1.

Yao locked the apartment door and turned on the lights.

Everything appeared as usual, the plates from breakfast were still on the dining table, unwashed clothes piled together beside the couch, and open boxes of glass tubes filled with potions lay on the floor.

A black cat greeted him at his feet.

He rubbed its belly, then gently pushed it away as he entered the bathroom.

Suddenly, he stopped dead still.

There was something else. No, someone else.

He stared at the empty wall. The metallic smell grew stronger.

Blood and burnt gunpowder.

The air distorted for a second, then returned to normal.

Slowly, he moved backwards.

A violet light glowed from his pale fingertips as he started muttering complicated, imperceptible words.

With no confidence in his combat skills, Yao considered his survival chances for a split second, then without hesitation he ran for the door.

A tall figure emerged from the air behind and grabbed Yao by his shirt collar.

The man wore a black military uniform, with a rifle hoisted on his back. His trousers were covered in dark blood stains, and his boots left a trail of dirty footprints on the bathroom tiles as he walked forward.

His face was covered with a black fabric mask, only leaving his eyes visible.

His pupils, a frozen amber colour, locked straight onto Yao.

Then a look of shock filled his eyes, and his grip loosened.

Yao saw a badge in the shape of a gyrfalcon on the man's chest.

Suddenly, the man lifted his hand up. Veins snaked across his long bony fingers.

The man's fingers drifted to Yao's neck, as if trying to touch something. His body shook unsteadily, then, with a thump he fell to the ground.

"Little mage?"

Yao couldn't see the man's expression, yet the voice sounded oddly familiar to him.

Slowly, he knelt down towards the collapsed man.