He thought of his mother as he played. Soft, repetitive pressing of keys made sound that enraptured the people. All people. Even a brute could recognize beauty if shoved in his face.

As his hands moved along the keys of the piano, the pace grew as did the intensity. It made him remember the times when his audience consisted of two people so deep in love. With each other. As well as with him. And when they sat before the fireplace, huddled together under a blanket, Amadeus had rushed through the piece as he did at that very moment. Back then it was to go and jump into the huddle with his mother and father. But as he played alone in the underground bar with an audience more intoxicated than even he himself, Amadeus rushed through the piece, for he wanted the memories only for a moment.

But he had to live the memory until the end. Until they were both murdered by that man. And how he could have kept them both were he not a dumb, impulsive, and utterly helpless boy. His face twisted as he played and the fingers that had caressed the piano in the beginning now hurt it. It didn't deserve it of course. It was his savior. But when your savior only provided you with a pleasant lie after failing to actually save anything, what good was the savior?

Amadeus rejected its solace and hacked away at the piano. All the right notes at a pace the audience could only marvel at. But it was not beautiful. It was a butchering of beauty. Because beauty did not exist, and Amadeus did not like lying even if it was the only thing he was ever any use at.

An unfamiliar face then showed itself among the crowd. It was a well-dressed man with a dome of hair on his head and his hand wrapped up.

Amadeus watched him with knit brows while he played. Then the man's rather wide mouth opened and he moved his lips. 'Amadeus, I presume.' he mouthed.

Amadeus' heart went cold. He even skipped a few notes before rushing the piece to its end. He stood up with slow and measured movements like nothing had happened before giving a bow and getting off stage.

"Fine performance," the newcomer said, waiting for him amid the crowd.

Amadeus smiled brightly and shook hands with him. "Thank you, my friend."

"No need for thanks. I am but a humble servant of truth," the man spat the code.

Amadeus felt like a sigh but only clapped the man on the shoulder. "I see you're my kind of man."

"You don't say. Care to join me for a drink?"

"Outside, please. I hear the sundown will be gentle."

***

After a few steps outside in an empty alley, Amadeus wheeled on the man his face like blue stone. "So who the fuck are you?"

The man raised his hands. "I'm here with a proposal. I think we know each other. My name is Damian, Bird of Midnight."

Some weight lifted off Amadeus. "So you're the handler Zila went on and on about. She used to talk about you like you were as charismatic as the Conqueror of the West with connections to the damned devil in hell."

Damian scoffed. "And I heard you can 'turn into other people'. Though Zila didn't hold the hyperbole, I wish she was true with that."

In reply, Amadeus gave a little grumble.

Damian tilted his head. "So, onto business."

"Hold. A mutual friend doesn't equate to trust. And I'm out if you haven't heard. I quit before Zila was..."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Yeah. I heard. But you'll want this."

Amadeus' eyes narrowed. "How much do you know about me."

"I know what he did to you."

Amadeus frowned, giving Zila a little curse. "So what?"

"I'm offering you revenge. You can play a part in his death."

Amadeus snorted, looked at Damian, and then laughed. "You're on smoke. Say it clearly. You're offering me a pipedream." Amadeus exaggerated to test Damian's faith.

Damian wasn't shaken in the slightest. "You've heard of the liveD?"

Amadeus' eyes went a little wider. "You work for them?" Now Damian had his attention. The liveD was quite the mystery. Amadeus just assumed it was a ploy by Numen.

"Not them." Damian pointed up. "Him."

Amadeus looked up and on the roof of a four-story building, there was the most handsome man he had ever laid eyes on. Their eyes met and Amadeus couldn't move. The man's expression was one of slight curiosity, but lacking any trace of impression. He was wearing a hood, but as he sat on the edge of the roof it was easy to see what lay under it. A head of golden hair.

Amadeus knew what was happening in Mircrest, so he knew that it couldn't be. But it was. It was obvious to all educated individuals that the man was of Zalfarian royal blood. The rumors about him being the son of Ares had seemed a little fantastical, though. Amadeus had thought it more likely that the man was just a banished royal.

However, the very second Amadeus saw him was the second he realized that the fantasy was true. The myth of Ares was true. And he did have a son. A son that was the greatest man Amadeus had ever seen.

"So the son of Ares is the Devil from Above the Clouds."

Amadeus muttered under his breath.

He could see Damian's smile with his peripheral vision.

Then Amadeus asked the only natural question, "What do you need me to do?"

***

Amadeus was a curly-haired lanky boy with bronze skin that was contrasted by a pale birthmark on his cheek.

Aurelius didn't go down to greet him. Instead, he made his way back to the long carriage he and Damian had traveling in.

Greeting the two coachmen, Aurelius made his way inside. Aurelius had been doubtful about the two at first. Then it became clear why Damian had handpicked them. They were father and son. As long as paid well, they had no reason to put themselves in harm's way by going against Aurelius. And paid well they were.

The carriage was so comfortable Aurelius felt guilty being in it. His whole life, he had gotten by with bare necessities. He had a hard time getting it through his head that it was in his power to own that comfort for life. He was happy about that. If he had felt entitled to it, he would've been just like the animals he put down.

He sat down on his side of the carriage and started writing in his new black notebook. After years of careful writing, the gray notebook had become full. Now it collected dust as Aurelius scribbled manically into his new one.

He made notes on Amadeus. The intention was to ponder over his nature. Aurelius found himself fixated on the type of clothing he wore or the way he looked at Aurelius. He had seen it before. That reverence. It made him sick to his stomach.

He put the notebook away as he heard footsteps approach the carriage. After collecting himself behind the door, Aurelius burst out calmly and looked upon Amadeus who now held a suitcase.

The moment went still. Nobody said anything.

Amadeus looked about to extend a hand but refrained. Aurelius understood and extended one himself. Amadeus shook it eagerly.

"Your hands are really big," Amadeus said with an enthusiastic smile then shook his head in what seemed like embarrassment.

After the handshake, Aurelius motioned for Damian to get inside before addressing Amadeus formally. "It's good to have you on board. Damian vouched for you. I trust you're capable of this mission. I still have to ask if you're sure you want to do this. There is a chance you'll die... And a chance that it will be useless."

In a split second, Amadeus wiped all emotion from himself. Damian wasn't lying. If the excitement was an act or not, Aurelius was not sure. But he sure couldn't see a single shred of it left behind. Amadeus could become what he wanted to even if it meant forgetting himself.

"I think you've heard already," Amadeus said, his voice coming out as a stable line. "Orpheus is responsible for my father's death. I confronted him as a stupid child. Then he killed my mother right in front of me. I would be here even if the percent of success would be .01."

That... wasn't what Aurelius wanted to hear.

Still. "Then there is nothing more to discuss. I will do everything in my power to ensure your work results in that man's death," Aurelius said. Then something peculiar came to mind.

Amadeus showed a slight but confident smile. "In that case, I promise to fulfill my role."

Aurelius nodded with respect to Amadeus' determination before turning to go back inside. "You're in charge of forming your intelligence mission. Just run it by us when it's done. Now let's go. We have under two months to kill the center of corruption in this country."