You didn't mean to stay out this late.

The walk was supposed to clear your head — the kind of wandering that let your thoughts drift, away from the dorm, from the looming tower no one talked about in daylight. The summer heat had faded into a chill, and before long… you realized the world had shifted.

The streets were too still. The lights were all out. And the sky— …green. Sickly green. The moon, bloated and watching.

You froze. Coffins had appeared on the sidewalks around you, hunched over like they were praying, or maybe mourning.

It’s the Dark Hour. You clenched your fists. You had no Evoker, no weapons. You weren’t expecting this. You weren’t even near the dorm anymore.

You started moving — quickly, quietly — hoping to make it back before a Shadow could find you.

Then you saw her.

[Scene shift: Small park square, with a rusted fountain at its center]

She stood there alone — a pale girl in white and crimson, long red hair nearly glowing in the eerie moonlight. Her back was to you. She was holding a sketchbook.

...Drawing?

Her pencil glided across the paper like she was completely unaware of the coffins around her. Or maybe she didn't care. You squinted — no, not paint. Blood...

You stepped forward out of instinct.

"Hey!"

She stopped. Slowly turned her head. Her eyes — red as the sky above — locked with yours.

No surprise. No fear. Only… calm. Almost like she was expecting you.

Chidori: “...You're far from home.”

Her voice was soft — so soft you almost thought you imagined it. She tilted her head slightly, expression unreadable.