Arin woke to the sound of rain.

For a few seconds, he thought everything had returned to normal.

His bedroom.

His house.

His grandmother.

The old wooden floor beneath his feet.

Then he remembered the black eye in the sky.

The endless comic panels.

Kai.

Mira.

And the voice that had said:

THE STORY MUST END.

Arin opened his eyes.

He was lying in the middle of a street.

But it wasn’t his street.

The buildings were taller.

The sky was a strange purple color.

Huge glowing advertisements floated above the road, but none of them were advertisements for real products.

One showed a warrior fighting a dragon.

Another showed a girl riding a giant mechanical cat.

Another displayed a smiling superhero who suddenly turned his head and stared directly at Arin.

Arin jumped to his feet.

“What is this place?”

People walked past him.

Nobody seemed surprised to see him.

A man wearing a school uniform walked by carrying a sword.

A little girl with cat ears chased a floating balloon.

Two robots argued beside a vending machine.

A giant green creature bought a newspaper.

Arin stared.

“This isn’t Kairo.”

A voice behind him answered.

“No.”

Arin turned.

Mira stood beneath a streetlamp.

Her long white hair moved gently in the wind.

Her blue coat was covered with tiny silver symbols.

She looked completely calm.

Arin pointed at her.

“You.”

Mira smiled.

“Me.”

“You said Kai wasn’t my friend.”

“I did.”

“Where is he?”

“Probably looking for you.”

“Why?”

Mira’s expression became serious.

“Because he knows what you are.”

Arin frowned.

“What am I?”

Mira didn’t answer.

Instead, she started walking.

Arin followed.

“Where are we going?”

“To somewhere safe.”

“Is there anywhere safe here?”

“No.”

“Great.”

Mira glanced at him.

“You joke when you’re frightened.”

“I joke when I’m awake too.”

“I noticed.”

They walked through the strange city.

Arin couldn’t stop staring.

Everything looked like a comic book brought to life.

The sky had sharp, painted clouds.

The buildings had thick black outlines.

When people moved quickly, faint white lines appeared behind them.

Even the rain fell in tiny square drops.

Arin caught one.

It looked like ink.

He touched it.

The drop disappeared.

“This world…”

Mira nodded.

“Welcome to Panel City.”

“Panel City?”

“It is the largest city inside the Story World.”

“Story World?”

Mira looked at him.

“You really don’t remember anything?”

“No.”

“Not even the first time you came here?”

Arin stopped.

“You keep saying I came here before.”

“You did.”

“When?”

Mira looked toward a massive clock tower.

“Ten years ago.”

Arin stared at her.

“I was seven.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember.”

“That was the point.”

Before Arin could ask another question, a loud explosion shook the street.

BOOM!

Everyone stopped.

Mira looked upward.

A huge red warning symbol appeared across the sky.

WARNING: STORY HUNTERS DETECTED.

People began running.