Wind.
It was coming.
A man with a long ponytail stood behind the counter, a cigarette between his lips and a glass of liquor in his hand.
A phone was propped on the counter, its news anchor reading from a script:
"...will make landfall along our country's southeastern coast on the night of the 11th, with winds reaching typhoon or severe typhoon strength..."
The phone was abruptly switched off.
Someone stood on the other side of the counter and said:
"At a time like this, you're still listening to the news?"
"What else should I do?" The man blew out a stream of smoke.
"You gave him an original." The person across the counter stared at him.
He wore sunglasses and a motorcycle jacket. His bike rumbled outside the little shop; he seemed to have rushed over without even turning off the engine.
Arthur.
He was the one who had made the introduction.
For some reason, though it was already late, he had come to W City in China, parked on this obscure antiques street, and walked into this little shop.
"I've given originals to plenty of people. So what?"
The man smiled and took a sip from his glass.
"The Seal has started to tremble," Arthur said.
"That's a good thing," the man said.
"Maria has her eye on him."
"Where is he?"
"He went to the Black Coffin Alternate Universe."
"Then that's good, isn't it? Ancient Gods guilty of crimes as grave as Maria's can't enter other Alternate Universes. She can only send her subordinates in." The man spoke lazily.
"But he'll come out sooner or later," Arthur said.
The man sighed and shook his head. "If you ask me, shutting everything off last time so neither he nor the Alliance noticed each other was a mistake."
"What