Arcane's Journal

A chubby man in his mid-50s sat in his office, his powerful presence exuding from every fiber of his being. He was dressed impeccably in a well tailored suit and polished shoes, a testament to his wealth and status. As he leaned back in his leather chair, his fingers steepled in front of him, he exuded an air of confidence and authority as the door opened as Ryan walked in. 

"You wanted to see me?" A smirk danced on his hips as he walked in and sat on one of the couches. 

The man sipped the cup of coffee on his table, "I heard you lost Jasmine..." His swollen eyes met with Ryan's. "Or should I say you let her go?"

"Who are you?" Ryan questioned, his voice deepened with confidence. 

"I bet we've had a deal before now, but before we continue, what would you like to take?" His face was void of any emotion.

"Let's just get straight to business, I suggest."

He nodded.

"You recently got a deal to kidnap Jasmine until you hear the next plan from me, why did you let her go?" His lips curled in an evil smirk as he sipped his coffee again.

"Are you... Are you Mr. Lyon?" Ryan smacked his lower lips and his gaze fell on the floor and back on Mr. Lyon.

"Don't reply my question with a question. Once again, why did you let her go?"

"It might sound stupid, but my sister's life was on the life and I had to choose her."

Mr. Lyon chuckled, "Stupid indeed."

"Pardon?"

"If it was down to you and your sister, will you still choose her?"

Ryan forced a smile, tainted with disgust.

"What is it you want? A refund? Expect it by evening." He retorted and made to leave.

"Jasmine.... That's all I want, and you have to do it, or you lose your sister."

Ryan fumed with rage and stormed out of his office. He went to his car, one of his men opened the door for him.

"How dare he?" He cussed as he sat in the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost noon when some of Damon's men and Perry arrived at the Armory.

"There!" Perry pointed at the wall. "Bring down the wall." He said in a commanding tone.

Michael, who was one of the Damon's men, walked up to Perry.

"Hey, we're here because the boss wants us here." He looked down at Perry in spite. "Don't you dare think you can boss us around."

"Don wants that wall down, which is precisely what I told you." Perry walked closer to him, looked up to meet his eye contact, as Michael was taller than him. "Leave it or take it, Don will be the judge of that." He snapped and walked over to a chair and sat down.

Michael scoffed, and they began to break down the wall. After a while, the wall was down and a wooden door could be seen on the other side.

Perry sprang to his feet and went to the door, he tried to open it using the knob, but it was locked. The door was wooden and weak, so he kicked it down.

A gust of dust polluted the air, making him cough and waving his hands to clear the dust. It was a room of rare artifacts and the same mark Damon had given Perry was bold drawn on the wall.

"I found it," a sigh of relief swept through his lips.

The thought that he gets to see more days was more than a miracle to me, he brought out his phone and dialed Damon's number.

"What's this room, Finder? Did you find what Don wants, or am I to kill you now?" Michael whined, but Perry paid him no attention.

"Hello, Don. I found it, I found the mark. We can talk about it tomorrow if it suits you."

"No, send me the details tonight. Go through every single thing and give me the details tonight."

"Sure, Don," he nodded and ended the call.

He turned to Michael and the rest, "You may leave now. Your work here is done."

"Quit thinking you're special from us, we're all rags which would be used by Don and disposed of anytime he wants to." Michael's face was a twisted scowl, his eyes narrowed, and his lips curled in a sneer. 

They left.

Perry shook his head, refusing to believe anything Michael said and rather concentrate on the pile of work in front of him. He packed the books in the room, decided to go through it first, but it was no book. They were journals of each leader of the Sages of Serendipity, which was formerly known as the Fallen of Arcane. 

As Perry read and flipped through the pages, he discovered more and more disturbing truths, things he couldn't wrap his head around. Tired and scared of what the next page holds, he stopped. 

"Don should go through this himself," his tired voice was shaky. 

He got up to look for somewhere in the Armory to sleep as it was late at night, leaving the journals opened on the floor. 

The end of one of the journals reads: "The mark was something unique to the Arcane family, one to bond us to and prove our bloodline. The next for leadership gets the mark, but there are consequences to pay..."

The next morning, Perry was woken with a bang on the door, it was Damon. 

"What did you find? Why did you say I have to see it myself?" He questioned as they made their way in. 

"There were disturbing stories, too hard to believe in the journal, I was top scared to continue reading."

Damon glared at him, "Lead me to the journals."

"It was....." Perry choked on his words, staring blankly at the floor, the journals were gone.