Aelion dragged his steps forward while supporting Rhovan's unconscious body. The man was light, yet the dark energy still clinging to him made the air around them feel heavy and sticky—like a cold mist that refused to fall behind.
"Hold on…" Aelion muttered, even though he knew Rhovan couldn't hear him.
The old district of Aerphine gradually gave way to brighter public areas. After the third turn, the sounds of vehicles and people returned. Streetlights that had once dimmed now glowed normally.
Yet Aelion didn't feel safe.
The light in his hand was still warm. Its pulse came on its own, like breathing. Not merely because he had just suppressed a psycho-dark eruption—
—but because someone, somewhere in the distance, was calling to his energy.
He could feel it—a subtle pull, like an invisible thread hooked into his chest. The signal was faint, but unmistakably real.
Aelion quickened his pace.
---
When he reached the public area, a young woman ran toward him, breathing hard. Her hair was tied back, her face pale, but her eyes were sharp—those of someone accustomed to dangerous situations.
"Aelion!"
Aelion flinched. "Veyra? How did you know I was here?"
"I… felt the disturbance." Veyra looked at Rhovan and immediately covered her mouth. "My God—what happened to him?"
"Dark energy latched onto him," Aelion replied quietly. "But I've cleansed most of it."
Veyra stared at him, her expression hard to read—concern, shock, and… awe.
"You cleansed it?"
Aelion nodded, though he himself didn't fully understand what he had done.
Veyra quickly took over supporting Rhovan's body. "We need to take him somewhere safe. Not a hospital. Not any public institution. They're not equipped to handle energy deviations like this."
"The Harmonia Institute?" Aelion asked.
Veyra shook her head sharply. "Not yet. If his dark energy reacts with their resonance instruments, it could trigger a much larger chaotic wave. We need to place him in a Calm Zone first."
Aelion frowned. "Calm Zone?"
"A location known only to certain minors. A resonance-insulated space. Perfect for unstable cases."
Without waiting for further discussion, Veyra summoned an autonomous capsule taxi.
When the door opened, they placed Rhovan inside. Aelion sat beside him, Veyra in the front.
As the door sealed shut, the capsule accelerated along its automated route.
Then something strange happened.
The navigation panel flickered once.
Then twice.
Then… died.
"What? That's impossible…" Veyra checked the panel.
Aelion's instincts flared instantly. The energy in his chest throbbed violently.
No. Not his own energy.
External interference.
"Something is disrupting the capsule's system," Aelion said quickly.
At the same time, the cabin lights went out.
A faint blue glow flickered against the window. A delicate digital pattern formed—layered resonance rings spiraling outward. The vibration in the air intensified.
Veyra cursed under her breath. "…Interference. But from where?"
Aelion stared at the window, his heart pounding.
"It's him…" he whispered.
A dark silhouette stood atop a building they passed. Completely still. Its gaze seemed to pierce directly into the capsule.
Veyra followed his stare.
"Who is that?" she asked, her voice rising.
Aelion clenched the seat. "I don't know. But he's been appearing ever since this energy awakened…"
As if responding to Aelion's words, the capsule shook violently.
DDRUUU—MM—
The panel flashed back on—then died again. The road beneath them bent slightly, as if reality itself were being distorted within a localized radius.
"We need to get out!" Veyra shouted.
Aelion nodded and kicked the capsule door.
It didn't budge.
Veyra pulled a small device from her belt—a portable resonance cutter—and activated it.
CIIING—
The capsule wall split open in a thin line, hot light reflecting across Aelion's face.
"Careful! Jump!"
Aelion leapt out first, then carefully dragged Rhovan after him. Veyra followed a second later.
Behind them, the capsule convulsed violently, then—
VruuuZZT—
Vanished in a thin distortion of light. Not exploding. Not breaking. As if space itself had hacked it out of existence.
Aelion shuddered.
"He's… controlling something that isn't even technology," he muttered.
Veyra grabbed his shoulder. "Aelion. Focus. We need to move before he—"
"You're running too fast."
The voice appeared without vibration, without echo. As though the air itself had spoken.
Aelion turned.
The figure stepped out from the darkness between two buildings.
This time, it was closer.
He wore a long black coat etched with subtle, shifting patterns—like flowing ink forming fractals. His face was half-shrouded in shadow, but his eyes were clear:
Eyes that did not reflect the world. Eyes that saw another layer of reality.
Veyra swallowed. "Aelion… step back."
Aelion positioned himself in front of Rhovan's fallen body.
The figure took one step forward.
The air trembled.
Aelion's resonance reacted—not from fear, but because the figure's energy was… similar to his own.
Twisted. Compressed. Dark.
"Finally…" the figure whispered. "I see the source directly."
Aelion steadied his voice. "Who are you?"
The figure smiled faintly. "My name isn't necessary. Not at this stage. But your world calls me… the Layer Stalker."
Aelion frowned. "Are you a minor?"
The figure chuckled softly. "If I were a minor, your world would no longer be intact."
Veyra stepped forward slightly. "What do you want with Aelion?"
The figure glanced at her with hollow eyes. "Something beyond your understanding. Aelion is not merely a minor. He is a signal. The beginning of an awakened resonance."
Aelion spoke tensely. "If I'm a signal, why are you following me?"
"Because signals like you attract phenomena," the figure replied. "And behind those phenomena lies something that opens a door. A door you were never meant to touch."
Veyra inhaled sharply. "What door?"
The figure looked toward the sky, gazing at the gray clouds as if seeing something invisible to human eyes.
"The door that leads to Dominion."
The word struck Aelion like shattered sound in a sealed room.
Dominion. A term whispered in advanced module reports. A wild psycho-digital layer formed from global deviations. Unstable. Forbidden. A place no minor should ever touch.
Aelion trembled. "What does that have to do with me?"
The figure smiled.
"Everything."
A massive tremor surged. The ground beneath them felt pulled in opposite directions. Neon lights flickered. Phones died. Space around them compressed and expanded simultaneously—the effect of Layer dominance.
The figure raised his hand. The air collapsed into a dark spiral.
The energy shot toward Aelion.
"AELION!!" Veyra screamed.
But Aelion's body moved on its own.
Light erupted from his chest—unlike before. Stronger. Alive. As if the energy itself refused to let him fall into darkness.
WHUUUM—!
Aelion's light collided with the figure's darkness.
No explosion. No physical damage.
Only sound— resonance clashing, like two rivers forced into one channel.
Aelion screamed, resisting the pressure. The figure was pushed back one step.
He was… surprised.
"Interesting," he said flatly. "A newly awakened Tier-1 energy shouldn't be able to withstand my wave."
Aelion staggered, but remained standing.
Veyra held her breath. "Aelion… you—you're resisting him?!"
Aelion clenched his glowing hands. "I didn't choose this… but I won't let him touch anyone!"
The figure studied him for a long moment.
"Very well," he said at last. "Consider this an initial evaluation. I've seen enough."
He stepped back.
Space around him folded, like paper being creased.
"Prepare yourself, Aelion. Your resonance awakening is only the beginning. After this…"
He faded slowly.
"…Dominion will come looking for you."
When the figure vanished completely, the air normalized. Neon lights stabilized. Digital panels reignited.
But Aelion felt no relief.
He slid down against a wall. Veyra rushed to support him.
"Aelion… you're shaking."
Aelion stared at his hands. The light was gone.
But he knew one thing:
He was now caught in a conflict far greater than himself. And whatever he had just encountered… was no longer a minor. No longer an entity known to the world.
It was the beginning of Dominion's threat.
Aelion looked up at the cloud-covered night sky.
"Why… me?" he whispered.
Veyra squeezed his hand.
"We'll find out together."
Aelion nodded slowly.
Yet deep within him—the light, the resonance—whispered:
The game had just begun.
---