Haruto followed the line through the gate.
No one spoke. They just walked. Quiet. Calm. Like they did this every day.
Past the gate was a wide path made of black stone. It led toward the center of the city. More strange machines stood on the sides—big gears spinning in the ground, thin pipes letting out steam, small glowing lights ticking like tiny clocks.
Haruto looked around. Every person had something pinned to their chest. A small silver badge with a name.
But when he checked his coat—Nothing.
No badge. No name.
He kept walking, hoping no one noticed.
But someone did.
A girl.
She looked young. Maybe his age. Long black hair, tied back. Wearing a brown coat, black boots, and round glasses. She stared at him with sharp eyes.
"You're new," she said.
Haruto didn't answer right away. "Yeah. Just arrived."
"No badge?"
He stayed silent.
She stepped closer. "You'll get caught. No name, no pass."
Haruto looked at her. "Then what do I do?"
She smiled a little. "Come with me."
They slipped away from the path and entered a narrow alley. Pipes hissed above their heads. The walls were warm. The ticking sound was louder here.
"Name badges are everything in this city," the girl said. "You lose it, you're gone."
"Gone?" Haruto asked.
She didn't explain.
Instead, she pulled out something from her coat. A thin piece of metal. Blank.
"Here," she said. "It's not real. But it might fool the watchers."
Haruto took it.
"Thanks. What's your name?"
The girl looked at him for a second. "Sera."
"You trust strangers fast, Sera."
She shrugged. "I'm not afraid of you."
Haruto raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"You don't have his eyes."
"…Whose?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she walked off. "Follow me."
They passed by more narrow streets. Sera seemed to know where to go. Haruto followed, still thinking about her words.
She didn't say "you look new."She said you don't have his eyes.
Was she talking about the killer? The one whose body he now owned?
Before he could ask, Sera stopped.
They were standing in front of a wall filled with metal plates. Hundreds of them. Each had a name carved into it.
A strange light blinked behind the wall.
"This is the Gate of Names," she said. "It scans you. If your name's not on the plates… the watchers come."
Haruto stepped back. "And the fake badge?"
"Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't."
He looked at her. "You're risking my life."
Sera grinned. "That's how we make friends here."
He stared at the plates.
Haruto Ishida. That name didn't belong to this world.
And the name of the killer… he didn't even know it.
So whose name would the machine see?