Close to noon on Thursday, Allen was heading to a food stand near Coffee & Chronicles for his lunch break, it was called Le Sous-marin and it was known for having excellent submarine sandwiches. Overhead, the summer sun was shining brightly but there was a strong breeze blowing that kept the streets cool.

Allen had on his job’s uniform, a red collared shirt with a gold C&C symbol emblazoned on the chest of it and jet-black pants..

Allen sighed. ‘Me and Nera have only found one specter since the Draugr and it wasn’t even a Wraith. Maybe this specter hunting plan was more impractical than I thought it’d be.”

When Allen got to Le Sous-marin, he saw that a long line had formed in front of it. That was fine to him however since he had a whole thirty-minute break. Allen patiently waited for about ten minutes until he was the fourth person away from the front of the line.

‘I should be able to order soon.’ Allen thought as he stared intently at the order of the person in front. They had three bags filled with food piled up on the overhanging counter. Allen figured that the person must have been ordering for multiple people.

That moment he thought this. A sudden strong gust of wind blew over the area. It tipped the bags over and caused the napkins stacked next them to be blown in the air haphazardly. Allen, reacting quickly, dived to catch the bags before they could fall to the ground.

“Gotcha!” Allen exclaimed as he caught one of the bags.

‘Wait, what about the other two?’

Allen looked up to see that the person who ordered the food, a tall young man with black hair wearing a gray shirt. The shirt had three vertical squares arranged vertically on the right side of the chest area of it. Similar to the yellow squares, he had yellow gloves and wore yellow goggles so thick Allen could not even see what his eyes looked like.

Allen stood up and handed the young man his bag of food. Allen then noticed to his amazement that this person had caught the other two bags as well as all the napkins that were scattered into the air in the same amount of time Allen managed to catch just one of the bags.

“Good reflexes.” Allen commended only for the man in the goggles to only nod silently.

“Alright...I’ll just get back in line now.” Allen chuckled awkwardly and handed him back the food. However, when he tried to get back in line, he found no one was willing to let him take back the place he was in. Each one of them stated that they did not even know he was in the line and that they all had places they needed to go to in a hurry.

It seemed like Allen would have to go to the back of the line again if he wanted to get something to eat but there would not be enough time before his lunch break ended.

‘So unfair! Is this how this city rewards a kind act!?’

As Allen complained internally, he heard someone call out from behind him.

“Hey.”

Allen turned around to see it was the young man with the yellow goggles again.

“I can give you some of my food as thanks if you want. It looks like you’re going to have to wait a while.” He continued to say to Allen.

‘I see. I guess there are some good people in this city.’

“Uh, that’s okay. I’ll just get something quick to eat at a convenience store.’ Allen remarked.

“Are you sure? I was just going to eat all this by myself. I have a pastrami sandwich, a club sandwich, a steak sandwich, an egg salad sandwich, a B.L.T. sandwich, a roast beef sandwich.” The young man in the goggles inquired nonchalantly.

‘A b.l.t. would hit the spot right now…’

Allen sighed. “Fine, if you insist.” Allen accepted the offer with lukewarm reluctance.

***

A few moments later, Allen was eating the b.l.t. sandwich voraciously. He and the young man with the goggles were sitting at a table near Le Sous-marin to eat the food. It took Allen until he was already halfway finished with his sandwich to realize he had not even introduced himself to the person who was sitting across from him.

He looked up from his eating to see that the other patron of the sandwich stand was eating their sandwiches with a knife and fork. They had carefully cut up the sandwich into orderly small squares. They placed each square in their mouth one by one. Allen dismissed this as just the man being a neat eater.

“So, are you on some kind of lunch break as well? My name’s Allen by the way.”

“Yeah. I’m Iyoto Hishida.” The taciturn young man kept eating his food without skipping a beat.

“I see. I work at Coffee & Chronicles which is about a few blocks from here. How about you?”

“The new building that’s being developed in that same direction further on. I’m working as a landscaper there.”

“Is that what the gloves and goggles are for then?” Allen asked out of curiosity.

“No.”

“Ah. Well, it sounds like an interesting job to have. A lot more interesting than working as a cashier at a coffee and book store.” Allen let out a small laugh.

‘I wonder what kind of building it’s even supposed to be. They went out of their way to use advanced reformation tech to make it, so it must be pretty important.’ Allen pondered to himself.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know what the building’s for, would you?”, Allen voiced his curiosity.

“No idea. I’m just there to put topsoil down, plant trees, and trim hedges. I’m not told stuff like that and I don’t ask.” Allen was informed frankly.

“I can see where you’re coming from there. If it’s not your job to know something, that’s just extra work, right?” Allen asserted.

“You could say that. Moreso, I have no interest in things of that matter.”

“What about art then? This city is filled with it. Must be some art pieces you like here.” Allen inquired.

“Art, huh? Sure, you could say I appreciate it from time to time.”

Allen found the man’s lack of elaboration on barely anything odd. However, he had once been of few words himself, so he saw it as being understandable.

“Speaking of art, there’s a mural around here that I pass often.. It’s like this plane completely made out of glass and split into many different segments in a really cool way. It looks amazing. I think I remember hearing it’s name a while back. What was it again…” Allen trailed off.

“The Glass Plane Soars, that’s the name of it. It seems you don’t know what you’re talking about at all.” This came out monotonously and Allen did not sense a trace of disdain in the statement.

“Uhh, maybe that one is a dud. I don’t really have the best eye for the arts myself. What about the Misty Tower mural?” Allen knew that the Misty Tower was a famous art piece in Atelier City that was located in a busy location. Allen was sure that the young man would know about it and find it impressive as well.

“That one is also mediocre, it’s nothing but a hazy mess.” The art aficionado remarked as he got up from his seat. “My appetite’s gone now, so I’m going to get back to work. You can have the sandwiches I have leftover.”

Without any other words, the strange young man left in the direction of the building site.

‘Hmm, kind of rude but, hey, more food for me.’

Allen shrugged and began scarfing down all the remaining sandwiches, so he could quickly rush back to the cafe. It was around this moment, he got a call from Nera on his phone.

“Huh, really? Alright, I’ll be there right after work.”

***

“So, is this really the place?” Allen asked Nera who was standing beside him across the street from the large construction site a few blocks away from his normal job. They were here due to rumors spreading around about a possible specter sighting.

“Yeah, this is the only place it could be, a new building being made right here at this address being attacked repeatedly by a culprit they can’t even see.”

“Alright, let’s look around for someone willing to tell us more.” Allen took a step forward but before he could go any further, a raised hand from Nera made him halt.

“Already on it.”

Allen peered in the direction Nera’s eyes were focused on. One older man with graying hair was talking to another younger one with brown hair about something with a worried expression on both their faces. Allen remained silent as he watched Nera listen in on the conversation. A few minutes passed and the two walked through the gates of the work site.

“Hey, what were those two talking about?” Allen spoke up finally.

“It was about the recent attacks. Whoever or whatever it is has been breaking in for five nights in a row and destroying valuable equipment before leaving without a trace.”

“Got it. That means they’re almost guaranteed to do it again tonight! Did you overhear anything else?”

Nera nodded while leaning against the wall of the alleyway they were standing in.

“One person a night has turned up unconscious as if from an illness and one of the people doing the landscaping here, Iyoto, also called in sick today. They think it may be connected.” Nera relayed calmly.

“Wait, did you say Iyoto? I ran into someone by the name who works here.”

“Is that so? Then, let’s hope they really are sick instead specter chow.” Nera replied somewhat dismissively.

“But first, I want to try this out. ” She pulled out a small violet mirror.

"What's that supposed to be?" Allen leaned in to give it a closer look. It had a familiar aesthetic.

A small grin appeared on the young woman's face. "This is a transformed version of my scythe from before."

"What? How did you know it could do that?"

Nera puffed out her chest proudly. "You're not the only one who can do supernatural research. I looked into what that Erno guy had said about this being a Dream Reflector and found details about an ethereal transforming instrument the Grim Reaper had that could make people see visions of their worst nightmares right before they were offed."

Allen nodded his head back and forth like that was a completely sound breakdown. "So, what use does that have here?"

"Use some creativity," Nera started while spinning the mirror in her hand. "Specters become people's worst nightmares in physical form if they're attacked by them. That means this mirror can show us if someone was attacked by a monster and what that monster looks like before we even lay eyes on it!"

'It being able to transform into a mirror makes it inconspicuous as well.' That inference came naturally to Allen.

"Huh, that'd actually be really useful," Allen finally admitted. "Glad to see you're not leaving everything to the complete outsider to figure everything out anymore."

"Well, I don't want to take what makes you helpful away from you, Lackey."

Nera let her chagrin with that remark before walking up to a group of landscapers that were about to enter the construction site and pretended as if she was a seller of handmade trinkets with her mirror being a sample of what she could offer them.

Her tone was awkward and she stumbled over her words but that actually did more to convince them of her earnestness. Not only that, that kind of wandering street peddler could be found all over the city. It was not hard for her to have them all take a glance at the mirror before turning down her pitch.

She walked back to Allen and showed him what was displayed on the mirror. "I can't see ether, so you'll have to tell me what it's there."

With this understanding, Allen observed the surface of the mirror but only saw a continuous series of purple lines streaking across it. "Sure, but it's just lines, I can't make anything..." The aspiring artist held his tongue as he realized a pattern was emerging on the mirror as the lines appeared and disappeared. He took out his notebook and drew each line one by one until a picture was fully formed.

"I don't know why the image is broke down like that, but it worked," Allen said as he viewed the horrific sight of an entire neighborhood burning to ash on the page he drew on. "This indeed looks like a nightmare."

"...Yeah, it certainly is one." Nera tapped on the mirror and Allen could tell that it was a completely different pattern, from someone else's fears. Allen transcribed that as well and did so for several other rounds until they had seen the worst nightmares of every person Nera had look into the mirror.

There were all sorts of nightmarish images drawn down from ferocious beasts to natural disasters.

“This should be good. I didn’t know the mirror could hold multiple visions at once."

“Me neither,” Nera replied back carefreely.

Allen sighed. "Regardless, if we stake this place out now and that Specter has attacked one of them, we'll know who to ask for more information. How's that sound?"

"As good as anything else. Good job putting your head to use. I'll take over once we actually have to fight something. Just stick close to me."

Allen chuckled lightly. "Well, if that's really all I needed to do, I wouldn't mind."

***

It took several hours for something to finally happen during their stakeout, Allen and Nera had already waited hours on top of a nearby building with the sun having set already. They were not even sure if there were any more workers left. What alerted them was a thundering crash that came from within the construction site.

The two leaped down from the building and ignored the high chain link fence that bared entry by by jumping over it. What lay beyond that barrier was a sight Allen did not expect to see.

“It’s that Iyo guy…”

Facing off against a shadowy monster in the middle of a wide plain of dirt and sand was the odd young man that wore goggles that Allen had met just earlier that day, Iyoto Hishida. However, something was very different about him.

His goggles were down, revealing bright yellow irises with slit-like pupils. His teeth were bared, showing frighteningly sharp incisors and he emitted an ethereal aura that felt monstrous in a way different from specters but still nothing like the Crafters he had sensed before.

“Looks like we’re already in an Expanse since I can see the Specter in front of us, but mind explaining to me how you ran into a Grendel and didn’t even bother to mention it to me?”

“It’s not like I knew either. I don’t even know what a Grendel is! Are they some type of Crafter?!”

“No, they’re-” She was interrupted by Iyo noticing their presence in the middle of his fight with the wolf-like Wraith that stood on its hind legs.

“Huh? It’s you from before. What are you doing here? You both need to leave, now!”

In the midst of his shouting, he almost had his head lobbed off from the swipe of the Wraith’s claws.

“No way we’re going to just stand around.” Allen took a step forward.

“Wait!” Iyo shouted as he outstretched a gloved hand that burst with bronze mana and revealed that he had claws that could rival the Wraith’s in their sharpness. He struck the ground in front of him and a yellow line shot forward that forced the monster to retreat. When the yellow light faded, a deep crevice was left in the space between the monstrous human and shadowy Wraith.

Despite being bewildered by the strange power, Allen ignored Iyo’s warning and was going to enter the battle anyway.

“Wait.” Nera chimed in. “I want to do the same, but we should think this through first. Going in without a plan could just end up in us getting in each other’s way. We should try to figure out what this thing’s weaknesses are just like with the draugr.”

Allen grit his teeth but had to admit she was right. “Okay, where should we start first?’

“Good question, does that thing’s appearance match any of the pictures in your book?”

“...Yeah, it’s the third one out of those monsters. Which person did it belong to?”

“The lanky guy with the green bandana, but nothing stood out about him and I don’t think we’re going to have time to ask him any more details.” Nera begrudgingly replied as that trail reached a dead-end.

“Well, it must have some kind of cloaking ability to sneak past even the magic detection security, right? What things are able to interfere with magic being spotted?” Allen winced as he watched the fight carry on in front of him. Iyo narrowly dodged a few more slashing attacks before swiping the ground to raise up dust to block the Wraith’s vision and gain more distance.

“Not much, just large sources of mana and living beings. That’s why it’s hard to locate Specters in densely populated areas like cities, but that shouldn’t apply to an area this size with the number of workers they had here.”

Allen furrowed his brow as he assessed the Wraith that Iyo was currently fighting. It resembled some kind of shadowy werewolf with lanky arms and legs along with teal lines running across its body. There was a decent amount of miasma surging from it and no other mana source in the vicinity.

‘There’s no other large mana source nearby to block out its own and there’s only the three of us here, right?’ Allen turned to trying to find out what this Wraith could be based on all the stories of wolves he heard before. There were many such as The Boy That Cried Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, and the last one to come to mind, Little Red Riding Hood.

“Where the wolf disguises themself by devouring a human…” Allen muttered under his breath while coming to a frightening conclusion. Nera overhead him with widened eyes. All the while, Iyo was preparing for a devastating attack. The young man had a power that heightened any damage he caused. A small scratch could become a gaping crevice and a tiny crack could turn into a crater

It was something he had difficulty controlling, so he tried not to use it on anything remotely resembling a living creature, even a Wraith. However, he put his fears aside and gathered up power in his hand.

Allen reached out a hand to stop him. “Hold on, wait! That Wraith could be-”

His words were a second too late. Iyo rushed at the specter. A bright trail of yellow followed the path of his strike as it slashed through the monster’s neck.

A searing cut turned into a gaping wound that caused miasma to spew from the monster like blood. However, mixed in the pitch black was crimson red.

“No..not again.” Iyo croaked out after coming to a stop and staring at his claws stained with blood. He looked back to see that part of the Wraith’s head had been torn away to reveal a human face with a single vacant eye staring back at him. This was the same man that Nera’s mirror had captured the visage of the Wraith from.

“...Liam?” The young man with the monstrous power said in disbelief, completely frozen still. Meanwhile, the Wraith quickly recovered, and its viscous skin covered up the human it had consumed once again before bounding straight toward its next prey.

“What are you doing?! Move you idiot!”

Allen ran as fast as he could but the Wraith reached his destination first as its giant claw swung straight toward the motionless Iyo.