The reflection of a man in a long coat and a jet-black jacket underneath was visible in one of the windows. It didn’t matter what face his mask was showing.

All that mattered was that right now, he was staring through the glass at the fastest vehicles ever created.

When driving them, just one wrong move—and you’re no longer alive.

But... then why?

"..." The cat on his shoulder looked behind her.

A reporter and a cameraman approached the tower’s visitors and asked the same question.

"Why are you alive?"

"Um... Is this mandatory again? If not, my shift’s already over."

They asked all sorts of people, from ordinary shoppers to people in suits.

"Why are you alive?"

"To... live? I don’t know, I’m not good with deep questions."

"Why are you alive?"

"B-because it’s our duty, right? Our Lord sacrifices Himself and protects our lives; we have to make use of them... R-right?"

"Why are you alive?"

"To spite all the bastards who wish us harm! There’s a war! It’s quiet and unseen... but enemies are everywhere! From Havoc to Solitude, all those heretics wish us harm, and only our Lord is capable of protecting us!"

"Why are you alive?"

"To be or not to be... That’s the question."

The answers poured out from behind him.

"Hmm... For no reason."

"Because I just want to!"

"To work. To work and work again."

"Well, actually... Ahem. For my family. To make them happy."

"For the good of our city and our country! For the sake of Concord!"

"...It is the duty and obligation of every living being to strive for the very top. To become great."

"Thank you for your answer." The reporter noticed an unusual man with a cat on his shoulder and, signaling to the cameraman, headed toward him. "Um, sir."

"Mm?" He barely turned his head, not taking his eyes off the object behind the glass.

"Why are you alive?"

"Hah..." He smirked and turned his head toward his shoulder.

"..." Only his mask was reflected in the cat’s blue eyes, not his real face.

Two years had already passed. Could he say he’d simply been forced to?

That he hated living and was just punishing himself?

Out of guilt?

Two years had already passed... After all this time, no one could blame themselves as they could at the beginning.

Then why?

To hurt himself by hurting others?

To hurt himself by pushing everyone away?

To punish himself over and over again by acting like a villain?

He could have chosen dozens of ways to atone for what he’d done... But he always chose the one where, even while doing good, he would be the villain.

To remind himself forever? To never forget? Or to try again and again to convince himself that he’s a villain? Because if someone sees his true self without the mask, they will find out.

They’ll find out that the one who did it is actually...

’No one can wear multiple faces for long. Eventually, you’ll start to forget your own... But it seems lately I’ve been taking off my mask too often, and I’m not so afraid of it anymore. Is that because of you?’ He smiled and gently scratched the cat behind the ears.

"..." She tilted her head, looking into his eyes with a strange expression.

Two years had already passed... After all this time, no one could blame themselves as much as they did at the beginning.

Then why?

To hunt?

To wreak vengeance?

To listen to music?

To play the damn clown who doesn’t take anything seriously?

To play the hidden revolutionary?

Or simply to be afraid to take responsibility? To become what he didn’t choose to be.

To return to what he really does best—climbing to the peak.

To dream big.

"You know, a phrase came to mind... With great power comes great responsibility. Even if you didn’t ask for it."

"Is that your answer?"

"No, no, it just popped into my head."

"Then what is it?" The girl signaled to the cameraman to zoom in. "Why are you alive?"

"I don’t know." He smiled. "After all, I’m Nobody."

The girl blinked in surprise and, nodding knowingly, asked the cameraman to turn it off.

"Perfect for an ending. Thank you for..."

"But...!" He cut her off and raised his index finger. "I’ll definitely find out."

"Um... And when will that be?"

The smile on his face grew even wider. With the camera off, he put his index finger to his lips and whispered.

"When I become The Darkest Star that this world has ever seen."

"...?"

Taking advantage of the reporter’s confusion, he turned around, about to enter the car dealership.

*Thud...* Something fell to the ground. His coat didn’t quite fit with his new jacket, so it was no surprise that something fell out.

And that something was his revolver.

"...?!" Her gaze instinctively dropped to the weapon. Shock and fear spread across her face, especially given the words he’d just whispered.

Maintaining his smile, Mr. Nobody picked up the revolver, then turned to her.

"Shhh..." He gestured for silence again. "Just between us, okay?"

"A-a-a..."

"Don’t forget... Big Brother is always watching."

...

The atmosphere in one of Concord’s most modern car dealerships was quite unusual.

The best engineers could come up with dozens of the fastest and most advanced vehicles, but there was almost no point in doing so.

There was simply no demand for such things. No one in their right mind would buy a car capable of reaching 500 miles per hour. It was nothing more than a coffin on wheels.

Those with money preferred premium comfort, executive cars, or even flying vehicles.

That’s why such brilliant engineering masterpieces were mostly used for shows and to decorate store windows.

Only occasionally would someone from the rich kids buy something from the sports models... But even they didn’t dare to buy what was at the absolute top speed.

Everything changed at that moment.

"H-here they are, just as you requested—our fastest and most modern models." The consultant in a white shirt and vest pointed to a futuristic motorcycle and a convertible hypercar, positioned side by side on a slowly rotating podium. "T-the motorcycle model is called the NS 500, named after its maximum record-breaking speed, and the car..."

"What about it?" he asked with a smile, stroking the cat.

"Ahem. Usually, inventions from the upper floors of the tower rarely make it to the lower ones, but an exception was made for this car. It’s simply called Neo, in honor of the greatest scientist and founder of Neocorp. It’s truly a marvel of engineering and the pride of Neocorp’s top inventors."

"Mm..."

"O-of course, the prices for both models are steep... Without insurance and additional systems, the NS-500 will cost 43,900 credits. But I assure you that this price is even lower than the actual production costs for such a model."

"Hmm..." Following the cat’s gaze, he realized she was looking at the hypercar. "And the car?"

"Given its collectible value, the price will be several times higher, but more than fair... So, have you decided?"

Alongside the consultant, about ten employees were waiting for his answer, eager to witness the long-awaited spectacle.

"Hah..." He chuckled. "For the lady and me. I’ll take..."