Kyoto was beautiful in autumn.
The beautiful bursts of color that fill the serene environment, and the scenery, are bathed in the radiant and wholesome warmth from the sun's blissful rays spreading wide across the park.
Or at least, it was supposed to be.
The park stretched wide beneath rows of maple trees, their leaves meant to burn bright red beneath a clear, endless sky. But the sky, however, looked pale — washed out, almost fragile. almost like it was holding its breath.
And in the middle of it, A boy lay on his back.
His eyes opened slowly.
No sharp inhale. No panic.
Just a quiet breath, as if he had surfaced from very deep waters.
The first thing he noticed was the cold — the hard concrete beneath him, the air brushing lightly across his face.
The second thing—
Was the silence. Not peaceful, but empty.
He stared up at the sky.
It felt unfamiliar.
Not in a dramatic way. Just… distant. Like he was looking at something he should recognize, but didn't.
A dull ache pressed against his temples. Not enough to hurt — just enough to remind him something wasn't right.
There should be memories.
He searched inward, trying to see if he could at least recall something. Anything.
But there was only one thing that lingered in his vague and distorted thoughts
Then, suddenly— He recalls something
A name surfaced, Shinji Ino.
"Is… that my name?" He thinks to himself
The thought felt strange, yet steady. Anchored, Like It was the only thing that could resurface from his cloudy mind.
He pushed himself upright slowly.
His body responded normally. No sharp pain. No visible injuries. Just the faint pressure in his skull.
He looked around.
The park wasn't normal.
Everywhere around him was in shambles. Benches and picnic tables lay overturned, and glasses were shattered and scattered across the pathway. A vending machine had been crushed inward as if something enormous had slammed into it.
But there were no people.
"…What happened here?"
His voice came out calm.
As if the situation should have frightened him, but it didn't.
Then the air changed. It felt heavier.
Just heavier — like gravity had quietly increased.
Shinji looked up.
The sky shifted.
From above, something dark began to drip downward — not like rain, not like clouds. It was thick. Almost liquid. It stretched and spread, forming a curved dome-shaped barrier around the park.
Slowly, but deliberately.
The darkness arced downward in a smooth half-sphere, as if something enormous was lowering down over the entire area.
The sunlight blurred.
Thinned.
Turned artificial.
Shinji stared, frozen.
He didn't know what he was looking at, but he knew it wasn't normal.
*****
Elsewhere — Minutes Earlier
At the park's entrance stood a young girl with long, light-blue hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a fitted black uniform jacket over a buttoned shirt, black tie secured neatly at her collar. A sword rested at her hip.
Her expression was calm.
Focused.
She raised one hand slightly and began to chant:
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness.
Purify that which is impure."
The air trembled.
From the center of the park, darkness erupted upward — expanding rapidly before curving down into a dome. The barrier sealed itself with a low vibration that hummed through the ground beneath her feet.
Then everything inside the park was cut off from the outside world.
The girl exhaled softly and turned toward her comrades.
"Barrier deployment complete. The Veil is stable."
She dusted her hands lightly, as though she had just finished something routine.
Two others approached.
All dressed in dark uniforms and composed.
One — with mid-length black hair — carried a long metallic weapon across her shoulder.
The other — blonde hair tied into two high pigtails, pale blue eyes sharp and alert — hovered slightly above the ground, balanced by a broom-like tool beneath her feet.
The hovering girl nodded,
"Good. Now, we sweep the interior and exorcise any curse spirits we find, and rescue civilians if there are any left."
She glanced toward the sealed park.
"Let's move."
They stepped forward.
Crossing the invisible threshold.
Entering the Veil.
And the moment they did—
The pressure inside the barrier spiked.