Erina emerged into a small room. A height and weight measuring scale, stethoscopes on the wall, a dusty examining bed with a roll of paper still stretched over it… this seemed like a doctor's room. The walls were cracked and discolored. Weeds and small plants peeked out in the cracks between the tiles.

  She turned around. Rather than the heavy steel door she'd exited through, all she saw was her own reflection looking back at her from a full-body mirror in this old, silent room. "Huh?"

  It was solid to the touch—nothing but ordinary glass. She felt along the edges and even tried peeking behind the mirror, but all she found was more wall. Erina let out a breath as she stepped back from the mirror, watching her reflection do the same. Her hair was a mess. Erina raised a hand and brushed away the long bangs obscuring her eye, but they fell right back into place.

  She left the doctor's room to wander through this old building. Down the hall and past the receptionist's desk that hadn't been used in a long time. The glass at the front was broken, its edges still jagged and sharp. Taking care not to cut her fingers, Erina opened the door and set foot outside.

  A bead of water landed on her head. Light gray clouds stretched from one horizon to the other, letting fall a soft drizzle on the city. Little raindrops made tiny splashes in the puddles and potholes on the cracked street.

  Erina looked about. Either direction the road went, she saw nothing but decrepit buildings, some boarded up and others broken and looted. A few still had their doors open, gently creaking in the wind. Plants sprouted through the sidewalks and vines twisted about the walls.

  There was nobody in sight as she set off down the gray road. The only cars that stayed behind were parked and rusty. She didn't see a single one with all its windows intact.

  She didn't recognize this—the streets, the run-down buildings, even the sensation of the gentle rain. Erina was torn between feeling like it was all so new and feeling as if she'd merely seen them without remembering.

  The traffic lights were still on, commanding cars that weren't there to stop and allowing the non-existent drivers waiting patiently to pass. When she reached the intersection, the light to cross was red. Erina turned left and continued along the sidewalk without crossing.

  She came across a grocery store. Someone had left a shopping cart overturned on the road outside. Erina looked around again, but there was nobody in sight. After hesitating a moment longer, she gingerly righted the cart. Its wheels creaked and squeaked as she pushed it back into the dark, dismal store. Every shelf had long since been picked clean, leaving nothing but dust and grime on display.

  At some point, she got turned around and lost. All the buildings blurred together to her. Even the light rain was enough to begin dampening her clothes and hair. Finally, she saw them when the thin fog began to recede—tall, tall skyscrapers packed tightly together, surrounded by a bustling metropolis beyond this dilapidated ward.

  She had a real destination. Shaking off the rain, Erina resumed her walk with renewed vigor.

  She wasn't all that tired. Mana reserves, medium-high. She was beginning to feel just a little hungry, though. The chill of the rain slowly, gradually seeped into her clothes with each passing minute.

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  Before long, she saw how the main road ended—a tall fence topped with barbed wire and a gate she probably couldn't open. There was a large sign on the other side of the fence, but she couldn't read it with its back to her. For a fleeting moment, Erina humored the idea of jumping it or blasting through before she decided against it. The fence only spanned the road between the two buildings on either side; she could find another way downtown.

  Erina strayed off the main road into the side alley. The decaying buildings blocked the light, casting dark shadows over her. Graffiti covered the walls here, too loopy and stylized for her to read anything. Dark grimy stains, old litter, and stray cigarette butts dotted the sides. A few mice searching for a way into a nearby dumpster spotted her and scampered into a crack too thin to follow.

  No luck on the road the next block over. Another fence blocked her way. She found a tunnel, but the concrete rubble and garbage stacked to the ceiling left no way through. Erina just had to keep trying her luck. She kept on walking.

  Even so, Erina felt oddly at peace. The sight of the plants, the sound of the falling rain, the cool wind blowing even if it made her shiver, the quiet splashing of her shoes even if her socks got a little wet—it was relaxing in its own way. She stopped to rest under a bus stop that hadn't seen service in many years, watching the gentle drizzle fall on the old buildings and listening to the ambient sounds. Maybe this strange, unfamiliar place should've felt hostile to her. But as Erina resumed her walk, she couldn't bring herself to see it that way.

  "Maybe this is no good," she mumbled to herself at the eighth roadblock. It was a four-way intersection of alleys, but the way to the city was fenced off yet again. "If I double back…" Perhaps she had to go a little ways away from the city and around?

  "Oh, it's just up ahead." It was an unfamiliar man's voice, drawling and lofty.

  Erina turned. The stranger was dressed like the men she met in the laboratory… no, not quite. The color of the suit was slightly different. The pin on his chest wasn't the same at all. When did he get there? Where did he come from?

  "This way?" she asked, pointing down one of the alleys. "I see. Thank y—"

  "Yeah, sure, sure." He sauntered right up to her. She had to resist the urge to step back. He cooed, "Aren't you a poor little thing? Out in the rain all by yourself… did you get lost? Why don't I go with you? Show you the way 'n' all that. Could even help you warm up…"

  Erina kept her expression as neutral as possible and her discomfort as hidden as possible. "No, thank you," she said. "I will be fine."

  "Aw, you don't need to be like that!" He made a show of deflating before springing back up, even closer this time. This was definitely an invasion of personal space. "Could you be new to town? Just between you and me, this is a reeaal bad part of the city. Who knows what could happen if you're out all on your own?"

  "I will be fine," she repeated more clearly. "Please excuse me."

  Erina made to leave and found a harsh grip on her arm.

  "Please," said the man. "Stay a while."

  She whirled to confront him—and froze. Just as she turned, she caught two more figures emerging from around the corner, behind a dumpster, approaching her from the other two alleys. Three men.

  "See, that's better." A repulsive smile was creeping across his face. "Why don't we all get along?"

  Erina wasn't even listening anymore. His smile vanished as he felt the faint pulse of magic.

  Scan complete, she thought. Mana readings far above baseline. Too far to accurately gauge the other two, but safe to assume the same. But… what is this other reading…?

  No time to think about it; the men knew what was going on, just like her. The spear of light flashed into her hand and Erina rammed it into him without hesitation. Erina focused as he grunted in surprise, her eyes wide and alert as she willed the spear to split and the hundred branches of light… didn't… form?

  The spell didn't work?!

  She clocked him in the chin with it instead, wresting her arm free and turning to run—

  A rough hand pulled her back so hard her feet left the floor and then slammed shut around her neck.