I abruptly noticed something in the corner of my eyes, making me bee-line to the nearest mirror. My eyes widened, heart leaping out of my chest, the moment I saw my appearance. Dark circles hung under my eyes, and I didn't have my glasses on. My hair, previously dark-brown, was now ink-black like a raven. Even without my glasses, I could... see.

  ?

  "W-what..." I looked back at Kael, my mouth agape. "What did you do to me?"

  ?

  Kael replied as he casually spun a toothbrush in between his fingers, scoffing. "Like I said, the kingdom back home rejects you. Now, you need a new face, a new identity, something to go by."

  ?

  "A new name?" The proposition of a new name made my stomach churn slightly.

  ?

  "How does Silas sound? Does it fit the tongue?" Kael smirked.

  ?

  "Silas..." I felt the name under my breath.

  ?

  It was the name I had written to, the name I had confessed my sins to. I had no idea who they were, and they wouldn't reveal any more information about them until I evolved into an Angel. Upon remembering this, I felt a wave of confusion.

  ?

  "Why that name? It's associated with things I don't know about; things that could lead to corruption."

  ?

  Kael suddenly threw his head back, laughing out loud as he said with some pride. "I can read your current ambitions. You want to run back home, you want to testify against what happened, but doing so would only worsen your predicament."

  ?

  He paused for a beat, stepping forward and cornering me against the rough, wooden counter behind me. "If you so truly wish to become an Angel and see who you're talking to, I recommend following all of my instructions."

  ?

  Kael spread his arms slightly. "Here, you're unrestrained. In Clifton, people laugh and enjoy themselves, not hog money and food, wallowing at the poor beneath their feet.

  ?

  "If you want to be free of everything and be truly happy, you have to let go of things that have abandoned you."

  ?

  I looked out the narrow bathroom window, catching sight of the seemingly endless forest of tall evergreen trees. The sky was painted with an inky blackness, accompanied by the crimson moon. I suddenly saw an owl land on the windowsill, making quiet noises as it shuffled its way into a small hole carved in the side of the house.

  ?

  "I swore to myself that I'd never use these abilities of mine for evil, and you're making it sound like the only way to be happy is to do evil things."

  ?

  Kael shook his head. "I'm not that dogmatic. When I said you should follow me, I wasn't meaning to restrain everything about yourself. A person's being is the strongest aspect of what makes them... well—them. I'm simply giving you instructions on where to begin.

  ?

  "After all..." Kael stepped behind me, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. "The best way to find your true self is to know whether or not you're lying to yourself."

  "Now!" He stepped back, clasping his hands together.

  "We'll take a little walk, enjoy the local produce, and get a feel for this new life of ours."

  ...

  Two hours later, the crimson moon was now at its peak, signalling midnight. Shinso and Humphrey approached the front gate, with Humphrey silently confirming his identity to be let in without any problems. The duo made their way back to the underground cathedral, where a secondary lab could be used to concoct the potion.

  "Advancing to Altruist isn't for the weak, y'know." Humphrey opened the satchel on his back, taking out the collected ingredients.

  He laid out the spider blood, required water, stone golem eye, and the tree bark they had harvested. Humphrey then turned to look at Shinso, falling silent for a second before taking a deep breath.

  "I told you about how my son had advanced this way and suffered for recklessness, correct?"

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Shinso nodded, validating his words without saying any of his own. Upon acknowledging Shinso's perception, he moved on.

  "There's a small pot in the corner, get that for me."

  Shinso moved to the corner of the small lab, shuffling through the countless books and scrolls. He browsed through volumes of myths and legends originating from a myriad of cultures, but resisted the urge to read any of them, as the current situation required utmost focus.

  As he returned with the small pot, Humphrey opened the small vial of water, slowly pouring it into the wooden pot. Next, he looked at Shinso, a glint of pride crossing his relaxed expression.

  "Finish the potion; I've taken you as far as I can."

  "Alright..." Shinso quickly suppressed his doubts, rolling his shoulders as he began to make the preparations.

  Due to the unique status of the ingredients and their collected process, he didn't need to worry about exact measurements; he already had everything he needed. Mainly under the guidance of intuition, he poured the golden-colored spider blood into the pot, watching as the surface of the water vibrated and pulsed as if tinged with an invisible frequency.

  "Woah..."

  He continued, grabbing the slab of tree bark from the table and crushing it in between his fingers, letting the small crumbs diffuse into the potion. The moment they made contact, small ripples of green tinged the golden water wherever the bark pieces fell in; it looked like illusory, runny fireworks.

  Finally, he grabbed the golem's eye and dropped it into the potion, watching as the crystal melted as if it were made of plastic instead of a near-impenetrable substance. Were these potions really that strong? Shinso couldn't help but think to himself.

  As the potion, which was now constantly shifting between green and yellow hues, was finally prepared, Shinso nearly choked on his own spit the moment he went to grab it; it was extremely cold to the touch. Humphrey, who had been standing on the side, spoke up, pushing the potion away with a pair of gloved hands.

  "That's the potions natural convergence instinct. The potion understands you, yet it rejects you."

  "What do you mean?" Shinso arched an eyebrow. "Is it related to what you said in the forest... about my emotions?"

  Humphrey nodded. "Indeed, very perceptive."

  His hand suddenly found its way to Shinso's shoulder, giving it a slow squeeze. "You told me about your past of ridicule and hardship; you've had abilities you don't want, yet at the same time, you want to use them for good."

  At this moment, Shinso's fists clenched taut. "I was reluctant to tell you about my... home world. I simply came here; I haven't lived here all my life."

  Hearing this, Humphrey's eyes widened as he smiled. "People have come from far and wide saying that; it's not the most common phenomena, but it has happened for... reasons."

  "What?" Shinso's eyes widened as his skin turned to ice. Other people have come here claiming the same thing?

  "But that's not the primary focus at the moment; your potion needs accommodation, and so do you."

  "Right." Even after Humphrey abruptly shifted the subject, he still couldn't shake off the thought of others like him and his friends. If there were other people from alternate planes of existence, why weren't they talked about much?

  Humphrey's hand remained on Shinso's shoulder. "An altruist is a person who looks to others before themselves. It may sound horrible at first, that level of self-neglect, but you'll find that it's the brevity of the soul."

  He smiled softly. "In a way, it's finding out more about yourself through this potion... how much are you willing to give to preserve your internal sense of justice?"

  At this moment, Shinso fell silent; he didn't know how exactly to respond. Looking back up at Humphrey, seeing the man's warm and genial expression, he couldn't help but feel his lips twitch on the edges.

  "I want to show people that even with these powers, this potion, that I can still care for others. I've been put down and rejected too many times, but I still desire to be great—to be a heroic figure—even if that means putting myself at risk."

  He paused for a beat, smiling softly. "After all, isn't the essence of a hero putting others first, being the one to step up when others are afraid?"

  Hearing this, Humphrey's eyes widened. He suddenly broke into laughter, taking Shinso's hand. "Kid, kid! That mindset is exactly what I'm looking for!"

  Shinso felt a small tingling sensation form in the pit of his stomach, not from fear or anxiety, but from a realization crossing his mind. Being an Altruist is the essence of himself; he must put others first and show that he can be a hero. How else could he protect those who he cares about?

  He reached for the potion, noticing that it had heated up to a tolerable extent. Looking at Humphrey one more time, he wanted to confirm whether or not he could drink it. The dark-skinned man nodded, giving him an affirmative nod.

  As Shinso brought the potion to his lips, he immediately caught a whiff of what it smelt like. It was a mixture of sweet and sour, almost like a candy covered in crumbs of sour sugar. He gulped it down slowly, noticing it also seemed to taste like a mix of strawberry and grape, a contrast to the other potions he had tasted—even if he hadn't tasted many.

  "Will this also hurt my stomach?" Shinso turned to Humphrey, remembering the last time he had consumed a potion.

  Humphrey shook his head. "Not that I know of."

  Knock, knock, knock.

  Three knocks on the door alerted both Shinso and Humphrey. Humphrey approached the door, pushing it open, catching sight of Captain Silas standing in the doorway—his wrist had been splinted.

  "You're back from your journey?" Captain Silas inquired, looking past Humphrey to see Shinso, who had just finished drinking his potion.

  Shinso wiped his lips with a nearby rag, tossing it into a disposal bin in the corner. "I see you've advanced."

  "I have," Shinso replied casually.

  Suddenly, Captain Silas seemed to remember something. "Shouldn't you hurry up to your friends now?"

  "They're doing something without me?"

  Captain Silas looked to the ground, scoffing. "They're looking for traces of a murderer."

  "A murderer..." Upon hearing that, Shinso's lips curled up as a sudden wave of excitement tore through him.

  "Yes. Your friend, Isaac, murdered two people. When he attempted to escape, he was shot in the back and wounded, but from what intelligence has told me, there's no evidence of his escape or traces of him at the nearest crime scene."

  "What..." Shinso dropped the empty bottle to the floor, it landed with a dull clatter as it refused to crack or shatter.

  "Shinso?" Humphey's voice came out muffled and weary in the edges of Shinso's hearing.

  "No... he wouldn't... y-you'e lying!" Shinso suddenly approached Captain Silas, grabbing him by the hem of his shirt.

  "I'm not; I saw it myself. He was covered in blood, the weapon he used beside him, stained with the evidence of his actions."

  Shinso let go, abruptly bursting off. Tears now ran freely down his face as he moved like a bullet, running mindlessly through the streets. The only thing he could think about was where they were.

  "Shinso!" A voice sounded behind him.

  It was Aizawa, with Catherine, Carter, and Mr. Ryujin beside him.

  Shinso turned around without saying a word, facing the four of them with pain-stricken expressions.

  "Please! Please tell me he's safe..."

  Aizawa's silence told Shinso all he needed to do. In the faint light of the crimson moon, he saw that Aizawa was crying too.