Prologue: The Divine Comedy

―“If you could say one thing to your younger self, what would it be?”

"For me, I'd tell myself to never look back."

He lies on his hands now, still trying to process how the events of the past few nights could have possibly led to this.

Death surrounded him, the people that he cared for the most in his life had all seemingly been snuffed out just as quickly as they returned to his life. Yet, the young man had no time to mourn. Mere meters to his north stood the being responsible.

It was like a scene out of a horror film. The man standing before him wore a tattered leather jacket over a brown hoodie that had been stained an even darker shade due to the mud that covered it. His mask was made of a burlap sack that had meshed with his skin after years of use. There was no doubt about it, he had finally come face to face with the man behind the slaughter, Michael Kurosawa.

Though he tried to scream, his words couldn’t escape his lips.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------There he lie, paralyzed with fear akin to that of a deer in headlights. He felt as if he were looking directly at his impending demise.

“How did it even come to this?”

He thought to himself, attempting to inch away from the figure which stood patiently as if analyzing what It’s prey may do next.

A sharp pain tore through his body as he attempted to move. An intense heat beginning to bubble in his ankle. It had appeared as though he sprained it during a previous attempt at escape. Wincing in pain, he attempted to power through it.

He was never an athletic person in life but due to newfound exceptions, he had forced himself to push past his body's natural limit. Excessive use of your leg muscles especially without proper training can cause tears making you more susceptible to fractures. In this case, the sheer distance and velocity of how fast he ran to get to this point ultimately left him in a more compromising position.

Escape had left the realm of possibility. He truly believed that this was where he was going to die. Yet he was more concerned by the lack of action from his pursuer.

If this truly was going to be his final moment alive, could he have really said he lived a life worth living? Memories began to flood through his head of the last time he saw his closest friend. How she smiled that same carefree smile she had offered since they first met that fateful day at Kanno Elementary School. A stark contrast to how her body now lay lifeless mere inches away from him.

He could feel himself fading, his body rapidly growing numb due to the pain. The world around him seemed to corrupt as he dipped in and out of consciousness. Something akin to television static filling the empty spaces as he fought desperately to stay awake.

“What an interesting turn of events”

A familiar voice called from the oncoming darkness as if reminding him to stay alert. The masked killer, noticing his life fading from him only now began to slowly approach him. Through his blurred vision, however, he was able to make out that Michael wasn’t armed. Rather, he had its arm extended to him.

-“You sought a perfect world”

“One where you had control of your own fate and it brought you here” The voice continued.

“You should rejoice.”

“This is far from the end of your journey.”

“But, I feel you’re aware of that.”

“Aren’t you. Hiro”

The voice wasn't coming from Michael, nor was it his imagination. He was sure he knew the voice's origin.

As the final remnants of his consciousness began to fade, he was able to muster up the last of his strength to taunt the killer who now towered over his form. The static growing stronger and more vivid with every word.

 “Why don’t you just get this over with already!”

Yet, as his world completely faded to the static, his final thought was only of pure confusion as a single teardrop fell upon his cheek.

-“Huh?”,

“He’s crying..?”

Through the mask, it had become apparent to him that his pursuer was fighting back tears.