We open in Japan, a spectator to Soma Cruz' ascension up a shrine-gate stairway that takes him to a point high enough to view the century's first solar eclipse. The spectacle is not only awe-inspiring to Soma--it also brings forth an undesired effect on his senses.
The unanticipated evil influence of the moment renders young Soma, who we learn is a high school exchange student residing in Japan, unconscious; he awakens within a new yet strange surrounding in the arms of Mina, his childhood friend. He learns that the pair is not alone--a man named Genya Arikado has been waiting here, and he seems to know what's going on.
