In the world of the arcane, exceptional aptitude was both a gift that could help its possessor rise to the top and a curse.
The uncanny attracted the uncanny. Outstanding people who strayed beyond the bounds of reason inevitably drew equally abnormal experiences to themselves.
That talent itself was equivalent to a spell, drawing them into all manner of strange incidents because of their own abnormality.
This was not something their own will could control. There was only one way to confront such a fate: consciously step outside the bounds of reason themselves.
And without the luck to encounter and understand the arcane, as that talent grew and erupted, that inhuman feeling would grow ever stronger, until it burned them to nothing.
For abnormal beings like these, magi generally used a particular term.
-Espers.
Mifune City.
Even just after the New Year, the city still looked utterly ordinary, without the slightest unnecessary bustle, only a tranquility tinged with decay.
Compared to Fuyuki City, which could still be called thriving, this place better matched the typical appearance of a city in this island nation. It had no suitable ley lines, nor an arcane family like the Tohsaka Family, whose territory was recognized by the Mage's Association and who were responsible for managing the city.
Because of this lax environment, although the city appeared unremarkable, a considerable number of abnormal people had gathered here.
Beneath the dim yellow beams of the streetlights, traces of rain were still visible through the light in the hazy, damp air.
In such a dark, cold setting, one could admire the city's uneven skyline through the curtain of rain, along with the silhouettes of its busy traffic, but the weary pedestrians on the streets clearly had no such leisurely inclination.
Amid the harsh friction of tires against