The world was tinted blue. Everything around was shown in soft, blue, tones. Like the sky descended to the earth, or just beneath the sea. It seemed like a cloud of mist, with little islands of clear air floating in the abyss. Street lamps, city boulevards, luxurious manse's and parlors all drifted about like flotsam in a sea of nothingness. Time does not exist here, and science holds no power. This was the land of dreams and midnight, with neither dusk nor dawn. This was the Void.

There was but a single soul that called this place home, at present. A man with no face, who wore cold steel in the shape of a skull. His clothes were once finery, but the mud and tear had left their mark upon this man. Most prominently, he had an eldritch symbol branded upon the back of his hand, It resembled a cutlass, with wing-markings radiating from it's sides. The mark seemed to glow black with power, such that a viewer would quickly avert their eyes.

He wore a hood and a mask. His face of metal, with eyes that resembled a spyglass lens and stitches holding his visage together to the veil beneath. He looked like a devil, come to pillage the mortal world. But this was not the realm of men, but rather, the home of the Outsider.

"My dear Corvo, it seems fate is not finished with you yet."

A young man seemed to...float just above the ground. The masked man named Corvo noticed that this forced any conversation with him to involve looking up. The Outsider wore clean clothing, of obscure design and make. He spoke with a disinterested inflection, as if he were making a droll observation of the world around him. His eyes were pools of black, like oil refusing to mix with water. Corvo said nothing, as he often did. He was never really talkative, and recent times merely worsened the habit.

"The rat plague is cured, and little Empress Emily sits on her throne. Piero and Sokolov toil endlessly to make new creations for your Empire, and peace is restored to a new era. I should congratulate you, Corvo." The Outsider's smirk was barely discernible, "You have proven to be, by far, the most interesting man I've ever given my mark."

The Outsider floated closer still, and looked Corvo in the spyglass lenses " It's remarkable, what a mere man can do. How something so insignificant can accomplish what you have. A city in ruins. Death around every corner, and now...peace. In a few short weeks, you did what no other force could have."

The Outsider looked at Corvo, and crossed his arms with finality.

"You. fascinate me."

Corvo raised an eyebrow invisibly, but he was sure the Outsider was aware of the gesture as he cocked his head to the side.

"What will you do now, Corvo? No more enemies left to fight, and little Emily is secure on her throne. With the way things have gone, there are no more threats to her rule. It's strange, what you've done. In a short while, you... changed the nature of the city. To rebuild, the people work side by side with their former tormentors. Emily Kaldwin, despite her shortcomings, is the most beloved Empress to ever grace the throne. In the eyes of the common people, she brought the cure for the rat plague and restored the peace and stability they didn't value until it was taken from them. They would have no one else"

The Outsider floated around, forcing Corvo to turn and face him Strange, thought Corvo, I've never seen him actually move before.

"Corvo, your story does not end here. Though you have earned your rest, you have yet another role to play"

Corvo didn't like the sound of that at all, he had just been reunited with Emily. She was...his little girl. She meant everything to Corvo. Jessamine died in his arms, begging him to find her. He tore apart the city to do so, and those who stood in his way were struck down without quarter or mercy. This...being...had helped him, to be sure, but Corvo didn't want to leave Emily alone anytime soon.

"What do you mean, another role to play?" Corvo spoke for the first time. He was a man of few words, and avoided conversation at length with anyone besides Emily.

"You have skills and abilities beyond other men. You have unlocked every crevice of the potential power my mark could give you. Over the course of the entire history of your kind, I could name the others who commanded all of my gifts on a single hand. None of them hold a candle to you Corvo, which is why I have chosen you for this"

"I don't want to leave Emily. She's my little girl...And she's all I have left of..." Of Jessamine. His Empress, Jessamine. She had been taken from him a year ago, soon. It still hurt him inside, in a way that no amount of vengeance or retribution could heal, wounding him in a way that time could never repair.

The Outsider cocks his head to the other side, but otherwise remains unreadable.

"It serves you to search for Emily, of course, and protect her once more. In the coming days you will face a threat that even the Leviathan's cannot shield you from. They come from the stars..."

The Outsider leans back slightly, and looks up at where the sky should have been in the material world, then back at Corvo.

"And feel no remorse. No pity or guilt. They are...mockeries of your protectors. They fashion themselves Leviathans, mechanical abominations that insult the namesake they have chosen. They do not serve to protect any but their ancient masters, at great cost to the infants they hunt. Even your world is not safe, and the wolfhound of destruction will find them just as assuredly.:

Corvo didn't know what to say to that. Leviathans? Abominations? From the stars? He couldn't fathom what sort of threat could barrel down from the sky and bring Dunwall to ruin again. Everything he had worked for. Suffered for. Everything that Jessamine had died for, gone in an instant because of some devil come to destroy everything he held dear.

"...What must I do?"

Corvo could swear that he saw the Outside almost grin for a moment, but decided it must have been a trick of the light.

"All you have to do is Wake Up, Corvo."

"Wake up!"

"Wake up, you bastard!"

Corvo felt an impact kick him in the ribs, and the pain surged up his torso. But he remained silent. Long hours of training and experience taught him that in an unknown situation, silence was often best. He rolled over a few times, to put distance between himself and his assailant, and got up as quickly as he could. Whoever had attacked him was just standing there now. He brought his arm up, and held what looked like some kind of boxy device. It looked odd to Corvo, but he soon divined it's purpose. With a loud crack, a gunshot flew from the pistol's barrel a few inches from Corvo's head. With what could only be profanity, the assailant let out a guttural growl.

"Damn human, stay still. I don't want to waste a thermal clip on you. Those fancy clothes of yours'll be worth a good price, and I don't want get any blood on 'em.

Before the gunman could do anything, the world turned grey around Corvo. He felt his left hand, and the mark glowed Black in a grey world, and the air seemed permeated and thick.

For the first time, he got a good look at his attacked, and was taken aback. Corvo had seen many things in his life, but few were as grotesque as this creature. It wore what must have been finely crafted, custom made steel armor. It was blue with a white circle symbol on the breastplate. But the creatures face was hideous to Corvo's eyes. It had 2 rows of eyes, totaling four. They were all black, like the Outsider's, but lacked the intelligence and soul that the Outsider's had. They looked like the black eyes of an animal, like a rat.

It's face was yellowish and leathery, and had a row of stubby nostrils where it's nose should be. Corvo found himself disgusted. However, Corvo had other problems. He found himself lost. He had no idea where he was, but he knew it was far from Dunwall. He was stunned by the towering skyscrapers that seemed to reach the heavens themselves, with flying tram cars that vaguely resembled the one's designed by Sokolov. He shook his head. He needed information about this strange place, and the creature blocked his path. Corvo also knew that he could use the monster's pistol. It was boxy and looked heavy, and made loud noises, but he was impressed with it's accuracy. It had almost hit him from a few yards away! He only had ten more explosive bullets, and decided it would be best to conserve them along with his bolts. Everything here looked like one of Sokolov or Piero's machines. He doubted he would find any replacements for his weapons, assuming the people here even accepted Gristolean coin. With a casual spin of his hands he drew his blade from it's collapsed state, and time moved forward again. The creature looked confused at Corvo's seemingly instantaneous movement, but quickly shot his pistol a few times. Amazing, thought Corvo, He doesn't even have to reload the thing! Corvo decided that he must possess one. with a quick Blink forward he teleported directly behind the deformed monster. He felt slightly drained of mental capacity, as if he were drunk or depressed, but quickly recovered himself. He would just have to wait awhile before using so much magic again. After all, none of Piero's remedy was likely to be at hand for quite some time.

With this in mind, he brought his blade to bear against the no doubt surprised creature's neck, one of the few unarmored parts of the thing. With a violent slash of his arm, he had sliced open what he assumed was the beast's jugular. It took a few moments for the gurgling to stop, at which point Corvo began to rifle through the it's belongings. In the thing's metal pouch he found what looked like valuables, and of course he seized the pistol. It was more advanced than anything he had ever seen. He tested the weight in his hands for a moment, and mock aimed it.

Just then, however, he heard movement from behind him. Something else had just ducked into the alley he was in. Looking up, he saw it held another of those pistols in it's hands. It looked like a human, more or less. Much to Corvo's relief. However, he noticed it had an odd skin discolouration and ridges where the hair should be. It spoke up with a decidedly feminine but strong intonation.

"Stop! Nos Astra Metro! Step away from the body and put down the gun!"

Corvo looked at the strange woman, and back at the gun. It appears that this strange place employed female watch officers, for whatever reason. Corvo shrugged, and decided that he would kill her quickly before any more showed up. As he was about to blink towards her, though, she touched her ear for some reason and began speaking.

"Control, this is Tracking Officer Dala. I have a code 187, possibly 419. Get me backup, now." She took away her hand from her ear.

Corvo wondered who she was talking to, as they were alone in the alley. Just then, he heard an alarm go off nearby, and cursed the Outsider for his misfortune.