The young man nervously strode down the dimly lit alleyway, as his vision slowly began to adapt to the pitch-black darkness as the familiar street and buildings came into view…

He kept looking for the person who had called his name but found not even a single trace of life. The pit in his stomach kept growing larger as the world around him seemed to grow more and more disturbing…

After walking for a bit, he had reached the small building where he would have been lounging around, keeping to himself as everyone around him mingled. He reached for the door handle, only to find it locked. His fears heightened and paranoia set in, the young man attempted to clear his mind, pacing and breathing slowly while he tried to think of any explanation for these events.

However, a noise suddenly sounded from behind, prompting him to turn around in hopes of finding someone! But no one was there...everything was the same, except the darkness in the alley beyond had begun to clear, illuminated by the light of the blue moon as a sense of foreboding crept through the young man’s mind…

Jack: “...Seriously, what the hell is up with this place right now? Ok, dude, don’t freak out...this is all just a dream...you’re probably conked out in your chair after the sugar from all those sodas made you crash...Yeah, I’m feeling better already...I think.”

The young man began to feel slightly alleviated of his worries, but was suddenly greeted with another tapping noise behind him, where he had been looking just moments ago…

Jack: “It’s just a dream...I am in control here...that said, it’s my first-time lucid dreaming so I don’t know the ropes...but this is just a dream, so there’s nothing that can hurt…!!!”

He turned around again, only to be met by the appearance of a new figure, clad in a red plaid shirt, khaki pants, and a strange and sinister mask with a pair of brown eyes peeking out from a crescent-shaped carving!

Having been frightened by the stranger’s sudden appearance, the young man was about to hurl a punch, but was met with a cold sensation spreading from his raised right hand…

In this cold, empty town...a small stream blood began to drop to the ground, drawn by the edge of a shimmering knife. The young man’s face contorted in pain and fear as he stared, wide-eyed at the crimson-stained cut, while the stranger’s eyes seemed to smile!

The young man dropped to his knees while clutching the wound, as the stranger casually walked out into the middle of the alley, and with a snap of their fingers, several masked individuals emerged from the shadows…

???: “We thank you for coming, to the location where the divine has seeped into our world! With your presence here, it is all but assured that we shall fulfill the task that the almighty goddess had bestowed upon us!”

The shadows of a mysterious group and a trembling young man, blood staining the ground, and a destiny set upon them from those from a different world...the plot thickened…
...