"A-ANYONE! PLEASE, HAS ANYONE SEEN A WOMAN WITH BLUE HAIR, WEARING A WHITE DRESS!?"
The words tore from Rynan's throat like shards of glass, his voice cracking with each syllable. Despite his desperate pleas echoing off the cobblestone streets, the crowd flowed around him like water around a stone. Each passerby's indifferent glance felt like a needle to his chest.
"Poor child..." An elderly woman clutched her husband's arm, her whispered words carrying just enough pity to sting. She looked at Rynan the way one might observe a wounded animal—with sympathy, but from a safe distance. Her feet never slowed.
―Why... IS NO ONE ANSWERING ME!
The thought crashed through his mind like thunder. His hands trembled as he wiped the sweat from his brow, the afternoon sun suddenly feeling oppressive against his skin. Every second that passed was another second Emi could be getting further away, another second something terrible could be happening to her.
To his right, a man sat alone at a weathered wooden table, methodically cutting into what appeared to be roasted meat. The rich aroma made Rynan's empty stomach clench, but hunger was the least of his concerns. He stumbled toward the diner, his legs feeling like they might give out at any moment.
"D-did you see a girl with blue hair wearing a white dress walking around here..?" The words tumbled out in a rush, his hand gripping the stranger's shoulder perhaps a bit too tightly.
The man chewed slowly, deliberately, before finally lifting his eyes to meet Rynan's. There was something unreadable in that gaze—not unkind, but weathered by whatever life in this city had shown him. "She went that way." His fork gestured toward a narrow street that seemed to disappear into shadows. Then, almost as an afterthought: "Good luck, kid."
"Thanks." Rynan's gratitude was breathless, already turning before the word fully left his lips.
He plunged into the crowd like a man possessed, weaving between merchants hawking their wares and children chasing each other through the maze of legs and carts. His eyes darted everywhere—every flash of blue fabric, every glimpse of white cloth sent his heart racing, only to crash back down when the face wasn't hers.
"Emi... JUST WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
The shout ripped from his lungs, causing several people to turn and stare. He didn't care. Let them look. Let them think he was mad. Maybe he was.
―Thirty minutes. Thirty goddamn minutes.
Time felt like it was slipping through his fingers like sand. Each tick of the clock tower in the distance hammered against his skull. The bustling market street had gradually given way to something else entirely, the cheerful chatter and colorful awnings replaced by something far more sinister.
The slums stretched before him like a festering wound in the city's flesh. Buildings leaned against each other for support, their walls cracked and stained with things he didn't want to identify. Some structures were missing doors entirely, gaping like toothless mouths. Others had holes where windows should be, covered haphazardly with scraps of cloth that fluttered in the stale breeze.
―This place... it's where all the worst stories begin.
Rynan had heard the whispered warnings about this part of the city. Where desperate people did desperate things. Where the law turned a blind eye because it was easier than dealing with what festered in these narrow alleys.
"Emi... where are you..."
His voice was barely a whisper now, hoarse from shouting. Each step forward felt like walking deeper into a nightmare.
―Please be okay... please just be okay...
The maze of the slums opened before him like a challenge. Paths branched off in every direction, some barely wide enough for a single person, others disappearing into darkness so complete it seemed solid. If he wanted to find her in this labyrinth, logic wouldn't help him. Only instinct. Only hope.
"Damn it all. I'm going in!"
The alleyway he chose reeked of decay and neglect, the kind of smell that clung to your clothes and followed you home. No lamplight penetrated this deep—just the fading gray of twilight filtering down between the cramped buildings above. The walls seemed to press closer with each step, as if the city itself was trying to swallow him whole.
Left turn. Right. Another right. The path twisted like a snake, each corner potentially hiding salvation or disaster. His footsteps echoed off the narrow walls, creating an eerie rhythm that seemed to mock his desperation.
―Ten minutes of this madness. How big is this place?
"Emi... please... be alive..."
The words were prayer and plea rolled into one. Just as despair began to truly sink its claws into his heart, he rounded one final corner and froze.
There—illuminated by a shaft of dying sunlight—stood a familiar figure in white. But she wasn't alone. Three men loomed over her, their intentions written clearly in their predatory stances.
"E-EMI!"
"R-Rynan!? W-what are you doing here!? G-go away, please!"
Emi's words came out in a rush of panic. She tried to step toward him, but a rough hand yanked her back. The man holding her had a dirty white shirt hanging open, his hair sticking up in every direction.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
"Kid, you're making me mad." The voice was deep and threatening. The man who stepped forward was huge—all muscle and scars. His bald head caught what little light filtered into the alley. Any other time, Rynan might have laughed at how perfectly round it was, but right now all he felt was pure fear. "Get the fuck away or I'll rip your insides out."
"You're dead if you get on his bad side. Scram!" one of the other men shouted.
―After all that? After everything she said? After what Emi told me? WHEN I FINALLY HAVE SOMEONE TO LEAN ON...?
The thought hit him like a punch to the gut. Was he supposed to just walk away? Leave her here with these animals?
"FUCK NO! I-I'LL FIGHT YOU!"
"Then, BE MY GUEST!"
The big man charged forward without bothering to grab a weapon. His fist pulled back, ready to destroy whatever it hit.
The punch came fast—too fast. Rynan barely had time to think, let alone move.
"RYNAN!!!"
Emi's scream cut through everything. It snapped him back to reality just in time.
Rynan dropped low, the man's fist whistling over his head. But not quite—knuckles scraped the top of his skull with a dull thud. It sounded like a rock hitting the ground. Pain shot through his head, but it was just a graze.
―Move! Don't think!
Rynan drove his fist straight into the man's gut. The big guy doubled over, clutching his stomach like he couldn't believe someone that small had actually hurt him.
"AAAGGH!"
Then came the back kick.
It caught Rynan right in the face, sending him flying backward. He hit the ground hard, everything going blurry for a second. When his vision cleared, he saw something that made his blood freeze—a knee dropping toward his face like a hammer.
The impact drove his head into the cracked stone. The pavement spider-webbed under the force. Rynan groaned, trying to push himself up. He had to keep fighting. For Emi. But a boot slammed down on his back, grinding his face into the dirt.
"S-STOP! PLEASE! WE HAD A DEAL DIDN'T WE!?" Emi's voice was pure desperation.
The man didn't listen. His boot found Rynan's face again. And again. Each kick made a sick crunching sound. Over and over until Rynan couldn't tell up from down anymore.
Everything went red. He couldn't move, but somehow he was still awake. Through the haze of blood and pain, he could see Emi crying. That sight hurt worse than anything these bastards could do to him.
―Emi...
"Now, your turn." The man turned away from Rynan's broken body.
"Rynan..." Emi backed away, but there was nowhere to go. She bumped into the second man—the one with messy hair who'd been waiting behind her. His hands locked around her wrists.
The leader walked toward her slowly. Each step was deliberate. Closer. And closer. He was enjoying this.
"Heh."
"D-don't do it..."
The voice that crawled out of Rynan's throat was barely human. Every word was agony, but he forced them out anyway. "Leave... her... alone..."
"RYNAN, YOU'LL DIE, STOP!"
"RYNAN!"
"You son of a bitch... JUST STAY DEA—"
The words cut off in a spray of blood.
The man's head rolled across the ground while his body stood there for one weird moment before collapsing. The silence that followed was deafening.