Disturbances in Aerphine City were usually considered trivial. The city was accustomed to minor technical issues: advertising screens that were overly sensitive to weather changes, magnetic rails that occasionally stalled due to humidity, traffic panels that flickered when temperatures dropped too sharply.
But this morning was different.
Not just one panel.
Not two.
Ten traffic panels across three districts glitched simultaneously.
Not because of the weather.
Not because of severed cables.
And not because of an aging city system.
But because of one thing—
something the technicians did not yet know:
Aelion had passed through the area less than a minute earlier.
---
Aelion stood in front of the elevator descending from his apartment building. His fingers still felt warm—the subtle pulse lingering after the small flicker in his room earlier. He hid his hands in the pockets of his jacket, as if that could restrain the energy still vibrating beneath his skin.
When the elevator doors opened, someone inside startled.
"Oh! Aelion!" exclaimed Veyra Syleth.
Veyra wore an oversized brown hoodie, her dark hair hastily tied back, her face paler than usual—like someone who hadn't slept all night.
Aelion stepped closer. "Veyra? Why are you here? This is far from your residential district."
Veyra took a long breath before answering.
"I was looking for you."
Aelion froze. "Looking for me?"
Veyra nodded. "Since last night. There's something that… seems connected to you."
Aelion opened his mouth, wanting to say that he had felt something too. But before he could speak, Veyra leaned closer and whispered quickly:
"The city's energy has changed."
---
When they exited the elevator, the apartment corridor looked normal. But the moment the lobby doors opened, Aelion felt it—a faint, subtle wave, like a small pulsation in the air.
Veyra glanced around. "You feel it too, don't you?"
Aelion nodded slowly.
The air felt heavier than usual. Not humid—more like a thin layer of resonance pressing against the walls. The neon lights in the lobby flickered rapidly, casting jagged shadows across the floor.
"Last night there were minor psycho-digital disturbances," Veyra explained as they walked. "Some residents claimed they heard faint sounds that didn't come from any audio device. They said it was like… fragmented whispers, without language—just vibration."
Aelion swallowed. "And you think I'm the cause?"
Veyra looked at him—not accusingly, but like someone afraid and seeking certainty.
"I'm not blaming you… but I want you to know that the wave has a resonance structure that—"
"I know," Aelion interrupted softly. "I've felt it since I woke up."
---
They stepped out onto Aerphine's main avenue. Vehicles moved under automated systems, but several were being forced to stop by technical officers due to disrupted magnetic navigation. Traffic lights displayed unsynchronized colors—red, green, yellow—chaotic like random patterns.
"The city's signal is distorted," Veyra murmured. "Three districts at once. It's never happened before."
Aelion frowned.
In the distance, a massive advertising screen played a news broadcast—but the image fractured. One second showed a news anchor, the next dissolved into geometric lines that seemed to rotate on their own, like living patterns.
Aelion stared at the screen.
"That pattern… I've seen it in my dreams."
Veyra turned sharply. "The one with layered circles?"
"Yes. And diagonal lines vibrating like reverse waves."
Veyra bit her lip. "Then this is worse than I thought."
The glitch on the screen suddenly stopped.
Silence.
The image returned to normal.
Then—
Fzzztt—!
The geometric symbols reappeared, clearer than before:
three parallel lines,
two intersecting circles,
one central point flashing.
Veyra shuddered. "That's… a minor resonance pattern. High-tier classification. I've seen illustrations of it in old Harmonia archives."
Aelion looked away. "Lysara said my energy was 'searching for its form.' Maybe this is its first shape."
"No." Veyra shook her head quickly. "This isn't the form of your energy. This is the environment responding to your resonance."
Aelion fell silent.
The air around them vibrated faintly—only for a few seconds, but enough to raise the hairs on Aelion's arms. The surrounding citizens didn't notice; the resonance was too low for ordinary humans.
Only minors could feel it.
And Aelion felt it the strongest.
---
They walked along a sidewalk lined with small kiosks and the smell of toasted bread. Beneath the bustle, Aelion noticed something he had previously taken for granted: every time he drew closer, the lights above the kiosks dimmed… then brightened again as he stepped away.
"Look," Veyra whispered, pointing at a lamp.
Aelion tested it. He stepped two paces forward.
The light dimmed.
He stepped back.
The light returned to normal.
"It's getting worse," Veyra murmured. "The energy in your body is emitting unstable resonance. You've completely passed Tier 0… but you haven't entered Tier 1 stabilization."
Aelion rubbed his temples. "I don't know how to control it."
"You have to learn," Veyra said firmly.
"I'm afraid… something is drawing your energy."
Aelion turned sharply. "Drawing it?"
Veyra nodded slowly.
"Last night I felt a wave very similar to yours… but it came from somewhere else. Not from you. As if… there was a return response."
Aelion held his breath.
"A reply," he murmured. "Like something calling?"
"…or following," Veyra added.
A loud sound cut through their conversation.
BRRTT—!
An electronics kiosk across the street suddenly discharged sparks. Nearby citizens screamed softly and backed away.
Veyra stepped back half a pace. "That's not a coincidence."
Aelion stared at the kiosk, guilt burning in his chest.
"I was standing near there last night," he said quietly.
"This isn't your fault," Veyra replied quickly.
"That energy… is awakening. You're just becoming its center."
Aelion wiped his face. His body trembled—not from fear, but from the resonance inside him, restless, eager to spill outward.
Veyra placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to go to the Harmonia Institute. They might be able to measure your energy pattern."
Aelion shook his head. "Lysara said my energy is too unstable. I don't want to damage their facility."
"You're not damaging anything!" Veyra snapped.
Aelion flinched.
Veyra almost never raised her voice.
"Aelion…" Veyra's voice softened. "…energy like yours can't be left uncontrolled. If it is, you could… you could…"
"Hurt people?" Aelion finished, his voice breaking.
Veyra didn't answer.
They both knew the truth.
---
Suddenly, the air shook violently.
Not like before—this was far stronger.
People around them stopped walking.
Some rubbed their ears, confused.
A bird burst into flight from a rooftop.
Aelion looked up at the sky.
Above the tall buildings, a thin black line appeared.
Small.
Like an ink scratch suspended in the air.
A tiny fracture.
An energy fracture.
Similar to the one that appeared in the final chapter of the previous incident—but smaller, subtler, as if only a fleeting trace.
"No…" Veyra whispered. "A fracture? In the city? This is too fast—it should require an enormous energy anomaly."
Aelion stood frozen.
The pulse in his chest tightened sharply.
The fracture glowed faintly—pale blue.
The same light that had emerged from his fingertips that morning.
Veyra stared at Aelion, her face draining of color.
"This isn't a normal disturbance… This is a direct response to you."
Aelion opened his mouth, but before he could speak—
The fracture vanished.
Erased like a line wiped away.
Silence.
Only Aelion's heart pounding loudly in his chest.
Veyra looked at him, no longer hiding her fear.
"Aelion… something in this world has already become aware of your existence."
And in that moment, Aelion finally understood:
the city's disturbances were no longer just technical malfunctions.
Not anymore.
This was a call.
And he—without ever wanting it—had already answered.