“Wait!”

Rin stopped in her track, head hanging down before looking back toward the voice. ‘Of course, you would come...’ Rin thought, unable to suppress her smile. In this particular case, though, the presence of her brother wasn't really sich a good news. Rin wasn't good with farewell, and more importantly, knowing her brother, Rei was probably going to stop her.

“Are you really going?” Rei said, breath haggard.

“...Yes.” Rin said, looking at the boy's eyes.

“Why!?” Rei shouted, not caring about the several people around him. “I can't follow you, you know! I-I have to stay here, and you... Y-you can't....no...” The boy looked down.

Rin waited for him to finish.

“...I don't want you to go, Rin.” He looked up again. “Why? Why are you leaving me?”

Rin inhaled a deep breath. She held back her tears and did her best to not just leap forward and hug her brother. If she did that, it would be awfully more difficult for the two of them. Goodbye were better when they were short.

So Rin did her best to smile.

“...I love you, brother.”

Why was she leaving? Rei already knew the answer.

Her grandfather was dead.

Her family didn't want her.

And above all, she needed to move on. And that was impossible if she stayed in this city.

“But!” Rei tried to refute. He couldn't bring up his natural smile.

Rin didn't listen anymore.

She let go of her baggage, fully turned her body to look at his older sibling, and showed her greatest joyful expression.

“Thank you for always staying on my side, brother,” Her eyes watered but she held back, and bowed her head.

“Goodbye.”

She didn't wait for an answer.

Her smile didn't waver.

And she resumed her march toward her airplane, never looking back again.

“Ahhhh~” Celia let out a big, long sigh as she plopped her head down on a certain hospital bed. “It's only been a few weeks since then so why do I need to go to school already?!” With a pouting expression, she looked up at the resident of the bed.

Rin only smiled kindly. Seated serenely against the wall above the bed with a warm white blanket covering her lower half, she gently raised her hand above the other girl's head to pat her. “Stay... strong, Ce...lia.”

Her voice was hoarse, quiet, and almost imperceptible. A little gift left by the strangulation she had experienced a few weeks prior. A thick, suffocating bandage was even attached tightly around her neck to insinuate how bad it actually was. Moreover, if not for the hospital gown she was wearing, the piece of fabric enrolled rigorously around the entirety of her stomach would have been visible for all to see.

Rin was in a particularly weak state. Though, the good news was that all of her wounds could be taken care of by a doctor and a good amount of time.

“This isn't fair,” Celia said. “Why do you get to stay in this cozy little room, when I have to work my butt off to listen to the boring lectures of our professors?” She stuffed her head back onto the sheet to avoid looking Rin in the eyes.

Rin chuckled with her innexistent voice. Then, she looked at the clock attached to the wall opposite her. 6:45 am. A slight feeling of guilt rose in her heart and she stopped caressing the smooth, eyecatching orange hair in her palm.

Celia wasn't a morning person. Yet she was awake right now.

“You....don..'t have..... to.” Rin stopped mid-sentence, swallowed, and took a small breath. “Come...here...eve...ry...mor...ning...” She hoped that was enough to convey her message since, according to her doctor, the less she talked the faster her voice would return. (Not that she talked that much, to begin with.)

Celia grunted on the bed before returning her gaze. “And whose fault do you think this is?” She finally lifted her body into a proper sitting position before glaring dagger at Rin. “Who the heck told you to nearly die anyway?! Because of you, I...! If not for...!”

Celia clenched her hands and teeth, apparently unable to find the appropriate words. After a few seconds, she let out a big sigh.

“So...rry.” Rin could only say with a sad smile.

The orphanage Celia was living in was situated in the Temple District of Myriad city while the hospital they were in now was in the downtown area. And to say those two points were far away from each other would be an understatement. To make it worse, their school, while still in downtown, was nearer to the orphanage than the hospital. Which meant that, right now, for Celia, the dreaded school she didn't even want to go to was in the backward direction.

And yet, despite all the unnecessary hardship, Celia was intent on visiting Rin every morning. In fact, she had done so every single day since Rin was hospitalized. Adding to that the fact that school normally started at 7:30 am, Rin could only imagine how hard it was for Celia.

At the same time, she was torn between the feeling of joy of having someone care so much about her and the feeling of guilt from all the trouble she was causing.

“You better be, Rin!” Celia stood up abruptly, advanced, and pinched Rin's soft cheek with both of her hands. “This is all because of you, you damn pretty face!”

The act was rather painful but Rin couldn't help but be amused by the feeling. She chuckled in between the other's hands and looked fondly at the other girl. Celia just grunted again.

“Anyway! I need to go now!” Celia said with frustration. “I need to fucking go!” With a rather rough movement, she picked up her bag on the floor and headed straight for the room's exit.

‘Language, Celia.’ Rin thought but didn't bother to say.

Seeing the back of her friend, she had something more urgent to transmit.

“See...you...la..ter.”

Celia paused, and stayed quiet for a second, before giving a small, sneaky glance.

“Wait for me, okay?”

Rin wanted to say that she couldn't really go anywhere, but, since Celia had asked that same question every single day, she already knew better.

She put on a bright smile and tried to sound as clear as possible. “...Okay.”

Satisfied, Celia finally dashed out of the room.

◇

Rin had survived. She had been impaled and strangulated by a Demon, but, she was still alive. ‘How?’—was the question that plagued her mind when she first woke up. Unfortunately, every doctor she had asked had only given her an ambiguous answer: A miracle. In this world where superpowers called Singularity existed, that answer wasn't so difficult to accept. The problem— or rather, the real question was, from who had that ‘miracle’ come from. The doctor didn't know, and, the few Ark officers that came to visit her weren't so adamant to answer her questions, which left Rin constantly wondering who her secret savior was.

Of course, the possibility that it was her family's doing did emerge in her mind, but, she dismissed that idea fairly quickly. If she had learned something from living with them all these years, it was that they couldn't care less what happened to her. The only reason they had given her a house, covered most of her living expanse, and were paying her current hospital bill was because of obligation and human morals and not because of love.

Encountering a Demon was akin to being run over by a car. It wasn't her family's responsibility.

And since no movement or notice came from them, Rin was convinced they didn't help her in any way.

Thus, for lack of better information, Rin decided to just accept she was alive without questioning how.

That was, after all, supposed to be a good thing.

A sigh escaped her lips.

She was currently seated on a bench, still inside the hospital, a little away from her room with a can of fruit juice held tightly in her hands. She had wanted to go outside for a more drastic change of pace, but she gave up immediately because of the cold atmosphere the snow constantly falling.

Instead, she contented herself with just looking at the white scenery from a closed glass window while immersed in her thoughts.

‘Just a few more months before the end of the year, huh?’

The end of year festival was a constant on the Frozen continent. An event that the majority of people looked forward to. Even Rin, who usually didn't like grand occasions like that that gathered a lot of crowds, looked forward to it. Simply put, the few months after the first day of the year were the only time the city wasn't engulfed by the constant rain of snow. And since she completely abhorred cold, those few months were her favorite moments of the year.

Rin took a sip of her fruit juice and returned her gaze to the hard floor of the hospital with a blank look.

This time in particular, however, she was less than thrilled about the festival— No, even deeper than that, she was less than thrilled about... still being alive. Of course (and thankfully,) she wasn't suicidal and didn't have any intention of ending her own life but...

Despite knowing that having this...'second chance' was something to be happy about and that few had this opportunity, Rin could only feel.... powerlessness.

«You were born Trash, and you will die as one.»

Those words that she heard in the face of death kept ringing in her ears even now.

“The truth only hurts when you want to believe in a lie”—was a quote she had once heard.

To put it simply, Rin was depressed.

As soon as those thoughts entered her mind, she immediately shook her head. Another thing she learned firsthand because of her family was that brooding wouldn't make her feel any better and it certainly wouldn't change anything. She also knew that her thoughts would be going back and forth so long as she didn't find anything to occupy herself.

Thus, she took out her phone.

9 am.

At first, Rin had meant to read through one of the ebooks she had saved up, however, seeing the absence of notification and the icon of a certain application, she couldn't help but quickly look at her call log, half hoping that she had missed a certain someone's call despite pertinently knowing that her phone had never left her side.

Unfortunately, she had no missed calls.

Rin couldn't hide her disappointment as she heaved a sigh.

She could understand that her family didn't like her, but, her brother was different. For him to not call her was...

Rin shook her head a second time.

‘No, they probably just didn't inform him in the first place...’

Rei was the heir of the Winter Noble House. The future head of one of the strongest forces in the world and, in a way, the ruler of an entire continent. To say he was busy would be an understatement for his current situation. Worrying him about Rin's current situation would be a waste of his time and his energy. Since nothing major had happened, Rei didn't need to know. —Those probably were her family's reasoning. And Rin couldn't say they were wrong.

Of course, she did want to talk with her brother but, she didn't dare to call him. First, because she knew her family wouldn't let the call go through and, second, because, in the one in a million chance that it did connect, she wouldn't know what to say. Plus...

‘Rei already has enough on his plate.’ She thought while taking a deep breath.

Rin put the phone down on her lap, and, for the third time this day, heaved a sigh. She leaned back into the bench and... 'deeply contemplated' the hallway's ceiling. She had a blank expression on her face and stayed still for a very long moment. She had half expected she'd fall asleep in that position, but, alas, she already had enough sleep for more than two people due to the hospital's 'confining' atmosphere.

Her thoughts continued to wander.

‘Brother is going to become a powerful figure in the future. A pillar of the world,’ She frowned, while trying to not clench her hand? ‘Meanwhile, I...’

She looked back towards the glass window, but, this time, lingered on the faint reflection of herself displayed on it. It wasn't a pretty sight.

“Why...?” She said as her eyes began to water.

Her sight naturally returned to her hands, now trembling. She clenched them, putting pressure on both her phone and the can she was holding.

‘Why am I so weak?’

Despite her best effort, a single bid of water fell on her lap.

“Something worrying you, kid?”

Rin instantly raised her head, sniffed, and wiped the small tears on her face as she looked in the direction of the sudden voice.

Before she knew it, a man was seating next to her with his legs crossed and a small, almost smug smile on his face. At first glance, he seemed to be in his mid-twenties and had quite the tall figure since Rin needed to look up to meet his eyes. He had black short hair arranged neatly and had a pair of deep dark bluish eyes that gave off a certain sense of... danger.

‘When did he...?’ Rin narrowed her eyes.

“Let me guess,” The man said, uncrossing his legs and putting his big hands inside the pockets of the cloak he was wearing.

Rin suddenly felt out of place. The man's voice somehow reverberated in her ears and a feeling of wanting to leave immediately assaulted her.

“You're frustrated because of your lack of power, right?”

Bullseye.

That was it. Rin turned away and was about to stand up when the man's hand reached out for her head and made her stop. No, it wasn't only that. She didn't even have time to wonder why the man was patting her as her mind was blown away by her surroundings.

‘Where...?’

The bench she was sitting on was the same but she wasn't inside the hospital anymore. They were outside in an... amusement park? ‘How?’ She also noted that despite the lightness of her hospital gown and the snowflake that was gently caressing her skin, she didn't feel any coldness. It was as though the temperature hadn't changed at all from when she was at the hospital. (Not that it made her any less spooked).

Her mind drew a blank.

“No need to be afraid, Rin,” The man's voice tried to bring her back to reality. “I'm just here to talk.”

As though some compelling force was at play, Rin slowly returned her gaze to the man.

“You know who I am, right?”

....Yeah.

How she had not recognized the man earlier was beyond her. It wasn't like she knew him personally. In fact, she had never encountered him before. However, his face appeared often enough in the news that Rin shouldn't have been able to mistake him for anyone else.

He was a criminal.

And, according to what she'd read about him, one of the most dangerous ones.

He was...

“The...Fallen...” Rin answered with her dry voice.

“Yep!” The man said with a smug face. “Man, being famous really is useful, huh. Can't say I really like the nickname, though.”

This was bad.

Rin's breathing got cogged in her throat and the recent feeling of fear she had experienced began to slowly resurface.

She needed to leave. Now.

‘But, how?’

Rin surveyed her surrounding once more and was, again, baffled by the unknown scenery and the total absence of anyone. Ferris wheel, roller coaster, haunted house, teacup ride, and many other attractions were all she could see. Rin had never gone to an amusement park before, and she was certain she would never go to one now.

“The Fallen? Who's that?”

For the second time, Rin was brought back out of her thoughts. Not because of the man, though, but because of a woman's voice.

Crouched just in front of her and looking at her face since who knows when was a blonde woman, approximately in her early twenties. She wore a long-sleeved shirt full of holes, covered by an even more ragged jacket, a skirt, and half a pair of black tights on her left leg. She had a pair of bright water-colored eyes, that, objectively speaking, were beautiful. In contrast, though, was how messy her short hair was.

Rin recognized her, too. The woman didn't have a nickname but her name wasn't one she'd forget.

‘...Ursa Saith.’

The blonde's question was aimed at the man but, her eyes were glued on Rin as though entranced.

“That's me.” The man answered, irritated. “...Didn't I tell you to stand back, Ursa?” He glared at the woman with a bit of venom.

“Hmph,” Ursa scoffed, put on a smile, stood up, and approached her face at point-blank range with Rin's. Their nose were almost touching. “As if I'd let you ogle such a beautiful girl alone.”

Rin gulped, unable to break eye contact with the woman.

“Rin, was it? How about you and I become lovers, hm?”

“...Eh?”

“I promise you I'll treat you really well.” The blonde distanced her face a little and cupped Rin's cheek with her hands. “Or do you prefer boys? I can become one if you want.”

The woman's appearance began to waver as though it was a mirage. It grew a head taller, grew muscles, became larger and even her clothes slowly changed. If Rin had to guess, the blonde was probably transforming into one of the famous ‘dream men’ girls fantasized about. Before her metamorphosis was finished, though, a loud hitting sound reverberated.

“Ouch! That hurts! Why'd you do that?!” The transformation stopped and Ursa reverted instantly. She was crouched, once again, and rubbed her head pain while glaring dagger at the man.

“This is my moment, you bitch. Go back to your hole!” At some point, the 'Fallen', as Rin called him, stood up and yelled at the woman.

“As if I care! I do what I want, you damn lolicon!” Not intimidated, Ursa got back on her feet, too.

“Loli—! I'm gonna kill you!” The man clenched his hand.

“Booo!!” Ursa stuck out her tongue and made sure to shower the other in her saliva.

Watching everything unfold, a part of Rin couldn't help but wonder if the situation wasn't just one, big elaborate prank. In which case, it wasn't funny at all. The serious part of her, however, knew better. The amusement park was one thing but if she were asked to point out one piece of definitive proof that she was in danger, then it would be the feeling the Fallen was emanating.

This man was something else entirely.

And if there was one thing she had learned from her encounter with a Demon, it was how weak she was against these kinds of being— Against those outside of the ordinary. Rin wasn't delusional anymore. She stood no chance against the two people in front of her.

“Ahem!” The man feigned a cough as he finally finished his bickering with the woman. “Let us restart from the very beginning okay? My name is Aiden Wood. And, to get straight to the point of my visit,”

The tall man paused and approached Rin further.

“I want you, Rin.” He said, looking at her with a smug face.

“That's disgusting, man.” Ursa couldn't help but snicker behind him.

The corner of his eye twitched but he vehemently ignored her. “Of course, I don't mean that in a weird way. If you are aware of my title, then I assume you know what my power— my Singularity is capable of, right?”

A flash of realization lit up across Rin's face.

Aiden's smile widened.