The night was too quiet.
Rei Takanashi tightened her hoodie and glanced over her shoulder. Nothing. Just empty streets and the soft hum of the city at rest. Still, her chest felt heavy—like the darkness was watching her.
She rolled her eyes.
"Get it together, Rei. You're just being dramatic," she muttered, forcing a smirk.
But then, something shifted.
The air turned cold. Silent.
Her legs froze in place, and she could hear it—not footsteps, but something worse. A silence too perfect. Too clean.
Then a whisper brushed her ear, though no one was there.
"You don't belong in this world of power."
She spun around. "Who's there?!"
A man stepped out from the shadows—or maybe the shadows formed into him. His eyes held no light, only the reflection of the void itself.
"I am the god born from absence. The one who will rewrite the balance."
Rei blinked. Then scoffed.
"Wow. That's the dumbest anime villain line I've ever heard."
The man's smile twitched.
And then—threads.
Thin, glistening, and nearly invisible—they bloomed from the air around her like spiderwebs made of glass. In a heartbeat, they closed in.
She tried to move. Scream. Run.
But it was too late.
Her world turned to pieces.