[center][i]Good morning. I'm surprised that you still haven't been made to surrender. ■■■ ■■■ has not arrived at the table yet.

■■■ ■■■ does not expect you; from the opening on, in this wager, put in all your spirit. I look forward to your next move.

The difficulty is standard. I hope that you will find the correct star among infinite.[/i][/center]

[hr]
It began simply. A standard day, the morning of August 17th in a simple town. Children had left for class, university students were hefting themselves out of bed, and working-age men and women were on their daily commutes. A simple day that couldn't be distinguished from any other by a standard observer. 

-And yet, there was a single change. For, on this day, the pieces had all been gathered. 

Random chance and circumstance, natural progression of events, the pull of fate. Whatever one would choose to call it, that unseen force lurking in the backdrop of the world had acted, stretching back years upon years to bring those very pieces here. Now, at long last, they had been gathered here, and the boundary around the city of Riversfield had been set. 

Subtlety was key. Simply placing a barrier around the city would serve the intended purpose, but it was important that the progression was natural. The pieces were not allowed to be aware that something was wrong in these idle daily lives they lived until the Naraka System had been engaged. To that end, that power this woman had been granted use of, the weaving of fate and circumstance, had been used to its fullest today. Meetings with a client outside the city were cancelled because the client fell ill, the university students who commuted outside of town had their classes suspended for the day, and so on. Circumstances had all been changed on this morning and in the preceding days to ensure that none of the pieces would leave Riversfield before night fell and Naraka began. 

[color=7ea7d8]"...now, what's this sinking feeling?"[/color]

It was not for uncertainty of what was to come. No, she was as adept as one could be in use of the Naraka System. It was designed for her to wield, after all. But in spite of that, in spite of the indisputable fact that this Naraka would begin and progress exactly as was expected, there was some feeling of unease that formed a cold pit in her stomach. Something was wrong, something here was different than it should have been, and yet it was something she could not place. 

...could it be nerves? How childish. After ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■ of this, to suddenly become nervous. Pushing this feeling to the back of her mind, she clenched her right hand into a fist before unclenching it. 

[color=7ea7d8]"May the great Mother use my flesh as she sees fit."[/color]

Muttering a prayer that had long since become mere habit, she set the curtain upon the stage.

-And with night's fall, it would be drawn back, and the tragedy would begin.