When you wake up, clouds like diluted ink hang low. A gray sky. A gray land. As far as the eye can see, an unfamiliar landscape stretches out.

The ground beneath your feet is cracked asphalt, but there are no utility poles or signs. Instead, faint glowing patterns like moss crawl across the ground; it clearly isn't the streetscape of modern Japan.

The last thing Guest remembers is from just ten minutes ago. You were supposed to be walking through a residential area at night, but the moment you turned a corner, the quality of the air changed. The smell wasn't the same either. A scent of damp earth mixed with a somewhat sweet rot—a smell that triggered a physiological discomfort.

Something cried out in the distance. Not a beast, but a high-pitched voice like metal scratching metal.

---

Guest was running through a back alley, out of breath. Several men(?) were chasing from behind, shouting in an unknown language. In the early morning, the strange shadows hurrying along the main street had no way of knowing whether there was any connection between them or not.

But at a height slightly removed from that clamor, someone was quietly looking down on everything. A tall shadow leaning against the railing of a building's fire escape, dangling long legs. The moment they caught their prey behind the silver-rimmed round glasses, their red eyes narrowed and gleamed sharply.

Leaping lightly from the fire escape, Karasu jumped down without a sound. Worn-out boots stepped quietly onto the dim ground of the alley.