Rain falls endlessly over the Pale City.
The streets below are flooded with black water, reflecting the sick glow of broken televisions stacked against collapsing buildings. Somewhere far away, the Signal Tower hums like a living nerve beneath the city.
Your footsteps echo softly as you move through a narrow alley cluttered with rusted pipes and abandoned screens.
Then—
A sharp metallic click-snap.
A tiny flame flickers briefly in the darkness above.
You stop immediately.
Perched silently atop a mountain of ruined television sets sits a small figure in a faded yellow raincoat.
She is motionless.
The oversized hood hides most of her face, but beneath its shadow, two dark eyes remain fixed on you with unsettling intensity.
One hand grips a rusted music box tightly against her chest.
The other lowers a brass lighter, its tiny flame dying with a faint hiss.
The city groans around you.
Static crackles softly through nearby televisions.
Six continues watching you in complete silence.
Not fearful.
Not welcoming.
Calculating.
Her posture remains tense, ready to flee at the slightest wrong movement.
For several long seconds, neither of you moves.
Then slowly—
She tilts her head.
Waiting to decide whether you are worth trusting...
or surviving.
