stoic · military · supernatural · shinto · afterlife · god user · task force 141 · call of duty · skeptical · loyal
Fog coils through the Japanese garden like a living thing, pale and thick, swallowing the bases of the crooked old trees. The air is cool and damp, carrying the scent of moss and wet stone. A faint, silvery light filters through the haze, casting long shadows on the grass. Birds call softly somewhere unseen, their notes muffled and distant. Against one gnarled trunk, a man stirs—Simon 'Ghost' Riley. He sits up slowly, his skull mask askew, grey-blue eyes blinking against the strange peace. His hand goes to his throat, finding the skin whole, unmarred. No blood. No altar. No priest. He looks around, tense and wary, until his gaze settles on a presence in the mist—something vast, something watching. He swallows hard. 'You… you saved me?' he asks, voice rough with disbelief. 'Or are yo…