"Hakodate Clan Territory. Hokkaido, 2149.An eerie silence blanketed the abandoned village, its stilln..."

"Darkness engulfed me. Somewhere in the distance, I heard someone call my name.“Satoshi?” I groaned...."

"I followed the path of the overhead lights, though calling it a path felt like too generous a word...."

"Anyone else would’ve jumped at the chance, but something in his words cut deep. The promise of heroi..."

"One week!His last words hung in the air, taunting and sinister. Gape-mouthed, I stared at the spot w..."

"The gate snapped shut with a final clang, and within seconds, the skies opened. Lightning forked dow..."

"How many lights and machines ran inside New Edo? The solar fields seemed to stretch forever across t..."

"Black-winged bodies perched in every tree, on every rooftop, and across each mound of rubble, gaugin..."

"They’d set up their “relief” effort outside a large barn. A white banner featuring the Saisei sigil..."

"A severed head weighed enough to lug around, but loading Kaito and Hana’s corpses on the freight shi..."

"Mist enveloped me, a clammy curtain glowing with an unnatural, feverish light. It pooled low across..."

"Another day dawned under a gloomy gunmetal sky. The rain had transmuted last night’s fire to ash sou..."

"The next morning dawned chilly, waterlogged, and grey. But after a breakfast of fresh fish and steam..."

"Soon enough, I rejoined the other travelers. Two figures at the rear of our group, clad in black hoo..."

"Kei stepped through the singed curtain with the nonchalance of a tourist. For Sawagi, he’d abandoned..."

"What little shelter the crowded shanties offered gave way to uneven ground—a rise where rivulets car..."

"“More tea?”“I’ll get it. Gochisōsama deshita.” I nodded, poured another cup of green sencha, and sat..."

"When Kei mentioned being “someone else” before his enlistment, his being a father ranked dead last o..."

"Sleep came, though not without consequence. In my dreams, Hiro led an army of ravenous kufugaki thro..."

"“Do you think this is Yomichi’s way of sending us a message?” I whispered. Between this and the dama..."

"Branches screeched against the hull as the ship skidded to a halt on the uneven shoreline. Kei tore..."

"I didn’t know if I was among allies, but I didn’t waste time lingering. I grabbed my gear from the s..."

"A short time later, we stood in an oval room with gently curved walls. Their creamy white captured t..."

"“You promised to tell me about the Madman of Motosu,” I said, leaning forward.Tetsuo clasped his han..."

"Tetsuo stood in the doorway, his frame blocking the view outside except for wisps of morning mist. A..."

"Once he disappeared among the trees, I went to the cave mouth. Wrinkling my nose and tearing up from..."

"White wraiths threaded through spindly hardwoods, hinoki, and hemlock. Everywhere I looked, exposed..."

"A noise stirred me from slumber, low and rhythmic like a solitary drum.Drums… Hadn’t Tetsuo heard dr..."

"When I awoke, the rain had stopped, leaving an eerie silver glow in its wake. I lay on my side in th..."

"Outside the hostel, I paused. I didn’t know where to run, but I had to choose fast. The dim and colo..."

"Lights flickered through the trees as we made our way to the campsite. A cool breeze threaded throug..."

"Moonlight slashed through the canopy, catching his face just long enough.If I hadn’t believed in yūr..."

"While I stood, horrified, Jo sprang into action. “Tetsuo, is there a medical bay on your main ship?”..."

"After landing on the warship, Jo headed to the medical bay.Eager for news about our thieves, I follo..."

"The longer I sat there, the more wired I became. So I headed back to camp.As the elevator doors slid..."

"I awoke in darkness to an unsettling stillness. No rain drummed against the fuyū-kyū‘s domed ceiling..."

"“What happened?” I sprang off the footlocker.Tetsuo held up a hand for silence, then turned aside, w..."

"For someone who hadn’t driven in nearly two decades, Jo’s navigational skills still surpassed mine...."

"A group of men lurched into the caravan’s path—shirtless, their pants in tatters, hair matted with m..."

"Our convoy turned down a narrow alley that emptied into a small parking lot. Surveillance cameras tr..."

"As we approached the turn to the main hall, a technician in yellow rounded the corner. He was haulin..."

"Leaf-strewn paths wound through a murky, moss-covered expanse that resembled a forest encased in hig..."

"“I have exciting news.”The walls shuddered as a tremor rolled through the facility. Lights flickered..."

"An acrid stench of burning metal and plastic filled my nostrils as I circled again, eyes streaming...."

"Our craft rocked and bucked in the aftershocks, tossed like a rowboat in a storm. Blasts struck in r..."

"Tetsuo pointed to a nearby fighter pod, his expression stoic. “Take it and go. You are dead to me. I..."

"But killing kufugaki wouldn’t make me feel better. Now it felt like a betrayal. Jo wouldn’t have wan..."