Morning should have been brighter. The room had windows, yet there was no sunlight inside, despite the sun being clearly outside.
The air was hot there, too heavy to breathe. It was enough to make someone homesick.
He got out of his bed quickly; the pain was gone. Still mentally exhausted, last night was so much more information-dense than the nights that his mind felt twisted beyond repair.
He opened the door expecting someone in the hall.
The hall was silent; it was beyond just empty. He went downstairs, looking for anyone. The house was too quiet; food sat on the table beside a neatly ironed and folded set of clothes.
He noticed a page folded multiple times near his plate. He opened it. "Today is your first day of work. An identity has been prepared and inserted inside you, as secretary to Ravus Corax. The address is below. Take a taxi. We had to leave early. Don't overthink it. —Nevyziel."
He paused for a moment. Most of the content inside the page was already confusing, but the address stood out: Halvyr. It was far from where he lived, on a different side of the continent—the biggest industrial city there.
He ate the food slowly, still wondering about the thoughts he had last night. As he finished putting on his clothes, he heard a honk outside.
After coming out, he saw it was a taxi. As he was about to close the door to put on his shoes, the taxi driver rolled the window down. "Yo, I am here to pick you up. Your friends already paid for it."
"Wait—I have to wear shoes."
This was even more annoying now, going to work just after he woke up. Preparing all of it without asking him.
He closed the door.
Searching every drawer he could, he found nothing. Eventually he found a pair, but they were in terrible condition. They were too tight; he squeezed his feet in despite the pain. Where did they put his own shoes? He wondered.
The taxi driver was waiting outside the car and opened the door for Kaelen. He got in.
He got dropped in front of a large corporate building. "Ravus Industrial Network." It felt a bit old-school with the color and design choice, but its size covered up for it, giving it the feeling of the old theater.
People were gathered at the entrance, possibly for him.
Walking to the entrance felt like climbing a hill with his sore leg and tight shoes combined.
He wondered what "an identity inserted inside you" felt like.
All of them rushed towards him as he got halfway to the entrance.
A pile of files was handed to him. He hadn't even entered the building, and people were already giving him work. "Where is my office?"
A man from the crowd replied. "Second floor, first room from the lift. Before that, check the boss's office on the third floor. It's marked."
The crowd didn't last long after he was handed the files.
He set the files on his desk and went upstairs to see the boss.
He had high expectations from someone who secretly works with followers of the god of deception.
He opened the door. The boss was already looking at Kaelen. The man wasn't as old as Kaelen had anticipated. The room was huge with only the things necessary for his work.
"Come in, Mr. Rowan Kade. I've been waiting for you."
Kaelen was surprised, but he didn't show it. The smallest mistake wouldn't go unnoticed here.
"Good to see you back. That doesn't change anything—don't keep slacking off on work."
"It's good to see you too. So... what do I do?"
He removed his glasses. "I expected you to come prepared, Rowan. Since you didn't go to the new factory and report on its status, check on the work and give me a report with suggestions. Take any car from the parking lot B2."
After leaving, he watched the identity take over; he could only see what it did as he went downstairs, took the keys, and started driving.
The identity was well prepared; it knew where the factory was located.
Something shifted. "Finally," he gasped after gaining control. He reacted too late. He hit the brakes, but the car was slightly scratched by a wall.
He hoped that scratch would go unnoticed; the car was at least 100 times what he earned per month before.
Workers moved in strict, almost synchronized patterns. There were fewer workers than expected.
No one was waiting for him this time; he hoped the identity would take over.
He had no idea of what he had to do.
His body moved without his will; the identity had taken over again. Quickly assessing the work and making a report in a file it had brought.
It finished quickly and returned control just before the stairs. Kaelen decided to go to the roof and think. He climbed 2 stairs at a time.
He kept walking around in a line following the same tiles.
The silence there didn't match other parts of the factory.
He felt a presence behind him and turned. His neck twisted as he shifted his weight off his lead leg.
The man didn't make a sound; he wanted to end this fast.
The man moved differently; he was definitely a follower.
He spun into a backfist—it landed clean.
The man dropped instantly.
Kaelen dodged a jab and drove a hook into the man's ribs.
He didn't think of the consequences, already gasping not out of tiredness but from rage.
He lunged at his downed opponent, hammering down elbows, slowly losing his guard.
Something sharp drove into his side—it barely registered, but it dropped him next to the man.
He heard someone coming upstairs; by the time Kaelen got up, the man wasn't next to him. He could hear his footsteps but couldn't chase.
He got up before someone came. He met a worker at the stairs. The worker saluted him with a head gesture. The stairs felt slower this time, as if they had gotten longer.
Ever since he woke up from the statue incident, he had been following Aurelion's orders. "When would this end?" he thought to himself. What even was the goal he was working for?
He was losing consciousness; the identity took over again. It didn't care about the pain. It worked with cold precision.
It stretched Kaelen's skin just enough to reveal something hidden beneath. A piece of glass—similar to the one Seraphina had used before.
He slipped it into his pocket.
Kaelen regained consciousness at the office; he still wasn't in control. Kaelen realized something unsettling—he could sleep while the identity worked.
The identity opened the door to the boss's office. The boss studied him closely—he had already noticed something was off.
"You came earlier than I expected; I hope you didn't rush through your work."
The identity handed the file to him without saying a word.
The boss gave a loud, forced laugh.
"No one has ever given more suggestions in their month's work than you did in just one report."
The identity stayed quiet, knowing the boss was satisfied—just shocked.
"I won't give you more work. But you can't leave before your shift ends. Do whatever you want—just stay near the office."
Kaelen looked for every sign of ritual or suspicious people till his shift ended at 5. Trying to learn about the boss's routine from co-workers.
He stepped outside a minute before five, expecting some way back—home, or whatever that place was.
Not long after, a car stopped before him; he got in without asking anything. The kid was inside it.
"Do you have a driver's license?"
"Does it matter to you?" the kid replied quickly.
"Can I see that glass?"
Kaelen wondered how he could have known about the glass.
"Yeah, I have it in my pocket." Kaelen gave him the glass shard.
The kid assessed it for a long time.
"There's no energy left. They don't work for gods—they use leftover energy. Whatever they did drained this mirror completely."
"What sort of miracle did they perform?"
"We will check once we get home."
"How did you know about the glass? Did you leave an identity to track me, and why couldn't I see it?"
The kid smiled a bit. "You are catching on quicker than I expected, but you are wrong; all of us share that identity with you, so we know everything that happened."
Kaelen had gotten used to getting such answers, and these things felt normal to him. His body was active at all moments.
The ride felt longer than morning. He kept asking questions about his theory and getting only "no" as an answer.