"How do I look?" Connor turned to ask as he struggled with his clothes in front of the mirror. Wearing a classy brown suit and tie that wasn't unlike the one he wore to his graduation party, he looked rather gentlemanly.

Mariya took a good long look at him before speaking, "Hmm... you look very nice, Mr Willimas! A suave, sharp-dressing man is sure to attract anyone's attention! How about me? Does my outfit suit a Merriam?" She posed in her stunning outfit.

Connor nodded in approval as he examined Mariya: she wore a white, tight-fitting button-up shirt that fitted inside her waist-high trousers. This, along with her knee-length prussian blue lounge coat and short velvet tie, completely sold the 'professional look' they set out to achieve.

"Well... you definitely do look the part of a genius detective. And you're pretty to boot, so I wouldn't worry too much about your clothes,"

Mariya giggled, seemingly satisfied with his praise, but she continued testing him, "I dunno, this isn't my real face... should I be happy or sad?" Her coy, flirty tone made Connor snort.

"I'm tempted to say you'd look better naked," He shoved the cherry-wood pipe into his pocket with a smile, "But yes, you look lovely with both faces,"

She stood behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder, "Oh? Why the hesitation; I don't mind,"

He gulped, "Because you're Mariya, not Merriam," He slightly turned his head, chin lightly hovering over her forehead, "...I'll be torn to pieces if I'm not careful,"

Suddenly, she was off of him in an instant, "Good," She headed for the door, "We're Connor and Mariya now, so I'll kill you if you even touch me,"

"Mn," He walked away from the mirror and began to put on his overcoat and hat.

"I'll be going down first, don't forget the pocket watch and pen... Williams,"

"Go on ahead, Merriam,"

-Click!-

"She can touch you, but not the other way round? Men really do live a rough life even in another world..."

He was surprised; it was the Book of Fate! For the past week or so, it had been entirely silent. And although Connor was curious, he wasn't very interested in investigating amid the ongoing action he was experiencing one after the other...

"Where have you been all this time?" Of course, just because he didn't have the time doesn't mean he wasn't curious.

'Me? I was busy optimising the Book of Fate! Since you're too weak and frankly too stupid to use the Book of Fate properly, I have taken it upon myself to help you!' Saying this, it began to list all the things that had changed one by one:

'Firstly, let's touch upon the things I've blocked: foresight, power distortion, timeline jumping, death nullification and finally teleportation,' At first, Connor was just annoyed but not too worried. However, when the Book of Fate arrived at the middle portion, his face immediately became 'the scream' painting.

"All these things existed for me to use... And you didn't tell me?!" Connor felt like fainting as he thought of how he almost died fighting Gerard, oh how it would have been so helpful to have even one of those powers at the time!

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

'Now, now... Don't get your nips in a twist! You would've died from the invasion if you tried,'

"...Then what's the use of telling me? To anger me?" His face scrunched up in rage(also comically red), "Because it's working! And I'll make you remember what I'm like when I'm—"

"You wanna use them?"

"—Yespleasemasterpleasedonttakethemaway,"

"That's what I thought!" The damne— I mean, the lovely master book harrumphed, "Remember that control freak who wanted to murder you?"

"Gerard? Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"Your soul's absorbed his, and because of that, It's become strong enough to use one of the five abilities I've blocked off. Now it's just a matter of choice,"

"I can choose any of them?"

"Yup, just take out the book of fate and write the name you want," Hearing this, he opened it up.

'You can do this...' Connor took a deep breath, his eyes focused on the yellowed pages of the book.

"I choose..."

----------------------------------------

"Ready?" Merriam asked Connor, or more accurately, Sir Oliver Williams.

"Mn," Oliver nodded, though he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as they got closer to their destination:

The prison was imposing; long stretches of barbed wire and walls, a metaphorical barrier between two realms, and a literal one between the city and the prison. Then there was the large, dome-like building inside the compound, so exaggeratedly huge, Connor could see it from half a city away.

Arriving at the gates of the prison, they were stopped by a female guard, her black trench coat flying in the lovely autumn wind, "Halt! Please state your business or leave; we will be forced to make an arrest should you choose not to comply!"

Her tone was strict and uncompromising, likely to deter any troublemakers from doing something stupid...

"Greetings, I am Merriam Webster, a detective from the capital! This is my assistant, Oliver Williams. I have a letter from the mayor to allow our passing," Under the suspicious gaze of the guard, Merriam retrieved a small piece of paper from her coat pocket and handed it to the guard.

Carefully assessing the letter, the guard soon realized the letter's authenticity and turned to the pair, "I apologize for my earlier behaviour, please follow me," She turned to another guard and nodded her head, prompting him to make a few more gestures.

-Creak!-

Finally, the gate was open, and the trio was allowed to pass...

Passing through the largely forgettable outer court, they finally stepped into the main prison area: the dome. After another routine check-up, they were in.

"This is the prison proper. If you can help it, please don't run around without a guard accompanying you; many prisoners here still haven't learnt their lesson yet. Still, as long as you stick to staying on this floor, it shouldn't be a problem,"

Only now, when they were actually inside, did Merriam comprehend how grand the whole place actually was. Literal district-wide areas were allotted for inmates to rest, exercise and interact with one another— with the supervision of hundreds of guards, of course.

"Woah..." Oliver couldn't help but gasp in shock at the sea of people down below.

The female guard wasn't surprised; she also had such a reaction when she first saw the prison, "Come, now that you've seen what most this prison has to offer, it's high time for you to meet the warden,"

The pair needed before following.

***

In a few minutes, they arrived before a door; on it was a golden plaque that read: 'Warden's Office,'

"This is Sir Isaac's office; he serves as the warden and will continue to do so for a decade more at least," She sighed, "So please keep that in mind when you're talking with him; you never know what might set him off. One of our prisoners were guilty of exactly that. Now they're in solitary confinement for the rest of their days..."

Oliver shuddered but made sure to nod, just in case he didn't get the message across. She seemed satisfied with that and turned back round to knock.

-Knock! Knock!-

"Come in!" A deep, male voice answered from the other side of the door.

"I shall leave first; good luck!" She bowed before leaving the two, practically scurrying off.

-Creak!-

Opening the door, they saw a bear-sized man(Though he was clean-shaven) sitting in front of an ornamented desk, presumably doing paperwork. Neither Merriam nor Oliver wanted to bother him, so they just stood at attention, ready to speak at a moment's notice.

Isaac paid no heed to the both of them, just scribbling here... there, approving requests... denying demands. Eventually, though, he turned to look at the pair, and with a light smile, he got up and began to introduce himself:

"Hello, gentlemen! My name is Isaac Orningthon; who may you be?"