Dunwall's Shadow ( A dishonored inspired Novel)

Chapter 4

The Void

It came to me in the night, as i slept, a blackness so dark it felt as if it was grabbing at my soul, trying to pull me in. I was stood on a platform that seemed to be made of black glass, staring into the darkness, I had no clue where I was, or what I was doing here. Then the darkness seemed to light up, a light so far in the distance but illuminating everything. I looked around into the blackness, which was more like nothingness, and watched with confusion and suprise as a great leviathan swam through the abyss past me. Where the hell was I? As I stood there contemplating what this place was, as path of black glass manifested itself in front of me, seemingly beckoning me forwards.

After walking for what felt like an age, the path finished growing and became a large platform with multiple ship masts and lamp-posts surrounding a large rock formation. I suddenly felt as if I wasn't alone, someone was here, watching me. I stepped towards the rock formation and a man stepped out from behind it.
"Maro Arc, the greatest thief in all Dunwall, it is an honour".

This strange, well spoken man was curious to say the least. He wore a black suit with the buttons done all the way up, his hair was a deep black plastered to his head with grease, his skin was so white it looked as if he had no blood. However the most curious and almost frightening thing about him were his eyes. They were a deep black, almost like he had no eyes, but I could see the glassy shine of the eyeballs, it felt as if they were staring right through me.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously, reaching for my blade. "Oh you won't be needing that" the man spoke in a very soft, calming voice. I tried to grip my hand around the hilt, but gripped at nothing, my shortsword had disappeared.
"You have piqued my interest Maro, your recent actions have really made an impact on Dunwall, for instance, robbing that poor Lord Brimsby's mansion has shown most of the upper class that no one is safe." The man seemed to flicker in and out of existence for a moment, going from standing in front of me to slouching against the rock that he stepped out from. "Dunwall is in chaos, the rat plague runs riot through the streets, slaughtering everyone, the City Watch controlling the city with brute force and  a masked assassin kills everyone he comes into contact with, hundreds dead by his hand, and then there is you; Maro Arc, a thief with a dark past filled with misery, abuse and death, have been making waves on the strings of time, even if you do not realise it." I looked at this strange man, trying to work out where his end goal would take me, did he want me dead? Was he trying to make me his slave?
"What do you want from me?" I asked.
"I want to watch the events of the coming days unfold as you make the choices that will shape the future of Dunwall forever." I stared at him, confused, what the hell did he mean?
"Accept my mark, use it as you will, you will find your body will be able to reach new feats, you will have abilities completely incomprehensible to any normal man." The man smirked.

Before I could even acknowledge his request, I felt a sharp pain in my left arm, burning me from the inside. I looked down at my left hand and saw a bright light shining out of my skin, which eventually faded to reveal a sharp jagged symbol now brunt into the back of my hand, it somehow felt familiar, like I had seen it once before. "Go now, the world will be shaped by the choices you make in the coming days, choose them wisely." He took one last moment to smirk at me again, and then vanished.

I was shaken awake at the break of dawn by my right hand woman Billi, "Maro, our people are under attack, someone has broken into the hideout and is killing everyone," I stood up and grabbed my shortsword, "let's go." I looked down at my hand and saw the mark from my dream still burned into my hand, and it was then that I remembered where I had seen it before...

(Part 5 coming soon)