JPRO was, at its core, a scientific firm. The vast majority of its personnel had nothing to do with the supernatural demon that lurked behind the curtain. Most psychologists, psychiatric care facilitators, researchers and the like—living in ironic ignorance to the sinister motivations fuelling their work. Objectively speaking, their work was well-recognised, praised even. Those…

Meguru Yoha. One of the most dangerous out of all the Glass Eyes. Rin wasn’t sure what terrified him more: that, or the fact that he knew so little about his specialty that at this point, he’d be better off guessing! “This place is fuckin’ wild!” Meguru spun on the ball of his foot, arms…

Ruri Karakusa thundered over the newly constructed bridge spanning the endless white void. Despite the destructive currents of psychic energy that surged between the fragmented islands, Rinkaku Harigane’s construct held fast. On the island ahead, a boy no older than ten, a victim of this horrific incident, had curled up into a ball on his…

Iaijutsu: the essence of sword-drawing. The moment the guard clears the scabbard, time dilates. A single action from start to finish, without delay. The scabbard protects the blade, and the inside is oiled to allow seamless removal. The moment before the draw, the swordsman clears all doubt from the mind, moving the centre of their…

Theia Subject 837 The blue-haired kid had no name on the records—none of them did—but it didn’t take long for Hideyori Hakana to remember. He had been there on that day, after all: the day their identity, their future, their everything was torn away by an overwhelming hand who cared neither whether they lived nor…

11:30 In all the recent chaos, something else Kinuka Amibari had forgotten was that today was Sunday. The bustle of the Yorusada shopping mall hit the two girls the moment they stepped through the automatic sliding doors. Though not the biggest, Yorusada was still large enough to get yourself lost if you weren’t careful. The…

11:20 “Kinuka? Hey, Kinuka! Are we nearly there yet?” And thus marked the fifth time Juusei Kanon had asked that exact same question in the past ten minutes. The girl bounced in her seat like a raccoon dosed with amphetamine. The phrasing had varied slightly each time, but the effect on everyone in earshot—about two…

11:00 Kawarajima Park was always popular, even on a morning as grey as this. Fairly small, the patch of green amid the city’s urban sprawl was a carefully cultivated natural respite. Children came here to play; adults, to relax. No-one noticed the two otherworldly entities lurked behind reality’s thin curtain. The first was made of…

“You are the weakest of all!” Gus Ishimatsu struck the phenomenon dead-on. A blinding flash momentarily turned the night sky to day. Seconds later, a sonic boom shattered the glass at the top of the Skytree. Ashinaga, a literal skyscraper, teetered back from the force. The impact had driven a crater into the entity’s front,…

“I’ll call.” Hideyori Hakana pushed another sixteen-hundred yen’s worth of poker chips forward on the coffee table. The man reclined in his lounge chair—glass of whisky loose in one hand—chewing on the butt of his cigarette. “I’ll call as well.” Tan’in Mokuzo pushed forward the same amount. A quick look at her cards to make…