The freed man remained motionless as he gazed unto Ventus. His heart constricted as memories flooded his mind. For a moment, he even thought he felt pain radiate again from his already healed wounds.
A few seconds passed and he caught a glance of someone sitting on top of one of the roof decks. Although far, he is pretty certain as to who that is. Then, he felt a bit of a cold sensation pass down his cheeks as unsolicited tears trickled down. He quickly wiped it, and composed himself. He then looked to the figure beside him and managed to force a smile.
“To them, I’m already dead; right? If so, what’s next?”
The small figure beside him just tapped his back and began pushing his wheelchair towards the tall figure. The tall figure is now sitting cross-legged and the compartment is laid down on the ground.
“Igor, ‘guard’ please” the small figure said while assisting the freed man into the compartment.
The tall figure grunted in response. It stretched its long arms then stood up.
***
Inside the compartment, the small figure began to speak.
“Now for you to start again, you need to take on a new identity. You are free to choose from any of these faces”
“Faces?” the man asked.
The small figure just chuckled. He flipped through the pages of a book he took from one of the cabinets. Then he handed the man the small book. It is bound by a leathery cover; inside are sketches of faces.
“You mean I can choose from any of these faces and I will look like them?”
“I know you are smart, young man; I really don’t need to repeat myself.”
The man was silenced. Then, he remembered the corpse that looked like him. He thought that maybe it is the same process as that.
“Yes it is.” the small figure said. “So, choose carefully.”
Almost an hour passed, yet still the man cannot make a decision. Although, the book was still in his hand. He stopped browsing through it just after he finished looking at the first seven pages. He cannot still grasp the notion that he will now be officially abandoning his current appearance. He did not even know that it was possible before he met these figures.
‘Who are they?’ he thought. A lot of uncertainties began bothering him again but he is certain for one thing, that as of now, he is powerless. It was then that he decided...
“Okay, I don’t need to browse anymore. Please give me the face sketched on the twenty-first page... Whatever it is” he said; giving back the book to the small figure.
A brief moment of silence permeated the room, as the small figure received the book.
“Are you sure? ... But there are two faces on that page. Where do you want me to add the other face? Geez... Nevermind, I'll just add another head on your shoulder.” the small figure said as he proceeded to walk towards one of the cabinets.
“Wait a..a ...add another head?” the man stuttered, not picking up the joke.
The small figure reached out to some of the vials, then proceeded to one of his tables and began mixing. After a few seconds, the mixture began bubbling. White fumes can be seen coming out from it. With a small movement of his hand the fume began moving towards the man’s face.
“You can rest for now; this will take some time to finish. When you wake up, the procedure will be complete”
The man after inhaling some of the pungent fumes, felt his eyelids grow heavier. Followed by his arm then his body. Then he dozed to sleep.
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