The village square was a cage.
Soldiers swarmed through the streets, barking orders, shoving villagers into neat lines. Bayonets glinted under the pale light, rifles cocked with mechanical rhythm. Behind them, two resonance machines pulsed with a sickly glow, their hum sinking into the villagers' bones.
"Stand still!" a captain snapped, his boots crunching gravel as he stalked the line. Mothers clutched children tighter, men lowered their gazes. Even the air seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the next blow.
Yoshiki's bandaged hands twitched at his sides, warmth pressing against his skin like an ember threatening to burst. Hikaru stood a step behind him, shadows shifting faintly with every breath. Yuzuriha clutched her notes to her chest, her blue-tinged veins hidden beneath long sleeves, though the faint glow wouldn't fade.
They had promised themselves restraint. But how could they stand still while soldiers carved into their village piece by piece?
A cry broke the air.
A boy, no more than twelve, was dragged from the line. He kicked, screamed, his thin arms thrashing uselessly against the soldier's grip. Another raised the butt of his rifle, its iron edge catching the sun.
Yoshiki's fire surged, his body already leaning forward. Hikaru's shadows stirred, coiling like serpents ready to strike. Yuzuriha's hand trembled as she whispered his name—
And then the ground itself spoke.
A deep, rolling crack thundered beneath their feet. The earth split, jagged fissures snaking through the square like lightning frozen in stone. Soldiers staggered, rifles clattering, shouts breaking into panic. The boy tumbled free, scrambling into his mother's arms.
At the center of it stood Daichi.
His broad frame was hunched low, fists buried in the soil. Dust and pebbles rose in a halo around him, his eyes burning with an unshakable fury the village had never seen before.
Glowing orange veins crawled up his arms, pulsing with each heartbeat like molten cracks. Every breath seemed to carry the weight of mountains.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then—
A soldier's voice cut sharp through the chaos, crisp for the recorders.
"Subject Hayasaka Daichi, male, eighteen years old… resonance type: Seismic. Codename: Stonepulse."
The words hit like another quake. Villagers gasped. Soldiers scrambled to aim their rifles again.
And that was the moment the others moved.
Yoshiki's bandages hissed, faint fire breaking free from his hands. Hikaru's shadows lashed outward, snapping against the soldiers' legs. Yuzuriha's eyes lit with fractured blue, her voice sharp as she called Daichi's name.
Daichi lifted one fist and slammed it into the ground.
The square erupted. Stone pillars burst upward, flinging soldiers into the air. Bayonets snapped against rising walls, rifles shattered beneath falling debris. The resonance machines shuddered as the earth itself heaved against them.
Villagers cried out, not just in fear but in awe. For the first time, the ground they stood on did not belong to the government—it belonged to them.
Through the dust and chaos, Yoshiki staggered to Daichi's side, fire flickering wildly across his arms. "You…" His voice cracked, torn between shock and relief. "…you really couldn't stay out of trouble, could you?"
Daichi exhaled, a fierce grin breaking through the dust caked on his face. "Not when you're starting a fight without me."
The ground settled, but the cracks remained, gaping through the square like scars. Faultlines—splintering not just the earth, but the balance of power itself.