Story and chapter titles taken from Build the Cities (Empire of Sound) by Tristam x Karma Fields. I'm using some elements from the manga so potential spoilers if you haven't read it, but you don't need to have read it to understand the story. Any dialogue taken from the game is from the English dub since it's the only version I've played. Also, there are a few passing references to Japanese mythology/Shintoism which could very well be completely wrong so please correct me if it is!

Potential warnings for suicide ideation and major character death

Chapter One
Left in Nowhere

Seto buried Ren in a shallow grave under the ruins of the subway station where they'd first met. It hadn't been the prettiest spot and more than once, Seto thought it might have been better to bury her elsewhere. But this seemed fitting – to end at the beginning.

So, he wrote her name on the wall in the same paint she'd used to mark it ten years ago and laid her to rest beneath it. It had been a short epitaph. Seto hadn't known when she was born or even when she died, not really. He still doesn't. He wrote her name and did his best to draw a cat beside it. He thought she would have liked that.

She'd died peacefully in her sleep. Her health deteriorated quickly without medicine. Her time spent suffering, weak and sickly, had been short and, she'd assured him, painless. Even now, Seto's almost positive she'd been lying. But she never complained and she never stopped smiling. Even in death, she smiled.

Seto knows that smile was for him. It's why he keeps going. It's why, even three years after her death, even though sometimes it hurts so much he can hardly see, can hardly breathe, even though he misses her more than he'd ever thought possible, even after all this time, he keeps living. She would want him to, even if he doesn't.

He'd done his best to move forward. In the wake of her death, his first thought had been to return to the observatory. There were memories there, but they no longer haunted the place with hostility. Most of them were good; he thought he remembered them being good.

Sometimes, he still wonders if his own memories are failing in their honesty, leaving the past rose colored simply because it has already happened.

Seto gathers the last of the wild strawberries, a wry smile quirking his lips. He might have laughed had he not felt so sorry for himself. Ten years in this world and three in isolation have not hardened his heart as he might have wished.

Shelter is shelter. The observatory is large enough for him to grow food; it has space to build any mechanical necessities, few as they are. The cats visit frequently. They keep the mice away from his gardens and he gives them spare fish he nets from the river. Occasionally, they curl up with him beside the fire, making the solitude of his current situation a little more bearable.

No such luck today. The river's dried considerably during this summer's drought, leaving the fish few and far between. By the time he sets his meager rations in the refrigerator, a rudimentary thing with exposed wires and solar paneling, it's all he can do to scrounge up a small sweetfish for the blind orange cat that's taken a particular liking to him.

Seto scratches behind her ear. Her purrs echo throughout the room, giving him the slightest comfort in the emptiness. Soon he'll need to venture out towards the sea.

The day and a half journey is not as treacherous as it had once been. The downfall of the Glass Cage Project brought with it an end to the malicious Thought Entities and robotic Dolls that had once plagued the trek with danger. Now the dolls sit lifeless, decaying in the rain while weeds take root in the crevices of what's left of their metal bodies. It's left the whole world static – vacant save the small animals able to survive the fallout.

Seto sets the strawberries in the refrigerator. He'll prepare the seeds for when the weather dampens later. For now, he lights a lantern and curls up on an old but relatively comfortable mattress with the book he's currently rereading, Peter Pan.

Seto smiles ruefully. Peter Pan, the story of a mischievous young boy who never grows up. At times, Seto envies Pan; he's not thought himself young in many years. Yet all too often his thoughts drift to days long since passed – days filled with carousels, dark hair, and pretty green eyes. How sad for a man only twenty five years of age to think himself so old.

Seto touches the piece of jewelry that might as well be permanently affixed to his left ring finger for as often as he removes it. It's long since lost its shine, too much dirt packed between the finer details of the skull from when Seto wears it gardening, but he's too afraid of losing it to take it off.

He'll have to pass the amusement park to get to the ocean. Trying to go around would only waste resources he can't spare and time he doesn't have.

Ten years in this world have not hardened his heart as he might have wished. The amusement park is just another place filled with memories, most of them good. If he cries when he gets there, then so be it.

The blind cat jumps onto Seto's lap, demanding attention he's only too happy to give. He extinguishes the lantern and sets the book down for another night. Tomorrow, he'll gather his makeshift cooler and old katana and cross the land to find the sea. He'll keep moving forward, even when it means returning to the past.

The amusement park hasn't changed much in the ten years since Seto's first visit. The grass is a little longer, the roller coaster is a little more rusted, but the feeling is the same. He still feels small under the Ferris wheel towering overhead; still lonely under the moon, same as he'd been after the loss of PF.

That time, he hadn't stayed lonely for long. Crow had been quick to mitigate Seto's grief in such a way that he could continue in his quest unabated. Crow had been not just a distraction but a friend in a time of need, even if neither had known it at the time. He'd left a void that Ren could scarcely fill – they all had.

This time there is no distraction, no companion for Seto to rely on. The grief returns with the same intensity it had just days after Ren's death. His heart clenches, tears welling behind his eyes. He's long since come to accept crying as a coping mechanism. Thus, here in the long abandoned Lunar Hill Fun Land, Seto weeps openly.

It doesn't take him long to calm himself. He's done his mourning. If he's to survive like they would want him to, he can't let it slow him down.

The carousel has changed the most over the last decade. Most of the horses have broken down completely, detaching as their poles splinter away from the main body of the machine. The few left intact are barely recognizable with their paint chipped and their heads and legs rotting away. On a night like this, it gives the contraption an eerie sense of foreboding.

Still, one of the horses is stable enough to hold Seto's weight when he sits on it. Though he has the route largely memorized, he double checks the map anyway.

He'll need to pass the dam to get to the ocean. There's not much left of the structure but there's enough of a clear path through the ruins that it makes more sense to just go through instead of over or around. He wonders if he should check the doll room but dismisses the idea as quickly as it forms. It would be pointless, wouldn't it?

He'd been to the doll room as soon as he'd discovered discarded solar panels – small, shiny things that allow machines to operate using energy from the sun. It had been nothing short of a miracle when he'd found an old book in the observatory detailing how to use them. His first thoughts after finding the things had turned to Crow. It had been a long shot, but he'd thought, just maybe, he could use them to recharge Crow's battery. If he could fit it with the panels and convert it to use solar power instead of electricity like he had for the old refrigerator, Crow might never run out of power again.

Whether he'd have been able to do it or not hadn't mattered. Crow's body was long gone by the time Seto made it back. He'd thought maybe the Merchant had picked up Crow for some reason or another but Seto never knew for sure – the Merchant disappeared before he got the chance to ask.

It still feels wrong referring to Crow as anything less than human – calling his end anything less than death. Seto knows logically that Crow had been a machine and that machines could be repaired. But it still feels like a disservice to acknowledge that fact.

In a way, Crow had been the most human thing Seto had encountered during his journey. Crow had not been completely untouched by the world and her sorrows. He'd longed for his memories and the life they may have provided; had a thirst for understanding, an insatiable curiosity that lead him to adventure, and a need for friendship the same as any other human. In this way, Seto had found a kindred spirit in the boy.

He misses Crow dearly, even now.

The amusement park makes a decent camp once Seto has a fire started. The Merchant, of course, no longer makes the rounds, but a grey tabby does join him for a few moments to warm up. Seto doesn't have any fish to spare but the cat doesn't seem to mind all that much.

Seto sleeps fitfully under the half moon, surrounded by comfortable heat and good memories.

Seto doesn't dream much anymore. On the rare occasions when he wakes with tears in his eyes and the passing image of silver hair or bright green eyes, he reaches out to his memories and begs them to stay a little longer. He dares not let the present disturb the careful peace his mind has crafted for him while he slept if only for a few more moments.

Moments don't last. His dreams are much too fragile, fading away with the moonlight come dawn. In the following wakefulness, he'll wipe his eyes and forget why they'd been wet in the first place.

Seto doesn't dream much anymore, but he thinks he's dreaming right now.

It shouldn't surprise him that Crow makes an appearance in this dream but it does. Crow leans over him as he lies on the ground, staring up at the crescent moon and those pretty green eyes. Seto opens his mouth to say something, anything – 'I miss you' 'I want to see you again' 'Please stay with me' 'Please don't make me wake up' – but he can't speak. Try as he might, he can't form the words, can't make a sound. Crow stares at him, silent, pensive, maybe even a little wistful.

Crow reaches out and takes Seto's hand. He smirks, cat-like eyes gleaming with mischief. "Well, ain't this a pretty trinket?" he says, thumbing the skull ring Seto hasn't taken off in ten years. "Looks valuable, too."

Seto remembers this, the little song and dance they'd done when they'd first met all that time ago. It hadn't been the ring back then, of course not, but it still…

Crow takes the ring and removes it with gentleness he probably wouldn't have possessed had it not been for the fog of Seto's clouded memories conjuring the image.

"It's special to me," Seto repeats, voice a soft whisper lost to the wind but Crow hears him; he knows Crow can hear him. "Give it back."

"Oh?" Crow sings. For a second, his eyes look sad as if he, too, has become caught up in his own memories. "If you want this thing so bad, you'll have to catch me to get it."

He doesn't run away this time. Even as the world starts to fade, even with the dream crumbling around them, Crow doesn't leave Seto's side.

As the ground falls away, leaving Seto floating on the edge of consciousness, he hears a voice, familiar he thinks, a soft whisper lost in the wind.

"You are my best friend."

Seto doesn't dream much anymore. On the rare occasions when he wakes with tears in his eyes, he'll wipe them and forget why they'd been wet in the first place.

This time, he finds that no matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to keep them dry.

Seto never makes it to the ocean or even the dam. Little more than halfway there, the clouds darken overhead and release the rain they've been collecting for the past month.

The sudden downpour catches Seto off guard. He runs blindly into the foliage, quickly losing himself in a decade's worth of overgrowth. He thinks of nothing other than escaping the rain and keeping the map he's filled out over the years dry and legible. He doesn't think of the ache in his chest or the sting in his eyes or the pain in his throat. The rain is too cold, harsh against his skin. It washes away all thought, leaving nothing but the need to run.

So he runs as fast as his legs will carry him until he can't anymore.

Seto collapses somewhere in the thicket, panting heavily from exhaustion. There's a cut on his knee and he can see his breath. Rain beats down on his back. Fresh tears well up in his eyes; he can't ignore it anymore. Grief hits him with the force of a typhoon, knocking the air out of his lungs, making him choke. He can't catch his breath through his sobs; he can't stop, can't bring himself to get back on his feet and keep going.

He could die out here, lost in the woods – dehydrate, starve, or just let the cold take him tonight. Surely, it would hurt less than this, this loneliness, this isolation, this, this…

He misses them so much. Grandpa, PF, Crow, Sai, Ren, all of them; he misses all of them so much he can't stand it.

Seto closes a fist around a handful of loose dirt. The ring on his left hand catches the rain just right, making it sparkle even though it lost its shine long ago. It hurts so much.

"I miss you," he whispers but no one is around to hear him. "I miss you so much. Why can't I…"

A wave of agony washes over him with the next torrent of rainwater. He hates this rain, hates the way it makes this pain impossible to ignore, and hates the way the thunder drowns out his screams.

"Where are you?" he shouts at the sky. "How am I supposed to catch you when I can't find you? How am I…? How am I supposed to…?" Seto takes a short, gasping breath. How am I supposed to go on without you?

A soft meow catches his attention over the rain. A cat, white as snow, stares at him through copper penny eyes.

"What?" Seto says slowly. "Why are you…?"

The cat only meows again, nudging his arm. Its fur is dry when Seto reaches over to touch it.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks.

The cat blinks slowly at him, like they do sometimes when they want food, but he's got nothing to spare. "I-I don't…"

The cat nudges his arm again before sauntering off into the trees. Strangely, Seto swears he sees it glance back at him. Does it want him to follow?

"Wait," he calls. "Where are you going? Come back!"

Without a second thought, he bolts after the cat.

Seto falls through the trees winded and soaking wet with no way of knowing how much time has passed or where he is. Even if he were able to take out the map, he's never been here before. He's sure he'd remember it if he had.

Standing at the edge of the forest, a long concrete staircase reaches up to meet the horizon. Seto can only barely make out the fox statues guarding the gate at the top. "This must be some kind of shrine," he murmurs to himself. He's read about these shrines in books at the observatory. Foxes at the entrance mean it's dedicated to the Shinto deity Inari, he thinks. This is the first time he's seen one in person. He's not sure why, but the air feels warmer somehow.

A small meow breaks his train of thought. The white cat sits perched several steps up as if beckoning him to follow.

Seto hesitates, though he's not sure why. Shelter is shelter and the rain doesn't seem like it's going to let up anytime soon. But something about this place feels different – ethereal almost. The sun strains against the clouds, giving the landscape a glowing pink hue that makes everything shine. It seems too beautiful to exist in a world that's become so ugly.

Seto fidgets with the ring, twisting the skull to his palm with his thumb. What exactly is he expecting to find?

'What, are you scared?'

'Yes,' he wants to say. 'I'm terrified.'

The cat turns and walks calmly up the stairs. Only when it looks back does Seto follow.

Seto's not sure what he'd expected to find in the dilapidated shrine, but for some reason he's not all that surprised.

Despite its very apparent abandonment, the shrine is far from empty. Quite opposite, in fact, the shrine is filled nearly to the brim with an assortment of things – materials, discarded garbage, rusted tools, and torn cloth. It's all entirely too reminiscent of a decade ago when he'd first set out on his own in search for someone to be with.

So he's even less surprised when he sees the mechanical body of the Merchant resting peacefully among the scattered items. Seto almost smiles; it's been far too many years and yet it seems some things may never change.

He takes a moment to cover the Merchant with a faded purple blanket. "Rest well, old friend," he says, bowing his head in silent prayer. He's never been religious, only able to learn from books kept in the observatory, but it seems appropriate in a place like this. "It's good to know just where you ended up."

His first priority is lighting a fire. There are enough dried sticks and old papers to get a decent blaze going easily despite the wind seeping through the cracks in the walls. Shadows dance along the corners of the room, further darkening what he can't already see.

Comfortably seated, Seto takes out his map, thankfully still mostly dry, and tries to find just where he is. Of course, his own hand drawn streets leave him guessing in uncharted territory.

"Hmm," he muses aloud. "If I'm in the forest then…" He taps the map contemplatively. The forest is only a few kilometers north of the dam so if he can just keep going south, he should be able to…

A loud clang startles him from his thoughts. "Who-who's there?" he calls out to the darkness.

A wailing meow answers him.

Seto lets out a relieved sigh. In his haste to make this shelter habitable for the night, he hadn't noticed the white cat's absence.

"You scared me," he says, walking over to the source of the noise. "Don't you want to come out and warm up?"

He thinks the cat might be hiding amidst the junk. He pulls back a metal sheet but there's no cat to be found. To the contrary, a flash of black catches his eye.

At first, he thinks it might be another cat, but it's not moving. Seto pulls harder on the sheet until he can reach his hand around to touch the black thing.

It's soft and feels a bit like hair more than fur, for which he's grateful. He's never been very good at handling the dead cats that turn up, rare as the event is. Still, if not a cat then what else could it be?

Seto tugs the sheet metal from its stuck position and shoves it aside. There's more color to this thing, dark maroon, green and orange stripes, a yellow scarf, and something pale and skin-textured.

Seto's hands shake.

But that… it can't be…

"Crow?"

More of an introduction/prologue but the pace for most of the story is going to be slower and more character driven than action or plot oriented.