— Where… am I?
Shinji opened his eyes.
An alley. Narrow. Damp. Cold.
His back was soaked. The ground was made of uneven stones, and the air stank of mud, mildew, and ancient dust.
Above him, the sky was just a thin gray slit between two walls. The light fell in sickly streaks.
He tried to move. His arms, his legs, his muscles felt like they were his — but through a veil. Every movement felt distant.
He shivered. That kind of cold… he hadn't felt it in a long time. Since… he couldn't remember.
A strange sensation gripped his chest. Heavy. Unknown. And yet… not unknown. No. It was old. A fear. A memory he had refused to recall.
This alley, he didn't recognize it. And yet, something about it felt familiar. Like a melody forgotten but still hum-able.
He tried to speak, but his throat was dry.
He sat up slowly. No wounds. No blood. No pain.
— I'm dead…
It was a certainty. A truth carved into his flesh. But he had no memory of how it happened.
He frowned. Nothing came back.
Just one word. One name.
— Neko…
Why was he thinking of that name?
He looked down. A skinny white cat had slipped into the entrance of the alley. It looked up at him, then vanished into the shadows.
A chill ran down his spine.
Then, a tear fell.
— Mom… Dad…
Those two words were all he had left.
He slowly left the alley. The sounds became clearer: shouting, numbers, loud voices. Chaotic agitation.
And just to his right, in a dead-end attached to the alley — a stable.
An old butcher was yelling at a man, a beef carcass on his shoulder. Dogs barked. Fangs, chains, cages.
He looked away, uncomfortable. But he couldn't ignore the thought: barely out of the alley, and fate was already throwing this at him?
— A test…Maybe I was brought here to show my kindness by feeding him
He almost laughed. He, who had always rejected anything divine.
Since the death of his parents, nothing made sense to him afterall
But his laugh sounded hollow.
He walked further, following the noise. He came out onto an oval square, closed in by high stone walls.
At the center, a wooden platform.
On it, men. Women. Teenagers.
Chained.
Silent.
People were shouting numbers. Bids. Amounts.
It took him time to understand.
A slave auction.
He nearly threw up.
There was no compassion in the eyes around him. Just habit. The normalcy of horror.
He stepped back.
— So this is the afterlife?
He almost ran back into the alley. His heart pounded. He felt trapped in a room too tight to breathe.
The cat was gone.
But a young girl was there.
Crouched down. Shivering. Arms around her knees.
Shinji approached, on instinct.
— Are you okay?
She looked up.
— Please… don't let them take me back…
Her voice was hoarse. Broken by sobs.
Before he could answer — footsteps.
Three men. Their leader was massive, eyes hard.
— Get lost, he muttered. She's ours.
Shinji stepped back.
— Wait. Listen to me. She… she doesn't deserve this. I can… pay. Work. Do whatever you want.
They laughed.
— With your face? Even the dogs would spit you out.
He lowered his eyes.
And saw the blade in his pocket.
It was the one he held before he died.
How…?
He touched it, instinctively.
But he didn't dare pull it out.
Not in front of the girl. Not in front of those men.
He met her gaze.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She was empty.
He understood.
He was no better than those men.
He had already given up.
He let them take her.
When he returned alone to the alley, the cat had come back.
He sat down.
— You saw me, huh?
The cat stared at him.
— You saw how much of a piece of shit I am…
He clenched his fists.
— I judged them, but I didn't do any better.
He looked up.
— If someone can hear me… give me a chance.
A voice shouted in the distance:
— That one's worth gold! Her body's intact!
His blood ran cold.
He gripped the blade.
And ran.
He ran.
His steps echoed against the stone, fast and uneven.
His heart pounded wildly. But it wasn't fear that drove him anymore — it was something deeper, more primal.
A dull anger. Shame.
He reached the square.
They were there.
The guards. The girl. Still chained. A metal collar around her neck. Her gaze fixed on the ground.
She hadn't cried.
She hadn't even moved.
It was over for her.
But not for him.
He raised the blade.
— Stop! he shouted. Leave her alone!
Heads turned.
A teenager. Out of breath. Eyes wild.
Silence lasted a second. Then a guard laughed.
— And who are you? Some hero fallen from the sky?
Shinji didn't answer.
He charged.
But he wasn't trained, nor fast. Just determined.
The first guard caught him mid-run and blocked his arm.
The second punched him in the stomach.
Shinji collapsed, the blade falling at his feet.
— Seriously… another one said. This kid wants to die or what?
They stepped closer.
But a deep, weary voice stopped them:
— Ten écus.
Silence.
A man had appeared behind them.
Broad-shouldered. Apron stained with dried blood.
The butcher.
He approached, placed a pouch on the ground.
— Him… and his blade.
The guards shrugged.
— Knock yourself out.
He knelt, picked up the blade, then grabbed Shinji by the collar like a sack of meat to ask him about the blade... this specific blade.
Shinji opened his mouth to protest.
But he had no air.
He lost consciousness.
He woke up in the dark.
His head heavy. His mouth dry. His wrists tied behind a chair.
The floor was damp. The smell, foul. Mold. Cold meat.
A cellar.
He pulled at the ropes. Nothing.
Panic rose. He pulled again. Still nothing.
Then a noise. Soft. Almost imperceptible.
A rustle.
Something slipped into his field of vision.
A white rat.
He recognized those eyes instantly.
— Neko...?
The animal climbed onto the chair.
And, slowly, began to gnaw at the ropes.
Shinji didn't dare move.
He watched. Unable to understand.
A few minutes later, his wrists were free.
He leapt up. The chair toppled. The noise echoed through the room.
Footsteps. A voice.
— What the hell are you doing in there?
The door opened.
The butcher walked in.
Shinji didn't think.
He threw himself at him.
A knee strike. An elbow. The butcher stumbled.
Shinji saw the blade on his belt.
He grabbed it.
And fled.
He ran. Without thinking. Without breathing.
He just wanted to get out. Fast. Find… the cat.
He ran up the street. Turned left. Then right. And finally…
The alley.
He dashed in.
— Neko! I have what you wanted! I—
But he stopped.
The cat was gone.
He looked around. Nothing.
— You're not supposed to leave… I kept my promise…
Something broke inside him.
He dropped to his knees.
Then… a growl.
Low. Deep. Inhuman.
He looked up.
Three dogs blocked the entrance.
Their fangs glistened. Their eyes, red with violence.
And behind them…
— Didn't think you'd get this far, said a voice.
The butcher.
He held a chain. At the end: a fourth dog.
Bigger. Blacker. Silent.
— Two of my dogs dead. A beast that won't obey. And you… still alive.
He stopped a few meters away.
— Give me the blade, and I'll let you die without pain.
Shinji didn't answer.
He raised the blade.
His body trembled. His mind wavered. But he stood firm.
— Don't come closer.
The butcher raised an eyebrow.
— You think you can scare me?
He let go of the chain.
The dog lunged.
Shinji screamed.
And the night fell upon him.