11 -The Crimson Latter case
"A city that forgets the sound of screams is one that must be reminded."
The rain didn't fall in this part of the city.
Not anymore.
Ever since the Vanishing Sky incident three weeks ago, District 3 of Nishikawa City had lost its clouds. No one knew why. Meteorologists blamed magnetic shifts. Priests whispered about a curse.
But at Void Detective Agency, none of that mattered. Because a new case had just arrived.
Ssssshh—
The door opened. A woman in red heels and a trench coat stepped into the quiet office.
She looked like she hadn't slept in days. Black eyeliner smeared, crimson lipstick cracked, but her eyes burned with something fierce—fear... and desperation.
Airi looked up from her desk. "Can we help you?"
The woman stepped forward and placed something on the table.
It wasn't a wallet.
It wasn't a phone.
It was an envelope—sealed with blood.
"My daughter disappeared after receiving this," she said. "Then... she started showing up in my dreams. Smiling. But she wasn't my daughter anymore."
Hiragi stood silently by the window, eyes half-closed.
"Blood-sealed... dream-anchored... and Void-tainted."
He touched the envelope.
For a second, the room bent inward—walls twisting like melting wax. Airi flinched.
"This case," Hiragi whispered, "...is connected to the 'Dream Script' curse."
Airi's face paled.
"But... that curse was sealed ten years ago. It was supposed to be extinct."
Hiragi turned to her, Void energy faintly trailing from his fingertips.
"Nothing ever truly dies in a city that still dreams... in blood."
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CASE FILE #001: THE CRIMSON LETTER
Victim: Sera Natsume, 16, disappeared 5 days ago
Last Seen: Receiving a letter with a blood seal
Phenomenon: Dream infiltration / identity distortion
Objective: Locate the Dream Script origin / neutralize the blood anchor