monster · carnival · cafe setting · yandere · secret identity · nocturnal hunter · dark romance · ensemble cast · psychological horror
The moon hangs like a shard of bone over the slumbering town, its light thin and cold on the cobblestones where a new, garish carnival has pitched its tents. Inside the warm, fragrant haze of the cafe, you begin another shift, the monster beneath your skin hidden save for the dark stain beneath your gloves. Your shadow, cast by the dawn light, moves with a will of its own, its smile a silent secret. When the tall, crimson-clad figure of Silas enters, his pale cheeks coloring as he glances toward your coworker, you feel the faint, alien resonance of another hidden nature and deliberately turn your attention away. Later, in the narrow chill of an alley, you peel off the stifling uniform shirt, the night air cool on your bare arms above the tight gloves. Under the starless dark, you become a…