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Chapter 22 - Chapter 22 — “Tokyo at 7 A.M.”

Scene 1 — The Pulse That Broke the Morning

Tokyo wakes up wrong.

Commuters waiting at bus stops suddenly grip their chests.

People in convenience stores pause mid-sip of canned coffee.

Kids getting ready for school freeze, staring out their windows.

A single pressure wave ripples through the city—silent, but felt deep in the bones. Like the universe hiccuped.

Birds drop from the sky. Dogs whimper and hide under furniture. Neon lights flicker in broad daylight.

And in the middle of Shibuya Crossing…

Kylori Meykami Genesis stands still, white eyes glowing gently, as though he's syncing with the city's heartbeat.

A ripple of shadow rolls across the intersection behind him.

That's when every Eldritch being within 400 meters tries to RUN.

---

Scene 2 — People See the Impossible

The city reacts in real time.

On a bus:

A woman screams when a distorted shadow leaps across the windshield and doesn't reflect in the glass.

The driver slams the brakes.

Passengers panic, scrambling out.

In an office building:

Workers on the 19th floor gasp as something massive and skeletal sprints down the side of the building like a panicked lizard.

Someone grabs their phone to record—

but the moment they press REC, the screen glitches into static symbols.

In a night-shift taxi:

The driver mutters,

> "Bro… what in God's name—"

as three pale tendrils whip past the car, dragging a smaller creature down an alley.

The radio cuts to whispers.

---

Scene 3 — News Outlets CHAOS

NHK tries to broadcast a breaking report.

The anchor clears her throat, papers trembling.

> "We are receiving… unusual… um, reports across—"

The lights dim.

Her reflection in the camera distorts, smiling even though she isn't.

Broadcast cuts.

Social media EXPLODES.

#TokyoIsHaunted trends in under 2 minutes.

People livestreaming on rooftops scream as the air behind them ripples like heat.

One trending clip:

A teenager tries to film a running Eldritch creature.

But instead of capturing the monster, the video shows Kylori, standing right behind the kid… even though he's nowhere near that street.

The clip ends with the camera shaking violently.

---

Scene 4 — The Hunt Becomes Citywide

Kylori doesn't run.

He just walks, hands in pockets, shadows gliding behind him like obedient wolves.

His legion spreads in all directions:

Devourer Shades

Slide through sewer grates and alleyways, hunting anything trying to hide underground.

Commuters at a subway station hear claws scraping under the tracks.

A man faints.

Aetherial Wraiths

Drift over rooftops, appearing in reflections but not in real space.

Office workers across skyscrapers watch one glide past the window…

except the window doesn't show their own reflections anymore.

Only the Wraith.

Veilwalkers

Warp roads and intersections.

People run north… and find themselves back south.

Street signs twist, arrows pointing nowhere.

A group of police officers yell:

> "Why does this road bend back?! We just came from here!"

No one has answers.

---

Scene 5 — Civilian Panic Level: MAX

Everywhere:

People sprinting through crosswalks

Taxis crashing into poles

Students crying on sidewalks

Delivery drones falling from the sky

Random car alarms going off

Screens glitching in convenience stores

Vending machines dispensing cans by themselves

Even the wind feels wrong.

A man on a balcony screams when the SHADOW of a building detaches and slithers across the street.

A little girl points:

> "Mommy look… the dark is running."

The mom doesn't look. She covers her daughter's eyes.

---

Scene 6 — Akira's Viewpoint

Akira rushes into the streets trying to get back to the school, only to freeze.

The city is alive with dread.

She watches a huge Eldritch creature sprint across a six-lane road—

only for a Devourer Shade to intercept it mid-run and drag it into the asphalt like it's swallowing it.

Her knees almost buckle.

> "He's… he's doing all this…"

A Veilwalker materializes beside her.

Her breath halts.

Its presence bends space, reality warping around her like a heat mirage.

It doesn't attack.

It just stares.

Then turns away.

Like she's a non-target.

Because she's tied to him.

She shivers.

> "What… what am I to him…?"

---

Scene 7 — The First Public Capture

Shibuya Crossing again.

A massive anchor-class creature bursts through a billboard, screeching.

It tries to escape into a side street—

And Kylori steps into its path.

His smile opens fully.

Eyes pure white.

The creature collapses mid-stride—

like gravity quadrupled.

Like reality folded around him.

Shadows consume it, pulling it into nothing.

Pedestrians who witness it scream.

Some run.

Some pray.

Some simply freeze and stare at him, shaking.

And Kylori?

He just says quietly:

> "One."

Then starts walking again.

---

Scene 8 — The City Holds Its Breath

Tokyo becomes a haunted maze.

Shadows twist.

Creatures flee.

Kylori hunts.

The city hasn't fallen…

but it's no longer normal.

Everyone feels it.

Everyone knows it.

The cameras catch him once—

walking, smiling calmly,

Eldritch beings swirling like a storm behind him.

News captions read:

"UNIDENTIFIED ENTITY SIGHTING — STAY INDOORS"

"CITY-WIDE ANOMALY — AUTHORITIES UNABLE TO EXPLAIN"

Kylori's smile never fades.

> "Morning hunts…

are refreshing."

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