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Chapter One
The Train Ride
――――――――――
Everything would soon come to an end.
That thought sat behind Shiebe Zackaria's eyes like an unblinking cursor.
In two years, he would be dead.
He'd known for three years. The doctor had been apologetic about it — as if the tone of voice changed anything. As if a softly delivered sentence landed any differently than a hard one.
It didn't scare him. That was the strangest part.
The train lurched forward, metal wheels complaining as they found their rhythm. Shiebe let his forehead drift toward the window and watched the platform disappear.
Some graduation this was.
He'd pictured it differently once — not the ceremony itself, he'd never cared about that — but the feeling after. The sense that something had shifted. That the years meant something.
Instead he felt exactly the same.
If only I had more friends… Hah. Kidding. I don't need anyone who isn't on the same brainwave as me.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the news, letting the bright screen wash his thoughts clean.
Then he felt it — someone watching.
Shiebe turned.
A girl leaned over his shoulder, close enough that he caught the carriage lights reflected in her irises.
Red eyes.
Long brunette hair.
His little sister.
Mona Zackaria.
Of course.
"What?" Mona asked, frowning at his stare as if he was the suspicious one.
"Why are you even here?" Shiebe snapped, slipping his phone into his pocket.
"Because I was worried about my big brother." She leaned back, innocent for half a second — then her mouth curled. "Everyone's celebrating with their friends, and you're sitting here alone. Even you deserve some company."
She winked.
Shiebe clicked his tongue. "If you were on my brainwave, you'd understand I don't need friends."
He crossed his arms, performing indifference like it was a talent.
"We share blood," he added, "but we're clearly not the same."
Mona snorted. "Right. Sure."
She hit the nail right on the head.
Shiebe's shoulders tightened. "T-That's a secret."
"Whatever." Mona turned toward the window. The countryside blurred past in green streaks, her hair spilling down her back like a curtain.
Shiebe watched her anyway.
She glanced back and caught him. "Is there something on my face?"
"Unfortunately, no." He sighed theatrically. "If you had my good looks, I'd say —"
He dropped his voice into an exaggerated baritone.
"Your amazing eyes… your beautiful hair… your cute face."
Mona puffed out her cheeks. "Weirdo."
Shiebe was satisfied — because annoying Mona was the closest thing to victory he could afford.
He pulled his phone out again.
A headline snagged his attention.
PERLIA EMPIRE — ANOMALY CASUALTY COUNT SURPASSES ANNUAL RECORD. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AWAITED.
His jaw tightened.
That country's a war zone. It's those damn anomalies.
A sharp ache bloomed behind his eyes — the same one he always got when the topic came up. Anomalies weren't new. They'd been part of the world his entire life, woven into news cycles and school curricula and government warnings until they were almost background noise.
Almost.
He grimaced, shoved the phone away, and stared at the opposite seats until the pounding eased.
Across from him sat an old man and a young woman. The girl's posture was neat — too neat — and something about her profile scratched at Shiebe's memory. She was tall even sitting down, with long black hair and the particular quality of someone who was paying attention to everything without appearing to pay attention to anything. Red eyes, he noticed when she glanced briefly in his direction — she looked back out the window immediately, but not before he caught something in her expression he couldn't quite classify.
I know her… don't I?
Of course he didn't ask.
"And don't even get me started on the war," the old man was saying, loud enough for half the carriage. "One of my friends knows a friend who was part of a secret group. The Star Eaters, they call themselves. Apparently they're doing a poll to decide their next leader…"
"Grandpa," the girl said, in the flat tone of someone having a conversation for more than the first time. "We've discussed this."
"Your friend joined," the old man said, which from his tone was not a new argument. "If he could —"
"He made his choice," the girl said. "I'll make mine."
The old man looked at her with the expression of someone who had decided to store an argument rather than deploy it, and turned back to the window.
"Come on! You just graduated from university!" he insisted a moment later. "You don't have any other plans, do you?"
The Star Eaters, huh?
Shiebe leaned back, pretending he wasn't listening.
If she won't take it, hook me up, old man.
Guilt pricked him for eavesdropping — briefly. Then he glanced at Mona, still watching the scenery with the calm focus of someone who absolutely heard everything.
Well. It runs in the blood.
"Ah… hello?"
Shiebe's head snapped forward.
The old man and the young woman were both looking at him.
Did they catch me? Are they going to —
"How can I help you?" Shiebe closed his eyes and forced a polite smile.
The girl studied him. "You're Shiebe Zackaria, right?"
His gaze darted everywhere except her face. "Yes… that would be me." He hesitated. "Have we met before?"
"I was in your class," she said. "Anomaly Studies."
"Oh." Relief swept through him. "I see! Yeah, I remember you."
He snapped his fingers. "Akari Williams."
Her eyebrows lifted. "It's Wilson."
Shiebe opened his mouth. Closed it. He was almost certain he'd been right.
"This is why you don't have a girlfriend," Mona muttered, just loud enough.
Heat crawled up Shiebe's neck. He cleared his throat. "So — uh. Congratulations on graduating."
Akari's face brightened. She clapped her hands once. "Thanks. It wasn't easy, but we made it."
She exhaled, like she'd been holding that breath for years. "There were days I thought I'd die," she added with a small, tired laugh. "But it's over now."
I don't remember it being that intense.
Though, if he was honest, he hadn't paid much attention to anyone else in that class. He'd shown up, absorbed what he needed, and left. The idea that the person sitting three rows behind him might have been struggling had simply never occurred to him.
Hm. But for a genius like me, what counts as intense?
"So, any plans?" he asked. "Going to put the degree to use?"
"Yes, she will!" the old man cut in proudly.
"Grandpa!" Akari hissed. "I already told you — I don't want to join."
The old man ignored her. He turned to Shiebe with a grin that was far too sharp for a harmless grandfather. "Don't you think Akari here is a wonderful young woman?"
"GRANDPA!"
Akari's face flared crimson. Shiebe nearly choked.
W-Whoa, whoa. I'm not looking for a partner any time soon.
…Still. Envy slipped in — quiet and shameful. She really bonds with her grandfather.
"Well," Shiebe began carefully, "in my opinion —"
And suddenly, everything went black.
For a split second, his mind refused to accept it. Huh?
"What the —" Mona's phone flashlight snapped on, a thin beam cutting through the darkness.
Confused voices rose throughout the carriage.
"The hell?!"
"Uh, what's going on?"
Then came a sound that made Shiebe's bones vibrate — a deafening screech, metal grinding against metal.
The train lurched. Then stopped.
Mona aimed the light at his face. "Any clue what's happening?"
"No," he said flatly.
"I don't have time for this!" someone shouted.
"The train's WiFi's off…" Shiebe muttered, more offended than afraid.
A crash? An animal on the tracks?
But that wouldn't explain the blackout. Power and brakes were separate systems — he was almost certain of that. Which meant whatever stopped the train had done so deliberately.
"The conductor should've made an announcement by now."
"Goddamn public services," another passenger grumbled. "Should've taken my car."
"Hey, Shiebe. Shiebe!" Mona's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh — sorry. What is it?"
Mona didn't answer right away. Her nose wrinkled slightly.
"Do you smell that?" she asked.
Shiebe frowned. "No. What does it smell like?"
Mona went still. For a long moment, she didn't speak.
"Mona?"
"Blood," she whispered. "It smells like blood."
Blood?
A memory surfaced: the bright lecture hall, his professor's dry voice.
If an anomaly is nearby, trust your senses. They may look human. But their eyes have three pupils… and they smell like blood.
Shiebe's hand shot out. He grabbed Mona's and tightened his grip.
"Mona," he said, keeping his voice low, "whatever you do… don't move."
She nodded.
From a few rows ahead, a man shouted, "The carriage in front of us still has light! Carriage 54!"
The instant the words left his mouth, crackling static flooded the air. A distorted voice spilled from the speaker system.
"To everyone… hearing this… you are under attack."
The message cut off. Then the door to Carriage 54 burst open.
―――
One by one, the lights flickered back on until the entire carriage was illuminated again.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Every eye was fixed on the figure by the door.
"Damn… don't scare us like that."
A man exhaled sharply and stepped toward the figure. From where Shiebe sat, he couldn't fully identify the person — the crowd blocked his view.
"The smell… it's stronger," Mona whispered. "Much stronger."
Others began to let their guard down as a few big, arrogant-looking men approached the figure. As they moved, Shiebe caught a glimpse.
A woman?
Her hair was strikingly long and orange.
"Do you have any idea what happened?" one of the men asked.
The woman kept her head down. The men glanced at each other and smirked. One reached out to her.
"You know, lady… it's rude to ignore your eld —"
CRACK.
The man collapsed. "M-My arm —!"
The men beside him shared the same fate.
"You boys," the woman said at last. She lifted her head. Her long orange hair fell across her face, her eyes barely visible beneath it. "Are all the same."
She stepped over the fallen men as if they were misplaced luggage and walked forward. The crowd buckled away from her in a single ripple.
"Hm?" She tilted her head. "Why are you backing away? Weren't you curious?"
Shiebe was already out of his seat.
"Akari," he said quietly. "Get your grandfather to the next carriage."
"Don't worry about me," the old man said, straightening. His eyes were fixed on the anomaly — not with fear, but with a recognition that had no business being there. "I've seen her kind before."
"Grandpa. Please." Akari's hand closed around his. Her eyes were glassy.
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded and let her guide him away.
Shiebe moved back to Mona.
"Shiebe. What's happening?"
"We're under attack." He kept his eyes on the woman at the far end of the carriage and tightened his fist.
"L-Listen." A man in an expensive suit stepped forward. "Whatever you want — money, anything — just name it. I can get you —"
"Money." She repeated the word slowly, like she was tasting something foreign. "That's the third time today someone's offered me that." A pause. "It didn't work then either."
The man's head rotated once. Then it hit the floor.
The silence that followed was different from the ones before it.
"Alright." The woman cracked her neck. "I've already had my fun with the carriage behind this one, so I'm feeling generous. I'll give you all a choice." She smiled. "You can escape."
Nobody spoke.
"On one condition."
Her smile stretched.
"Kill someone."
"Ha… ha… haha."
A single laugh echoed through the train. A short, heavyset middle-aged man stepped forward.
"Are you out of your bloody mind?! How the 'ell are we meant to believe ya?!"
This man is a bad man. He's not even questioning that we have to kill — he's questioning whether the reward is real.
"Guess you'll have to trust my word for it." She licked her lips.
From her pocket, she let something drop. Something clattered against the floor.
A knife.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
The crowd stared at her with hollow eyes. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
"You're all looking at me like I'm a monster." She tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "That's strange. The last group looked at me the same way. Do humans practise that face, or does it just come naturally?"
The fat man took a step back. "D-Damn bitch…"
Shiebe moved closer to Mona without taking his eyes off the woman.
"Stay close to me," he murmured. "Very soon… a fight is going to break out."
"How are you so sure?" Mona whispered.
"Because that thing isn't human." Shiebe's voice was barely audible. "It's an anomaly."
Mona went silent.
"Shiebe." Akari appeared behind them, slightly breathless from dropping her grandfather off. "What do we do?"
"Nothing yet."
It's already too late. From the moment she stepped into this carriage, it was over. That's humanity. Push us far enough, and we'll kill to survive. It's why anomalies can slaughter hundreds and we just let them.
Movement rippled through the crowd.
A figure cut through the people with unhurried steps. Blue hair. Crimson eyes, completely and unsettlingly blank. A black graduation robe.
He reached the knife. Crouched down. Picked it up.
When he turned around, the crowd flinched back from him in a single motion.
What the hell is he doing?
"If we want to escape, we have to kill." His gaze shifted to the anomaly. "Simple as that, right?"
She smiled and dipped her head. He turned back to face the carriage.
"K-Kid, put the knife down!" the fat man yelped.
"We go to the same uni — just chill!"
"To those of you who value your life —" The boy raised his voice above the cries of the crowd. "Step forward."
What is he getting at? What's the point?
At first, no one moved.
"I… I want to live." A quiet voice sounded as a girl moved through the crowd. Her hands were clasped together, her eyes sharp.
The boy stared at her and handed her the knife. He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed into the crowd before glancing back.
"Never feel ashamed for wanting to live. After all, you don't know any of these people."
He found an empty seat, sat down, and crossed his arms and legs.
"W-Wait!" The fat man held his arm out. "ARGH!"
The knife drove into his stomach. Once. Then again. And again.
No one stopped her. No one moved.
Shiebe's eyes stayed open. He didn't decide to keep them open — his body simply forgot to look away.
Beside him, Mona's hand found his arm. Her fingers didn't grip. They just rested there, like she needed to confirm he was still solid.
Somewhere behind them, a child had started crying — a thin, bewildered sound — and an adult was shushing them with increasing desperation. Not out of comfort. Out of fear that the noise would draw attention.
Akari had her back half-turned. Not fully. She hadn't managed fully.
And everyone watched. Shiebe. Mona. Akari. The boy. The anomaly. The men. The woman. The elderly. The children.
Red streaked across the girl's face as she began to laugh.
A laugh that would stick in their minds for the rest of their lives.
"Well done. You are free to live." The woman approached the closed door of the train and kicked it open.
The girl stumbled as the fresh, cold air blew her hair back. She stepped through and disappeared.
The woman blocked the exit, not allowing anyone else to leave.
"Believe me now? Well… I guess it's too late for him." The woman stared at the fat man's now-visible organs.
Shiebe didn't move. He had catalogued every step leading to this — the knife, the crowd, the inevitability of human nature. He had been right about all of it.
He hadn't accounted for the smell.
Heat surged up his chest without warning. The back of his throat burned. He turned away just in time.
A constant ringing filled his ears that he couldn't shake.
"F-Fuck…" He wiped the remaining stains from his mouth.
The woman picked up the bloodied knife.
"So then…"
"Who's next?"