The Unexpected Encounter” (Chapter 1)

In a city that never sleeps, Akira drifts through the neon haze of his own disillusionment—just another face in a crowd chasing dreams that no longer feel real. Beneath the hum of sirens and city lights, he feels a growing unease, a presence watching him from the edges of his mind. That tension shatters the moment he meets the Architect—a mysterious, regal figure whose calm voice cuts through the chaos like fate itself.

The Architect claims to have guided Akira from the shadows, to have shaped his path without his knowing. As they speak, the world around them begins to distort—time slows, colors blur, and reality bends as if responding to the Architect’s will. But before Akira can grasp what’s happening, another voice whispers through the static of his thoughts: the Ghost. Cold and urgent, it warns him not to trust the stranger standing before him.