The morning sun gently lit up Aethelgard Academy, casting a warm glow over the campus on a rare day with no missions or urgent training. Kaelan sat alone on a bench in the garden, enjoying the unusual quiet. In his hand, a cup of hot coffee gave off a comforting aroma, while Rustbucket was undergoing routine maintenance in the hangar.
"Sitting alone again?"
Sofia walked up, carrying two cups of fresh coffee. She was in her casual uniform, her usually tied-up hair now left loose.
"Lena sent us some special coffee from her oil fields," Sofia said, handing one to Kaelan. "She said it's her way of thanking us for keeping the academy safe."
Kaelan smiled softly. "She really hasn't changed."
Kaelan
> "Actually, I'm just staying here to kill some time and wait… Though honestly, I don't even know how long it's gonna take Yena restoration. At first, I thought she was already scrapped or handed over to the police… but turns out, Dr. Aris kept her — using her for anomaly research. So after I found that out, I asked for her to be repaired again."
Sofia:
"Restored? But isn't RustBucket able to fix her already?"
Kaelan:
"I mean legally — in terms of license and registration. Technically, Yena isn't from this district, so it's a bit complicated. They have to rebuild her identity as a registered robot here, not some illegal unit. Otherwise, the process takes forever… it's kinda like she's in prison, signing paperwork all day, haha."
They sat side by side, sipping in comfortable,It had been a long time since they could just relax like this—no missions, no looming threats.
"Not something you see every day," Kaelan said, nodding toward the empty training grounds.
"After everything we've been through, I think we've earned a quiet day," Sofia replied.
Then, the familiar sound of engines broke the calm. A Stormdancer landed gracefully on the field. Kaelan frowned.
"I thought your Stormdancer was still in for repairs?" he asked.
Sofia looked just as puzzled. "It is. Mine's still in the hangar for a tune-up."
They both watched as the pilot jumped out of the cockpit—a blonde woman Kaelan felt like he'd seen before but couldn't quite place. She touched the Stormdancer's frame in a strange, almost affectionate gesture, like she was talking to it.
"Who's that?" Kaelan asked.
"That's Kora," Sofia answered. "She's a Stormdancer pilot too."
Kaelan blinked. "Wait—KORA... I remember now! I fixed her unit once, didn't I? I thought she was your assistant, Sofia. But how are there two Stormdancers? I thought every Artifact model was unique."
Sofia sighed. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Kora's using an alternate version of the Stormdancer."
They walked closer as Kora checked one of the machine's legs. She turned, slightly surprised to see them.
"Sofia. And… Kaelan, right?" she greeted politely.
"Kaelan's a bit confused why there are two Stormdancers," Sofia said with a small smile.
Kora looked at her mech, then at Kaelan. "This one's the Stormdancer Type-B. An alternate version of the regular Stormdancer Sofia uses."
"Type-B?" Kaelan repeated, still puzzled.
"Most people only know the standard Stormdancer," Kora explained. "But there are a few experimental versions. This one's one of them."
Sofia added, "Type-B uses a different connection system. That's why its movements look… a bit different from mine."
Kaelan examined it more closely. The differences were subtle—sharper lines, different pattern markings, and a faint spiral emblem on the shoulder that the regular model didn't have.
"Why haven't I ever seen you around before?" he asked Kora.
"Dr. Aris kept us separate," Kora replied. "He wanted to study how our connection systems differ—without interference."
Sofia nodded. "I didn't even know until recently. After the Trinity incident, Dr. Aris finally decided to tell us everything."
Kora gently touched her Stormdancer again. "My link with it isn't through Aura like Sofia's. It's… different."
"Then how do you control it?" Kaelan asked, intrigued.
"Ever since I was a kid, I could feel machines," Kora said quietly. "My grandmother said it runs in our family. But with the Stormdancer, it's more than that. It's like… it has a will of its own."
Sofia gave her a sympathetic look. "I use pure Aura, but Kora's connection works differently. Sometimes her Stormdancer moves on its own, like it's alive."
"Like Rustbucket," Kaelan murmured. "But not quite the same."
"Yeah," Kora nodded. "I heard you use something called Grit. That's different too."
The three of them fell silent for a moment—each realizing they represented a different way of syncing with an Artifact: pure Aura, Grit, and whatever it was that Kora had.
"So how many alternate versions of these Artifacts are there in the academy?" Kaelan asked.
"A few," Sofia answered. "But there's only one Stormdancer Type-B. Just like your Rustbucket—one of a kind."
Suddenly, Kora winced and grabbed her head, her expression twisting in pain. "Ugh…"
"What's wrong?" Kaelan asked quickly.
"My Stormdancer… it's reacting to something," she muttered. "Feels like some foreign energy is getting close."
Sofia and Kaelan exchanged a tense glance. They both recognized that feeling—instincts honed from too many battles.
Their peaceful morning might not last much longer.