This place was...peculiar.

And that said a lot when Wolf was sure that he would never have to deal with absurdity again. A world enveloped by the shadows, riddled in the corpses of humanity itself where each day felt like their last. If it weren't for the chrome running underneath his skin, he isn't sure he would have lived more than a day breathing in the morning air without a gas mask and a gun because you never know when you can make eye contact with a shadow waiting to cannabalize away your very existence.

The worst part? That shadow could have worn the face of someone you lost in tragedy and more often than not- the tragic ones always stayed behind. Groaning within the lumps of black that crawled the abandoned earth.

Zenkichi didn't choose this.

And yet. Yet he had to live with it.

"There is an over-abundance of wildcards here. We need to get out of here so I can tamper with the network and narrow them down."

"Interesting," he raises a brow as he looks ahead at Igor. "Sure. This place isn't defined by time or matter. Makes sense. Reminds me of my service with PubSec." He scoffs as he gets up from the sofa and takes a look at the board.

"Unit #8910: we need to get to work. Stop loitering around ugh-"

"...someone took wolf."

---

Choice A: Going out In a Bang

It was business as usual at Big Bang Burger that nestled in the busy corners of Central Street. A faint hum of cheery but repetitive background music plays over the speakers, filling the air alongside the subtle sizzle of patties on the grill and the hiss of soda machines.

A small group of high school students in uniforms sits at one of the tables near the window. They chatter loudly about upcoming exams, one of them stabbing at the pile of fries on his tray absentmindedly. Nearby, an office worker in a wrinkled suit hunches over a single coffee, scrolling through his phone with tired eyes. He barely touches his half-eaten burger.

Zenkichi Hasegawa—Wolf—stood in the entryway, a man out of time and place. His long, tattered tailcoat swayed faintly as the overenthusiastic air conditioning washed over him, kicking up a faint ripple of dust from the folds. He adjusted the black tassels of his sleeves absentmindedly, but his gait faltered as his visor-like console headset flickered with low hums of static—clearly straining to process the normalcy of this environment.

His sharp, calculating gaze swept over the patrons, lingering a beat too long. It was the sheer volume of people that unsettled him. Teenagers laughing. Workers existing. No one was screaming, no one was running for their lives. There weren’t any shadows hunched in the corners, whispering, or disfigured corpses left as grim reminders of what was lost. For someone who had spent years surviving in a wasteland where every movement could mean death, the packed yet blissfully mundane Big Bang Burger felt... claustrophobic.

His fingers twitched at his side. His weaponized arm was so used to pulling triggers that, for a moment, he almost scanned the room for hostiles.

“—No threats detected.”

The voice crackled softly in his ear, artificial and sweet. Akane’s voice—or, at least, the AI approximation of it. Damn Kirijo Group.

“Dad. Stop staring. You look like you’re about to vaporize a middle-schooler.”

Zenkichi blinked and scowled, tearing his gaze away from a startled teenage girl who was gripping her milkshake a little too tightly. He adjusted his collar in a gruff, performative way that didn’t fool anyone.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered under his breath. “Not my fault. I haven’t seen this many people in one place who aren’t trying to eat me alive.”

Slowly, cautiously, Zenkichi made his way to the counter. His steps were deliberate, too heavy, the clink of reinforced plating under his boots far too ominous for a place that offered combo deals. As he approached, he realized something bizarre: the crowd was... moving for him.

What the hell? Was he that intimidating? Patrons shifted nervously, parting like the Red Sea to let him through, avoiding eye contact as if he might detonate on sight. He tilted his head in confusion, throwing a hesitant glance over his shoulder.

“You, uh...” Zenkichi cleared his throat awkwardly. “No, you can go ahead. Don’t mind me.”

A young man in a suit and tie froze mid-step, locking eyes with him like a deer caught in headlights before shaking his head vigorously and darting back to his seat.

Zenkichi sighed. Great. Even in a world of synthetic peace, he was still the guy no one wanted to stand near.

“Oh my god, fine—fine, I’ll go ahead!” he grumbled loudly, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. “More burgers for me.”

His attempt at casual bravado was undercut by the sheer awkwardness of the moment, but he pushed forward, squinting at the glowing digital menu above the counter. Rows of pixelated burgers, fries, and soda flashed in neon brilliance, the cheerful cartoon mascot cheerily suggesting combo upgrades.

Zenkichi stared.

And stared.

And stared.

---

Choice B:

Tatsumi Port Island

The iconic architecture of Tatsumi Port Island felt pristine yet desolate, as if frozen just after a day’s end. Zenkichi wandered the eerily clean streets where not a single person remained—save for the massive Ferris wheel at the harbor, its lights flashing on and off, turning slowly despite the lack of power. He stood at its base, hands on his hips. “Yup. Definitely haunted,” he muttered before Akane’s voice chirped in his ear:

“Wild energy spike, Dad. Try the school grounds.”

He sighed loudly, trudging off. “High schools again? That’s where we’re looking for saviors of humanity? At least back in my day, kids weren’t summoning gods between exams.”

Still...this place was the basis of his company, wasn't it?

---

Choice C: NETWORK

Hello everyone,

I’m the 47th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, model "Unhuman." My unit's designation is #8910-Wolf, but if you want a nickname, you can just call me Wolf. Though, don't get too excited. Someone else already took that one. So, just to keep it simple, you can call me Zenkichi Hasegawa.

Now, judging from the looks of things, I wouldn't be surprised if there are other versions of me running around here. Not that I’m thrilled about it, but you never know with these kinds of situations. Used to work as a cop in the Public Safety Bureau... but not anymore, so don't go looking for some kind of badge-wielding vigilante. I read another guy getting butchered for exactly that so- let’s keep things civil, alright?

As for this place... I’ll be blunt: I’m still wrapping my head around just how bizarre this all is. It’s not exactly normal, and while I get why some of you might not be thrilled with my presence here, I’m not here to stir up trouble. So long as you don’t provoke me, I won’t be doing the same.

But listen up—the number of teenagers with multiple Personas running around? Yeah, I’m seriously concerned about that. It's one thing to be a kid, but to have this much power at that age? Wildcards in our world were people who had been trained years on end to perfect their personas and we have rare instances of them in my world. It makes me nervous. Not gonna lie.

One more thing: if anyone here has that EMMA app, do yourselves a favor and delete it. Trust me on this one. Where I’m from, that thing led to some serious hell for humanity. It’s part of why we ended up where we did, and I'm not about to let it happen again. Just... delete it, alright?

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that. Just don’t expect me to be a walking charity, but I’m not looking to start fights either.

Unit #8910: Zenkichi Hasegawa