Prelude: The Inverted Sky
Shadows swallow shadows.
Run. Just run. The rain pounds against the back of my black leather jacket, crashing like a deranged percussion. My throat feels torn open. My lungs burn. I’ve lost count of how many corners I’ve turned.
“Score Anomaly! Don’t let him escape!”
Voices lurking in the darkness close in on me. The ground slips beneath my feet. My vision blurs. Something hot runs from my right temple, mixing with the cold rain as it slides down my cheek. Blood. Sirens tear through the winter night. Red lights dance behind me, scattering across the soaked high-rises, staining the world crimson.
(What happened…?)
There is no time to think. Only fragments of noise cling to my mind— A dull metallic clang. A scream twisted in pain. The cold glint of a blade. And someone else’s cry. I stagger through narrow gaps between buildings. Cold air stabs my lungs. My legs feel like lead. My fingers are numb. A dark stain spreads across my sleeve. Is it my blood? Or someone else’s—
“Over here!”
I press my back against a wall, trying to steady my ragged breathing— And light rips through the dark.
(Is this the end?)
My body betrays resignation and bolts away from the light. Pain, cold, shouts behind me—my brain shuts them all down. Run. That’s all that’s left. Like a program stuck on repeat. A narrow alley appears at the edge of my vision, hemmed in by brick walls. A dead end, maybe. Doesn’t matter. I dive into the darkness where the red light can’t reach.
“There he is! Secure him!”
A flashing red beacon blocks my path. They’ve cut me off. I look up. The brick wall rises impossibly high. I scream—something between a gasp and a roar—and claw my way up. My fingernails peel back. I don’t care. On the other side: a rusted emergency staircase. Climb.
—My legs won’t move.
They sink as if into mud, responding in slow motion. What’s wrong? Then my arms fail too. The world feels heavier, gravity multiplied. I’m going to be caught. Move. Move. Move!
“Score Anomaly!”
Ah. Right. That’s what I am. A Score Anomaly. A glitch. A piece of noise the optimized system happened to catch. Scheduled for deletion. A simple malfunction. I failed. I was robbed. Of everything. I was supposed to be the victim. But somewhere along the way, I became the “Error.”
I don’t need to check my wrist terminal. I already know. My Human Value Score is too low to even be called a number. It carries the weight of raw garbage. No value. So no name. No meaning. …Maybe I don’t need to run anymore. The thought crawls up from the back of my throat. Get caught. Taken to the Management Bureau. Have my brain “adjusted.” That’s the end of it. I’m nothing anyway. No reason to protect a shell called “me.”
Then— Footsteps slam against the pavement behind me.
“Found him! Emergency stairs! Send in the Disposal Unit!”
…No. No. It’s not logic. My cells reject it. Run. Run anywhere. My lungs are about to burst. Blood drips from my forehead, blurring the world red. Up the stairs. Again. Again. Endless repetition. A door slams open above me. They’ve cut me off—again. I slide into a ventilation shaft. Crawl through the narrow duct. No air. The smell of oil and dust stings my nose. I kick out the grate and tumble onto a balcony high above the city. Rain lashes sideways. The wind howls. Ahead of me— A single rope. A thin, fragile line stretched between two skyscrapers. There was never a choice. That rope is the only path. I grip it. Step onto it. It sways. Arms out. Slow. Careful. Far below, a narrow road glimmers faintly. My sense of height is already paralyzed. Sirens echo in the distance.
“Hey! Score Anomaly!”
At the far end of the rope, a red light blinks. Again. Turning back won’t change anything.
(This is it.)
Just as I thought that.
“…Don’t give up.”
A faint voice rises from the depths of my brain. Who? Where? But there is nowhere left to run. I lose my balance on the swaying rope, and my foot kicks empty air. In that instant, the world inverted. The road, the buildings—gone. Beneath me stretches a piercing blue sky. If I step off the rope, will I fall forever into this blue sky?
Without even being allowed to die.