The alarm tore through my dreams like a drill sergeant with a megaphone.
"ALERT. ALL PERSONNEL TO COMBAT READINESS. UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNAL DETECTED."
I rolled off the bed, hit the floor, and groaned. "Not again…"
The siren lights bathed the corridor in red. Liri was already buzzing in circles near my face, way too excited for 2 A.M.
"Wake up, Haru! Intruder alert! Mystery energy! Super scary!"
I squinted at her. "Do you ever not sound cheerful about impending death?"
"Of course! But not tonight!"
I threw on my uniform and sprinted for the briefing room. The base, usually quiet and warm, now pulsed with chaos—soldiers running, screens flashing, voices barking orders. The air smelled of ozone and panic.
When I arrived, the rest of Charm Battalion was already there.
Celia stood at the head of the table, calm as ever, holographic projections dancing above her wrist console. The others looked more… chaotic.
Rina was tightening her gloves, grinning like this was her birthday.
Mira sipped tea like she was in a café, not a war briefing.
Eira yawned dramatically. "Must danger always arrive at such uncivilized hours?"
Tsubasa typed furiously on her tablet. "Signal trajectory analysis incomplete. Please refrain from distracting me."
And Liri was doing barrel rolls in the air, leaving a glittery "ALERT!" trail that wasn't helping anyone.
Celia tapped the display. "We're receiving an anomalous Aether frequency. Source: approximately three kilometers east of our perimeter. It's not Legion activity—pattern doesn't match their signature."
Rina slammed her fist into her palm. "Then it's something new. Let's smash it!"
Mira frowned. "You can't smash data, Rina."
"Watch me."
Eira leaned forward, intrigued. "Could it be a new kind of Aether weapon? Or perhaps…" She smiled at me. "Something connected to our dear resonance core?"
I froze. "Wait, what? Why me?"
Celia turned to me, her expression serious. "Your synchronization during the last mission released an unusual pulse. It's possible this signal is reacting to it."
"Reacting to me? As in… following me?"
"Possibly."
I rubbed my temples. "Great. I'm a walking magic GPS beacon."
Rina clapped my back. "Hey, don't worry! If something's after you, we'll just punch it to death."
"That doesn't exactly solve the stalker problem!"
Mira sighed. "I suggest we verify before making assumptions. Commander?"
Celia nodded. "Agreed. Team, gear up. We move in fifteen."
---
Part 1: Into the Wasteland
The night air was cold and metallic. The canyon wind howled as we left the base behind, riding hover-bikes across the cracked terrain. The stars glimmered faintly, half-hidden by drifting clouds of Aether dust.
I clung to the back of Celia's bike like my life depended on it. (Which, statistically speaking, it probably did.)
"Commander," I shouted over the wind, "any idea what we're dealing with?"
"None," she said, eyes fixed ahead. "Stay close and keep your resonance under control."
"Yeah, sure. Totally know how to do that."
Rina zoomed past us, laughing like a maniac. "Whoo! Night patrols rock!"
Eira's voice sang through the comms. "♪ Slow down, my wild warrior~ the night is young! ♪"
"Shut up and keep formation!" Mira's voice snapped, even over the radio.
By the time we reached the coordinates, the atmosphere had changed. The energy in the air felt heavy—like static before a storm. Blue light shimmered across the ground, forming patterns that pulsed rhythmically, almost like breathing.
"What is this place?" I whispered.
Tsubasa crouched to scan the glowing marks. "Energy residue… matching the resonance field pattern from your previous surge."
Celia's eyes narrowed. "So it is connected to him."
I raised my hands. "I swear, I didn't do anything this time!"
Liri floated near the lights, wings reflecting the glow. "It's so pretty… but sad."
"Sad?" I asked.
She nodded. "Like it's crying."
Before I could respond, the ground rumbled.
A deep, metallic sound echoed through the canyon.
And then, from the center of the glowing field, something rose.
A humanoid figure—tall, sleek, and made entirely of blue crystal. Its body flickered like shattered glass trying to remember how to be whole.
It turned its head toward me.
Celia raised her sword instantly. "All units—defensive formation!"
The crystal figure spoke—or rather, its voice vibrated in my head.
> "Resonance core detected. Synchronization incomplete. Identification required."
"Identification?" I echoed. "What does that even mean?"
"Warning," the voice continued. "Unstable resonance field. Initiating containment."
"Oh, that can't be good—"
Energy burst outward in a blinding wave. I stumbled back as glowing tendrils shot from the figure, wrapping around my wrists. My whole body lit up in blue light.
"Haruto!" Celia shouted.
Rina charged forward. "Let him go, you oversized chandelier!"
Her hammer crashed into the creature—but it didn't even flinch. Instead, it sent a pulse that threw her several meters back.
Eira's voice rang out. "♪ Barrier Bloom! ♪"
A dome of pink light formed around me, blocking the next pulse.
Mira opened fire, each bullet slicing through the air like a streak of light.
Celia dashed in, her blade glowing icy white. "Focus on its core!"
The monster turned its gaze on her. "Commander unit. Synchronization ratio: 72%. Potential threat level—"
"Shut up," she muttered, slicing through its arm.
Crystals shattered, scattering shards like rain. But instead of weakening, the creature split.
Two smaller versions formed from the debris.
Rina groaned. "Oh, come on!"
I struggled to move, the tendrils pulsing with heat. My heart raced, the resonance field inside me flaring up again. I could feel their magic—Celia's precision, Rina's raw power, Eira's rhythm—all like threads pulling at my chest.
"Celia!" I shouted. "I think I can link again!"
She hesitated. "It's too unstable—"
"Trust me!"
Her eyes met mine—sharp, uncertain, but… trusting.
She nodded. "Squad, synchronize!"
The girls formed a circle around me. Energy flared as our auras connected, lines of light weaving between us. The air rippled, filled with harmonic sound—like a dozen voices singing in unison.
I felt their strength surging through me—and mine through them.
Together, we pulsed once, twice—
Then the resonance hit.
A massive wave of energy exploded outward, bright enough to turn night into dawn. The crystal creatures screamed—a high, dissonant noise—and dissolved into dust.
The light faded slowly. When it was gone, we were left standing in silence, surrounded by the faint hum of residual magic.
I fell to my knees, gasping. "Did… did we win?"
Rina cheered. "YEAH, WE WON!"
Mira exhaled. "Barely. Again."
Eira twirled her staff. "At least it was dramatic."
Liri fluttered onto my shoulder. "You did great, Haru! You glowed like a star!"
I managed a weak laugh. "Feels more like I got microwaved."
Celia knelt beside me. "You overextended your resonance field again. You'll need to rest."
"Commander, that thing—what was it?" Tsubasa asked.
Celia looked at the fading glow on the ground. "I don't know. But it recognized Haruto. That means someone—or something—out there knows exactly what he is."
---
Part 2: Quiet Moments
By the time we returned to base, dawn was breaking over the wasteland. The rising sun painted everything in pale gold. The alarm had long since stopped; the base was calm again.
I sat in the infirmary, wrapped in a blanket, while Liri hovered nearby with a mini clipboard.
"Vitals stable! Mana flow… slightly wobbly. Diagnosis: exhaustion mixed with mild existential dread!"
"Thanks, doctor."
Celia entered, still in full uniform despite the hour. "How do you feel?"
"Like I ran a marathon inside a thunderstorm."
She nodded. "Accurate description."
I hesitated before asking, "That thing called me a 'resonance core.' What does that actually mean?"
Celia's expression softened. "We still don't fully understand it. But your body generates and amplifies Aether frequencies naturally. You can boost others' magic through emotional synchronization."
"So basically, I'm a human Wi-Fi router."
Her lips twitched—almost a smile. "A poetic analogy."
"Not the word I'd use."
She glanced at the window, thoughtful. "Haruto… I believe that creature wasn't hostile in the conventional sense. It was… searching."
"For me?"
"Perhaps. Or for something within you."
I wanted to joke about it—say something dumb like "hope it's not my student loan debt"—but the seriousness in her tone stopped me.
After a long pause, I asked, "You're not… scared of me, are you?"
Celia blinked. "Scared? No. Curious, perhaps."
"Curious?"
"Power like yours doesn't appear randomly. It's always connected to something larger. If we can understand it, we might find a way to end this war."
Her voice softened further. "And I don't intend to let you face it alone."
I looked up at her—this stoic, unreadable commander who somehow made me feel safe even when the world made zero sense.
"…Thanks," I said quietly.
"Rest now," she replied, standing. "That's an order."
---
Part 3: The Whisper
Hours later, I woke to the faint hum of machines. Everyone else was asleep or on standby. The room was dim, except for the soft glow of my resonance monitor.
Then, I heard it.
A whisper. Faint, like static in my head.
> "—uto… Haruto…"
I sat up. "Who's there?"
> "You must… remember…"
The voice was soft, feminine, distant—and familiar somehow, like a memory from a dream.
"Remember what?"
> "The first synchronization… it wasn't an accident…"
Then the monitor spiked. Blue light filled the room, and for a split second, I saw it—an image burned into my mind.
A field of white flowers.
A woman's silhouette, back turned, hair flowing in the wind.
And a voice saying:
> "Find me… before the resonance consumes you."
Then everything went black.
---
When I came to, Celia was standing over me, concern hidden behind her usual composure.
"Haruto. You passed out again."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "Think I had a… weird dream."
She frowned. "Describe it."
I hesitated. "It wasn't just a dream, was it?"
Celia didn't answer immediately. Then, quietly: "No. It sounds like a memory."
I swallowed hard.
A memory of something—or someone—I didn't even know I'd lost.
Outside, the sun was rising again, golden light spilling through the windows.
Somewhere far beyond the wasteland, something was calling to me.
> That time I got drafted to war with only cute girls on my squad… might not be random after all.
---
[To be continued in Chapter 5: "Echoes of the Past and the Girl in the Flowers"]