[Rover – En Route]
The wind howled through the alleyways as Rover sprinted toward the coordinates. His breath fogged in the morning chill, each exhale a fleeting ghost. His footsteps thundered against the cracked pavement. The letter in his pocket burned—not with fire, but with something colder. A warning. A lure.
Professor… hang on.
Memories clawed through his mind, sharp and unwelcome.
He had been twenty. Ragged. Directionless. Just another ghost drifting through a city that never saw him.
Until he appeared.
Professor Kuroda.
Not with grand promises. Not with sermons or salvation.
But with warmth.
A steaming plate of food placed beside him on a rain-soaked bench.
And a single question.
> "Do you want to stay lost forever?"
That night didn't save him.
But it gave him a door.
And slowly, over time, bruises turned into training. Isolation turned into kinship. The world stopped looking like a cage—and started resembling something like home.
And now—
Someone's trying to take that from me.
Rover gritted his teeth, rage and fear braided tightly in his chest. I won't let them. I won't lose him.
---
[Kuroda – Unknown Facility, Moments Earlier]
The world returned slowly—like drawing breath through syrup and sand.
Professor Kuroda opened his eyes to dim light and oppressive stillness. He was suspended in a transparent pod, the hum of machinery vibrating through his spine. He couldn't move—psychic stasis, maybe—but he could see.
A figure in white stood at the edge of his blurred vision. Young. Masked. Eyes pale as frost.
"Where… am I?" Kuroda rasped, his voice dry as ash.
"You're in the care of Crimson Star," the figure said coolly.
Kuroda blinked slowly. "Why?"
Before the boy could reply, another presence entered the room. Velvet footsteps. A faint, lingering trail of rose oil.
Valentine Roux emerged like an apparition, his white suit pristine, his expression a quiet storm.
"You are here," Valentine said, "because I need you to bring him to me."
Kuroda's eyes narrowed. "Rover…"
Valentine smiled faintly. "Oui. That demon child. A marvel of fate. A blade sharpened by suffering."
"You don't know him," Kuroda said hoarsely. "He's not some tool to dissect."
"Oh, I don't want to control him." Valentine's tone was almost tender. "I want to understand him. Peel away the layers until the truth gleams like bone. Why did he survive when others broke? What dwells within him?"
"You don't need me."
"But I do," Valentine countered, voice silk over steel. "You saw him when he was nothing. You fed him. Taught him. You watched him molt into something divine. And he trusts you. You are the key."
Kuroda strained against the restraints. His fingers twitched.
"If you hurt him—"
Valentine raised a hand, his smile serene. "No harm. Unless he fails, of course."
"Fails what?"
Valentine's smile widened. "The test. A crucible. Power must be earned through fire… or devoured by it."
Kuroda's voice dropped into a growl. "You'll regret this. That boy… he's not what you think. He's more."
Valentine's gaze flickered. A hint of obsession danced beneath his calm.
"That's exactly why I must meet him myself."
---
[Back to Rover – Arrival]
The city fell behind, swallowed by mist.
The coordinates led to a forgotten railyard—a corpse of steel and silence. Rusted train cars stood like sentinels, covered in vines and graffiti. Tracks curled like broken ribs beneath his feet.
Rover stopped at the outer ring, boots scuffing red chalk symbols on the ground. Arcane. Ritualistic.
Above, the sky pulsed with violet clouds, unnaturally still. The air had weight. Each breath tasted like copper and static.
He walked forward.
Every step deeper felt like entering a tomb. Shadows watched him from shattered windows. Distant creaks echoed like whispers.
The hangar loomed ahead. A monolith of black steel and decayed glory. Its doors stood open—wide and waiting.
Inside, the cavernous chamber flickered with shafts of crimson light. Dust floated like blood motes in the air. Silent robed figures lined the walls—white masks painted with a single red star.
They didn't move. They didn't speak.
Rover didn't flinch.
He walked through them like judgment made flesh.
And then—
From the far end of the hangar, a voice spilled through the silence, smooth and familiar.
"Welcome, Rover."
Valentine Roux stepped from the shadows. Hands behind his back. Expression unreadable.
He moved like a dream.
Or a nightmare.
"I've waited a long time for this moment."
Rover's eyes narrowed. "Where is he?"
Valentine's smile returned. "Safe. For now. But this isn't about him."
Rover's fists clenched. "Then what the hell is this about?"
Valentine tilted his head.
"You. The boy who clawed his way through hell. The creature who commands shadows without knowing their name." His eyes gleamed. "I don't want to fight you, Rover. I want to see what lies beneath your skin. What happens when the mask cracks."
"I'm not here to play your games."
Valentine chuckled. "No, you're here to survive them."
A rumble echoed beneath the floor.
The walls shimmered.
Something ancient stirred in the air—an energy neither human nor natural.
Valentine's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Let us see if the Crimson Star finds you worthy."