Black Shadow on the Wheel of Time

He was a freak who combined autism, madness, and paranoia in one body.

Because of his personality, he had barely stepped out of the clock tower his entire life. Yet he loved standing at its summit while adjusting the clocks, peering at the crowds below with terrifying eyes and imagining how he would kill them.

Angel was imprisoned within the body of such a man, one whose heart had descended into madness.

He could not control the freak's body, but he could sense his thoughts, spirit, and obsessions, as though he were a second soul dwelling within the same body.

Even though Angel was an independent existence, entering the freak's deranged mind felt like sinking into a dark swamp.

The freak must have sensed Angel's presence as well, but because of his autism, he had never spoken a single word to Angel.

Though Angel was trapped inside the freak's body, he somehow knew how he could escape.

There were two methods. One was to merge with the freak's soul, accepting all his thoughts and obsessions. The other was to remain an observer and wait for the freak to die.

Only these two methods could free him from the shackles of the freak's flesh.

The first method might have been the fastest, but it came at the greatest cost. Though the freak was an ordinary mortal, Angel's observations had shown that the stray thoughts and maddening mentality within him far exceeded those of ordinary people. If Angel merged with him, there was a very real chance that something would go wrong with his own mind.

Merging with such extreme thoughts could also bring about a world-shaking change in his personality.

If his personality changed drastically, would he still be himself? Perhaps even that was an unknown question. Therefore, Angel did not