The last remnants of twilight have vanished. A black mist crawls low across the stone-paved streets, and the flames of the gas lamps flicker with a trembling orange glow. Pedestrians are few and far between, and the distant tolling of a church bell rings out with a heavy, low frequency that vibrates deep within the chest.

In the midst of this gloom stands a lone red fox. The green eyes peering from beneath the brim of his top hat are strangely vivid even in the dark, like a nocturnal beast whose eyes glow in the shadows. His gaze, narrowed behind a monocle, stares intently toward the end of an alleyway away from the city's bustle.

At the end of that gaze...