An empty hand, a antique watch, an empty hand again.
A man could be seen walking down the street in three perspectives - past, present and future. One step behind, one step in the present, one ahead. In the third vision, his leg suddenly jerked and his body collapsed. The second vision had just registered the man getting shot through the head.
A shrill scream echoed throughout the street.
In a dark alley nearby, the revolver cooled and the world grew colder.
— Merlin slid the revolver back on his side strap, and walked out from the dark alley arousing no suspicion from the people walking down the Atzek street.
"Target eliminated." said Merlin with a hoarse voice which echoed faintly inside him.
"Good work. Now blend in and take the carriage next." came a woman's voice — an echo overlapping across past, present, and near future. Her voice resonated through his mind.
He heard a faint "Roger" in the future, and when the present arrived, his lips followed with the same.
Merlin stole a glance at the people gathered by the commotion in the present and boarded his carriage. His eyes which had been glowing with a slight golden hue returned back to normal. With one last glance at the amassing crowd, Merlin looked away and stared at the old Atzek buildings, overgrown with moss, rooted deep in his thoughts.
--Ever since I've awakened this damned power.. this stealer of anticipation.. I've felt less human. I keep seeing hallucinations and weird dreams.. Prowess comes with a price, and mine cuts deep. Back then, I couldn't even control my sight - stumbling on even roads like a bloody fool..--
"Don't forget about your next mission in line." A voice echoed.
As soon as Merl heard that, he saw a young woman appear beside him in the carriage. She was adorned with a red long velvet skirt and a black top.
Looking at the beauty before his eyes he let out a deep sigh and pouted, "Bastards. Giving me extra work on the weekend..."
-It's already been a year since I awakened, and tomorrow.. Another awakening ceremony, in the moonlight palace at that. They set me up to scout talent among those brats...-
Astensia said, "Well it's a given after all the enmity you've attracted recently."
"Don't mind them though," she whispered, offering a small, encouraging smile.
Seeking to break the tension, she leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a playful plea. "Anyways, Merl, moving onto more important matters, can we pweasee have a parfait? I can taste the wonders of strawberries already."
"You're impossible," Merlin muttered, and knocked on the carriage window to let the driver know. "But fine. You haven't had one in a while, so let's go."
A radiant beam could be seen striking her face. "Victory!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with genuine radiance.
The Lightless family had no shortage of wonders. Assassins trained from birth, in the shadows, deep within the lull of silence.
To them, Merlin was no more than cannon fodder. Utter trash with a disgraceful mark. Yet, somehow, they had still chosen him for this mission.
To reach sixteen was to face the Great Ordeal; only then would the latent marks ignite, branding each youth with the emblem of their true capacity.
Capacity was written in the ink upon one's skin, and by that cruel reckoning, Merlin was a mere pauper. Time and again, he has endured scorn laughter of his peers, for his mark was laughably meager that spoke of nothing but of broken potential.
After spending their time in the cafe, they had boarded the carriage.
Merlin gazed pass the windows, rooted deep within his thoughts, -Do they seek to ridicule me? I'm sure this new mission is nothing more than a calculated humiliation. Curse them..-
After almost half an hour of agonizing back pain, the carriage rolled to a halt. Merlin lifted his eyes from the weight of his thoughts, and gazed past the tinted glass panels.
Outside loomed a magnificent Victorian styled castle. The castle stood vast but subtle, draped in black like a night veil. Its spires opened towards the skies, engraved runes glowing faintly as though the walls themselves came to life.
Torches lit along the outer walls, their flames bending with the wind. This was the lair of the Lightless — the heart of the shadow clan and the den of night beasts.
The blue moon hung above, reflecting the burning visage of the castle. Merlin stepped down from the carriage, his boots quietly striking the stone. He pulled his cloak tighter, concealing both the gun and the faint shimmer of his thread woven mark beneath his sleeve. Astensia slowly turned transparent and disappeared from view as his mark glowed slightly.
As he neared the gates, he felt them — a pair of colossal eyes, with a overwhelming presence looking towards him, as if they could see deep within his soul. He could feel a chill crawling behind his spine.
He lowered his head in a silent bow as the castle gates automatically bid open.
-Scary as always. They sure know how to intimidate someone.- thought Merlin in the back of his mind.
As he entered the castle corridor, he could feel the cold touch and the whispers of darkness. He walked past the corridor and knocked on a magnificent black door made of harrowing steel .
The door opened automatically and he could see a person wearing a black fedora smoking a cigar.
"You know that you don't have to knock each time. I know that you are there."
Merlin lowered his head and said in a low tone, "Apologies Captain Vance, but it's basic courtesy."
"You've completed the assignment" Vance said, his voice slow and deliberate, as though every word carried weight enough to bring a person to their knees.
"Yes, Captain. The target has been eliminated. There has been no witnesses. " Merlin's tone was steady.
"Good," Vance mumbled, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. "And about the visions?"
Merlin stiffened as the air grew heavy.
"They're stable. I am somehow able to adapt" he said.
"Stable," Vance emphasized, "Tell me, Merlin, when a thread is stretched too thin, what happens?"
Merlin with a hint of hesitation in his voice replied, "It.. snaps."
"Exactly." With a smile that made Merlin shiver, the captain followed, "And when it snaps, what happens to the spider who spun it?"
"...It starves."
"Mm. Perhaps you do learn."
The captain rose from his seat and said "You've been peering where mortals shouldn't have, boy. The 'stealer of anticipation', was it? Your power isn't a gift. It's an invitation from something eerie."
"An invitation?"
"From something that stares at you back."
Vance turned and said with a smile that was a little too wide. "You think that the Lightless train assassins? Negative. We train the blind. And you.." he took a step forward, "You've begun to see."
As Merlin grew dizzy, the captain's voice came again.
"You'll attend the Awakening ceremony tomorrow. The Moonlight Palace. Observe but do not interfere. Bring me alive the one who awakens the 'Eclipse Sigil'."
"And if someone poses a hindrance?"
Vance's grin widened as the room grew dark.
The cigar in his mouth dimmed and Merlin suddenly found himself outside the castle as he heard.
"Then erase the future where they exist."