Last Train to Yurei Station

The rain fell in sheets, slicking the streets of the city with silver light. Neon signs flickered weakly against the downpour, casting long shadows that danced across puddles. The boy ran, his coat clinging to him, shoes splashing through the water. Somewhere ahead, the faint rumble of a train echoed, distant, yet strangely familiar.He didn't remember how he had gotten here. The alleyways blurred together, his mind empty of reason, empty of memory. Only the sound of the train called to him, insistent, like a heartbeat.The station appeared suddenly, as if conjured by the storm itself. A single platform, wet and gleaming, bathed in a pale light that seemed to have no source. The train sat there, silent, black, and impossibly long. Smoke curled from its engine, but it smelled of nothing, no fire, no coal, only the cold, metallic scent of something ancient.A voice whispered in the wind. "e;…It waits for you."e;The boy froze. His heart raced. The doors of the train slid open slowly, with a sigh that echoed down the empty platform. He felt it then, the pull. A gravity that had nothing to do with the world he knew.The platform was empty. The rain was still falling. And yet, he knew, somehow, that this train was not meant for the living."e;…Who… who rides this train?"e; he muttered, voice barely audible over the storm.From the shadows, a figure stepped forward. Tall, faintly glowing, features obscured. It held something in its hand, a small, metallic object that shimmered with an inner light. "e;…All who must,"e; it said softly. "e;…And you… you may choose to hold the law, or be swept away with those who have no place here."e;The boy's eyes widened. "e;…Law?"e;The figure extended its hand. "e;…The authority to judge. To decide who remains… and who departs. This train chooses its judge carefully. Will you step aboard?"e;He swallowed. The platform felt endless, the rain cold through his coat, the shadows pressing close. And yet, something deep inside him—a memory he did not recognize, a feeling he could not name—urged him forward.He took a step. Then another.The doors opened wider, welcoming him. The ticket punch hummed faintly in the figure's hand, waiting."e;…Step aboard,"e; it whispered. "e;…Your journey begins."e;And with that, he crossed the threshold. The train lurched forward, swallowing the storm, the city, and the night.The Last Train to Yūrei Station had begun its eternal journey.And so had he.