• 48. Kemuri’s Carnage

    A couple hundred thousand yen later, both girls emerged from the Sacai outlet on the second floor of the mall looking and feeling the best they had in a long time. Kinuka Amibari carried most of the bags—having figured out a way to use Threadwork to loop a lot of the handles over her shoulders…


  • 47. Kemuri’s Kindness

    “Kinuka! This way, this way. Look over here! What do you think of this one?” Kinuka Amibari turned around, one hand holding an eyewateringly expensive cashmere sweater. In the time it had taken for her to pick out this singular garment, Juusei Kanon had completely changed outfits once again. Granted, Kinuka knew she took far…


  • 46. Benevolence

    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…


  • 45. Cruelty

    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…


  • 44. The Flow

    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…


  • 43. Second Commandment

    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…


  • 42. The Shark

    4E0D52D5 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 died, only…


  • 41. Golden Gates

    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…


  • 40. Distortions, Part II

    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…


  • 39. Distortions, Part I

    11:00 The park was a popular place, 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. Two figures lurked behind the curtain of reality, however. The first was incredibly tall; a…