The bodies were found before dawn.
Five of them.
No signs of screaming.
But every one of them had their eyes open.
As if—
in the final moment—
they had realized something.
ARC City Division — Internal Zone
The room was clean.
Too clean.
Even if blood had spilled on the floor,
it never remained as a stain.
A man sat on a chair.
His hands were not tied.
His eyes were not covered.
Because ARC knows—
fear loses its value when it's restrained.
Standing in front of him was an ARC officer.
His voice calm.
Excessively gentle.
"I'm going to ask you a question," he said.
"Even a wrong answer won't be a problem."
The man's throat went dry.
"Did you see someone die last night?"
The man stayed silent.
The ARC officer spoke again—
in the same tone.
"That's not the question of whether you saw it.
The question is—
when you saw it, why didn't you run?"
The man's breathing fell apart.
This was the rule.
Because the moment this question is asked,
the victim understands—
ARC didn't come to ask.
ARC came to confirm.
"I—I just—"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
The officer turned his head
toward the unit standing behind him.
"Record complete," he said.
Nothing more was said.
The man was made to stand.
He was taken outside.
ARC's rule—
anyone who is questioned
never returns to the city.
Blood Sea Cult — Submerged Shrine
Candlelight trembled
over blood-soaked water.
A cult member knelt on the ground.
Before him,
a symbol drawn in blood.
"Our people are dead,"
said the man standing above.
There was no anger in his voice.
No concern either.
Only curiosity.
"Not one. Several."
No one asked—who.
Because in Blood Sea,
that question is never needed.
"The one who did this,"
the man continued,
"takes souls."
A single reaction—
not joy, not fear.
The cult knows—
taking souls means
the game has begun.
"Find them," he said.
"This time, we won't ask questions."
Military Intelligence Wing
A map lay on the table.
Five red marks.
One officer said—
"There was no operation in this area."
Another replied—
"But the dead were trained."
A third spoke slowly—
"And no one kills like this
and keeps it this clean."
The room fell silent.
Because everyone was thinking the same thing—
This isn't a gang war.
This isn't a warning.
This is a selection.
Somewhere — Not Far
Iren sat on a rooftop.
Below him, the city moved.
He knows—
today, he isn't alone.
Three gazes,
from three different places,
focused in the same direction.
ARC — to verify.
Blood Sea — to consume.
The Military — to erase.
And he—
still doesn't know
whether he is the prey
or the trigger.
Inside him,
something laughed softly.
It wasn't a voice.
It was a sensation.
The game has begun.