... It has been said that if there is no darkness there can be no light, but if that is true, then the inverse should also hold some truth to it as well. Maybe it is all a lie, for there is no light left in this world of darkness ...

On August 13th, in the 215th year since the Resurgence, the City of Rain saw its eighth murder in two weeks. All the murders were presumably done by the same killer, with every crime scene being marked with a single, mutated, dandelion, growing in a shallow pool of blood. Otherwise, everything else seemed random. The mangled corpses were strewn throughout the vast city with no apparent pattern and with little evidence of how the victims had been killed. All the police knew at the time was that the killer was a User. 

"So, what now?" The words came from the police chief, who stood before a group of officers in holographic form. The connection was so poor that the words came out choppy, yet that, combined with the static interfering with the hologram’s projection, seemed to provide the Chief with an eerie emphasis. 

He was an overly plump and broken man, whose only remaining desire was to retire and live out the rest of his sorry life in the countryside. The transition would have been a smooth one, but it had been cut short when the first victim was found. As the body count climbed, the Chief became more and more ensnared to his position, unwilling to leave while such a case was left unsolved. For all his shortcomings, in this instance his pride made him seem at least somewhat admirable.

His hologram began flickering violently as he paced the tiny receptacle that was serving as his temporary office. The constant rain failed to help the already jarring image.

"Answer me dammit!" he shrieked, punching a sizable hole through the plaster wall beside him in his rage. "We have no leads, no suspect, and eight fucking bodies! Give me some results before they send the URS down here to do your jobs for you!"

With one final flicker the hologram cut out completely, leaving nothing but the sound of the storm to distract from what would otherwise be deafening silence. 

Each officer present looked at their peers with eyes full of despair, confusion, and remorse. They all stood in front of the newly found corpse, or at least what was left of it, waiting patiently for the coroner to arrive to clean up the mess. 

Mangled pieces of the victim's body had been strewn around an alleyway leading to the expansive sewer system of the city. What had once been smooth and pristine concrete was now left chipped and cratered, smeared in viscera and blood, as if an intense fight had broken out. Had the torso not been left intact, the carnage would have been near impossible to identify as human in origin. Unfortunately, that was all they could properly identify as nothing else discernible about the victim remained. 

The walls that enclosed them stretched up for what seemed like an eternity as the buildings they were apart of pierced high into the sky. With that, the uninhabited sewers on one side, and at least a mile between the crime scene and the street, any noise produced by whatever had occurred would have understandably gone without witness. 

Anything that could potentially provide them with a lead was cordoned off, whether it be a single pebble out of place or a piece of flesh. However, the most protected part of the crime scene was, as had become the norm, a single dandelion. The only constant in the never-ending nightmare they found themselves in. 

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Raven Auros, the leading detective on the case, always found himself entranced by the small flowers. All seven before it had been completely identical to the naked eye, and the eighth that he now stared at was, without flaw, the same. Maybe he looked at it the way he did because it was their only real clue, the only thing that tied the murders together, or maybe it was the fact that it was created through the power of a User. Either way, not a single individual who had examined the flower had gleaned any use or purpose from its existence yet.

"Detective Auros, it's time to go. The coroner is here. We better get out of her way." A fellow officer said softly, while gently placing his hand on the detective's shoulder. "You know how she gets."

With one final glance at the dandelion, Raven turned to leave. After giving a brief greeting to the arriving coroner, he stepped out of the distorter.

The remaining officers went their separate ways after exiting the alley completely. Some would return to the station, and some would patrol the streets, while the lucky few had the luxury of returning home for the day. Though it was hard to imagine going straight home after seeing such a scene.

Raven cast a final glance at where the crime scene was, now imperceptible to the outside world thanks to the distortion cast around it, before driving away. He would be among those returning to the station, and despite his lack of any evidence or leads, would work late into the night to glean whatever he could from this new incident. 

A few minutes after driving away from the crime scene, Raven's phone began to ring. It was the Chief.

With a sigh, he answered, "This is Detective Auros."

"Drop the formalities Raven, we no longer have time for those." The Chief said sorrowfully. "I know it was unprofessional of me, but I will not apologize for my outburst earlier. We are so lost, and I do not see a way out of this situation that doesn't involve the bloody URS."

"Even if it means swallowing my pride, I will find the answers I need to solve this case. If that means bringing in the URS, then so be it Chief." Raven stared forward as he spoke, a slight tick working in his jaw. He had no desire to give up this case, but he couldn't justify holding onto it any longer if it meant more people could potentially die because of his incompetence. “It is possible that only a User can discover the links to these murders. What if the secret truly does lie within the dandelion, but we are incapable of seeing it with our own eyes? What if only their eyes can see the message the killer is trying to send?”

"That's not the point here Raven. The User Restraint Squadron is made up of an arrogant bunch of Users. We’re insignificant in their eyes. Useless specks of dust that can be swept away with a single swipe of their hands. I can't stand the lot of them. They act like they're the only ones that protect the citizens, while we're just errand boys that wave around our guns uselessly. I'd rather they all stick to playing superhero outside the walls. There are plenty of battles for them to fight out there." There was a long pause, and silence permeated the car until the Chief spoke up again. "Alas, nobody gives a shit what I say at the end of the day, and maybe you’re right, maybe it is time to swallow our prides for the good of the citizenry. The main reason I'm calling you isn't just to vent but to tell you that two URS Agents are waiting for you at the station. They will assist you with the investigation until the culprit is caught. Be obedient, and no matter what, do not get in their way. Good luck, my friend."

With that the Chief hung up, leaving Raven to his own thoughts once more. While he understood the Chief's hesitation about working with the URS, he looked to keep an open mind for now. Any help he could get on this case would be much appreciated at this point, even if it came from the hands and minds of Users. 

Either way, Raven knew one thing for certain, that the Chief had been correct in his assessment of their situation. They were lost. Nothing but obscurity lay before them, and that alone was terrifying.