The rain fell in thin sheets over Tokyo, blurring neon lights into rivers of color. Yui Nakamura walked quietly beneath her umbrella, headphones in, listening to the audiobook of Crimson Pact—for the twelfth time.
It was her favorite story. A dark fantasy with bloodstained castles, doomed romance, and a cold Demon King who secretly longed to be understood. No one in her class knew she was obsessed with it—no one really noticed her at all. That was fine. Yui preferred the company of books to people.
She clutched her schoolbag tighter, her glasses fogging from her breath as she recited the lines from her favorite scene:
"Even if the world burns, you're the only one I'd never let go."
Her heart clenched. The line always hit her hard. The way the Demon King had looked at the heroine in that moment...
"Why couldn't someone look at me like that?" she murmured.
The crosswalk signal blinked green.
She stepped forward.
Then she heard it—a scream. A small child had wandered into the street.
Her body moved before her mind did.
She shoved the child to safety.
The truck's headlights swallowed her world.