Before I ever thought about telling my story the right way, most of my life had been built on stealing things. And yeah, I had a real thing for art too. Not the casual “oh look, pretty painting” kind of thing, but the kind that kept my hands messy with charcoal and paint. I threw myself into it, over and over, until people started noticing. My knack for both sketching and slipping things into my pockets caught the eye of a crime lord who basically made it his personal mission to turn me into the best thief he could sculpt. That was my childhood. Orphaned at ten, shaped into a criminal since then.

  It was in the orphanage that I met Peter Stark, who somehow turned into my brother long before either of us figured out what “family” even meant. Later, in high school, Sophie DeLonge walked into my life and pretty much stayed there. The three of us ended up sharing an apartment and juggling college together while I kept my side gig as a thief going strong. And honestly, it was one job, one stupid necklace, that shoved me straight into the crosshairs of the De Marco family—a crew tangled up with both the mafia and magic, which wasn’t something I expected to learn on a random Tuesday.

  Robert de Marco decided I was a loose end and sent an assassin after me to tie everything up, preferably by taking the necklace back and getting rid of me. Shiroi, as he called himself, turned my intermediary Ms. Honey into threads during our meeting. Actual threads. Then he grabbed the necklace and came for me next.

  That was the first time my magic stepped in and saved my life. But we’ll get to that part later, alright?

  With help from Philip Penrose, the man who raised me, and his right-hand guy Thomas Torque, I went undercover to track down whoever hired me. I didn’t know it was the De Marcos at first. Shiroi wasn’t exactly letting things lie either, and when we crossed paths again, he shredded our getaway car, Thomas vanished, and I limped out with my life hanging by a thread.

  Somewhere between all that chaos, I squeezed in a meet-up with my uni friends. Peter bumped into Zoe Harper, and I met Pamela “Peaches,” who talked with me about art like she’d been waiting her whole life for the conversation. Zoe and Peter hit it off instantly, and Peaches and I drifted into these weirdly deep chats about everything from color theory to breakfast pastries. It was one of the few bright, normal moments I’d had in months.

  The next run-in with Shiroi wasn’t so warm and fuzzy. I decided to hunt him down, starting with a little smear campaign where I painted his face as huge murals all around the city, hoping he’d notice. Oh, he noticed. He showed up while I was finishing the biggest one yet, ready to unravel me. The trap I’d set—lots of electricity, lots of confidence—failed miserably. He was seconds from killing me when I slipped through the veil between worlds and landed in my proto-domain.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  That place felt like a riddle written in the air. I went through trials, solved puzzles, and met whatever was left of my other self. I pulled through, because of course I did, and earned dominion over the Domain of Artistic Creation. That came with a new soul core and a soulmark of identity, which meant my art could pretend to be real hard enough that reality had no choice but to play along.

  Over the next few days, I went back to uni, tested my new abilities, and somehow stumbled into my first accidental trip into Ideworld. Then another one followed, less of an accident, more of a disaster. Around that time, I learned that Zoe was a seer who could peek into the other side like some glittering tinkerbell fragment.

  While wandering through Ideworld, I found oversized wolf-squirrel things, picked up a ridiculous gun that I painted into something terrifying, and with a mix of Zoe’s help, my brain working overtime, and a painted body armor made purely from bodypaint, I climbed a castle perched on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. There, I managed to grab another soulmark, the one tied to Connection.

  That one was wild, because it meant I could jump instantly to any place I’d visited and painted. No subway card needed.

  Naturally, I crafted a lifeline talisman that pointed straight to my Domain and started a Travel Grimoire where I painted all my anchor points. After that, Penrose and I chased down various leads that pointed me back to the De Marcos’ hidden estate, where I found a list of names. Mine was right there among others. People who’d developed their own Domains.

  Penrose introduced me to a magical family called the Lebens so I could sharpen my abilities. They were relaxed, kind, and did wonders for my sanity.

  Trying to upgrade my body paint armor into something sturdier led me to take tailoring classes run by none other than Mr. Shiroi himself, which I didn’t know until it was too late to back out. Still, I squeezed some guidance out of him, mixed it with whatever charm I had, and created my Usagear armor.

  Things went downhill fast when Penrose met with Robert de Marco. Robert stabbed him as soon as Phillip mentioned Eveline de Marco—his wife. Phillip’s team rescued him, but he was fading fast, and I was urged to rush him to a hospital to save his life. Instead, I dragged him into my room and fed him a magical soup the Lebens had given me, one that actually healed him.

  After that, I went to help the team shake off whoever was hunting them.

  Penrose decided we were in too deep to stay quiet about the magical world anymore. I also discovered an attic hidden in the De Marco estate with magical books and a bedridden seer named Beatrice. I “rescued” her and brought her to Penrose.

  That’s when Phillip told me he wanted the necklace for himself. It boosted Eveline’s magic fivefold, and she’d been behind most of the disasters swirling around me for weeks. I promised him I’d get it and set up a plan to lure Eveline out. With Akira Shiroi’s help, we fought her on a rooftop, and through a mix of livestreaming chaos and an infuriated god named Reality, I managed to steal the necklace back, break her connection to it, and escape alive. She survived too, but hey, you can’t win everything.

  I kept the fact that the necklace still existed to myself and tucked it safely inside my Domain. After that, I took a breather with my friends there, since I’d let Sophie and Peter in on everything.

  Oh, and right, before he gives me that look again. I’m dating someone now. Jason Smith. Pretty great guy, even if I couldn’t stand him at first. We’re… a thing.