Night wrapped the North Gate in ink. Wind slithered through broken walls, carrying the copper tang of blood and the rustle of dying leaves.
Rin crept through corridors slick with condensation, every step a betrayal. The Advocate's words clawed at his mind:
Mercy is your enemy, boy. Your kindness will leave you gutted and smiling for the man who slits you open.
He clenched his fists so tightly they trembled.
Above him, moonlight wavered across the stone like the surface of water. He pressed himself into shadow as a shape drifted past—a trembling figure in torn clothes, eyes darting, clutching a length of iron pipe.
Rin watched him vanish into the dark.
And then—
A wet, meaty thump.
Followed by another.
The noise dragged Rin forward, silent as breath, toward the echo of violence.
He slipped around a wall.
And froze.
A clearing had formed in a chamber of fallen beams. Moonlight cut in silver stripes through the gaps above. The floor was slick crimson, bodies sprawled like discarded dolls.
At the center knelt a man, black hair hanging like a curtain, arms steady as a priest at prayer.
His blade glowed with red light.
He drew it delicately across the throat of a sobbing boy. Blood sprayed into an arc—an arc he traced with reverent eyes as though reading holy scripture.
When the gurgling stopped, the man whispered:
"My knife sings your name.In verses crimson and clean.Be still, little lamb."
He lowered the corpse gently, as though laying a child to sleep.
Rin felt his breath snag in his throat. He wanted to step back. To run. But his legs would not obey.
The Butcher turned his head. Slowly. Almost tenderly.
A streak of moonlight caught his face.
Not monstrous. Not snarling. Only… calm.
Eyes pale as dying stars.
A scrap of stained cloth was tied around his wrist. It fluttered in the breeze.
The Butcher's voice was low, soft enough that Rin almost believed it was a prayer.
"I once tried to save them all, you know.My mother, screaming while they split her open.My father, clutching his guts like spilled rice.And I was too small to hold them together."
He glanced at the blood on his blade, fingers trembling for a heartbeat—then steady again.
"So now I split others open instead.Because the world only listens when it bleeds."
Rin realized he was shaking.
He forced himself back a step.
A scrap of loose stone tumbled from the ledge beneath his foot, clattering to the ground.
The Butcher's eyes flicked instantly toward the sound.
"Who's there?" he murmured, voice silk and steel in one.
He rose in a single, liquid motion. The blade lifted like a question.
Rin's pulse screamed through his ears. The Butcher took a step forward. Then another.
"Come out. Let me see the shape of your fear."
Rin burst from the shadows, teeth bared.
"Stay back!"
The Butcher tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Ah… a lamb that bares its teeth.I've been waiting to carve a rare one."
He lunged.
The world exploded in speed and color.
The Butcher's katana sang through the air. Rin threw himself sideways. Sparks flew as the blade struck stone, carving deep channels like melting butter.
Before Rin could draw breath, the Butcher was on him again—slashing, twisting, spinning the blade in arcs that blurred like rings of red light.
Steel whistled an inch from Rin's throat. He ducked, feeling strands of his hair severed by the edge.
"STOP!!"
Rin thrust out his hand without thinking—
—and time fractured.
The Butcher froze mid-swing. Drops of blood hovered around them like crimson pearls. Dust hung motionless. Rin felt a deeper chill seize his veins.
But something else surged up his spine—a pressure so vast it felt like the ocean trying to crash through a straw.
A white glow bled from his eyes.
The entire world stuttered, then accelerated so fast the walls rippled like water. His heart slammed in his chest. Veins glowed faintly beneath his skin, thin white threads spidering outward.
He felt every vibration of the Butcher's blade. He felt the drip of sweat rolling from his own chin, saw it fall in slow spirals.
He staggered back, clutching his skull.
I… can see everything…
The Butcher's eyes widened. He moved in that frozen sliver of time, muscles twitching as though struggling against invisible chains.
"That power…" the Butcher rasped, voice echoing in the warped air."You… you shouldn't have it yet."
Rin's voice came out shaking, edged in that same cold silver:
"Don't come closer."
But the Butcher laughed.
A cracked, delighted sound.
"So you're a monster too!"
With a violent surge of energy, the Butcher broke free of the time-lock for a fraction of a second. His own body blurred red, as though skipping frames of reality.
Their blades met. Rin's drawn katana and the Butcher's crimson edge clashed, sparks flying.
The impact drove Rin backward. He barely blocked the next swing, the Butcher roaring:
"SHOW ME YOUR TRUE FACE!"
Rin tried to retaliate, swinging his sword with an almost instinctive precision. But the Butcher danced aside, his blade nicking Rin's side—a bright crimson gash opening across his ribs.
Rin cried out, staggering.
The Butcher lunged in for the kill—but suddenly paused. His breathing grew ragged. The crimson glow around him flickered like a dying lantern.
He pulled back, panting.
Rin dropped to one knee, blood dripping between his fingers. His white glow dimmed to embers.
The Butcher tilted his head, sweat sliding down his jaw.
"If we keep going… one of us dies.And you… I want to see you again."
Rin's chest heaved.
"I'll kill you… next time…"
The Butcher chuckled, voice smooth as a lullaby.
"Good. Grow sharper, little blade.I'll be waiting."
With one last grin, he vanished into the shadows, footsteps fading into silence.
Rin collapsed against a wall, eyes rolling back as his power receded like a tide. He tasted iron and salt.
That… was Stage One…
Far above, hidden in spires of stone, The Red Advocate stared down at the scene, eyes narrow.
"No, no, no, my little star…You weren't supposed to fracture the hourglass yet.Now the sands will run faster…And the knives will follow."
He vanished into darkness, voice trailing like smoke:
"The Tower will burn… sooner than planned."
Rin dragged himself to his feet. His vision spun. The taste of blood filled his mouth. But in his chest, something new blazed:
Resolve.
He touched his side, where the Butcher's blade had kissed him.
Next time… I won't be the lamb.