Summer.
A time when the world felt like it held its breath—when the sun kissed the ocean just right, and the winds whispered secrets across the tide. But for Nate, it marked the beginning of something else entirely. Something darker. Something deeper. Something that would change everything.
The sun hovered over the Outer Shores, casting an amber glow across the broken docks and rusting boats of the Southside. Nate stood barefoot on the edge of an old pier, the wood creaking under him. A soft breeze played with the strands of his red hair, but his sharp eyes remained fixed on the horizon.
"This summer…" he muttered to himself, "...it's not gonna be like the others."
Behind him, footsteps thudded against the wood.
"There you are!" Ava called out, half-jogging over, her black hoodie tied around her waist and her wild dark hair bouncing with each step. "You said five minutes. It's been thirty."
Nate smirked faintly, not turning. "Got lost in thought."
Ava stepped beside him, her gaze following his toward the distant sea. "You always do."
There was a silence. Not awkward—comfortable. They'd known each other for years. Grown up on the same dirt, ran from the same cops, scraped their knuckles in the same fights.
Then came the rumble of a dirt bike in the distance.
Kaito skidded to a stop near the shore, his pale blond hair messy under his helmet. Ryuji hopped off behind him, taller, leaner, glasses slightly tilted as always.
"You're gonna want to see this," Ryuji said, holding up a rusted, ancient-looking compass.
"What is it?" Ava asked.
"Something that shouldn't be here," Kaito said. "And it's pointing to something even crazier."
Nate took it in his hand. The compass needle spun in one direction—then snapped hard left. Not north.
"That's not right," he whispered.
A storm was coming.