The morning after the "incident," the base was quieter than usual. No alarms, no screaming Rina, no random explosions from the training room—just the faint hum of generators and the sound of someone humming off-key in the cafeteria.
Unfortunately, that someone was me.
I sat at a corner table, poking at a plate of something vaguely resembling eggs. The night before was still burned into my brain—the dream, the voice, the woman in the field of white flowers.
It hadn't felt like a dream at all.
Liri floated beside my cup of coffee, dipping a sugar cube into it and licking it like a lollipop. "You're staring again."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Just thinking."
"Ooh, dangerous activity! Should I call the medic?"
"Ha-ha. Very funny."
She tilted her head. "You've been quiet since last night. You usually freak out at least twice before breakfast."
"Thanks for keeping track."
Before I could say more, Rina plopped down across from me, tray piled high with food—mostly meat, some toast, and what looked suspiciously like an entire roasted chicken.
"Mornin', rookie!" she said with a grin. "Heard you passed out again. You gotta stop making that a habit, dude."
"Believe me, it's not on purpose."
"Still, that was some crazy light show last night! You sure you're human?"
"Pretty sure," I said. "Eighty percent, at least."
Mira joined us, balancing her cup of tea with impeccable grace. "Statistically, given current evidence, your percentage of humanity is… questionable."
Rina laughed. "See? Even science agrees you're weird."
I groaned. "You guys are the worst support group ever."
Eira floated in next, holding her tablet. "Good morning, my lovely squad~! Guess what? I wrote a new song about last night's mission!"
Rina grinned. "Oh yeah? What's it called?"
She threw a hand dramatically into the air. "'Resonance Rhapsody—Ballad of the Blue Idiot!'"
The entire table turned to me.
"...I'm the idiot, aren't I?"
Eira smiled sweetly. "Only in the title~."
I sighed. "I hate this place."
Mira smirked. "You're adapting quickly."
Before the conversation could devolve further, Celia's voice echoed through the room: calm, steady, commanding as always. "All squad members. Briefing room in ten minutes."
Rina stood up instantly. "Finally! Action time!"
"Or paperwork," Mira said dryly.
"Don't jinx it!"
I followed the others out, my stomach full of unease more than breakfast.
---
The briefing room was dim, the only light coming from the holographic map projected above the table. Celia stood at the front, eyes sharp, posture perfect. She didn't look tired, but I could tell she hadn't slept much either.
"Last night's event confirmed one thing," she said. "The Aether resonance isn't random. Something—or someone—is trying to reach us."
Mira adjusted her glasses. "You mean through Haruto."
"Exactly."
I raised my hand halfheartedly. "So I'm, what, an interdimensional antenna now?"
"Essentially, yes," Celia replied without missing a beat.
"...Was kind of hoping you'd say no."
She tapped the console, and a faint blue recording appeared above the table: fragments of energy data from the previous night. In the static, there was something faint—an echo of a voice.
> "Find me… before the resonance consumes you…"
Hearing it again made my skin crawl. That same gentle voice from the vision. The one that had called my name.
Celia's gaze softened, just slightly. "You recognize it."
"Yeah," I admitted. "But I don't know how. It's like… I should remember, but I can't."
Rina leaned forward. "Maybe it's your long-lost girlfriend!"
Eira gasped. "A tragic past love who became a mysterious Aether spirit! How romantic!"
Mira rolled her eyes. "Or it's an enemy signal designed to manipulate him."
"Boo, buzzkill," Rina muttered.
Celia ignored the chatter and focused on me. "Whatever it is, we need more data. Tsubasa has located a site that matches the energy frequency from the dream."
"Let me guess," I said. "It's somewhere horrible and dangerous."
"Correct. The ruins of Old Sector 9."
"Called it."
Celia turned toward the rest of the team. "Prepare for recon. Standard formation. Minimal engagement unless provoked."
"Roger!" Rina said, cracking her knuckles.
Eira hummed. "Oh, joy. Another romantic trip to a dead city."
I stood up, my nerves buzzing. "Commander… if that voice really is connected to me—what happens if we find it?"
Celia looked at me, calm but firm. "Then we'll face it together."
And for the first time since I got drafted into this madness, I actually believed her.
---
The ruins of Old Sector 9 lay beneath a dome of shimmering haze, the remains of what used to be a research facility. Crumbling towers jutted from the dust like broken teeth. The air buzzed with faint energy, each breath carrying the metallic taste of old magic.
We advanced cautiously. Celia led the way, sword drawn. Rina stomped along happily like she was on a sightseeing tour. Mira scanned for movement, Eira hummed something suspiciously like her "Blue Idiot" song under her breath, and Liri buzzed circles around my head.
"According to records," Mira said, "this site was where early Aether experiments were conducted. The entire sector went dark fifty years ago."
"Probably for a reason," I muttered.
We passed through a collapsed corridor where vines glowed faintly in the dark. The walls were covered with strange runes—patterns that pulsed faintly when I walked by.
Celia noticed. "They react to you."
"Yeah," I said. "That's not creepy at all."
Liri touched one of the runes and yelped. "Ow! It bit me!"
"It didn't bite you," Mira said. "It's a defense mechanism keyed to energy signatures."
"Well, it hurt!"
Rina chuckled. "So much for sparkles being immune."
As we moved deeper, the atmosphere grew heavier. The hum in the air turned rhythmic—almost like a heartbeat. Then, without warning, the floor trembled.
Celia raised her hand. "Hold."
From the dust ahead, a cluster of glowing shapes emerged—shards of crystal floating in midair. They rearranged themselves into another humanoid form, smaller than the one from last night but eerily similar.
Eira sighed. "Oh look, déjà vu."
The figure tilted its head, voice echoing inside my skull.
> "Resonance core identified. Welcome… back."
I blinked. "Back?"
The others tensed, weapons ready.
"Don't move," Celia ordered quietly. "Haruto, talk to it."
"Talk to it? I don't even know what language it's speaking!"
"Apparently, you do," she said calmly. "It responded to your presence."
The figure stepped closer. Its chest flickered, revealing something glowing within—an orb, faintly pulsing blue. "Core pattern stable. Initiating… memory reconstruction."
The world warped.
Suddenly, the air shimmered, and my vision blurred. The ruins melted away, replaced by a wide field of white flowers under a bright sky.
I stood there alone. No squad, no weapons. Just silence.
Then, she appeared.
The woman from my dream—long silver hair flowing, white uniform fluttering in the breeze. Her back was to me as she knelt among the flowers, humming softly.
My throat tightened. "Who… are you?"
She turned.
Her face was soft, kind—and unmistakably familiar.
> "You still don't remember me, do you?"
My chest ached. "I… I can't…"
She smiled sadly. "You called me Lunaris."
The name hit me like lightning.
The field dissolved, and I snapped back into reality, gasping. Celia was holding my shoulders, eyes sharp with concern.
"Haruto! What happened?"
I blinked rapidly, the image fading from my mind. "Her name… Lunaris. She said I used to know her."
Mira frowned. "There's no record of anyone by that name."
"There wouldn't be," Celia murmured. "Old records were erased during the Aether War."
Rina crossed her arms. "So what, she's like your ex from the apocalypse?"
Eira clasped her hands dramatically. "Star-crossed lovers separated by time and space~!"
Mira sighed. "We're surrounded by idiots."
I ignored them, still catching my breath. "That thing showed me a memory. It called it… reconstruction. Like it was trying to give me something back."
Celia looked thoughtful. "Or warn you."
Before anyone could answer, the crystal figure flickered again. Its voice was faint now, distorted.
> "Find the core… the truth lies beyond the flowers…"
Then it shattered into dust, leaving only silence and a faint blue glow lingering in the air.
Celia sheathed her blade. "We're done here. Return to base."
---
By the time we got back, the sun had dipped low, painting the sky orange and violet. The others went off to debrief, but I lingered outside, watching the horizon. The wind carried the faint scent of flowers, though none grew here.
Celia joined me quietly, standing beside me without a word for a long while.
"You saw her again," she finally said.
"Yeah," I admitted. "And this time, I got her name."
"Lunaris," she repeated softly. "A poetic name."
I looked at her. "You think she's real?"
Celia folded her arms. "Real or not, she's part of your past. And that means she's connected to whatever power you carry."
I hesitated. "You're not jealous, are you?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"
"Yeah, you know, mysterious girl from my dreams, tragic backstory, all that?"
For the first time since I'd met her, Celia actually laughed—a short, surprised laugh that made her look younger, almost human.
"Relax, Private," she said, smiling faintly. "If your dream girl becomes a threat, I'll just have to outshine her."
"...Was that a joke?"
"Maybe."
Liri appeared between us, grinning. "Ooooh, Commander's smiling! Someone write that down!"
Celia's smile vanished instantly. "Fairy."
"Y-Yes, ma'am?"
"Not. A. Word."
"Understood!"
I couldn't help laughing. For all the chaos, all the confusion, these people—this squad—felt more like home than anywhere I'd ever been.
Still, as night fell over the canyon, I couldn't shake the image of Lunaris standing in that field, her voice echoing in my head:
> "Find me… before the resonance consumes you."
And somewhere deep inside, I knew she wasn't just a dream.
She was waiting.
> That time I got drafted to war with only cute girls on my squad… was starting to uncover something far bigger than any of us imagined.
---
[To be continued in Chapter 6: "The Phantom Signal and the Lunaris Protocol"]