threw my head back, and flopped onto the bed, covering my face with my arms.

"How in the creator's name did he find my room this fast? Did they give me this room specifically for this reason? I thought it was a reward, not a way to make delivering messages easier."

At first I considered ignoring the letter. I left it on the table while staring at the ceiling.

But curiosity won, and honestly I had to read it anyway. So eventually I reached out lazily and grabbed it.

I prayed it would be from Verona and not from Quil.

Of course my luck ran out. The letter was from Quil. And unfortunately that was not the bad part. The truly bad part was what the letter contained.

By the creator… what did that masked man do last night?

...

[Jevan perspective]

I did not move for hours. I just lay on the bed staring at the wall, with no desire to do anything else. I did not have the energy to get up, nor to think about getting up. Honestly I did not know how long I was going to stay like this, but eventually I decided that I… was not going to do anything.

And while I was thinking about what kind of wood the bed was made of, white gas slipped through the gap under the door, like fog. I did not even try to resist. I did not want to resist. And then the world began to fade, and I let my eyelids drop quietly.

...

When I opened my eyes, I found myself tied to a metal chair with chains in what looked like an abandoned storage room. Quil stood in front of me, and beside him was Corvin, who was avoiding looking at me, his hands trembling.

I said nothing. I did not have the energy or desire. Maybe this was because of The Controller Garrod? Or maybe he kidnapped me to ask about Adam? I did not care. I did not want to care.

Quil was the first to speak.

"You know why you're here, right?"

"I have no idea. Planning a surprise party? You did not have to kidnap me. You could have prepared it at the hotel."

He lifted his fist like he wanted to punch me, but he stopped before touching me. He took a deep breath to hold himself together.

"Where is Adam?"

His eyes held a strange mix of worry and anger. I expected anger, but not worry.

So I answered simply.

"He is dead."

Shock immediately appeared on Corvin's face. He had been avoiding looking at me the whole time, but now he turned toward me in disbelief.

As for Quil, he did not look surprised as much as he looked regretful and angry… and that anger did not seem directed at me.

He gestured at Corvin.

"Remove his chains."

Corvin hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

Quil replied coldly and sharply.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

Corvin rushed to me and removed the chains quickly, whispering while doing it,

"All of this was Quil's idea. I'm just the assistant."

I stood up, and Corvin stepped away from me immediately.

I said to Quil,

"Don't you need more details?"

He shook his head.

"I already know most of the details. I just needed confirmation from you. Nothing more."