Shibuya, on October 31st, was already completely filled with people before 7 PM.
Neon signs lit up one after another above the crowd. The giant screen of “Shibuya Scramble Square” was Loop playback Halloween-themed animations, and in the pedestrian traffic light at the intersection, the cartoon character holding a small flag had a pumpkin head P-ed onto him, causing a burst of laughter from the surrounding crowd every time it flashed.
A boy in a black cloak squeezed past, holding cotton candy. When the hem of his cloak brushed Kitagawa Marin's ankle, Kitagawa Marin could smell the cheap pumpkin spice.
Three girls with devil horns were pulling at each other's lace skirts, their glow sticks tracing bright yellow paths in the crowd, their laughter crisper than the shouts from the izakaya on the street.
Someone had painted his face like a zombie and deliberately pushed his way into couples, and when a girl laughingly pushed him away, he exaggeratedly shook his fake severed hand—this was Shibuya's Halloween, chaotic and vibrant, with a restless sweetness even in the air.
When Chen Tian was squeezed against the railing at the intersection, he looked down at the person in his arms. Kitagawa Marin was tugging at his sleeve, standing on tiptoes to peer around, her little devil tail gently brushing his hand as she moved.
Today, her hair was dyed wine red, and she wore a black off-the-shoulder crop top with white lace trim at the neckline. Below, she wore tight leather pants that perfectly accentuated the beautiful curves of her legs.
“They're selling candy apples over there!” she suddenly pointed to the street corner and bounced, her little devil horns almost poking a man in a wizard's robe next to her. “Last year I didn't get one with strawberry jam, I have to get one this year!”
Chen Tian took her wrist, his fingertips touching the bell on her bracelet—a small decoration she had added specifically, which jingled when she walked. “Don't bounce, we can get there in three more steps,” he said, turning his head. His white hair brushed her cheek, causing her to instinctively retract her neck.
Suddenly, a series of whistles rang out. Several boys in knight armor were laughing at them, one of them even holding up his phone to take a picture, shouting, “What a good match!” Kitagawa Marin's ears instantly turned red, but she deliberately leaned closer into Chen Tian's arms, raising her hand to hook his neck: “They're complimenting my good taste.” Just as she finished speaking, the traffic light changed.
The surging crowd, as if a start button had been pressed, instantly rushed towards the opposite side.
Chen Tian pulled Kitagawa Marin closer into his arms, using his arm to shield her from a pumpkin head doll that almost bumped into them. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a Devil May Cry concert promotional poster flashing on the large screen by the street—it was a photo from his performance last week, his white hair and the silhouette of his electric guitar standing out against the neon lights.
“Look over there!” Kitagawa Marin followed his gaze, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the chin. “Next concert, you're not allowed to go shirtless again.” Before Chen Tian could respond, she pulled him into the crowd.
Just past seven, Shibuya's streets became even livelier. Kitagawa Marin held oden in her hand, skewering a soft, tender radish with a bamboo stick and holding it to Chen Tian's mouth, her eyes curving into a smile as she said, “Ah—open wide.” Chen Tian cooperatively took a bite, then fed her a fish cake soaked in broth.
The crowd surged around them, and from time to time, people in strange costumes squeezed past, emitting cheerful laughter and shouts.
Suddenly, Chen Tian seemed to be struck by an electric current, his movements abruptly freezing, and the smile on his face instantly vanished.
He slightly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the sky.
Kitagawa Marin noticed the abnormality and asked in surprise, “Chen Tian, what's wrong?” She also followed his gaze, but all she saw were flashing neon lights and jumping Halloween animations on the giant screen. The crowd was still immersed in the carnival, with no abnormalities whatsoever.
However, in Chen Tian's eyes, that sky had already changed. Countless thick black mud appeared out of thin air, as if being poured out from another dimension.
At first, they were just a few scattered points, but in an instant, they became like a burst dam, rapidly spreading in all directions, expanding every second, as if to engulf and cover the entire Shibuya.
The eerie thing was that the surrounding people were still laughing and playing, scrambling for candy apples, completely unaware of the terrifying scene above their heads.
The boy in the black cloak was still holding cotton candy, the three girls with devil horns were still pulling at each other's skirts, and the shouts from the street izakaya and the noise of the crowd intertwined, forming a stark contrast with the black mud spreading in the sky.
Chen Tian's brows furrowed into a knot, the discomfort brought by the black mud becoming clearer and clearer—like countless cold tentacles crawling up his spine. He stared at the sky, muttering to himself: What exactly is this thing? Just looking at it makes my skin crawl.
“Chen Tian?” Kitagawa Marin's fingertips gently poked his cheek, carrying a bit of warmth from the oden. “You've been acting strange since just now, what exactly is in the sky?”
Chen Tian then came back to his senses, taking her wrist in his hand, his palm feeling the bells on her bracelet. “Nothing,” he gave a smile, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. “Maybe the lights were too dazzling.”
As he spoke, he quickly looked up again—the black mud had completely spread out, the colorful light of the neon signs seemed to have been soaked in ink, turning into a dull, lifeless dark gray in his eyes.
Even the giant screen of the building seemed to be covered in a layer of dust, the colors of the Halloween animation so faded they were almost gone.
Kitagawa Marin stared at his tense profile for a while, then suddenly leaned close to his ear, her warm breath caressing his earlobe: “If you space out again.” Her voice was very low, with a hint of a tickle at the end, “then my new succubus outfit will only be for my own enjoyment, you know.”
Chen Tian's fingertips paused, and when he turned his head, he happened to see her reddened earlobe. The girls with devil horns around them were still laughing, the pumpkin head traffic light started flashing again, but he suddenly smelled a faint fishy odor in his nostrils—not the smell of street food, but rather like it was seeping from that black mud.
“I know,” he tightened his grip on her hand and squeezed out of the crowd. “Let's go buy candy apples first, didn't you say you wanted strawberry jam?” Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up, and she immediately responded with a smiling “Mm-hmm,” then firmly wrapped her arms around Chen Tian's arm.
Her devil horns gently swayed with her steps, carrying a hint of the evening breeze's coolness.
The two slowly moved with the crowd. Chen Tian helped her push away a pumpkin head doll blocking their way, while she offered him a half-eaten candy apple to his mouth. Around them, boys in wizard robes were fighting over cotton candy with their companions, and girls in zombie costumes were taking selfies with glow sticks. The clamor, mixed with the aroma of roasted chestnuts, washed over them, truly making Chen Tian temporarily forget about that eerie black sky.
By the time their shopping bags were filled with Halloween snacks and street food, the clock had quietly passed half past eight.
Chen Tian held a shopping bag in one hand, while his other hand was tightly clasped by Kitagawa Marin, his fingertips feeling the bells on her bracelet—they had been knocked askew when they squeezed through the crowd, and now they made a faint jingling sound with every sway.
“Should we go home now?” Kitagawa Marin looked up at him. “If we wait any longer, the subway will be too crowded.”
As Chen Tian looked down, his white hair fell across his forehead, obscuring the fleeting strangeness in his eyes.
He had just said “Mm” when his steps suddenly froze.
The neon sign of Shibuya ShinQs building was glaringly bright, and a girl in a maid costume had just run out of the building's entrance, her pumpkin lantern almost bumping into him.
But Chen Tian's gaze wasn't on her at all—in that very second, a white shadow had flashed past him. The figure was as fast as lightning, its white hair leaving a blur in the night, its profile faintly illuminated by the streetlights, yet the black blindfold covering its eyes was clearly visible.
Chen Tian's fingers tightened abruptly, and the handle of the shopping bag instantly deformed. He could even feel Kitagawa Marin's body temperature in his arms, but his nerves instantly tensed. “What's wrong?”
Kitagawa Marin followed his gaze, only seeing the reflection of the crowd in the building's glass curtain wall. “Are you tired?”
Chen Tian didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the direction where the white shadow had disappeared.
Under the sky covered by the black mud, Shibuya's neon lights still flickered, but the wind stirred up by that figure just now carried an eerie energy.
At this moment, the Halloween animation on the street's large screen was still playing cheerfully, colorful lights still twinkled, and the joyful laughter of the surrounding crowd was endless.
He recognized that figure, very familiar, he had complained about him countless times before he transmigrated.
But he didn't understand, shouldn't this world be like a light manga world? Why was that guy here too?
Kitagawa Marin clearly felt Chen Tian's arm tense instantly, and the sharpness in his gaze, unfamiliar to her, made her heart skip a beat.
“Che... Chen Tian?” Her voice had a slight tremor, and she shook his arm hard. “What's wrong with you? You've been looking at the sky since just now, and now...”
She leaned closer, trying to see the scene reflected in his eyes, but there was only the chaotic neon reflection of Shibuya.
Chen Tian was brought back to his senses by her anxious voice.
He looked down, meeting her upturned, worried little face.
Yes, in front of her, he always maintained that lazy and casual demeanor, as if the sky falling wouldn't matter, as long as she was by his side.
His sudden tension and solemnity had scared her.
His taut nerves relaxed slightly, and a habitual light smile curved his lips. He raised a hand to ruffle her wine-red hair, the cute little devil horns among her strands feeling cool to the touch.
“It's nothing,” his voice returned to its usual lazy, comforting tone. “I was just thinking...”
He deliberately paused, and in Kitagawa Marin's wide, confused eyes, he slowly added: “...that we won't be able to take the subway back now.”
“Eh?!” Kitagawa Marin was clearly startled, then laughed heartily, as if her earlier worry was just an illusion. “Why? How are we going to get back then? Walk back? Our home is so far from Shibuya!”
She gestured exaggeratedly, her little devil horns swaying with her movements, and the bells on her bracelet chimed crisply.
The surrounding crowd was still noisy, young people in strange costumes laughing as they brushed past.
Chen Tian looked at her carefree smiling face, the amusement in his eyes deepening a few shades, tinged with tenderness.
He leaned down slightly, close to her ear, lowering his voice with a hint of mystery: “The subway is too slow. And...”
He deliberately paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd immersed in the carnival, oblivious to the strange black mud in the sky, and the direction where the white-haired figure had disappeared. “...it's not very safe to go by ground now either.”
Kitagawa Marin blinked, completely unable to follow his train of thought: “Then what do we do?”
Chen Tian straightened up, the smile on his lips familiar to Kitagawa Marin, just like on stage, wild and arrogant. The neon lights cast flickering spots of light on his face, just like the idol named Nero.
He looked down into her eyes and said, word for word:
“I'm going to show you a secret.”