It was new year's eve, 1986, in a diner not too far from where an earthquake had happened the day before. So far there had been five earthquakes in the past week, four of which had been noticeable in certain parts of the city. 

A young man wearing a green, puffy jacket sat hunched over a cup of coffee, half-watching the TV as the newscaster babbled on about the aftershocks. Mom always said that college would get easier… I want to believe her - I do - but I’m two semesters in and nothing’s changed. He leaned on the table and rubbed his temples. I don’t get it. Am I doing something wrong?

The bell above the door made a little ring as another man entered the cafe, with his hands in the pockets of his suit. He turned over to the woman next to him, said something quietly, then reluctantly joined her in finding a seat. They ended up sitting in the booth just behind the man watching TV. 

The man speaking with the woman was Ren Yoshimaru (Age 23), and the one contemplating his college life was Angel Santiago (Age 22).

Angel looked over his shoulder at the man in the suit, who maintained proper posture to match his outfit and combed brown hair. Angel wondered why a person like him was in such a dingy, out-of-the-way place like this, and Ren looked like he was wondering the same.

A waitress stopped by, gave them some water, and left them to their business. “My father wanted you to tell me something, Eileen. What is it?”

The woman tapped her finger on the table and tried to search her mind for the words to say. “It’s…” She paused for a moment before saying, “He’s leaving the Yoshimaru Company to Naruyuki.” Her voice only got shakier and she began to stumble over her words. “I'm sorry..”

So they wanted a quiet place and decided to come here… I guess besides the waitress, I’m the only one here, after all. Still, they picked the booth right next to mine. I can hear every word they’re saying. 

Angel took a sip of his coffee and tried to focus on the TV. “Liberty City officials have released a statement that warns the city’s residents of evacuation, citing the rising intensities of these earthquakes.” As the report of the earthquakes came to a close, the newscasters began discussing occult activity in the city. That was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Ren tried to give some thought to the woman’s words. “It’s alright, Eileen… It’s not your fault. I just wish that my father would’ve told me himself. It’s not fair to you.” While he put on a brave face, the news still seemed to bother him more than he wanted to let on. “I guess this time is as good as any to take a break from my work.” 

Ren and the woman proceeded to order as Angel paid for his coffee and stood to leave. While Angel seemed uncomfortable overhearing all this, he could see the waitress eavesdropping over in the kitchen. 

“Excuse me.” Angel squeezed past a woman who had just arrived, and saw that Ren was eyeing him. What the - He picked up the pace and began to speed walk out of the diner. What’s his deal?

The sun was rising over the cityscape, and people had begun to walk the streets as they went about their business. Yoshimaru… I wonder what company his dad owns. Sounds like it could be pretty big. Don’t know the name, though. Maybe it’s a computer company, or something like that.

Angel slid a quarter into the payphone and dialed his mom over in Third Street, wanting to talk about what she’d do if the city was evacuated. The other end didn’t connect, even after three tries. “Hey, mom, it’s Angel… It’s been a while.” He leaned up against the payphone casing and thought about what to say for a moment. “I just want to make sure everything’s alright. These earthquakes just seem to be getting worse, and… Look, I’m not too far from the apartment. I’ll be over soon. We can talk once I’m there.”

The final earthquake arrived. This disaster was said to measure close to magnitude 7.5, and it was far larger than any that had happened in that week, with the previous largest measuring only 6.1. 

The center of the quake was on Second Street. Just one block from Maria Santiago, assuming she was home when it happened. 

The next thirty-five seconds seemed like an eternity to Angel, with what happened next only making that feeling stronger. 

First, a piece of asphalt caved from under his feet, his head tilted back as his mind fell silent.

Second, a man burst forward just ten meters away, catching Angel mid-air, kicking through the glass of the phone booth, and landing on a stable piece of the road that was now a fair bit lower than before. Despite the shaking of the ground, the man’s body seemed remarkably stable.

Angel was able to recognize his face as the man’s back at the cafe. His red suit was still in perfect condition. Ren stood back up straight, though didn’t set Angel down right away. Ren muttered, “I told him we should play it safe… Looks like it’s going down over on Second Street, just like Naruyuki said.”

Lastly, as the earthquake began to slow down, Angel was set down with thoughts racing through his head. One thought in particular kept repeating. The man had said that the Earthquake was on second street.  “Can I follow you?”

Ren looked down at Angel, apparently far taller than Angel. His black hair with an orange glint dripped sweat down onto his tan skin. That stunt he pulled probably had taken quite a bit of athleticism. Actually, a lot of athleticism now that Angel was thinking about it - far more than any athletes he’d seen on TV. “What was that?”

A bit of panic crept up in Angel’s voice, as the thoughts in his head led him to desperation. “I’ve got family over on Third Street. I need to make sure they’re safe. Look, you do what you need to do, but I need to get to Second Street!”

The man gave Angel’s request some thought, nodded, and motioned for him to follow. Ren was far faster than he was by quite a large margin, and he struggled just to keep up as they ran through the debris in the street.

Angel wasn't nearly as muscular as Ren, but he certainly wasn’t out of shape. With all the adrenaline in his body, he was just able to keep up with Ren’s impressive speed. If the ground caved under here, then… I can’t imagine how things are a few blocks away.

Ren quickly grabbed Angel’s arm, lept up onto a higher piece of the concrete. How is he…? Now a bit more conscious of his surroundings, as Angel looked up at Ren as they ascended and saw a glowing ring on his chest, and fire bursting from his feet and free hand. 

Stepping back onto solid ground, they could see the remains of Third Street  below us. Far away, on the other side of the chasm, stood a man in a black business suit. “You think he had family here too?”

“Hmm?” Ren briefly turned his attention to Angel, not quite sure what he meant. “A lot of people did. I’ll keep an eye out for your family over on Third, so do what you can here.” The ring at his chest began to shine brighter as he ran off.

* * *

Now not having to worry about anyone slowing him down, Ren was free to use his Dream freely. Still, using it too much could mean that he’d have less power to use against whatever demon sprung up on Third Street. Considering there were five earthquakes and the last one was this strong, the demon would be too.

These quakes caused by demons weren’t the result of tectonic plates moving, but were the result of a chasm forming on Earth. Lots of powerful earthquakes meant that the chasm was going to be big, and it took a lot out of those beasts to form them.

These sorts of earthquakes would be even deadlier if people like Ren didn’t strike fast. 

Jumping into the chasm wasn’t quite an experience a person could get used to, as gravity often shifted randomly once or twice at the entrance. Still, finding what way you were falling at the end of this shift and adjusting your position was the key to avoiding a mouthful of dirt. 

Ren must have done this a thousand times, and was able to land in the chasm without much issue. He held up his hand and ignited fire from his hand to illuminate the area around him. 

Doesn’t look like many people ended up down here… That’s good. Walking through the winding corridors of the chasm, Ren didn’t seem to pay any mind to the strange scenery around him. While he may have only heard about chasms this size from his father, he’d still seen his fair share of average chasms from all over. No matter if they were in Alaska or all the way in Brazil, a demon’s dwelling always seemed to be a warped, twisted place.

It didn’t seem that the Yoshimaru family was curious, or cared why this was. What mattered was protecting humanity from the scourge of demons that only seemed to be spiraling out of control.

Ren began to climb a series of ledges, and by doing so was getting closer to Third Street the more he climbed. He’d have expected to at least see one or two demons by now, but the chasm seemed completely empty. Perhaps the demon that formed the chasm did so by themselves or eliminated all the others. Ren had seen both happen, though the latter was still pretty rare. 

If they had been hurt, there would be no way to tell if it happened quickly. A demon’s body turned to ash as they died, and that ash would quickly disappear. There might be claw marks and such if there was a struggle, but a demon strong enough to make a chasm this big could quickly make prey of lesser demons.