I was running… through this strange, empty city.
The bizarre space stretching before my eyes… I couldn’t tell if the red-black sky was a sunset or another world. I heard none of the usual city clamor, nor the buzzing of cicadas so typical of the season. It was a road that should have been teeming with people. Not a single car drove by; despite being in the heart of a metropolis, I could feel no sign of life.
Even though the sun hadn’t set yet, an eerie sensation washed over me as if the temperature had plummeted. I was shivering—whether from the cold or from sheer terror, I didn’t know—but I felt frozen to the core.
(What… what is happening?)
I had no idea how long I had been running.
I remembered getting off the elevator and stepping out from the lobby… thinking back, things felt wrong even then. The scenery unfolding before me was something I had seen, yet never seen before. It was the terror of having suddenly wandered into an Astral Dimension. Every breath I took felt heavy and painful.
The indescribable, ominous red-black sky and a total silence that felt as though it were slowly eroding my soul. The numerous buildings stood there like hollow shells, like gravestones of a great city.
And clearly, something unknown was chasing me.
I didn’t look back. I knew my body would freeze with fear the moment I did. My instincts screamed: “Don’t look back.”
Drenched in sweat, my breathing grew labored. My legs had reached their limit. My underwear and camisole clung uncomfortably to my skin. I no longer had any idea where I was running.
An unfamiliar landscape that seemed to go on forever. It looked like my usual route, yet the scenery was distinctly different.
Finally, unable to run any further, I ducked into a narrow side street and began climbing the external stairs of a large building at its end.
(I can’t breathe… I can’t go on…)
Dragging my feet, I made my way up the stairs.
With desperate effort, I reached the top and emerged onto the rooftop. Gasping for air, I collapsed onto the spot. The concrete ground felt sickeningly warm.
(!?)
It was then that I looked up. I saw it floating in the air, and my body froze in terror.
A red-black sky. A massive moon that had appeared out of nowhere. It looked down at me with an eerie gaze, radiating an absolute aura that was both divine and malevolent.
“—Salutations.”
The words—presumably uttered by the entity floating gracefully in the air—echoed directly in my mind. That low, cold voice felt like it was clutching my heart; I couldn’t even manage a sound.
“—You used that ring to steal another’s lover, to hurt others, and to put countless lives at risk.”
I couldn’t stop shaking from the overwhelming dread.
The red-black ring on the middle finger of my right hand began to glow and pulse as if it were alive. Its beat gradually quickened, as if synchronizing with my own heart.
“Forgive me… Yume-mi… sama… I… I…”
I squeezed the words out with everything I had. In the next instant, the entity in the air seemed to flash brilliantly, and a massive silver scythe was suddenly gripped in its hand.
“—Pay the price for that wish.”