Evening had already settled into Yugen City by the time Ren stepped out of Hanasakura Station.
The sun had dipped below the skyline, painting the streets in shades of amber and violet. Streetlights flickered to life one by one, casting long shadows across the pavement.
Ren walked slowly, each step a constant battle with the pain in his ribs. The bandages beneath his uniform stretched with every movement he made, pulling at bruised skin. His knuckles still ached, his skull throbbing where the sucker punch had stolen the world from him earlier that day.
"Two days, twenty-two hours."
Hasegawa's voice was still there in the back of his mind, cold and deliberate. But Shiin's words lingered even heavier, softer but somehow more cutting.
"What do you believe?"
