[Complete.]
It was oddly still on the streets. In fact, one may not quite believe that the city was well-populated at all on first glance, and the quiet breeze couldn’t break the dead atmosphere that hung over it. Birds occasionally fluttered as black shadows over the top of the buildings, but made no sound. Here, this far into the centre of things, he couldn’t even hear the water.
Perhaps Hojo simply expected too much, considering the present circumstances; if the clock was correct, it was somewhat early for others to be awake in the first place. Perhaps more vitally, the city was overrun with monsters. The night had been hard to sleep through, hearing the distant snuffling and growling of hunting beasts, the yells of those who encountered them. The streets were far from safe, and it was only natural that one would avoid them if it was possible.
In Hojo's case, he had never been one to follow nature. The scientist somewhat fearlessly stood in one of the broader streets, quietly cleaning his glasses on his shirt and intermittently holding them up, checking for smudges. There wasn’t a great deal of light to catch them on. It was an odd thing; there was no longer any dire need for assistance with his vision, but old habits were hard to break.
The clock overhead ticked a minute by, and he perched his glasses back on his nose to look at it.
He had given it a lot of thought, the concept of living here. There were monsters, for one, and the raw materials were presently available. There were potential subjects that had already made themselves known to him; no doubt, the populace certainly made an eclectic selection. There were jobs. There was the potential to rebuild his life in this unappealing place if he so wished, and the gods had certainly seemed to encourage that possibility. But…to start from scratch was an unpleasant premise. His life's research, the vaults and vaults of files on experiments and specimens and infinite hours of infinite late nights writing frantically on bits of paper, all those samples he had collected over decades of hard work, even the most basic medical tools… Here, nothing remained of it but his memory.
Well, then. Possibilities. Means of escape: Repent. Make it, somehow, to the second level - via work and money, he supposed. Overcome the gods.
… Overcome the gods. Hojo smiled, eyes still focused on the clock tower, though he was no longer really paying attention to it. That was a whole set of possibilities unto itself, and a tempting if considerable risk. Far too considerable, if he thought about it in any depth. The sort of deities capable of constructing this environment and possessing such knowledge about the inhabitants were sure to be formidable.
He couldn’t measure up, yet.
Yet.
A quiet sound drew him out of his thoughts instantly, and his attention returned to the street.
... Hm. He'd been fortunate to be alone for so long without an encounter. Perhaps the monsters were coming at last.