Von coughed out blood as he sat against the wall of the alleyway.

He hated it. He hated how this dammed kingdom let the dammed nobles do whatever they want. He hated how the royal family let their citizens starve and live in fear. He hated how he and his comrades were blamed for everything. He hated everything about this kingdom.

Von starts to cough again and more blood came out of his mouth. And here he was dying from blood loss getting stab by some random thug and an illness in an alleyway.

He heard someone walking from the right of him. A pair of feet along with a cane stopped in front of Von.

Von looked up. What he saw surprised him. A humanoid being wearing a suit with a red tie like that of a noble, pale skin and hair, empty eyes that only had white dots, and a face that looked like a mask.

His [Danger Sense] was going haywire.

He shivers as the thing stares at him. He felt like the thing was staring into his soul.

"What do you want?" Von growls after composing himself as the thing continues at him.

Then a smile appears on its face. Von noted that its face now looks like a smiling mask.

"Now that's just rude," The thing said in a cheerful voice.

"I don't have to be nice to a monster," Von said, feeling dizzy. "If you want to kill me then just do it." He starts coughing. Von covered his mouth with his hand and after he stops coughing he could see blood on his hand.

The expression on the thing's face turned into a frown. It tapped the ground with its cane. The cane looked like it was made from a dark metal with unknown words inscribe onto it. On top of the cane was an owl that had what looked like a magic stone on the owl's back.

"I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to give you an offer," The thing said. "After all, don't you hate it?"

"What? What you mean?" Von asks surprised.

The thing gesture to everything around them. "Everything. The higher class that exploits the common people and the ruling family that uses you and your comrades as scapegoats after everything you have done for them," The thing said with a smile. "Don't you want to get revenge on them? But you can't. After all, you lost your left arm and are now dying a pitiful death that nobody cares about," It continues.

Von said nothing as he stares at it wearily. It was right. He did want to get his revenge on them.

Its smile became wider and stretched from ear to ear. "But I can change that! I can restore your arm, and give you powers that would allow you to extract your revenge on everyone that wronged you!" It said excitedly.

"But..." The thing begins calming down. "There is one catch. The catch is that you would have to work for me. So what is your decision?"

At first, he wanted to refuse. However, after thinking about it, Von begins to want to accept the offer. But to work for a monster...Von then remembers everyone that wronged him. and the people that killed his friends.

"For your crime against our kingdom, you shall be executed!" A judge declared as Von watch, chained.

"Run Von! At least one of us must escape telling our family what to us!" Someone shouted at him as he ran.

Houses burning as armed men grabbed the survivors and killed them.

"No, no, no!"

Von clenches his fist. "I'll accept the offer as long as I can move freely and have my freedom,"

"Of course, that is acceptable as long as you don't try and betray me," The thing said. It then manifests a piece of paper and a pen. "Sign this and the deal will be sealed, tightly," It said.

??? wants to make a deal. Accept it?

Von took the paper, read through it, and then signed it ignoring the notification.

The deal has been signed and made between ??? And Von.

The paper then glowed and disappeared, turning into ashes.

"Great!" The thing said before pulling a potion of red liquid from the inside of its jacket and pour it on Von's wound and down his throat. "Can't you have you dying on me."

Von watched in amazement as his wound closed, healing without a scar. He noticed that his chest had stopped hurting. 'That must a high-grade potion that cost at least a hundred gold coins.' He thought

The thing held its hand out Von to which he took, letting the thing pull him up. It smiles and snapped its fingers, its skin now that of a normal human being. Its empty eye sockets where eyes should be, now had eyes.

The thing grinned.

"Now let's get going, shall we?