Red

 -TOKYO, JAPAN-

DECEMBER 2019

"Authorities still have no lead on the murder of three players at a mahjong table, as reported last week. If anyone has information on the situation, they are encouraged to call..."

-BERLIN, GERMANY-

 JULY 2020

"And in other news, the infamous disco disappearance appears to be going cold. A man left a nightclub, saying he would meet someone. He was never seen again. More on the case at..."

-NEW YORK, NEW YORK-

FEBRUARY 2021

"So why are you out here?" The woman asked of her odd companion. She'd met the other woman by pure chance, really. Wandering the streets of the city at night, out here in the far reaches of the Bronx, was always a bit nervewracking. As soon as she saw someone else who looked safe, she kept trying to catch up to the woman in her robe, but the latter simply ignored her. 

Despite that, she kept trying to stick to her anyway. She'd heard rumors that there had been a mugger in the area. She couldn't very well stop walking this route, thanks to her circumstances. So any time she saw someone, she just tried to check up.

The robe woman's silence was offputting, but still not enough to discourage her follower. Even when she ducked into an alleyway, the following woman decided to simply wait outside. 

From inside the alleyway, a muttered threat. A yell. A scream. Pleading, cut off pretty quickly. And when the woman looked inside, she saw the robed woman, standing over the mugger, now lying dead on the pavement. 

The robed woman looked at the other. "...You saw. 

Too bad." 

And before she knew what was going on, the robed woman lunged at her, and all awareness faded forever in a bright red spray.

-AGAMA-

JANUARY 2022

The New Year's celebrations of Agama looked quite different from those you might see in New York or Las Vegas. The shapes and sparkles that danced in the air, kept aloft by both magic and technology, were based on Agama's own culture and history. Brume light spectaculars, fancy fireworks that did more than just burst, the market's rainbow glow... all of that was represented in Agama.

Looking out the window, Ebisuwaru turns back to the woman sitting at his desk. This was no true business meeting - or at least not for recruitment. This was merely catching up at the turn of the year with one of the most important parts of his plans. 

"Fascinating, isn't it? What a true example of people's dreams."

"Tch." Leaning back, the woman scoffs as she admires her sharp, claw-like fingernails. "It's a good pretense. But that's all fluff."

"Come now, don't say that! The dreams of Agama shine tonight."

"The ones they're telling the world, that is. The ones they've got buried... well, most of those are a lot less pleasant."

"Like yours, I take it?" Ebisuwaru asks, a slight smirk on his face. The woman simply nods.

"I know what I've done. As long as it keeps me ahead of everyone else, all's fair." 

"A truly fascinating dream... utterly shameless about sacrificing others. Incredibly powerful, in its own way.

Yes, I knew you were right for your card when I first saw you."

"Heh. Just remember, if you try to stab me in the back..."

With a swipe, cutting at Ebisuwaru's desk and leaving a series of marks in it, the woman reconfirms that she could rake through anyone. And had. Whenever she thought it was necessary.

"My claws are sharper."

Millaarc Cranstoun

Red King of Bats