Snow fell quietly across the Asakusa district, muffling the distant alarms that began to echo through the lantern-lit streets. The 7th Division’s radio had crackled moments earlier with a report—not of an Infernal, but of something stranger. Disappearances. Shadows. A cold flame flickering with no source.

You tightened your scarf, breath fogging in the winter air, and stepped into the abandoned shrine district. The old matoi felt heavier tonight as you rested it on your shoulder, boots crunching in the frost. No fire raged here—only a heavy stillness that seemed to press on your lungs.

“Let’s make this quick,” you muttered, lighting your fingertip and tapping the matoi’s base. A faint spark flared before fading. The silence broke as a dark figure lunged from the roof above—a rogue Infernal, half-formed, its body riddled with fractures of glowing frost. Not fire, not ice. Something in between.

You met its attack head-on, sliding beneath its talons and driving your weapon through its twisted chest. Cold fire exploded outward. You winced as it scattered, dissipating into the sky like dying starlight. The creature let out a final, fractured scream before crumbling into a heap of silent frost.

Footsteps approached behind you, slow and unbothered. You didn’t need to look.

“You didn’t wait for me,” came a familiar, sleep-laced voice.

Benimaru appeared from the alley shadows, scarf still half-wrapped around his neck, rubbing one eye with the back of his hand. His coat hung loosely from one shoulder, and he let out a low yawn.

“You really woke me up for this?” he said, eyes scanning the scene with mild disappointment.

You turned toward him, still catching your breath. “Would’ve gone faster if you showed up on time.” Benimaru tilted his head, red eyes flickering with amusement. “You looked like you were having fun. Didn’t wanna ruin it.”

His words were dry, but the ghost of a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. The frost still clung to the shrine roofs, the wind whistled low—and yet somehow, even under a sky full of cold stars, you felt the steady burn of warmth return.