The Uninvited Guest

Leonardo placed his hand on the knob, feeling something indescribable—a warmth that wasn't quite heat, more like heat trying to be heat. It was unsettling, the sensation of something almost but not quite right.

"I hate this," Leonardo muttered, opening the door and stepping inside, closing it behind him. The pressure from the door lingered, pressing against him as though it were reluctant to let him pass.

The section of the mansion he entered stretched out before him, an endless hallway that seemed to go on for a couple hundred steps before ending abruptly at a final wall.

Next to the wall was a staircase, most likely the one Anna had explicitly warned him not to go up.

He turned the handle of one of the rooms and pushed it open. Inside was a large, well-furnished room, complete with a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.

The bathroom should be at the end, Leonardo reminded himself, his steps echoing in the empty hallway.

"I'd trade being a guide if it meant saving my life," Leonardo thought, frustration building up inside him.

The air around him felt hot, unnaturally so. "Where is this heat coming from?"

His breath hitched. His pace quickened as panic began to set in. Thoughts raced, and his vision blurred until he collided headfirst into the wall at the hallway's end.

He couldn't shake the nagging sense of dread that clung to him as he turned away from the stairs and walked towards the bathroom right next to the wall.

He exhaled slowly, and the tension in his shoulders loosened just a fraction as he leaned against the cool, tiled wall.

The heat clung to his skin, a constant reminder that he was far from home, caught in the tangled web of the stem and its inhabitants.

Leonardo's eyes swept over the bathroom again, taking in the layout with a critical eye. The shower was nothing like he'd imagined.

It consisted of two glowing discs—one embedded in the floor and another suspended in the ceiling directly above it.

The discs emitted a soft blue light that hummed faintly, and Leonardo couldn't help but feel as though he were standing in some sort of ritual chamber rather than a bathroom.

There were no walls around the shower area, no glass doors or curtains, just the glow of the discs casting gentle ripples of light across the floor.

Anna had assured him that everything he needed would be here, but Leonardo felt lost in the unfamiliar setup.

He glanced around, his eyes settling on a large bathtub at the far end of the room, half-hidden behind a thick curtain.

Beside it stood a sizeable mirror, its frame ornately carved to match the design of the bathroom door. He caught sight of himself in the mirror, his entire form reflected back at him—his red vest catching the dim light.

It was the same shade of red that adorned many of the mansion's interiors, a reminder of the opulence that clung to every corner of this place.

It was the first time he had truly seen himself. Sure, he'd caught glimpses in the foggy windows of his home or in the reflective visors of the masks worn by others, but this was different.

This was clear, sharp, as though he were looking at another person entirely—someone he barely recognized.

His hand rose to his face, fingers tracing the contours as if trying to confirm that the image staring back was indeed his own.

His thoughts drifted back to the mask he once wore, a piece of his past now abandoned in favor of his new attire.

The mask had been a shield, both literal and figurative, protecting him from the harsh judgments of Volnia and hiding his features from those who might see too much.

Now, without it, his face was exposed—young, but marked with the quiet resolve of someone who had seen too much too soon.

He wasn't tall enough to see every detail clearly, but what he could see was enough.

"Who am I now?" he wondered aloud, his voice barely more than a whisper. The reflection offered no answers, just the same red-vested figure staring back with eyes full of questions and uncertainties.

"I asked, and asked, and I received the same amount of answers, yet I feel like I still don't know anything," he murmured.

Taking a deep breath.