I awoke in my dim apartment, the city's hum leaking through a crack in the window.
Chain-linked glasses clinking against the sink as I blushed my teeth. Then my coat—high quality, my last attempt at looking alive
I used to think the world was alive. Lately, it feels more like a corpse that hasn't realized it yet.
The time was 7:30—Just enough for me to grab a quick bite before I head to the train.
I left through the crack of my apartment door—a faint metallic smell was in the air.
But as I left, a red light reflected off the door's glass.
The sidewalk seemed ordinary. Cars honked, people rushing to their jobs, the noises blended all into a background hum.
I wiped a smudge from my glasses.
In the lenses—cracked cobble stones bathed in red light.
I blinked. Huh?
Concrete. Smooth. Normal.
I pushed the thought aside. Breakfast mattered more.
As I continued toward a cafe, a man with silver haired rushed past me, brushing against my shoulder.
"Fucking asshole," I said under my breath.
But, he seemed to be… troubled. I let it go, but a strange unease now resting in my stomach.
Unbeknownst to me, he would soon vanish into a world unlike ours, and the person I'd glimpsed just now would live a life that would twist into a legend.
I followed the smell of roasted coffee beans into a small cafe. The air was warm and fragrant, filled with the sharp sweetness of pastries. Everything was normal—or so it seemed.
I took my usual seat by the window, observing those who passed by. Their features were blurred, as if they were hiding something.
Outside, the silver-haired man appeared again, now in the far corner of the street near a narrow alley. He stared at something I couldn't see. His shoulders tensed, fists clenched. I blinked—and he vanished.
I frowned, finishing my coffee too quickly, my pulse had quickened. Something about him—the urgency, the silence around him—seemed wrong.
I shook my head. It must've been too much sleep deprivation, I told myself. Just focus on the smell of butter and bread, and the near empty cup of coffee.
The shadows outside stretched longer. The lines of the buildings bent at impossible angles. For a brief second, the pavement reflected a red glow—not from the sun, or the cafe lights, but something entirely..
I finished my bite and left the cafe. The metallic smell returned shortly after. The city felt… odd. Too long. The hum of street cars resonated in my chest.
And then I saw the narrow alley around the corner tucked between two brick buildings, it stretched unnaturally deep.
I hesitated. My lip quivering. But, something tugged at the edge of my mind.
I entered the alley.
The air was colder—metallic, like a blade that just drew blood. Fog seeped through the cracks, wrapping around my shoes.
I took another step. The world behind me folded in silence like paper.
My footsteps echoed, but the echoes weren't mine—they lagged, warped, responding a few seconds too late.
Something was wrong.
The alley stretched on, far too long, the lights bending around nonexistent corners.
I blinked, maybe once or twice. Or a dozen times.
My heart skipped a beat or two.
The fog moves first.
Then the ground beneath my feet breathes.
The air feels thick, alive, trembling against my suit.
I should walk back. I don't.
I keep walking.
Every step breathed, vibrating through my bones. The walls writhed like worms stacked on top of each other. The metallic scent thickens, until it coats my suit in a thin layer.
Then the fog thins, parting like curtains.
A city waits beyond the haze—its sky pulsing with neon blood.
Silhouettes drift through the streets: human shapes, animal faces, masks of saints and demons.
The City of Red.
It breathes
I stumble back, my heart filling my ears.
A brick wall waits behind me. Solid. Unyielding.
Once you enter the city, there is no leaving.