The city buzzed beneath him electric, alive, and completely unaware that something not of this world was crouched above it.
Orin knelt at the edge of a slanted rooftop, one hand braced against rusted metal, the other shading his eyes from the soft orange glow of the setting sun. The air here wasn't dense with corruption like the outer zones. It was clearer, breathable even warm. Normal.
And that was the strangest part.
"I'm still not used to this," he muttered, watching a hover-bus pass through the skyway two blocks over. Its soft whirr drifted up to him, mixing with the laughter of street vendors, the ding of crosswalk signals, and the dull roar of people just… living.
It looked like any other Earth city somewhere between Tokyo and New York in style but the colors popped too hard, the buildings stretched just a little too high, and the ads danced on billboards like they were alive. He swore he saw one wink at him.
No one had noticed him yet. No alarms. No sirens. No men in black suits.
Because unlike the blue hedgehog he'd glimpsed once in a vision racing through this very city, chaos tearing at his heels Orin didn't stand out. Not unless someone looked closely.
The boots, maybe. Red lined, friction-resistant, and barely scuffed despite everything he'd gone through. They were the only part of him that screamed "not normal."
Well, those and the way his body vibrated every time he took a deep breath.
He stood and stretched, shoulders cracking as the system finally chimed again.
[Urban Entry Acknowledged – Safe Zone Proximity: HIGH]
[System Subroutine Unlocked: Resource Initialization]
[Currency Generated: 35,000 Rings (converted to local denominations)]
[Inventory Item Created: Civilian Wallet – Contents Synced to Local Format]
[Note: Maintaining blend protocols. Detection risk: Minimal.]
A click echoed in his mind, and he suddenly felt weight in his back pocket. He reached down and pulled out a simple leather wallet black, smooth, too clean. Inside were neatly folded bills and a sleek ID card with the name "Orin Kaido" printed in soft holographic lettering.
"Kaido?" he muttered. "Did you seriously give me a fake name too?"
The system didn't reply. Typical.
He could smell fried food from here. Soy sauce. Oil. Maybe meat. His stomach twisted with longing.
The last thing he remembered eating was… nothing. Not since waking up face-down in the dirt. Had Chaos energy really sustained him this long?
Maybe. But it didn't feel right anymore. His body still hummed, yes but now it felt... hungry. Like it needed both energy and food. Real food.
"Alright," he said, stepping back from the roof's edge. "Let's see if this cash works."
With a light jump, he dropped down to the next roof, then the next. Each landing sent a soft pulse of Chaos through his legs. It felt smoother now—like his body was syncing better with the energy inside him. Controlled. Lighter.
The final jump brought him down behind a strip of alley cafés, the kind with plastic tables and flickering neon signs. He straightened up, dusted off his jacket, and walked into the light.