Impact Spreads, Premeditation Rises

Time rewound to before the young man awakened from the Biological Cabin on his way home, as the halo barrier covering the Arctic Ice Field faded into the Sea of Stars beneath the polar night.

This grand battle quietly came to an end, known only to a very small number of people.

Central Europe, Germany, on the outskirts of Berlin.

Golden, paper-cut-like leaves drifted onto the empty asphalt road. A breeze swept across the lake, coating its waters in a thin veil. Beyond the autumn lake, one could watch the Night Sky descend.

There stood an ancient castle in the forest near the lakeshore.

There was no one in the front yard, Central Courtyard, great hall, or chapel. The breathless castle seemed entirely uninhabited, without servants or vitality. Yet the castle itself—

Was inexplicably clean and orderly. The dark-red carpets were spotless; from the stair railings to the chandeliers beneath the dome, everything gleamed, reflecting the luxurious details of a castle devoid of people. Its overall deep-red interior carried an eerie emptiness, while the needle of an old-fashioned gramophone rested on the black record, playing a quiet yet unsettling melody.

Until no more light entered the castle.

All the coffins opened. Servants dressed in various styles and wearing elegant, pale expressions awakened from within. They stretched their limbs, smiled and greeted one another, then began another "night" of work. In an instant, the entire castle came alive.

This was a castle that only awakened at night.

As for why it kept such hours, that was because the master of this castle—

Passing through the magnificent hall, a German woman with thick-soled shoes beneath her skirt, glasses, meticulously styled brown hair, and a beautiful, proper face walked step by step toward the winding staircase, reaching the castle's highest floor, the room