[Iris Perspective]

We entered the restaurant and sat at a table in the corner. Only a few moments passed before the waiter came, his features tired and his voice even more exhausted:

"What would you like to order?"

Before the Mister masked could open his mouth, I raised my hand and cut him off confidently:

"Everything you've got."

The waiter left, and Mester masked said with a mocking tone:

"Are you trying to bankrupt me?"

I answered with a sly smile:

"This is a farewell dinner, you can't make me eat bread."

"A farewell dinner in the morning? And at my expense?"

"Don't nitpick the details. Didn't I say I'd pay you back?"

"And since we won't meet again, how exactly will you return it?"

Hearing him say that bothered me deeply. Did everything we went through together mean nothing to him? Still, I forced myself to smile and said:

"That's why you have to take me with you."

"I refuse."

I sighed deeply, and then I heard a familiar voice whispering beside me:

"Don't worry, you'll probably see him again."

I turned, and there was Jevan floating beside me. His voice always carried that mysterious confidence. And truth be told, all his predictions had come true so far. The waiter returned carrying a massive tray, then left and came back again and again until the table was packed with dishes. I didn't wait long. I started devouring the meat dishes greedily while the Mester masked just stared at me in disbelief.

I asked with my mouth full:

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Do you know what kind of meat you're eating?"

"As long as it's edible, I don't care."

He hugged the little cat Timaeus to his chest, closed his eyes slowly, and said:

"You're eating his siblings right in front of him? What a savage you are."

The piece almost choked me. I spat it out quickly:

"What?! This is cat meat?!"

Mester masked laughed, then calmly ate another bite:

"I'm only joking."

"You bastard."

"Well, I admit it."

...

The next morning, Mester masked left his apartment carrying a small shoulder bag. I stood waiting for him, face to face.

"I guess this is goodbye."

"Yes, it seems so."

"I'm no good at goodbyes."

"Neither am I."

"See you?"

"Goodbye."

He turned and left. Then Jifan appeared beside me and said:

"Looks like it's my goodbye too."

"Can't you stay?"

He pointed toward Mester masked:

"I can't, even if I wanted to. I'm bound to that little fool."

He crossed his arms and added:

"We are two souls in one body."

He lowered his hat, then bowed and said:

"Take care of yourself."

"Fine."

"Will you pursue revenge?"

"Yes."

"Despite all my warnings?"

"Yes."

He replied in an empty tone:

"Your choice, and I respect it. Just… be careful."

"I will."

He glanced one last time at Timaeus and said:

"Take care of her, my little friend."

And as if the cat understood, it nodded its head. Then he vanished.

***

The ghost Jevan appeared again beside the masked boy, and the latter asked without turning:

"Back at last?"

"Did you miss me?"

"Me? Those were the happiest few months of my life."

"Should I go back to Iris then?"

"I'm kidding. Don't you like jokes?"

Jevan didn't reply. He just looked back for a long time.

The masked boy said:

"Did you know her?"

He shrugged:

"I knew Iris, but not this one."

The masked boy changed the subject:

"It'll be a shame to leave this place."

"Don't regret what's gone, nor what's coming. Focus on the present."

"Is that advice for me, or for you?"

"Both of us."

From afar, Iris was watching them walk away. With every step, she felt something heavy squeezing her chest.

***

[Iris Perspective]

Days passed since the Mester masked departure. The place became annoyingly empty. I started noticing just how quiet and desolate this neighborhood really was.

I packed my things. I couldn't stay here any longer. On my way out, I passed by his apartment. I placed my hand on the door. I was about to push it how I always wanted to know what he was hiding inside. But the door was locked. I could've forced it open, but I didn't. He would be angry when he returned, so I left it as it was. I'll ask him later to open it for me.

...

After moving into my new apartment, I went to the tavern "The Broken Glass." Garod, as usual, was standing behind the counter, polishing an old cup.

"Do you have a job for me?"

He lifted his head in surprise:

"You're the one asking for work yourself?"

"I'm bored."

He set the cup aside, then handed me a piece of paper:

"These are the addresses of some human traffickers. Watch them and record whatever you can."

"Why do you want me to watch them?"

He dug his fingers into his palm and said:

"I plan on crushing them."

...

I spent the next few months watching those scum. In the mornings, I tailed them, and in the evenings, I came back to play with little Timaeus. Nothing of interest happened until that boy showed up.

He looked about fourteen, black hair, brown eyes. At first, he was just a waiter in the tavern, then he officially joined us. I didn't care his presence or absence was all the same to me.

But during one mission, I saw him pull a watery hilt from his coat, and when he raised it, a blade of water extended from it. That sword? Didn't it look exactly like the Mester masked sword? I focused on it, and then I was certain. That was definitely Mester masked sword. What was it doing with this boy?

He used the Mr masked sword to wipe out the gangsters standing in his way. I kept watching him from afar even after the mission was done.

Inside the tavern, I turned to Merelda who was sitting beside me and asked:

"Do you know who that boy is?"

She turned toward me:

"That new member?"

"Yes, what do you know about him?"

A sly smile crept onto her face and she leaned toward me a little:

"Why? Did he catch your eye?"

"Sort of."

Her face showed surprise, but it quickly faded as she chuckled softly:

"I don't know much. He just walked into the tavern one day, caught the boss's attention, and got taken in."

"Do you know where he got that system Piece?"

"No."

I sighed in frustration, and it seems she noticed, because she changed her tone:

"If you're interested in the piece, I know a merchant who sells copies close to the original."

"No, I don't want any system pieces."

She gave me a sidelong glance and said:

"Obviously you're more interested in the boy than the fragment. Raven, isn't it?"

"Maybe. Do you know where he lives?"

"Why don't you go and ask him yourself?"

I stood and headed toward him. He was sitting alone in the corner, staring silently into his cup. The moment he felt my presence, he lifted his gaze toward me and said in a flat tone:

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about something, outside."

He stood and walked beside me out the door. Everyone's eyes were on us. Once we reached a side alley, I stopped, and so did he.

"What did you want to talk about?"

I narrowed my eyes and said sharply:

"Where did you get that sword?"

I noticed signs of irritation on his face before he said:

"That's none of your business."

I grabbed his coat sleeve and raised my hand, a small flame flickering in my palm, then said:

"Either you tell me now, or I'll burn you to death."

He pushed my hand away. He must have thought I was joking, because he started to walk off. I extended my arm and blasted fire at his leg, making him fall. I approached, grabbed him by the collar, and said this time with harsher tone:

"This is your last warning. Now answer me, where did you get that sword?"

He mumbled something I couldn't hear, then said:

"I was in one of the labs…"

I cut him off angrily, bringing the flame closer to his face:

"I don't care about your miserable life story, just tell me where you got that sword."

He raised his hands in surrender:

"That's what I was getting to."

I lowered my hand and said:

"Go on."

"Like I said, I was locked in one of the labs, until a masked boy broke in and freed me and my cellmate. During the escape, we ran into that mad doctor in charge of the experiments."

"Skip the details."

"The masked boy and a masked girl fought the doctor. Things got out of hand. At the last moment, the masked boy grabbed a magic amulet, wished for us to escape, and just before we vanished, he threw me the sword. Then I found myself outside."

"And what about the Mester masked?"

"Mester Masked? I don't know what happened to him after that."

His tone grew heavier with sadness:

"Most likely, he died there. The fight with that mad doctor wasn't going well, so he probably used the amulet to send us out."

My grip tightened on his collar as I said:

"You're lying! There's no way Mester masked died."

"And why would I lie to you?"

I shoved him hard against the wall, then walked away. He's lying. The masked boy couldn't possibly be dead. I'm sure no, I know. He's too strong, there's no way some lunatic doctor could defeat him. But doctor? There's only one Man I know who calls himself by that title. The moment his name came to mind, old memories resurfaced.

Memories of being strapped to an operating table, his disfigured face leaning in, setting my body aflame, watching me scream and writhe in agony while he smiled that cursed smile. I slammed my fist against the wall beside me, over and over until blood dripped from my hand.

He won't die. He'll come back. I'm certain. So I waited.

The first year passed slowly. And every time Raven appeared before me, I felt the urge to burn him alive. How dare he wield that sword?

Then came the second year. I started looking for him myself. I went to the address I was given, that of the man called Rusted Corven. Unfortunately, I got nothing useful. When I asked him, he only said he hadn't seen the Mester masked since he disappeared two and a half years ago.

In the third year, I built a close friendship with Corven. He even offered to help me go to the middle district and forge a fake identity. I refused, not only because I wanted to wait for the Mester masked, but because the anger inside me toward that doctor kept growing.

That doctor worked for the guardians, the ones running their vile experiments on the lower district's people. But I couldn't intervene. I wasn't strong enough. And the gang "Bloodfang" had signed a pact with the guardians and the other gangs a pact not to interfere in each other's business, including human trafficking.

The years went by. One, then two, then three, until the sixth year came. That's when I started to think: is he really dead? Was all this hope just an illusion? At that point, I couldn't hold back my tears.

In the end, I decided to return to that apartment complex, one last visit. I walked through the dusty abandoned halls until I stopped in front of the Mester masked apartment.

And then I froze, because the lock on the door was broken. I stood still for several minutes before slowly pushing the door open.

The room was turned upside down, blood covered the floor, and the glass of the window across from me was shattered. I approached, and down in the street, I saw a trail of blood leading toward one of the abandoned buildings.

I ran until I got inside, and there on the floor lay a young man unconscious. His hair was brown, his clothes soaked in blood. I approached cautiously, knelt down, and began checking his body. Strangely enough and at the same time relieving his body had no wounds at all. I leaned in closer. Then his eyes opened, crimson red. I immediately drew back.

It was unmistakable. I could never forget his face without the mask, not since that one time I had seen it. Even after all these years, even though he looked older. His presence here, in this place, left no doubt. This was the Mester masked. He had returned.

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