Prologue

It's finally happening.I've waited so long. All the planning, the agony, the longing. It will be worth it. I can taste the sweet freedom just beyond my reach. It will be so liberating.

I've locked up this desire, this loss, for far too long. I tried to fight it. It's no use. I must do it.

It's the only way to make it stop.

I feel like an imposter in this skin. I've stretched it too far already. It hurts. It hurts all the time.

It will hurt until I make the hurt stop.

I pull up my hood. Let this black shroud be my armor. It's a poor substitute for a disguise but it will do. Disguising my identity is easy when my identity is a disguise. But soon I can shed this skin. Soon I can be myself.

Soon it will stop.

My victim walks toward me. He approaches with a smile. He shouldn't trust me, but he does. They always do. There's no time left. I grip the hilt of my blade, let the old steel calm me. It's time to end this madness.

Time to make it stop.