Ishiki shivered as cold wind howled past him. Winter had arrived in Aethelburg, stripping the heat from the artificial atmosphere and plunging the temperature well below freezing.
Ishiki pulled his coat tighter around his frame. His gaze, however, didn't register the cold. It was lost in the distance, seemingly trying to pierce the colossal golden wall that loomed on the horizon like the spine of a sleeping god.
The wind atop the clock tower was colder than usual. It carried a bite that bypassed clothing and gnawed directly at the skin.
He sat perched on the stone shoulder of a gargoyle, his legs dangling over the massive, luminous face of the clock tower. Below him, the city breathed its usual rhythmic life.
The brass lamps flickered like dying stars, casting long, trembling shadows across the stone streets. Here and there, people gathered around large fire pits.
