The sun shone directly above the city of Osaka.
The sky was so clear it was almost blinding. Golden-white light reflected off glass skyscrapers, forcing pedestrians to shield their eyes as they moved through the streets.
To Luna, a day this calm felt wrong.
She stood inside an underground hangar concealed at the edge of the city. Sensors lining the walls pulsed faintly, as if anticipating something.
Then the sky changed.
Not gradually.
Not subtly.
The bright blue shifted violently into a burning crimson, like the surface of a star drawn too close. Lightning split the heavens without warning—no clouds, no storm—only raw energy tearing across the atmosphere.
Civilians looked up.
Seconds later, the screaming began.
The sky cracked.
A thin fracture split the air itself, widening at an unnatural speed. Shards of light fell like invisible glass. People ran, pushing toward evacuation routes they had memorized through years of drills.
But the fracture kept widening.
Too fast.
In the distance, a massive hangar door opened with a metallic roar that shook the ground. Mechanical thunder echoed all the way to the city center.
Luna was already inside the cockpit.
She did not look afraid.
Her pilot suit clung to her frame—dark fabric traced with faint blue luminescent lines along her spine. Her helmet concealed her face behind a black, reflectionless visor.
She raised her hand and touched the right side of the helmet.
The visor shifted transparent from within. Digital interfaces ignited across her field of vision, reflecting faintly in her blue eyes—steady, level, unreadable.
Communication channels crackled with static and warnings.
Luna pressed the connection switch.
"Yes. Luna speaking," she said calmly. "What is it, Commander?"
The voice on the other end was tense. "Luna… how did you know a Kaiju would appear in Osaka?"
Her gaze lifted toward the primary screen. The fracture in the sky continued to spread, like a wound forced open.
"Instinct," she replied evenly. "And the energy fluctuations this week were unstable. I request permission to engage."
Silence.
Then a quiet laugh.
"Luna… your rank is higher than mine. You don't need permission."
Her expression didn't change.
"Procedure is still procedure."
The Commander exhaled. "Fine. Wait until civilians are secured in the bunkers. After that… eliminate it."
Before disconnecting, Luna answered softly, "Understood."
The channel went silent.
Systems activated at full capacity.
Name: Luna
Unit: AETHERION
Rank: Archon-Pilot
She pressed the red ignition switch.
The reactor core, once dormant, flared to life. A brilliant blue pulse radiated from the chest of the colossal machine—like a heart beating for the first time.
The structure trembled.
AETHERION ascended.
From the surface, the massive silhouette emerged—white and black armor reflecting the crimson sky. Three mechanical wings remained folded behind its shoulders.
Luna felt the neural link synchronize.
Every subtle movement of her fingers translated into titanic motion.
A final transmission came through.
"Civilians evacuated. Area clear. You may engage."
She gave a slight nod, unseen.
"Copy."
AETHERION stepped forward.
The ground shook.
Above, the fracture in the sky shattered completely.
Something fell from within.
A colossal silhouette.
Larger than the tallest building in the district.
Luna narrowed her focus. Sensors magnified the image. Black scales layered the creature's body, crimson light pulsing between the gaps.
Kaiju.
It had not yet touched the ground, yet the air around it warped under the pressure of its mass.
Luna inhaled slowly.
The tension did not explode.
It climbed.
Second by second.
This was not a standard specimen.
And Osaka's clear morning was over.
---
FIRST ENGAGEMENT
She confirmed one critical detail on her tactical display:
Evacuation zone: clear.
Without hesitation, she pressed the blue control.
AETHERION's right arm shifted. Metal plates reconfigured with heavy mechanical precision. A blade of condensed energy extended from its wrist, glowing white-blue.
Threat indicators spiked.
The Kaiju noticed.
It tilted its head upward toward AETHERION. Crimson light gathered in its jaws, intensifying, compressing.
Charging.
Luna had intended to dive and strike before it fired.
Her instinct shifted.
"Abort descent," she murmured.
BOOM!
A torrent of red energy erupted skyward, ripping through the air and splitting clouds apart.
But AETHERION was already gone.
Luna maneuvered upward with surgical precision, climbing beyond the lower atmosphere until the machine was nearly invisible from below.
She waited.
Below, the Kaiju adapted. Red energy now formed in its hands—a dense rotating sphere.
Trajectory projection appeared.
Target: Hangar 09.
Luna allowed herself a faint smile.
The blade in AETHERION's hand intensified, its aura no longer mere light but compressed pressure.
She exhaled.
Then pushed the main throttle forward.
AETHERION dove.
Speed escalated violently. The atmosphere ignited around it, forming a blazing trail like a meteor descending from the red sky.
The Kaiju looked up.
Too late.
Acceleration increased again.
Target locked. Distance collapsing. Attack vector aligned with center mass.
She drew the right control back—blade raised.
At near-zero distance, she thrust forward.
Their eyes met.
Luna saw her reflection in its pupil.
"It's over," she said flatly.
SWUSH!
The energy blade descended—
—and the Kaiju caught it.
With its charged hand, it seized the blade mid-swing. Red energy collided with blue.
Impact.
BOOOOOOM!
A shockwave exploded outward in a perfect ring, shattering asphalt and collapsing structures within hundreds of meters. The ground cratered beneath them.
Inside the cockpit, Luna remained steady.
Sensors screamed.
Her grip did not loosen.
This wasn't over.
And the Kaiju was still standing.
---
ESCALATION
She advanced again.
CRASH!
Their fists collided midair. The blast wave shattered windows across the surrounding district.
No pause.
She pulled the left control sharply.
AETHERION's hand seized the Kaiju's throat and lifted it off the ground.
"Finished," Luna murmured.
She slammed it down.
BOOM!
The surface ruptured.
Not enough.
AETHERION seized its tail, spun the massive body at lethal speed—
BOOM!
Another impact crater.
Her right arm shifted into an energy cannon. The left maintained its chokehold.
Blue light condensed at the barrel.
"End it."
BOOM!
The blast pierced through smoke—
But when the dust settled—
Empty.
"…What?"
Impact from behind.
Warning alerts flashed red.
[ERROR… Rear shoulder heavily damaged.]
"Tch," Luna hissed, suppressing neural feedback pain. "So you were hiding your speed."
She scanned.
Front—clear.
Above—nothing.
Behind—silent.
Instinct flared.
"Left."
The Kaiju lunged from her blind side. AETHERION blocked its jaws mid-bite, metal clashing against fangs.
With a forceful maneuver, she hurled it skyward.
Wings unfolded.
AETHERION surged upward, overtaking it midair. The blade reformed.
She dove.
"Fall."
SLASH.
SLASH.
SLASH.
The Kaiju plummeted.
Luna pressed a secondary red control.
AETHERION halted midair.
Its arms curved into a crescent formation. Energy condensed between its palms—smaller, denser, deadlier.
She tracked the falling target.
"If you survive this… I might praise you."
The crescent collapsed into a concentrated core of deep blue energy.
She fired.
BOOOOOOMMMM!
The sky trembled.
The Kaiju struck the ground in a catastrophic impact, forming a massive crater.
Dust rose.
No movement.
"Finished," she thought.
AETHERION began to turn—
Alert.
Movement detected.
From within the crater, the Kaiju stood.
Changed.
Its skeletal structure reformed. Its hide crystallized into hardened black armor.
Luna's eyes widened slightly.
"Regeneration…? No. Evolution."
For the first time since the battle began—
She felt control slipping.
---
ORBITAL CLASH
The Kaiju vanished.
In an instant, it reappeared before AETHERION.
"Sial—" she muttered—
BOOM!
The punch launched AETHERION beyond the atmosphere. Warning alarms flooded the cockpit.
"Why is it faster?" she forced herself calm. Don't panic.
Then—
The Kaiju spoke.
"I have never met a human this troublesome. Surrender. Or your death will be painful."
Markas 01 called her name urgently.
She removed her helmet slowly.
"How about one final exchange?" she said evenly. "Full power. The loser reveals their purpose."
The Kaiju laughed.
"Agreed."
She pressed the red control.
Manual systems vanished.
A bracelet formed around her wrist.
Now—
Her body was the control.
The duel in space began.
Impact after impact.
Then—
Mana Core activation.
"Event Horizon Territory."
The sky darkened.
A massive black singularity formed behind AETHERION.
Gravity distorted.
The Kaiju slowed.
Three strikes.
Silence.
It fell to its knees.
"We were not invading," it rasped. "We were searching."
"For what?"
"For the same core… as you."
Its body fractured into light.
"He… is coming."
Gone.
The singularity faded.
In the crater, a small black-blue crystal pulsed softly.
Luna stared at it.
And for the first time—
She understood.
This battle had never been the end.
It was only the beginning.
---
TENKENS Chapter Update Will Start From 10th – 15th