Eidolon

Takumi stood motionless for a full minute, staring at the spot where Kazuo’s car had been, the colors of the sunset bleeding into a deep, bruised purple behind him. Then, with a slow, controlled turn,…

The silence in the mountain parking lot was a living thing, stretched thin over the chasm of unspoken threats. Takumi’s placating words about his harmonious marriage hung in the cool air, a fragile shield. Kazuo…

Not long after, Kazuo returned to the table, alone. He paused and offered another formal, shallow bow before taking his seat. “My sincere apologies to everyone,” he began, his voice carrying a weight of finality,…

Kazuo Kuroda raised a single hand and all eyes turned to the patriarch. “Kuroda’s ambition,” he intoned, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in the air over the table, “has always been to be…

Bjorn’s baritone brought both women back to the present. “And of course,” he continued his monologue about the architect, oblivious or uncaring of the undercurrents around the table, “Gustav also designed the main glass façade…

As Rei listened to Bjorn’s detailed tale of Gustav Thorne’s talents, she felt Hisako’s glare burn a hole through her skull. The memories surfaced not as a story, but as a sensory assault: the sterile…