The sky sealed slowly.
Lines of pale light stretched from cloud to cloud, forming a massive lattice over the valley. It looked almost peaceful like threads of glass woven into the heavens.
But everyone below felt the truth.
A cage.
The soldiers panicked.
"If that closes we're finished!"
Akari immediately took command.
"All units move to the eastern ridge! Break formation and spread out!"
Yui grabbed Hiroto's arm.
"We can still escape if we move now!"
But Hiroto remained still.
The shadow around his feet spread wider, creeping across the broken stone like dark roots.
"No," he said quietly.
Akari turned sharply.
"Hiroto!"
"If we run now," he continued, eyes locked on the sky, "they'll just build another cage somewhere else."
The Watcher whispered,
"…He's right."
The net above them tightened.
Lines of light began descending lower and lower, humming softly as they locked into place.
The Observer's voice echoed again.
"Containment field nearing completion."
"Subject relocation probability: decreasing."
Hiroto stepped forward.
"…Then we break it before it closes."
He raised his hand.
The scar beneath the valley pulsed once.
Stone trembled.
Shadow surged upward like a rising tide.
Akari stared.
"…You're actually going to punch the sky."
Hiroto didn't answer.
He slammed his foot into the ground.
A massive column of black stone erupted beneath him, launching him upward like a spear toward the descending net.
The Observers reacted immediately.
"Subject attempting boundary breach."
Thin beams of light fired downward.
Hiroto twisted midair, shadow forming jagged armor around his arms.
He punched the nearest strand of the net.
The impact exploded across the sky like thunder.
The strand cracked.
But didn't break.
Hiroto fell back toward the ground, landing hard on one knee.
Blood ran down his arm.
"…It's stronger than the Commanders," he muttered.
Akari cursed.
"Of course it is!"
The Observers shifted again.
The lattice brightened.
Then the Watcher's eye widened.
"…Wait."
Something new moved above the net.
Not an Observer.
Not an Executioner.
A figure stepped through the light like it had walked through a doorway.
Tall.
Armored.
Dark silver plates instead of white.
Unlike the others it had two burning eyes visible through its helm.
The air pressure dropped instantly.
The Observer announced calmly:
"Containment integrity threatened."
"Deploying Enforcer unit."
The armored figure descended slowly toward the battlefield.
Its boots touched the ground with a heavy metallic sound.
The soldiers froze.
Akari felt it immediately.
"…This one's different."
The Enforcer raised its head.
Its voice wasn't mechanical.
It was alive.
"…So you're the one causing all this trouble."
Hiroto wiped blood from his mouth and stood again.
"…And you're the one they sent to stop me."
The Enforcer drew a long blade of pale metal.
"Correct."
The shadow around Hiroto flared.
Akari stepped beside him, spear ready.
Behind them, the army regrouped.
Above them, the cage continued closing.
The Enforcer smiled faintly behind its helm.
"Good," it said.
"I was hoping you'd fight."
To be continued…