Morning came too early and too loud.
An alarm blared through the barracks, followed by Rina's battle cry echoing down the hall:
"WAKE UP, MAGGOTS! TRAINING TIME!"
I groaned, rolling over in my bunk. "It's six in the morning! Who trains at—"
"—people who don't wanna die, that's who!" Rina yelled back, clearly hearing me through the thin wall.
Before I could protest further, my door flew open. Liri zipped in, sparkling like a flying alarm clock from hell.
"Rise and shine, hero! You're late for training!"
"I didn't even know there was training today!"
Celia's voice echoed from the hallway—calm, authoritative, and way too awake. "All units to the simulation chamber in ten minutes. That includes you, Private Sakamaki."
I sat up, defeated. "Aye, Commander…"
---
The simulation chamber was massive—a circular arena with glowing panels, drones, and what looked like a terrifying number of potential ways to die. The others were already there, stretching, calibrating weapons, or in Rina's case, punching a training bot until it begged for mercy.
Celia stood in front of the group, tablet in hand. "Today's objective is squad coordination. You'll operate in pairs. Rina and Mira. Eira and Liri. Tsubasa will monitor tactical output."
"And me?" I asked, trying not to sound like I hoped the answer was 'sit quietly and don't die.'
Celia turned her icy blue eyes on me. "You're with me."
"...Oh."
The others immediately reacted like a pack of gossiping schoolgirls.
"Oooooh~ Commander's taking him personally!" Eira sang.
Rina elbowed me with a grin. "Look at you, rookie! Upgraded to the main event!"
"More like the main victim," I muttered.
Celia ignored them all. "Simulation start in three. Two. One."
The arena flickered to life around us—an illusion of a ruined cityscape, complete with smoke, debris, and the distant roar of enemy drones.
Celia drew her blade, its edge shimmering with pale light. "Stay behind me unless I say otherwise."
"Roger that."
We advanced through the simulated streets. Celia moved like a shadow—precise, graceful, lethal. I followed, trying not to trip on imaginary rubble.
Suddenly, the air shimmered. A group of drones appeared overhead, wings humming. Celia raised her sword and slashed—energy waves tore through them like paper.
I aimed my rifle and fired, but the recoil nearly dislocated my shoulder. "Ow! Who designed these settings!?"
Celia sighed. "Focus. They're adapting."
The drones shifted formation, energy cores glowing red. I felt a strange pulse—familiar and electric—building in my chest.
"Commander, I think it's happening again!" I shouted.
"Then synchronize!"
I reached for that connection, that strange hum I'd felt before. The air around us shimmered. Celia's sword glowed brighter, the energy flowing from me into her like a current.
She moved faster—too fast for the eye to follow—cutting through the last wave in a single blinding arc.
The simulation froze. Silence fell.
Mission complete.
The others applauded—well, Eira clapped dramatically, Rina whooped, and Liri threw confetti made of actual holograms.
Celia deactivated her sword and turned to me. "Better. You're learning."
I was panting, sweat dripping down my neck. "I… nearly exploded."
She smiled faintly. "But you didn't. That's progress."
Rina shouted from across the arena, "Commander's smiling again! Somebody write it down!"
Liri actually pulled out a notebook. "Already did!"
Celia exhaled sharply. "Dismissed."
---
After training, I slumped in the mess hall, half-conscious. Liri perched on my shoulder, sipping my juice like a parrot.
"You and Celia looked amazing out there," she said between slurps. "Like a power couple!"
I nearly choked. "We're not— it's just resonance!"
"Sure it is~," she teased.
Eira sat across from us, scrolling through her tablet. "Actually, she's right. The data shows your synchronization rate with Celia jumped to eighty-five percent."
"That sounds… dangerously high."
"Oh, it is. In some cases, prolonged resonance could cause—"
Before she could finish, the base lights flickered.
Then the intercom crackled to life.
> "Warning. Unidentified Aether signal detected. Source: within the base perimeter."
Everyone froze.
Mira's voice came through next, calm but urgent. "Commander, I'm detecting an internal resonance field. It's matching Haruto's frequency."
I blinked. "Wait, mine!?"
Celia's voice answered over comms, cool as ever. "All units to operations center. Now."
---
The operations center was chaos. Screens flickered, alarms blared, and the holographic map in the center displayed a pulsing blue point deep underground—beneath the base itself.
Tsubasa typed rapidly, her usual calm expression tight with concentration. "Signal originates from sublevel D-12. Restricted research wing. Long abandoned."
Rina grinned. "So… field trip?"
"No," Celia said flatly. "This is not a field trip. It's a containment mission. Whatever's down there, it's reacting to Haruto."
"Awesome," I muttered. "I always wanted to star in a horror movie."
---
We descended into the lower levels, flashlights cutting through the darkness. The walls were lined with old machinery—rusted tubes, shattered panels, strange sigils faintly glowing in the dark.
Eira hummed nervously. "Creepy ambience, check. Potential ghosts, check. Missing lighting budget, double check."
Rina cracked her knuckles. "If a ghost pops out, I'm punching it."
Liri giggled. "That's the spirit! Literally!"
I tried not to laugh, because the silence that followed was heavy. The deeper we went, the colder it got.
Finally, we reached a sealed metal door. A faded sign read:
> LUNARIS PROTOCOL – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Everyone stared at me.
"...Okay," I said. "I swear I didn't name that."
Celia stepped forward. "Tsubasa, override."
A soft click. The door hissed open, revealing a dark chamber filled with glass pods—most shattered, a few still flickering faintly with blue light.
At the center of the room was a single intact pod. Inside, suspended in glowing liquid, was a girl.
Long silver hair. White uniform. Peaceful expression.
My breath caught in my throat. "No way…"
Celia turned toward me. "You recognize her."
"It's her," I whispered. "Lunaris."
Liri floated closer, awe replacing her usual sparkle. "She's real…"
Rina frowned. "Okay, so, anyone else thinking clone experiment gone wrong?"
Mira was already scanning the pod. "Vitals… stable. Stasis field active. She's alive, but in suspended animation."
Eira lowered her voice. "Commander, the readings from Haruto are spiking."
I could feel it too—the same resonance as before, stronger now, like a magnet pulling me toward the pod.
Celia stepped between me and it. "Don't move, Haruto."
"I… I can't help it," I said, taking an involuntary step forward. The air shimmered. Energy arcs danced around the chamber.
The pod began to hum, glass vibrating.
Celia drew her sword. "Mira, shut it down!"
"I'm trying!" Mira said. "It's not responding!"
The hum grew louder, almost like a heartbeat. My vision blurred. I saw flashes—memories not my own. Lunaris smiling. A laboratory. Voices shouting.
"Activate the prototype!"
"He's the only compatible subject!"
Then—darkness.
The pod cracked.
"Haruto!" Celia shouted, grabbing my arm. "Stay back!"
But it was too late.
The glass exploded outward in a burst of light.
I was thrown to the ground, vision filled with white. The air screamed with static and magic. When it cleared, she was standing there—dripping, dazed, eyes glowing faintly blue.
Lunaris.
Alive.
She looked around slowly, then her gaze fell on me.
Her lips parted. And in a soft, trembling voice, she whispered—
> "Haruto… you finally came back."
Everyone froze.
Celia's eyes widened, her composure cracking for the first time. "She knows your name…"
I couldn't move. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear.
"Lunaris," I said quietly. "What… what are you?"
She smiled faintly. "I'm what you left behind."
The lights flickered. The floor trembled.
And then, before anyone could react—Lunaris raised her hand. A surge of Aether energy erupted outward, engulfing the room in blinding blue light.
> To be continued in Chapter 7: "The Awakening and the Forgotten Experiment"