Two days passed and Dante was back to his routine. Twice every week he would come to the Royal Line to cover his living expenses, in accordance with Pete's advice he chose the days randomly and didn't focus on just one area so that no one would see a clear pattern

But there was one rather reckless rule Dante had imposed on himself: To only steal from people who he thought deserved some karmic justice. Often a woman with way too much makeup who needlessly made a scene at a store or a man who showed through the crowd with no regard for other people. If gave Dante a certain feeling of self-righteousness and although it was not much, it could make all the difference when he would look back at those days in the future after joining the more legitimate workforce. And that was not so far away. Pete had claimed to know an extremely good identity forger which he could put in touch with Dante. Yet another favour Null hoped he would eventually be able to repay.

"Get out," as Dante strolled in relative leisure, his next target presented himself. It was a dark-skinned man in a pompous crimson jacket with a white suede collar. He was currently in the middle of forcing a guitarist from the street, "One more tone of your garbage music and it will give me a headache."

The musician seemed about to protest but then the man's backup stepped in. A mountain of a man with muscles almost ripping through the fabric of his shirt. He towered above the poor performer and easily intimidated him into fleeing. The red jacket man just scoffed at the terrified runaway and continued down the street.

That sort of behaviour definitely fulfilled Dante's requirement for 'deserves to lose their wallet' and so he stepped in. For some time, Dante had no longer needed to choose easy targets as the dexterity of his hands became terribly amazing. No more bumping as a distraction or baggy coats, Dante had realized that if he put his mind to it, no pocket was safe from him.

On its own, Null's expression became eerily calm and his hands completely still. As always, the more danger, the calmer Dante felt, like what he was about to do was natural for him. A terrifying thought he had learned to suppress. As he approached, the crimson coated man looked straight at him and their eyes locked. It was strange for him to single out Dante's in such a crowd but that couldn't discourage the young pickpocket. Seamlessly, Null broke the link without flinching and the man seemed to lose all interest as they walked beside each other. Once he was back in the crowd, Dante hid his loot, a wallet and a phone, in the inner pocket and moved on. By the end of the day, two more people will have found an unpleasant surprise when reaching for their money. Satisfied, Null left the Royal line to sort through the loot. Much to his disappointment one of the items he considered to be a wallet through his sense of touch was actually a small leather case, with a flash drive inside. With no means to actually play it using just his phone Dante concluded that bringing it to Pete for evaluation was his best bet. He was headed there either way after all.

So Null pocketed the remaining cash and went to the pawnshop. Out of curiosity, he confirmed that the case indeed belonged to the red coat man, though that hardly made any difference. Opening the door, Dante immediately noticed Pete was in the back. Hardly uncommon, so Null went to wait in front of the till, looking around the store. It was a bit strange to see a few items that had passed through his hands not long ago, though not that surprising considering the store didn’t have much traffic. Most of Pete’s income probably came from whatever he was doing with the credit cards.

“Hey Dante,” coming from the back, Pete was wearing the brown and blue monstrosity Dante had given him, though his expression looked unusually serious, sweat even gathered on his forehead.

“Got these today,” Dante no longer dwelled on etiquette as he tossed his loot at the desk, “Some sort of flash drive in the pouch, haven’t taken a look but it might be valuable.”

“Dante,” Pete was quiet for a while as he slowly rose his left hand and rubbed his eyes with a heavy sigh, “Where exactly did you get these?” he eventually said, staring directly at Null who was startled by the unprecedented seriousness.

But his confusion was quickly replaced by realisation and fear as from behind Pete, the dark-skinned man with white suede collar on his vermillion jacket stepped out. Only two kinds of people would ever be allowed backstage, Dante realised, law enforcement with a warrant and the people Pete answered to as a local criminal. For a split second their eyes locked, just as they did on the Royal Line, and Dante instantly understood that the man recognised him too. So he turned around and ran for it.

“Stop,” the dark-skinned man calmly called out and to Nulls horror part of him obeyed. His legs were as if frozen solid mid-movement and considering he was just breaking into a sprint, Dante immediately tumbled, barely protecting his face in time. Even on the ground, his legs would not move, so Dante could at most flip to his back. And then he immediately saw the muzzle of a handgun waiting for him. Just like the last time in the cell, unable to move and powerless to stop it. Yet unlike back then, there was not a magical barrier separating Dante and the barrel

“Damien, wait!” Pete exclaimed, “I know him well, Dante sells exclusive to me and definitely couldn’t have seen whatever is on that flash drive. He doesn’t have a computer!”

“Well isn’t that curious,” Damien wondered out loud, “This is the first time I have ever heard you step up for someone else than the old fox.”

“He is just a boy who didn’t know any better,” Pete pressed on, “It won’t happen again.”

Damien was quiet for a while, staring into Dante’s eyes and carefully inspecting his gaze, “I should kill you for what you did, just to send a message to any other potential pickpockets in the future,” he stared as he said those words before he suddenly chuckled, “But that would be such a woeful waste of talent. You managed to slip right under my nose and that is more than any pickpocket before you ever could. So, instead, I am going to recruit you. For now, Sleep.”

As that final word sounded, Dante felt a rush of unnatural haziness, not unlike back when Rebecca had put him to sleep. And just like that time, his consciousness lasted long enough to hear a few more words.

“Get me 3 burners,” Damien spoke to Pete, “I need to make some calls.”

Then, Dante felt darkness take him.

When he next awoke he felt as though he was still within a dream. As far as his eye could see there was only darkness, too thick to see through. The only source of light came from above, a single glimmer of dim light coming through a hole in the roof, barely visible. Dante attempted to move only to feel his legs and arms bound by some sort of wire.

“You are finally awake,” Damien’s voice sounded from seemingly every direction, “Let us begin by discussing a few undeniable truths. First of all, I spared a life which should have been forfeit. Do you understand what that means?” as the question sounded Dante did not answer, dreading the implications of what would come next.

“Since you were meant to die and I prevented that, in a way, I saved your life,” Damien continued with the twisted logic, “Therefore, it is only right I own the life which I had saved. Or do you disagree?” he finished and Dante knew he could not deny it. Not because he agreed but because he was still dancing to Damien’s tune. Just as he though his fate had once again become his own it was stolen away in a few moments. Null despised that yet was powerless to prevent it.

“So you agree, that is good,” Damien chuckled from all direction, “That is good, I like to work with people who understand their situation and are not stubborn. If you can accept it there is no need to worry in the future. I take care of my own,” Damien said and silenced himself for a long while.

“Then it’s time for the second truth,” he finally spoke again after an entire minute, “I am not omnipresent. My stop at Gildport was temporary and I will have left by the end of the hour. Therefore I shall hand you over to the caring hands of my associate. Since we are wheels up in 3, best of luck until we meet again,” Damien ended and cut off the call.

And Dante was left alone in the dark. There was no sound nor enough light to see. Considering the lack of echoes, the room was probably not too large or at least had a lot of furniture in it. Time passed steadily yet nothing happened. The surroundings remained dark and stagnant.

“Is anyone here?” eventually Dante could no longer bear it and called out. A strange dread encroached him. Damien had apparently not even been there, so what if something happened to that associate of his and Dante would be forgotten. When no one answered even worse thoughts encroached onto Null. What if the conversation with Damien was just some sort of a sadistic play and there never was any associate, leaving Dante to slowly die of thirst or starvation.

Yet when he was already considering how he could possibly escape such death, a new sensation suddenly arrived from his neck. First, it was just a slight pinch yet the next moment his sense were overwhelmed. It was a strange combination of pain and pleasure, suffering and happiness. It numbed Dante’s focus yet amplified his senses. And there was something else, too intangible to properly describe, hidden behind that contrast, but Null was certain it was there.

“Extremely chaotic,” a feminine voice right beside his ear broke Dante out of his daze, making him realise that the strange sensation had already dissipated, “Yet deliciously powerful. Are you a mage kid?”

“Huh,” Dante was surprised as he tried to turn his head around but pair of hands firmly held him by the cheeks.

“I asked you a question,” the same voice sounded in his second ear as a strangely cold breath sent shivers down his spine.

“I don’t know any magic,” Dante admitted, “But I am eager to learn.”

“Most people who don’t know anything about magic say that,” the woman removed one of her hands and tapped Dante on the shoulder, “But end up unwilling to put in the necessary hard work. Well, we shall see. Lights,” she exclaimed and a moment later the dim light coming from the ceiling amplified to the point of clear visibility. Dante found himself in the middle of something reminiscent of a club room: A sofa, coffee table, a large desk with chairs and 4 portable speakers in the corners of the room.

And looking around, Dante also finally spotted his captor: A middle-aged woman, perhaps around thirty, adorned in a modest and old-fashioned vermilion dress. Her gaze was already awaiting Dante as he turned towards her. Pupils of deep ebony inspected seemingly every fibre of Null’s being and although frightened, he tried to do the same. There was no trace of makeup nor fingernails, even her black hair was loose and barely brushed, the plainness at complete contrast with the ornamental dress.

She offered him a hand and Null finally realised that he was no longer bound, a short inspection revealing no trace of any wires on the floor. Though he felt hesitant, Dante eventually took the hand, feeling the woman’s smooth palm, not even the trace of a blister to be found.

“I am Ariane,” she introduced herself with amicable smile, so pleasant Dante felt compelled to forgive being bound in complete darkness just moments ago. She was by no means the paragon of beauty or perfection yet the contrast of natural immaculacy with the lavish dress pulled at something within him.

“Dante,” Null introduced himself, his heart pounding as he struggled to decide whether she was really a friend or a foe.

“I am sorry about the previous display,” she apologised, still acutely observing Dante, his visage in particular, “Damien insists on certain things which simply cannot be bypassed,” she said as Null’s eyes flashed at the mere mention of the name, “I am not too fond of him either but there is a method to his madness, otherwise he wouldn’t have made is as far as he had. However, actions speak louder than words, follow me,” she beckoned and stepped towards the closest exit. Naturally, Dante was just behind her.

The next room was simple as far as it came to furniture, a large arcing sofa facing a flat-screen TV on the opposite wall as well as a small table in between the two. Besides that, there were only two doors and two windows, which for some reason didn’t actually lead outside but instead into what appeared to be a sizeable gymnasium only lit by the dusk sun. The television was playing some sort of sport Dante didn’t even recognise, the announcer enthusiastically shouting something about holes. Around the sofa, 5 people sat, 4 teenagers of Dante’s age while one, his visage bearing a hint of foreign heritage, was about 20. The eldest man wore a well-kept tuxedo as well as an extremely grim and serious expression.

“Madam,” one of them looked up, an energetic young boy with blonde hair, “Why have you gathered us?”

“I told you all that our employer can be quite scary, didn’t I?” Ariane only answered with a question before she sighed, “Unfortunately, at least one of you didn’t heed my warning,” at those words, Dante noticed one of the teenagers, a blonde girl, go stiff for a split second before returning back to normal. Ariane undoubtedly noticed too, however, she did not seem to react to it, “Well, you are going to see soon enough. It’s about time.”

“Breaking News!” suddenly the broadcast on the TV was interrupted, “A private aircraft leaving Gildport has been destroyed in a freak drone accident just a few minutes ago. Though we are still scrambling for more concrete information, the irony of our reporters attending the grand opening of the Museum of flight safety just next doors hardly eludes us.”

“Isn’t that…” Dante realised. It must have happened during takeoff and the timing was far too exact. He once again remembered Damien’s last words and looked at Ariane. She, however, appeared completely calm. As though she wasn’t taken aback by the implications of the breaking news report. Or rather, it was as if she had expected it.

“Isn’t it curious that mere minutes after my employer divulged his supposed whereabouts through a one way secured line, there is suddenly an attack,” Ariane smiled, though it was no longer amicable. It was cold, a disguise for sharp fangs ready to rip into the prey’s throat, “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that one of you is a spy,” and Dante was really glad that he was not a candidate to become the one hunted. It was no longer just the girl who shifted uncomfortably. They each looked warily at their other 3 peers.

“Can I put an end to the charade?” the man in tuxedo spoke after letting the others boil for a few seconds, his voice even more serious than the professional expression. After a sigh and a nod from Ariane, he expectedly pointed his finger at the girl.

“What do you mean?” she immediately became defensive as she almost launched herself from the sofa, trying to get some distance. She probably would’ve headed for one of the doors had Ariane and the man not been position perfectly to block her way.

“Shin saw you bug the relay,” Ariane kept that devilish smile on her lips as she pointed at the serious man. It seemed genetics were not the only foreign heritage on his person, “Since then it was only a matter of timing.”

“Timing?!” the girl seemed startled as she shouted. Her eyes flickered with long-suppressed emotion and the bursting fury had turned her next sentence into half shout and half-insane laughter “You just let Damien die!”

“Oh, but I am aliiiiiive,” as though waiting for that exact sentence, someone burst into the room, literally singing the words like an operetta character. Although the words suggested Damien to make the entry, Dante simply could not believe that it was him. The sight in front of his eyes was simply too bizarre. Although the dark-skinned figure shared all of Damien’s features including the vermilion jacket, that is where any familiarities ended. The fact that the jacket was worn inside out was somehow the least strange thing about the spectacle. For whatever reason, the mage and crime lord who had kidnapped and threatened Dante from a position of absolute power just minutes ago was on his toes, dancing like a ballet character.

It was utterly bizarre, barely comprehensible and just as unbelievable.

The long period of silence clearly reflected Dante was far from the only one who was so taken aback he nearly forgot to breathe.

“Aren’t you overdoing it a bit?” Ariane finally ruptured the situation as she spoke, seemingly not even taken aback by the situation.

“Hardly,” Damien said, doing a pirouette. Null considered whether he was actually still unconscious this whole time and the entire situation was just a strange dream. But then he wasn’t sure whether it would be worse for the situation to actually be happening or to be a born of his imagination.

“You!” the girl suddenly exclaimed, apparently recovering from the shock. Her once again flickering eyes locked at Damien and her expression twisted into a frown, “You never left,” she realised.

“Yes. Funnily enough, whoever you are working for just shot down a secret government transport,” Damien laughed, still strangely jolly but at least he had stopped dancing, “I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes right now.”

“You lead them to do it!” she retorted.

“Them. Good to know, though we should get going,” Damien made an exaggerated gesture of offering his hand, “I still need to know where to look once the bounty is inevitably released.”

“I am not going anywhere with you!” she yelled and reached for the ring on her left hand, opening the hatched and quickly swallowing the pill that had been hidden there. She had been backed all the way into a corner

“No hesitation,” Damien whistled, “I wonder what makes you hate me so much. Well, I am going to find out soon enough. The classic signs of acute cyanide poisoning are dizziness and feeling of intense suffocation. The chemical gets into your blood and prevents oxygen from properly bonding to it, resulting in literal suffocation while you are desperately gasping for air, unable to sate the intense need to breathe as you slowly begin to spasm on the floor. Did They tell you that before giving you the capsule?” Damien kept up his jolly smile despite the ominous turn as he looked at the girl’s suddenly wide-eyed expression, “Though you don’t have to actually worry about any of that. Instead, you should be careful not to hurt yourself as your legs slowly give way and the drug you actually swallowed knocks you out. See you on the other side,” by the time his words finished, the girl was barely standing up, supporting herself by the wall and desperately trying to keep her eyes from closing. Damien skipped closer to her and easily lifted her up with both of his hands outstretched, performing something reminiscent of the famous ballet move, except with a mostly unconscious partner.

“Should we abandon this place?” Ariane asked a question before Damien had the chance to slide out of the room.

“The best They could afford was a vengeful brat on whose information they immediately acted,” Damien shook his head, “They are reckless and won’t last long.”

“Or they are bluffing,” Ariane remarked, “Just like you often do in the hopes of being underestimated.”

“Then colour me impressed,” Damien gave few more word before leaving the room, “But I am a difficult man to impress. They will have been dealt with by the time the media decypher what kind of plane had just crashed. Goodbye,” he finished and left the room, leaving everyone to stare on in silence. After what felt like minutes of no words being spoken, Shin finally gathered the courage to ask the question on everyone’s minds, his steely expression almost breaking:

“What the fuck just happened?”