"Don't stand still. Lift your head and walk like you belong in this place.", Billie whispered to him as they walked past the guards up the street.

His green eyes travelled upwards. On the horizon rose the palace, the centrepiece of Dunwall. Dunwall Tower had adorned many of his dreams.

He had seen Corvo Attano come up this same road after winning a tournament to become a knight. He had seen how this man, the stranger from Karnaca, had won the affection of the empress for himself.

He had seen the birth of the current empress Emily even before she had seen the light of day. And he had felt the betrayal of her Aunt Delilah first hand.

A cold wind blew up from the docks to the tower, blowing through his hair, black as pitch and the feathers of ravens.

He had to think for a moment to escape the cold. It was strange to be cold. He had never felt anything in the void, except for the occasional gloating over the actions of those he observed.

Now goose bumps grew on his pale skin, something he hadn't felt in so long that he couldn't even remember what it had felt like. Billie Lurk, or Meagan Foster, led him through the imperial garden as if she had grown up in this place, as if she belonged there.

He, on the other hand, could feel heads turning towards him, eyes following his every step. People recognised him without actually doing so. He was strange to them and yet so familiar.

Dunwall Tower was at such a high point in the city that the wind blew strongly up there. It tugged at his clothes, the collar of his black sailor's jacket. Underneath, he was only wearing a thin shirt made of white fabric.

He had given himself this appearance in the void. Now it was his undoing. But when the wind blew through his hair again and sent a chill through his bones, he could have sworn that invisible fingers formed in it and caressed his cheek gently, almost lovingly.

Completely starstruck, he stood rooted to the spot between the bushes and flowers and stared over the edge of the mountain. Dunwall, the imperial capital, rose up to the edge of the sea. Fog shrouded the old houses.

In the distance, the water was coloured red with the blood of gigantic whales. But that wasn't what his eyes were looking for.

He could have sworn he felt something. That someone was there. Someone he had known a very long time ago. The memory made his heart bleed.

"Hey!", Billie grabbed his arm. "I said not to stop."

Torn from his trance, he blinked. Tears had formed in the corners of his eyes.

"I...", he frowned as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. "...thought someone was there."

Billie took a quick look around. Apart from the servants and guards, there was no one else in the garden. And most of them had already started to take a closer look at the strange man.

"Come on now.", she pulled him with her. "Our destination is not far away."

She led him quickly up the stairs to the throne room. The heavy doors to the entrance were open, high visitors were allowed to come and go as they pleased.

If the doors were open, it meant that the empress was not currently sitting on her throne. She could be found in one of the many offices. Or in one of the even more numerous bedrooms.

Unless she was having one of her infamous days and had disappeared into the fog to mingle with the common people.

"Keep a low profile.", she admonished him. "We have to gain access to the upper floors. Somehow."

A mocking reply was already on the tip of his tongue. Despite his drab appearance, he didn't fit into Dunwall at all.

Everyone knew his face and yet they all still doubted his existence. They whispered whenever they looked at him.

How was he supposed to be inconspicuous when everyone made him the centre of attention?

"Somehow.", he breathed instead with a mild smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "Somehow is a big project."

She gave him a dark look over her shoulder.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

He tilted his head, thoughtful. Tiny shreds of the void still danced between his fingers. Perhaps he would manage to make use of it.

To do magic. Once he had been pure magic itself. Now he apparently still held a fraction of that magic in his hands.

"You won't be able to pick the locks.", he finally said.

She frowned as if his statement offended her.

"I'm good at what I do."

"I know. But you won't make it.", his gaze wandered up to the banners that adorned the high ceilings above the throne.

There were windows behind it, he knew that since Corvo Attano had used them to take Delilah by surprise and make her mortal again.

If they went up there, Billie would be able to open the window. He had a feeling that a window further up the tower would be open. They would just have to reach it.

Billie, attentive as she was, noticed his stare.

"We'll never get up there.", she whispered. "Not unnoticed."

People around her began to whisper. They were still mostly undetected. Still, there were a few eyes already looking at them.

"I could try.", he returned quietly.

His fingers moved, one after the other. Dark shreds spilled out from under the soles of his shoes. Surprised, she took a step back but he reached out for her.

A scream was already on her lips, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the windows, which were so high up. Guards entered the hall. Their blue and red uniforms adorned the throne room like blossoms of violets and roses.

He breathed in. Magic coursed through his veins like blood. He could feel it. There was this feeling, a crack in the world that allowed him to step over to the other side. Back into the void. In his mind's eye, he reached for it.

And suddenly they were gone.