An inhuman roar echoed through the hospital room.

Rorschach and Kano’s exorcism had angered the will residing within the Donkey Hide. Though its vessel had been destroyed, the dying young man remained. More and more "things" were now crossing time and space to converge on this very spot.

It had arrived.

Valon was the first to notice and the one to feel it most deeply. He struggled to breathe as a scorching wind, thick with the dust of a thousand years, billowed into his face, flooding his fragile nostrils and lungs.

"Some...thing...is...coming..." The young man placed all his hope in the four Mages present. He lay on the bed while they stood over him, observing him from on high.

Originally, he had meant to warn the Mages, but from this perspective, Valon felt like a piece of meat on a chopping block. ’You’ve doomed me...’ This thought sparked a sliver of venomous resentment in Valon’s heart. The unknown, ominous entity immediately seized upon it, amplifying the emotion and successfully dragging Valon’s Soul into a Domain he had never known existed.

Valon’s consciousness faintly registered the words "exorcism" and "God of Change." But in his vision, he was no longer lying in a hospital room. He was in an endless sea of quicksand. Outside the window, night had fallen, and a crescent moon ascended into the ultramarine sky, casting down a cold, merciless light.

The young man faced the cold moonlight as the quicksand behind him surged, writhing as it threatened to swallow and consume him. The scorching wind had vanished with the moon’s ascent, and so too had the Mages. Valon was plunged into absolute terror.

Then, in an instant, an incongruous crimson light shattered everything. It pierced his pitiful, crumbling Soul. This wisp of a Soul might not have weighed 21 grams anymore, but it carried the entirety of Valon’s will as it was irresistibly pulled into the air by the light.

"I curse you, arrogant one! I curse you for breaking the covenant I established! I curse you for angering a Divine Spirit!"

The words, spoken from behind him, made Valon’s blood run cold. At the same time, a familiar, clear voice spoke in his mind:

"Its final curse has ended. Do not turn back."

Rorschach’s warning dispelled his panic. ’Don’t turn back, don’t turn back...’ Valon’s Soul finally calmed, allowing itself to be guided by the red light. For a fleeting moment, the crimson light resolved into scenes he had never witnessed before.

Towers of glass that reached for the heavens; a dazzling spectacle of lights; glowing windows flashing with countless messages and patterns; a forest made entirely of steel, intertwined with pipes that spewed white mist.

Then came things he could not comprehend: countless symbols, seemingly woven into a long, patterned scroll, yet were impossible to recognize or describe. Then something was revolving around a central point, something else was ebbing and flowing like the tide, and something was...

...collapsing, just like his own consciousness.

Fortunately, the forced dreamscape lasted only an instant before contracting back into a crimson light. When it all dissipated, his vision returned to normal—

Daylight. A reasonably comfortable room. Four figures looking down on him from on high. It was all back. He was back.

Valon broke into a violent coughing fit. Rorschach rushed forward and handed him a handkerchief. After coughing up a clot of dark blood, the patient’s whole body instantly relaxed.

"Balan? Quilimo? Thoth?" Rorschach fired three names at the now-conscious Valon.

Valon looked confused. "Rorschach Mage, what are you...?"

"He doesn’t recognize them." Rorschach breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Kano.

To Valon, it looked as if Master Kano was in the middle of casting something. He didn’t answer Rorschach immediately, only speaking after dispelling his Magic. "He’s not lying. Unless the God of Change itself could deceive my Magic."

Rorschach quickly pointed his staff at Valon. "Then just to be safe..."

"Don’t be so tense," Kano said, reassuring both Rorschach and Valon. "It’s just a fragmented will that’s claimed a few lives. Even if it possessed young Valon, I’m confident I could get rid of It."

After a doctor confirmed the young man was stable, the two men from the Alchemy Department went to stand guard outside the door. Kano left first, and Rorschach followed a few paces behind him.

’It’s over...’ Although his illness remained, Valon was optimistic. He believed he was no longer cursed or controlled by that malevolent Donkey Hide. Everything was going to be okay.

’When this is all over, I’ll take the money, head to the countryside, buy a manor, and live like a wealthy squire...’

Suddenly, Rorschach stopped, making Valon, who had just begun to fantasize about his idyllic country life, tense up again. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The Mage’s voice was so soft that the patient could barely hear him. "Did you see anything in your final moments of possession?"

Valon struggled to recall the terrifying experience. He remembered passing through a bizarre dreamscape for an instant, but like most dreams upon waking, the details were already a complete blur. "Strange sights... but I can’t remember them. Even if I could recall a few fragments, I wouldn’t be able to describe them to you, sir."

’Would Rorschach Mage be satisfied with that answer?’ Valon wondered anxiously. "Sir, I’m very sorry. Please believe me..."

"There’s no need to apologize. Just get some rest. And don’t forget our agreement," Rorschach said, then walked out of the room.

...

Valon stepped out of the carriage and returned to the Mining Company he had been "away" from for two days. Fortunately, the day before yesterday had been the last day of the ten-day work cycle, so strictly speaking, he had only skipped a single day of work.

As the general manager, it was no big deal.

Before entering the main gate, he drank the last of the calming Potion. "Ugh... this tastes awful."

"I’ll pass that along. Maybe they can add something to improve the taste next time." The two burly men from the Alchemy Department had been assigned by Kano to be Valon’s Bodyguards. Such protection would be necessary until Valon completed his mission.

"No need. The damn bitterness reminds me that I’m a patient who needs his medicine."

Many of the employees in the main hall noticed the general manager’s return, but his secretary was the first to rush down the stairs. "Sir, where have you been? I went to ask Madam Paylon, the last person to be with you, but she threw me out of her mansion! Then I tried Miss Madeline, Miss Julia, Madam Skitan..."

’Whoa...’ One of the men behind him almost cracked a smile, looking at Valon’s slight frame in a new light.

Valon cut his secretary off before he could recite his entire list of high-profile female clients. "Ahem, that’s enough! I had to deal with some private matters on my day off, and it took longer than I expected..."

He noticed his secretary eyeing the "Bodyguards" with suspicion and quickly offered an explanation. "These two are retainers from my family. They’ve come to seek me out, so I’ve taken them on as personal Bodyguards."

The secretary nodded. "As long as you’re all right, sir. I was terribly worried. Public order in Valuva has been deteriorating again, so it’s for the best that you have more personal Bodyguards." It was common knowledge that Valon’s family had once been prominent, so the explanation aroused no suspicion.

The four of them headed upstairs, and the secretary began making arrangements for the Bodyguards. "Will you two require a salary? We can put it on the company’s books. I’ll have someone clear out the room next to your office right away to serve as your quarters."

"That won’t be necessary. They’ll stay in my office with me."

This was a clear violation of company policy and made the secretary feel his own position and usefulness were being threatened. "But, sir..."

"They’re my own men. It’s fine. Now, hurry up and brief me on the last two days."

So Valon sat down behind his desk, flanked by his two Bodyguards. The secretary had no choice but to pretend they weren’t there as he gave his report and submitted the documents requiring Valon’s approval.

After the secretary left, one of the "Bodyguards" began Casting, while the other reminded Valon, "Per the instructions of Master Kano and Rorschach Mage, let’s begin."

"Right." Valon complied, handing the documents to the Mage from the Alchemy Department.