The sky was still sealed—
Like a mute widow crying in silence, watching from above as a city collapsed beneath her.
Valvern was not sleeping.
Valvern… was dying.
The fog did not lift.
If anything, it grew denser, heavier, darker.
As if it had found its prey, and was now savoring it.
The streets were chaos.
Rescue teams had failed.
The air was poisonous.
The screams… stopped one by one.
And in that fading city…
A boy stood in the heart of it all, facing a creature that did not belong to this world.
Arato.
Blood smeared his cheek. His hands trembled.
But he stood—between the monster and a small girl who clung to his leg in tears.
The beast was unlike anything seen before—
Its body made of smoke and bones.
Its eye… burned red with hunger.
He didn't know how to fight.
He didn't know if he would survive.
He only knew one thing:
"I won't run anymore."
The creature lunged.
Arato moved—without thought.
A strange force erupted from his body, as if something inside him had been waiting for this moment.
Dark energy coursed through his veins.
His body cracked.
His scream shook the fog.
He struck the creature—
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Until silence fell.
Its body dissolved into ash.
Arato collapsed to his knees, panting. The girl hugged him tightly, crying.
And nearby… another body lay motionless.
Ren.
Blood seeped from his side. Bones… broken.
But he was alive.
Arato dragged himself toward him, sobbing.
"You idiot… I told you not to go."
Ren opened one eye, and smiled faintly.
"Told you… I'm your big brother… right?"
His voice faded.
His breathing… shallow.
And just as Arato felt the weight of the world crushing him—
Light flashed.
Not sunlight. Not divine.
A vehicle descended from above, piercing the fog like a blade.
Masked soldiers emerged, moving with precision.
One of them—tall, dark coat, visor glowing—spoke:
"Subject identified. Zone is unstable. Proceed with containment."
The Crimson Line was drawn across the area.
A red barrier of energy cut the fog in two, forcing it to retreat.
Arato fainted.
When he awoke…
He was in a white room. The scent of antiseptic filled the air.
Next to him—Ren, unconscious, attached to machines.
A voice came from the corner:
"He'll live. But just barely."
Arato turned.
A woman with short silver hair and cold eyes stood, arms crossed.
"Welcome to Cravell Unit. You're one of us now… whether you like it or not."
Somewhere far from Valvern…
The fog receded for the first time in days.
But the scars it left behind would not heal.
On a cliff near the city, a girl watched silently.
Red hair. Green eyes. White coat.
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't afraid.
She simply whispered:
"I hear it… again."
"The fog is screaming."
Then she turned—
And walked back into the shadows, where even the fog dared not follow.