Darkness clung to consciousness like viscous tar. Fujiwara Renrin saw himself running down burning streets, his left hand gripping his mother's, his right clutching his father's. The palms that should have felt soft in memory were now charred and peeling, revealing bone-white fingers. In the distance, the great lantern of Kaminarimon bled crimson light, dyeing the entire Nakamise Shopping Street blood-red.
"Time of death: 21:07."
The clatter of metal instruments pierced the illusion. Floating near the operating room ceiling, Renrin watched nurses drape a white cloth over his body. The young attending physician removed rubber gloves stained with dark red residue—a color reminiscent of discounted strawberry jam from the convenience store.
A sudden chime of bronze bells echoed down the hallway—not electronic tones, but real bells ringing with the clarity of shrine maiden's sacred dance. The operating room door slammed open as a drenched girl burst through, raindrops glinting prismatically under surgical lights.
"Wait!" The girl steadied the gurney, bronze bells on her ponytail still swaying. Her black uniform sleeve, embroidered with inverted pentagrams, brushed Renrin's pale wrist as she lifted the shroud—where his flame-patterned birthmark now emitted firefly-like wisps.
The doctor blocked the gurney. "Miss, please don't interfere—"
His words died as she yanked his tie forward. Renrin saw rippling gold patterns in her irises, like stones cast into twilight waters. "This facility is now under Special Disaster Response jurisdiction." Her silver badge sliced through the air, three overlapping tomoe embossed on black leather. "Prepare epinephrine and hemodialysis. Now."
"But the patient has already—"
"His Erosion Stability remains at 0.7%." She lifted Renrin's shirt, revealing spiderweb-like crimson veins around his abdominal wound. "Tell his family he's been transferred to critical care. Understood?"
Footsteps thundered outside. The girl hoisted Renrin's body and crashed through emergency exits. His consciousness trailed like a kite string through seven floors until rain battered his awareness in the parking garage.
She kicked open an iron door labeled "Equipment Room," revealing a hidden retinal scanner. Blue light illuminated golden sigils floating in her right eye.
The elevator plummeted, reeking of incense and antiseptic. Past three hydraulic bulkheads opened a cavernous control center—thirty-meter-high vaulted ceilings honeycombed with holographic projections, black-uniformed agents weaving through floating consoles.
"Medics! Now!" The girl's shout echoed as she kicked open an alloy door marked *Restricted Medical*. She dumped Renrin onto a bioluminescent exam table.
A man grinding violet crystals looked up. His lab coat hung open over casual clothes, a dozen pocket watches dangling from his neck, fingers stained neon green.
"What trash did you drag in this—" He froze, tearing Renrin's shirt open. Watches spun erratically as he hovered fingers above the glowing birthmark. "Care to explain why you brought a corpse here, Little Bell?"
The girl—Bell—ripped off her soaked jacket, revealing bandaged arms. "He survived Tail-class neurotoxins without full mutation. And this—" She activated a hologram showing golden currents within the birthmark. "—reads as Divine Relic resonance."
The man whistled. Six watch covers snapped open—one with counterclockwise hands, another etched with zodiac symbols. "Do you know the paperwork for resurrection protocols? Let alone for a non-Eroder—"
"He's the survivor from the Asakusa incident three years ago." Bell's voice sharpened. "The one they covered up as a gas explosion. I found matching Divine Relic traces in the debris."
The room quaked. The man snapped his fingers, freezing all watches. After three seconds, he grinned like a snow leopard. "If Medical Director finds out, your Obsidian rank won't save you."
"You didn't care about Chief privileges when reviving goldfish with time stabilizers." Bell pressed glowing talismans to Renrin's chest. "You've already activated the resurrection array."
The man rolled his eyes. Glass columns etched with sutras rose around the table as golden fluid rained from above. Renrin's consciousness floated in amniotic warmth.
"3% Divine Relic synchronization...7%...rising." The man monitored holographic data. "Connected to the Phoenix Incident thirteen years ago?"
"Will you abandon him?" Bell gripped Renrin's wrist, bronze bells chiming. "That goldfish you—"
"Enough!" The man surrendered, lab coat slipping to reveal a flame-shaped scar. "If he mutates, you kill him yourself."
As golden fluid submerged Renrin, burning streets reappeared. Now he saw flame-wings spreading behind his mother, his father clutching shrine bell ropes. Bell's voice pierced the haze: "Hold on. The truth isn't—"
Alarms shrieked. Holograms flashed red as invasion markers encircled the building. The man pressed a hidden button, gears grinding within walls.
"Guests have arrived." He tossed Bell an antique watch. "Take him underground. I'll handle this."
"But the ritual isn't—"
"89% sync is enough." His tattooed back shimmered with Sanskrit Heart Sutra text. "I *am* the Chief, remember? This won't take a millisecond—no, a tenth of one."