I hoped I didn’t screw up this time. That deal I made with that shady reporter, Buck, I wished it wouldn’t come back and bite me later. But from my perspective, it was something worth the risk. Not many people would be willing to lend me their aid, surely not against the people I was facing. I had no idea who they were but to be able to shut down such a criminal investigation just like that and even erasing everything in the record meant they had tremendous influence and resources to back it up. Perhaps one of the top politicians of our country or some millionaire. Either way, against this kind of threat, few would dare to.

In this society, money was everything. People could say how money couldn’t buy anything. It might be true if you were talking about sincere love but aside from that? Money could buy a lot of things. It was a very powerful incentive that could be used to push people into doing something they wouldn’t normally do. In the case of a greedy man like Buck, it worked wonderfully.

The next day, I proceeded to make my move. I had ten million dollars, should be able to do a lot of things with that. It surprised me a bit when I came to the bank, only to be serviced in the most luxurious way possible. I had access to a VIP room where I could make all the transactions I wanted without fearing about any leak of information. Unlike before whenever I had a problem with my bank account, I must stand in line for almost half an hour just to get an appointment. I didn’t care what people said. Having money was the best in the world.

Which was what I wanted to say. I wished I could dance like a maniac throwing money like throwing trashes. I certainly could. It was once a small selfish dream of mine. Yet, now that I obtained the means to do it, I didn’t. For what exactly was I happy for? This money only came in my possession because my wife and child were dead.

I started by pulling a chunk of cash out of my account. One part would be for Buck and his investigation. We decided to meet in in the alley next to the bar we had visited the day before. Sneaking around in dark places was not really my thing and I almost dropped the envelope with the money inside. Buck seemed used to stuff like this, however. As I expected from a shady reporter such as him. After recounting the money like a banker, Buck gave me a few pieces of advice for our next meeting. Like how I should make sure not to be followed by anyone, avoid looking too nervous or suspicious, those sorts of things. I supposed for a first timer like myself, I did look a bit odd. It reminded me a bit of those spy movies, except that I was not nearly as half as cool as those agents in the shows.

At this point, I was pretty sure that Buck knew about my intention of revenge. However, he didn’t know what kind of revenge I was looking for. For all he knew, I only wanted to expose the scandal even further and hired him to look for shady businesses or affairs behind the man responsible for the death of my family. I guessed my goofy look only gave him that idea. But that was not what I wanted. That kind of revenge would go nowhere. I was sure that to those who were able to just halt a police investigation, a few scandals would do nothing. It was already too late for them to face the judgment of the law. The only thing they deserved was righteous retribution and I would be the one to bring it to them.

But I could not rush this carelessly. What I intended to do, I must not let anyone get in my way, one way or another. Before I knew it, it was already past eleven at night. Did I black out again? The last thing I remembered was me wandering the shopping district in the morning and now I found myself amidst dense vegetation at night time. Perhaps I went crazy from the loss of my family. I was never the strong kind of man, merely a weakling in both strength and will. It was possible that this has affected me more than I had imagined.

Before doing anything else, I needed to figure out where I was. I thought at first that I was in the middle of some tropical forest but the idea alone was absurd. I quickly found my way out upon stumbling across a pavement made out of red tiles. This was no tropical forest. This was the central park of the city. I had come here before with my kid so I recognized the landscape. It was over a year ago. Back then, the park was still nice, unlike today. For some reasons, this place became a den for a group of thugs a few months ago, especially at night. Piles of garbage were left uncleaned because the workers dared not coming in. Used needles and other toxic trashes were scattered around. I knew it was bad but never thought it was this bad. Then again, I never paid attention much to this sort of things. Back then, I kept my head low, only tried to live my peaceful days while ignoring the rest. I was aware of these atrocious things but decided to avert my eyes away from them.

Suddenly, a strange sound got my attention. I could hear a familiar voice begging for help not far from where I was. I was afraid. Considering the location where I was, it was highly possible that I would encounter some misfortunate soul who decided it was a good idea to take a walk in this treacherous place in the middle of the night. Though I myself was not in a position to berate them. Buck did tell me about that biker gang also hanging around in this park. What in the world was I doing here? Curious, I tried to keep a low profile as I located the source of the voice. The closer I approached, the more painful it seemed to be. It was as if they were being attacked.

Little did I know, it was here that my life began a new chapter as it took a new turn for the worse. I was never a brave man and I should know have known my place. I should have never tried to be someone I was not. Have I not, I would have never met him.

“Hello there!” A cheerful male voice called out to me.

Under the moonlit night, in what I called a scenery of hellish nightmare dyed in blood and gore, a man in dark clothing with a white smiling mask stood in the middle of it all. Long leather coat up past his knees with thick boots, the man in question wore a fedora hat over his head and his face was hidden by that eerie smiley mask. In his handheld a long obsidian blade in his hand with a glossy surface. A crimson fluid flowed from the edge of the blade toward the ground below, making a stain.

He reminded me of one of those psychopaths in the movies I saw. Only this time, he was not inside a television but real and right in front of my eyes. We were standing in a recreation ground reserved for children. But the dirty sand was stained with blood from the mutilated corpses lying on them. I recognized their clothing immediately. They belonged to those biker kids that beat me up. But now, they were all dead, except for the leader of the gang who was known by the name Ross, if I remembered correctly. He didn’t look so good right now. His chest was bleeding profusely as he tried to crawl away from the masked man.

I wanted to run away but my legs refused to budge. These weakly limbs could only tremble in fear. Who wouldn’t if they were in my situation?

“Enjoying your late-night walk?” The masked man asked me. His voice sounded a little too happy for someone who has just been discovered in the middle of a crime. “How about some company? Just a moment. I will grab this up very quickly.”

“He..lp...me!” Ross called out desperately with his little voice. Unfortunately for him, due to his own actions, this place has been deserted for months without a single soul present in this night to lend him aid, all but me. Yet, even though I was right in front of him, Ross ignored my presence and tried to look past me. Did he assume that I was with that maniac behind him or his accomplice or something?

Holding his ominous sword tightly, the man walked toward the slow biker who has been doing his best to crawl away despite his mortal wound. There was no flashy or build up in tension like in the movie. With a swift draw, the masked man thruster his sword onto the back of Ross’s head, piercing through his face down to the sand below. Then he pulled it out and cut off the corpse’s head with a single slash. All he did next was to swing his sword strongly to the side and all the blood was washed away to the ground. Meanwhile, all I could do was watch and stand like an idiot as the murderer approached me slowly with his sword in hand. Could he be the serial killer mentioned in the news lately? The one Buck has warned me about. How unlucky must I be to encounter this guy right here?

“Enchanté! I believe this is the first time we met. Verso, at your service!” The man removed his hat and greeted me with an overly polite bow, revealing his black hair before putting his hat back again. An odd one he was. The guy certainly seemed friendly if not for the bloody carnage behind him and the sword in his hand.

“…..Hi!” I raised my hand and greeted him back. Whoever this guy was, it was clear that he was not normal. He just committed several murders without batting an eye. I must not anger him at any cost.

“No need to be shy! You don’t mind if I join your little nightly walk, do you?” Verso, or so this mysterious masked individual called himself, said to me. Despite his friendly tone, I could feel the chill up to spines. Every inch of my body was screaming in fear. I felt like he could end me in just a second if he wanted to.

Swallowing up my fear, I tried to talk in hope that he would let me go. “Sure…”. Looking past him, I didn’t want to become like those dismembered corpses lying on the red stained ground below. For now, I should do what he wanted.

“Let’s go!” The killer put away his sword in its scabbard dangling around his waist.

We walked down the main road of the park in silence. The strange man walked ahead, leading the way while I stayed in the back, looking for opportunities to get away. But every time I tried to, he turned back suddenly with that creepy smiling mask of his. It was as if he knew what my intentions were like the back of his hand. I couldn’t manage to sneak away from him. So I kept my mouth shut, fearing where he was going to lead me. I thought that after losing my family, there was no reason for me to cling to this life anymore. I thought so. Yet, why was it that I could still feel fear in my heart? What could possibly give me a purpose to hold onto this miserable life any longer? What was stopping me to just cast away everything?

“Hope.” Verso spoke with his back facing me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“What drives you to hold to your life. The source of your fear. It is hope. Maybe everything will turn out okay. Maybe the police will capture the true culprit and put him behind bars. Maybe I won’t have to do anything.”

“Stop it!” I shouted.

“You ask for those things, even though you are well aware of how impossible they are. No, you haven’t changed a bit, Mr. Alphonse. All you are doing is clinging to a false hope that you won’t have to dirty your hands, just like you always did.”

“What? How do you know my name?”

“Is it that difficult to admit? We are all humans. Only when we are facing a great struggle do we show our true selves. I have seen it. It is the most disgusting thing I have ever laid my eyes upon. Chaos, war, death. Everything stems from our desire of conflict, the selfishness of one. Such is the true nature of humanity.” Verso looked at me intensively, as if his stares could pierce through my very soul.

“No…no!” I wrapped my hands around my ears. But his serpentine words still managed to find their ways to reach my mind.

“So you see, it is perfectly normal to feel what you are feeling right now. You are one of them too, are you not?”

“No, I AM NOT!”

Grabbing my face close to his, Verso peered into my eyes. His face was that of a pure darkness, a veil so murky it shrouded all manners of vileness and secrets from the world. I could not see beyond it.

“Then abandon your humanity! Ascend to the beyond! Join me!”

My sense of reason was being taken away from me. Somewhere inside my mind, his words echoed repeatedly. It was absurd, yet it sounded true. Within the infinite timeless of consciousness, my mind no longer resisted its temptation. The chains that bound my will rattled as they started to crack. I was free.

“From now on, it will be us two against the world. Trust no one but me! Listen to no one but me! And I will help you in your quest! I will be your one and only ally in this distorted world! Your only friend, Verso Phalanges!”