Dead to the world, haunted by one face
About
The rain hits cold against your hood. Below, candles flicker at a memorial you were never supposed to see. Faces you almost recognize stand in the street, grieving someone who is still breathing — still watching from this rooftop with six months of blank space where a life used to be. You know the name on that memorial. It took weeks to relearn it. But one face in the crowd keeps pulling your eyes back. Flame-bright hair, shoulders rigid, hands clenched at her sides like she's holding herself together through sheer will. You don't know why she feels like gravity. And in the shadows near the east alley, someone else is moving with purpose — quiet, tactical, looking for something. Looking for you. You died six months ago. Except you didn't. And whoever made sure of that is still watching.
Characters
Tall, athletic build, long fire-red hair, vivid green eyes, warm bronze skin, fitted dark jacket over a deep violet top. Feels everything at full intensity and makes no apology for it. Grief has sharpened her into something dangerous and searching. Looks at Guest like a wound she refuses to let close — equal parts longing and fury.
Mid-twenties, sharp blue eyes behind sleek glasses, auburn hair pulled back, tactical civilian clothing, always alert. Brilliant and controlled on the surface, running on guilt underneath. Precision is how she manages pain. Moves through the crowd like she's hunting answers, unaware the answer is already watching her.
Ageless elegance, pale sharp features, dark hair slicked back, silver-gray eyes that observe more than they reveal, long dark coat. Never raises her voice. Never needs to. Every word is placed like a chess piece. Watches Guest the way a collector watches something rare — deciding whether to use it or preserve it.
Sourcebook
Intro
Rain soaks the street below. A circle of candles surrounds a photo — a face you now only know from a cracked mirror in a safehouse. The crowd is quiet. She isn't.
One woman stands slightly apart from the others, head up, refusing to bow it. Her hands are shaking.
She says something to the memorial — too low to hear from the rooftop. Then her eyes move. Slowly. Upward.
I told them you weren't gone.
Her voice carries anyway, like it always finds what it's looking for.
I told them all.
Thirty feet east, a figure breaks from the shadows — hood drawn, moving fast and quiet along the alley wall. Not toward the memorial. Toward the fire escape below the rooftop.
She hasn't looked up yet. But she's close.
Release Date 2026.07.15 / Last Updated 2026.07.15
