"Jett." a voice called out from the manor window as the sun rose.

"Yeah?" Jett replied.

"What are you doing?" the indifferent woman's voice gently rode the wind.

"Staring at the sky."

"How did you get outside?"

"Jumped out the window."

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?

"I didn't wear any to sleep."

"Why did you jump out the window?"

"To get outside, see the stars and the sunrise. Couldn't sleep."

"It's cold out. You're supposed to be recovering, and you aren't to be outside alone." the voice said sternly.

"I feel fine. My shoulder already healed. I apologize."

"Foolish child," Joanne sighed. "Come, I'll unlock the front door, get cleaned up and ready before Maros sees this."

The naked and muddy Jett complied, quickly rounding the house and entering the front door.

He scampered up to his room in the early morning darkness before setting his own bath and climbing in.

The mud washed off as he sunk deep into the warm water.

Like that, he became a man once more.

Jett had gotten away with the murder. One which he had no recollection of committing.

He was motionless in the bath, staring daggers into the wooden beams above him, his expression dead and devoid.

The whirlwind of emotions slowly dissipated, melting off his skin and infusing into the water.

Just like how Mattias and Valeria assured one another…

'What's done is done.'

The comfort of the waters absolved his troubled being.

All he had to do was keep swimming, and his life would be the same.

***

Everything was back to the way it was.

The mission he and Valeria had was a simple off-the-books hit on drug dealers. Maros assigned it to them because of its high danger, which meant more Soul to be had.

However, it certainly garnered attention with its explosive result.

Entering his Soul Realm introduced some interesting revelations.

Staring at the dark stars in the sky, Jett could estimate he was halfway between Acolyte and Stalwart—an intermediate-level Acolyte—based on his Soul.

The common method to Stalwart was through certain techniques, increasing the density of the Soul. The other method was to gain so much Soul that density was irrelevant.

However, both required more Soul than Jett currently had. They were thoughts for the distant future.

But most glaring of all was a series of massive jagged bolts that sliced the spherical white sky in every direction, like a mirror shattered by a rock.

'This wasn't here before, was it?'

Jett knew he obviously could identify such a massive and glaring anomaly. But for some reason, he could faintly remember seeing similar lines in his Soul Realm before when he had first entered.

The mind was the greatest deceiver of the self, however.

With the mysterious nature of the Soul Realm, it was possible that Jett didn't have a disturbance in his Soul whatsoever, and that it was simply a manifestation of his thoughts. Jett found this unlikely.

'Maros might have an idea.'

As Jett exited the bath, dried himself off, and got dressed, he flung himself into the comfort of his bed.

Thinking about it now, he remembered the grand statements from Maros of 'earning everything he was given,' yet these days Jett typically had several days off of any work.

After a month or two into Jett's new life, Maros stopped delegating daily tasks. Instead, Maros simply made the tasks longer and monotonous, therefore less time-consuming for himself.

The tasks involved lots of sparring, physical training, and learning. Long-term tasks were the same thing, just in larger amounts for Jett to fulfill without close supervision.

Then when the 'Deal' fights began a few months later, that took over a majority of his tasks, along with his tutoring with Joanne.

Jett's track record of success and obedience to Maros was enough to grant him a tacit, laissez-faire relationship regarding his duty.

As such, Jett currently had nothing to do.

Though it wasn't in his nature to be complacent.

He got out of bed, wandering around the house for things to do, though it was still only early morning.

Jett had a delicious egg breakfast along with Valeria and Joanne; Maros was nowhere to be found.

'Weird. I was confident he was still inside the house…'

He offered to help Joanne around the house but was swiftly declined.

Jett sparred with Valeria in the back, but not nearly at the same intensity as his hell week.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

When they were finished, Jett went inside the house first. Luckily he didn't break too much of a sweat; the cold autumn air helped, otherwise he would have to bathe again.

Valeria followed behind him, lightly closing the door as she stared intently at something.

"Damn, hey Jett come look at this." Valeria said with an impressed inflection.

Jett turned around to see Valeria with a large black and white paper. It was the Upper City newspaper, which she must have grabbed from the front lawn on their way inside.

He complied, walking next to her to read the paper's front page.

In bolded letter was the headline that wrote:

"Gang Warfare Leaves Entire Lower City Block In Shambles."

But all Jett could focus on was the main headline:

"Murder On Central Avenue! Barony Killed In Brutal Robbery!"

Jett froze, his throat drying in an instant as he intently read the body text:

"The patriarch of the small Brunet barony was walking home from a long day managing the Brunet jewelry shop on Upper Avenue. Adam Brunet was said to work late hours to support his deteriorating family and estate, hampered by the passing of his late wife Patrice Brunet, who died of illness in the winter of last year…"

Jett glossed over a few lines detailing the robbery and where the body was found along with other miscellaneous information which included the quote ' a spree of recent murders' in the Upper City.

"…a few witnesses that night say the perpetrator was a young man, wearing the victim's clothes and a mask as he outran the Storm Wardens who arrived on the scene. Other details from witnesses on the murderer's identity could not be confirmed…"

"Captain Maros Carmine was asked for a statement, to which he replied that the Storm Wardens are 'doing everything they can' in regards to their investigation. However, Carmine also states that the killer is likely 'not from the Lower or Middle cities' but 'a young nobleman with severe issues.'"

Jett's worries began to die down.

He wasn't sure if Maros knew that this was misleading the investigation, but it happy all for it.

'Does he know? No, he would've confronted me. I'm not allowed to leave the estate without permission.'

Although, it wasn't the worst guess. Other than Jett being completely unknown to the rest of Upper City society, it was true that he wasn't exactly a poor robber who snuck in from the other cities.

It was complicated, but in the end, all the attention will be drawn towards the outcasts of noble society.

"Hey, don't look so worried, nothing will come out of this." Valeria reassured Jett, though ignorant as to which headline had truly gained his attention.

"Right…" Jett replied nervously, internally reveling in the irony.

In Jett's book, the chapters of both incidents had finally ended.

***

In the corner of the foyer was a subsection akin to a lower city living room.

The two young and unemployed assassins sat around, lazing around on lavish couches, basking in the few beams of sun that peered through the tall glass windows.

"You know," Jett started. "Didn't you say there were others?"

"Hmm? What others?" she replied absentmindedly.

"Other members, of Maros's secret… squad?"

"Not a terrible name, you should pitch it to him," she chuckled. "Yeah, but one of them died a few months ago. The other is on some secret mission."

"How'd he die?"

"Combination of a dangerous mission he was unfit for, and a severe lack of ambition. You know how Maros is. If you can't swim on your own after he throws you neck high in shit, you'll drown in it."

Jett was quite interested in this revelation. A cautionary tale for his future experiences was right up his alley.

'No, I'm sick of alleys. It's always an alley.'

…right up his interests then.

"Though I have an interesting conspiracy theory. The lazy bastard was always complaining, dreaming, scheming about leaving and starting a new life. I bet he faked his death and ran off with some Divine Crusader girl." Valeria pondered.

"So he was spying on the Divine Crusaders?"

"Yup."

"And the other one? Where is he?" Jett pushed further.

"He's infiltrated them as well, though that man is much more competent. Just a tad stronger than myself, I'll give him that." Valeria said.

"How humble of you."

***

A few moments later, Maros returned to the house just after noon.

Walking into the door, he held a massive box stacked with manila folders.

He set the stack down on the ground with a loud and intimidating thud.

"Congratulations Jett, you have been awarded a mission of your own. What's your experience like with schools?"