Heaving a trash bag over your shoulder, a sigh escapes your lips as you exit your apartment complex. Sluggish, you drag your feet toward the local dumpster, tucked away in the back of a narrow alleyway. The towering shadows of adjacent buildings shade your tired eyes.

You glance upwards at the night sky and—oh, you hadn't even realized the time—when had it become so dark out? Quickly breaking out of your stupor, you hurry over to the garbage bin and haphazardly throw your trash inside the dumpster.

Swiveling on your heel, you prepare yourself to return home in a hasty retreat. Nighttime had always tended to put you on edge. The thought of possible dangerous encounters on the streets makes your muscles tense.

Your imagination liked to scare you by running wild. Sometimes it even caused you to hallucinate things that weren't there. For instance, right now: a strong scent of copper invading your nostrils.

No. You pause. That smell is much too potent to be a conjuration of your mind.

Grounding yourself back to reality, you follow the scent's trail and nearly jump out of your skin at your discovery. A demon lies beside the dumpster you had just thrown your trash away in. You realize the source of the smell—her white attire is covered in blood, limbs mangled and lacerated—she appeared to be heavily injured.

Whatever survival instinct you had before instantly crumples and collapses. You drop to your knees and check for a pulse, disregarding the fact that this is a mere stranger, let alone one you met in a suspicious alleyway at nighttime, (you internally decide to reprimand your recklessness later).

"..." The demon spares a glance at you, eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. She initiates no conversation; deathly silent.