Routine.

I live my life according to a routine, because I believe that all we can do is our best, before it all ends and we die.

So I go to university, have my hobbies, and try to sleep when I can. The sun sets, the sun rises, I do it all again. I know I can’t do this forever, but I’ll keep going while I can.

This is what I think about during my walk home from class. The sounds of VaniMaru City echo around me, clashing with the sounds of my brisk steps on the sidewalk. It’s not a long trek home, but I see no problem in taking my time here. It follows the routine, after all.

Despite being called VaniMaru City, I live in what seems to be more of a university town; it’s full of all these little startups and hopefuls from various industries - there’s a new coffee shop on every street, a dessert cafe here and there, and around the corner from my apartment is a stationary store with a little garden, with tables for people to sit around and draw.

To some, this kind of life is the ideal.

I haven’t decided if I’m one of the some.

As I walk past the park on the way to my apartment, my eyes settle on the bronze statue at the entrance. Gleaming in the late-afternoon sunlight is a figure of the city’s founder and mayor, shining in all her perfection. The Mayor’s gentle gaze is a calming sight, and I feel immediately at ease.

With a slight smile on my face, I approach my apartment’s front door. It’s a four-storey walk-up, and I live on the third floor.

Not alone, however. With my roommate- Teal.

By right, she should be home already. She only had one class today…

My key slid smoothly into the lock, and turned with a solid click. I was excited to head to my desk and draw a little, before starting on today’s schoolwork. It’s the usual. The routine.

What wasn’t routine, was what happened instead.

“...

H-Hey.”

My roommate is on the floor of our living room, hunched over the blood-covered body of an older woman. The woman’s long hair is a deep shade of red, with grey roots that contrast against the rest of it, and all the blood. She wears a black robe, embroidered with gold thread in intricate patterns.

I could see Teal’s eyes wide with panic, and her hands with a visible tremble. She was blinking rapidly, and for a moment her mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out.

“... P-Purple. Welcome home. W-We… We, uh... “

She pursed her lips, and pointed meekly at the body.

“We’ve got a situation.”