The world wasn't a pretty place. Some stay ignorant and only see what's on top, while others see a glimpse of the darkness, while far more stare into the abyss.

Heroes and Villains. Law and Order. Righteousness and Justice. They're all rather fragile concepts with no straight line. They twist and turn at every corner. They aren't all black and white like how a majority of society had practically been indoctrinated to think.

The burning building that Tale had just passed was certainly an example.

This area worked on a territorial basis. There were several factions, small and big.

This was one of the many organized slums around the world.

Now and then, when the headcount of each area in this slum passed a set limit, the extras' would be put into this burning building to perish.

Why?

To lessen the burden. Simple as that. This isn't very uncommon, unfortunately.

The method was the only thing that differed from place to place, and honestly, from what Tale had seen, this was one of the more peaceful ones. The flames were in a way metaphysical. The only thing you would feel as your life faded would be a small pang as the heart and brain stopped before they turned to ashes.

But...

'Well...'

Tale stopped there.

Shaking his head lightly, he looked ahead with focus as he rid himself of these useless thoughts running through his mind.

Humanities' darkness would be best to keep in mind, but it was better to not have thoughts about it. He didn't want a hidden desire to form.

The wish of Tale and his other ego was more of a selfish one, as they themselves described,

So, with this focus of his and the cold wind on his back, Tale advanced through the darkness of the alley he had entered.

It carried an odd scent as low growling echoed around it,

And to make this more ghastly, countless eyes appeared from every corner and even the sky and ground. They watched Tale closely as he walked, though he didn't even give a glance.

Step- Step- Step.

After a short while,

Stopping his steps as the eyes behind him disappeared and growling stopped, Tale looked ahead and eyed a building that unlike its surroundings was well lit.

"Welcome back, Mr. Soul." A voice called. It was a young silver-haired girl. She stood in front of the door peacefully with an expressionless face.

"Well... I truly didn't want to have to come here ever again..." Tale lowly muttered as he walked forward.

What was this place?

It was a place where you could buy various services as long as you had enough value to offer, though, this was a place only a selection from around the world even knew of due to the fact a world-ranked hero ran it. It even had part of the government here under its control due to an agreement.

The hero was someone Tale knew and another person he had met during the time he was Raven. They had met due to relations with others Tale knew.

They had trust in each other to some extent.

Click-

Swoooosh!

Catching a sharp blade with his hands as he was about to open the door, Tale stopped and looked to his right.

With her ever apathetic gaze, the silver-haired girl looked at Tale.

"You haven't deposited your CC, Mr. Soul."

Simply nodding, Tale took something out of his pocket and handed over what seemed like a token.

Backing off, the girl inserted the token into a spot next to her, and it vanished as some sort of light fell on Tale for a moment before disappearing.

Creak.

Opening the door now, Tale stepped his foot in.

Though, as the door gradually closed as he stepped inside, Tale looked back for a moment.

"Yelena, it's Soulace. Not Soul."

"Okay, Mr. Soul."

"..."

"... Alright."

Swoooo!

Closing shut, the door locked as Tale looked forward with a slight sigh.

Gazing around for a moment, the familiar tavern-like interior surfaced in his mind as he walked up to the front.

"Well, well, if it isn't you, Raven." A voice sounded as Tale sat.

With a slight pause, lifting his head, Tale met the eyes of the 8th world-ranked hero Roksana Dmitriev as she lightly smiled.

With an apathetic gaze, "that name, don't use it," Tale simply said.

Raven or Great Raven wasn't something he called himself, it was simply assigned to his name and that's what the world recognized. He'd rather those who knew him not use it.

This went especially for this youngest sibling of Artem. They could call him whatever else, he would be fine with it.

"Well, alright." Roksana simply nodded as they broke eye contact.

Turning and reaching for something behind her, she asked, "You're here for the same as before, aren't you?"

Tale replied, "Yes," rather plainly.

What Tale had come for was a 'disguise' but it would be more accurate to call it a modification.

"Hm. The price is unchanged. Though I'm curious Soul, it's been a while, are you simply planning a retreat or is there another grand walk in place?"

Silence prevailed. "..." Tale could only remain quiet.

As she turned back, Roksana observed Tale for a few moments. He may have seemed completely stoic and apathetic to others but what she saw was different.

"I see."

"Another grand walk, is it? Who's the target?" Roksana spoke with confidence and cheer in her tone as she rested her head on her hand as she leaned on the counter as the item she had grabbed flew up into the air, slowly fading.

Tale simply shook his head.

"Hmm."

Roksana tapped the counter once in response. The infinitesimal changes that occurred now and then on Tale's expression were easy to read. She wouldn't be in her current position if she couldn't even do such a minor thing.

"Well... since you won't say, I'll take a few guesses... you do have quite a lot of enemies, but... most are no threat."

"Hmm... If I am to consider your past pattern of movements... only six possibilities remain. But... if I also consider a few other factors, only four remain."

"Let's see... Vi--"

Clack.

"..."

Feeling she couldn't open her mouth, Roksana stopped. Looking at Tale, she saw he had stood. He had a calm look, but she could see that he was searching for something.

'Curious...'

Glowing lightly, her eyes shone with a white mist.

'Well...'

Dozens of domain traces entered her eyes. She couldn't see them clearly, but they kept layering over each other around Tale's body.

Remaining quiet, even as she could speak again, Roksana made no attempts and simply waited as she peered for the problem.

Slowly, after five full minutes, Tale truly calmed as he sat down, at which moment, Roksana noticed something.

A wisp partially appeared around Tale's heart before fading.

Blinking, the shine in Roksana's eyes vanished as she looked at Tale.

"Ms. Roksana, don't speak of anything related to those names on your mind, and don't continue this topic." Tale's words were a bit faint to her ears as she arrived in front of him from behind the counter.

"Hm...?"

"Stay still."

Placing her palm over Tale's heart, Roksana closed her eyes as they leaked a black and white mist.

Crack!

Something seemed to break as a refraction of dark energy emerged and slowly withered from Tale.

"Corrupted Fate Eye...? Why do you have such a thing trying to gaze at you..." Roksana muttered with alarm as Tale's eyes slightly widened.

His power didn't possess the capability to see Fate. Fatir was able to peer at fate, but they were worlds apart, so that didn't matter. Hearing Roksana, Tale understood why he never felt anything...! It wasn't a coincidence he was always located no matter where he went...!

Things made even more sense as he looked back on his conversation with Gresham before he had left Untivon. Gresham had given him his views on things Tale witnessed or experienced. They had concluded that there must've been something around Tale he couldn't see, and speculated whether it may have worked based on keywords due to Tale's actions. That was why he had stopped Roksana from speaking.

But what was a Fate Eye anyway?

Well... A Fate Eye was something like an overseer who made sure nothing went in disarray. A corrupted one is, well... probably the opposite. Tale wasn't sure, nor was Fatir.

With that in mind, on the other side, Fatir paused his actions as he quickly went over his mental library. It took him only a moment. This was a matter of importance, so he wasted no time.

'What...!'

The result halted Fatir for a second.

'Anomaly! It's an invader from another realm!'

Tale froze as he received the records from Fatir. His mind felt dizzy.

Virus was an anomaly? Tale couldn't recall any signs of such a thing in the past. None at all...

"My god... Why is your Fate Flow so low!"

Coming back to himself, Tale looked up.

Blood dripped from Roksana's eyes like a waterfall onto the floor.

'STOP HER!' Fatir's voice filled Tale's mind as he quickly followed Fatir's instructions and stopped her from peering any deeper.

...

At that time, in a space filled with no light. Sat on a throne of parasites wriggling around, a figure slowly shook as crimson eyes flared open.

Floating texts appeared again and again in front of their eyes as a strange voice verbalized the text.

[ Warning! Tracker Discovered! ]

[ Warning! Tracker has been locked by the Fate Eye! ]

[ Warning! Tracker has begun to break. The Fate Eye tries to detect the Origin! ]

[ Warning! Data lost! Location of anomaly event obscured by Fate Eye! ]

Gradually, with every new text, the veins of the figure bulged.

"SHUT UP PARASITE!" Their voice sounded heavily as everything around was reduced to dust. Everything except the strange floating text.

[ Notification Function shut down! ]

Clicking their tongue, the figure stood as the throne of parasites started to shift as the individual parasites climbed and stuck to each other in several layers to create a platform for the figure to walk over.

Squish. Squish.

With every step, hundreds of parasites died and revived as they continued to create a path forward, over what no longer existed.

The sound of their twisting and squishing bodies as there wriggled about wouldn't be pleasant to the normal ear, but the figure was perfectly fine,

But, with a look around, the figure seemed to sigh. "The fool has become an even greater danger... sigh... that insect needs to perish, but... I have to be patient. Everything is slowly coming together... The right time has yet to come."

"To move too soon is to abandon all I've done... and to let my emotions take control is to betray all that I seek. A king can't be rash in their judgment."

"Mhm... That's right."

Swishing their hand lightly, the figure summoned a transparent board with strange text on it.

____________________

[ Main Quest:

[ - Gain complete control of the Blue Star :

[ > First Step: Eliminate the Seed of Fate [Accomplished]

[ > Second Step: Take control of at least half the Blue Star [Semi-Completion]

[ > Third Step: Remove the Anomaly [Taleet--- Soulent---] and clear your path as the rightful King. [No Progress]

[ > Fourth Step: Complete Control [------]

____________________

Looking out of some sort of odd window, the figure smiled as their crimson eyes fell and turned to parasites which quickly phased through the ground going somewhere as new crimson eyes popped back in.

...

Back where Tale was,

Some time had passed.

Roksana was being healed by a black-haired woman who had suddenly appeared as several eyes watched Tale with piercing, murderous intent. They didn't care for his identity, as he also wouldn't if he were in their shoes.

With this time, Tale was just gathering his various emotions to save for later.

"Zina, go cancel everything on the misses schedule for today." The black-haired woman said as she stood, looking towards a dark corner of the room.

"Yes." A soft whisper passed as a shadow moved.

Looking at everything, Tale frowned as he sighed.

Roksana should recover in a little over a day, so things weren't too bad, and... he still wasn't sure what to think of the side effects of this. His mind had increased clarity and his thoughts flowed faster and easier. A little of his tiredness was also cleared, though not by much.

"Hmm..."

"Damn headache..."

'Hm?'

Blinking slightly, Tale looked with clear eyes as well as those around as Roksana slowly stood without support as a golden glow healed her.

"Well darn, Soul, I really didn't expect such a surprise today, you know. You've certainly gotten into some odd trouble, I have to say."

Like nothing had happened at all... Roksana walked up to Tale and simply touched his shoulder with a finger as she spoke, "Shift" in her mother tongue.

In an instant, the room gradually changed around the both of them as those around just sighed with relief as they vanished one by one.

Bowing towards their direction, the black-haired woman went last.

'What.'

"Wait, are you really alright?" Tale asked as he looked up at Roksana. He only knew the basic things about Roksana's power, he didn't know much.

"Very perfect. I just had to use a bit of my Fate Flow... something which you don't seem to have a lot of... This is the first I've seen someone with such a low amount..."

"Well, anyway, we're here." With these words said, the room completely changed, or rather shifted.

Taking a breath in as he recovered his apathetic gaze, Tale gazed around for a second. The two were in a laboratory of sorts. One he was familiar with.

Thinking for a moment, Tale looked at Roksana who just grinned as she pleasantly read the emotions Tale was saving for later and walked forward as he turned his head.

"You should get some rest." Tale simply voiced as he walked into a familiar cylindrical tube, which opened with a *beep*.

Step. Step-

With the glass coming down and being secured, a green liquid quickly filled the tube as the connected machines started. All this was the manifestation of a quirk, of course.

Time passed quietly as Roksana ignoring Tale's words stood by and watched as Tale's body structure and appearance gradually changed.

This is what he wanted to do as Raven was still fresh in the minds of the majority of the world as no greater event than his had occurred yet to shift the attention. His appearance wasn't ever really concealed, so it was known.

With this, Tale could go further than just these places where he was secure. He could go to the rest of the world with limited disturbances.

Woooooo....

With the passing of several hours,

Tale's normal appearance was gone, but it still wasn't over.

Roksana was also still here. She was now sat on a chair as she waited for the changes to complete.

She was in a state of absentmindedness as she just looked on in a daze.

Breaking from the state a few moments later, Roksana with clear eyes looked ahead as the sound of draining woke her.

Crsssh!

In a few short breaths,

The tube no longer held any of the green liquid and was crystal clear as it opened, releasing a short wave of mist into the surroundings which quickly dissipated.

"Well, that took long enough." Roksana voiced as she stood. She had various things going through her mind due to the earlier events, but like Tale, she was saving these things for later.

Walking steadily, Tale made his way towards Roksana as he quickly got used to the differences of his body, using a domain to peer at the changes.

None of this was permanent nor long-lasting, unlike what may be thought. These changes would revert after a set period.

Seeing a reflection of his appearance on a surface to the side, Tale simply nodded. The appearance wasn't anything much nor was it too poor. It was average, though honestly, it was better then his own.

Arriving in front of Roksana, Tale still had to look up as he was shorter. It was truly unfortunate.

"What will your temporary new name be?" Roksana asked him as she tapped his shoulder as the room started to shift once more.

"You can pick the name." Tale simply replied.

"Oh? I'll make sure it's a good one then." The smile on her face wasn't very trustworthy, but Tale just nodded. His naming sense was also bad.

_______________________

To be continued...