The words remained on the screen.
"I DON'T WANT TO RETURN."
No one in the command center spoke for several seconds.
Because none of them knew what they were looking at anymore.
— A New Kind of Fear —
Kael slowly adjusted the resonance projection.
His hands unusually tense.
"…This shouldn't exist."
Maxruell leaned against the console nearby.
"…You keep saying that."
"…And things keep existing anyway."
Kael ignored him.
"…Fragments gaining instinctive responses was one thing…"
"…But a fully independent resonance consciousness?"
He looked at the screen again.
"…That changes everything."
— Juvy Feels the Signal —
Juvy stepped closer to the projection.
The resonance pulse reacted immediately.
Softly.
Like recognition.
"…It's scared," she whispered.
Lina looked toward her.
"…You can feel emotions through it?"
Juvy nodded slowly.
"…Confusion too."
"…Like it doesn't understand what it is yet."
— The Signal Responds Again —
The monitors flickered.
Then another message formed:
"YOU ARE DIFFERENT."
This time—
The words were directed at Juvy.
Maxruell folded his arms.
"…Okay, now it's officially talking to us."
— Attempted Communication —
Juvy hesitated briefly—
Then spoke calmly.
"…Can you tell us who you are?"
The room remained silent for several seconds.
Then the resonance pulse distorted violently.
As if the entity itself struggled to answer.
Finally:
"I DON'T KNOW."
— Lina's Expression Softens —
Lina lowered her eyes slightly.
"…It was born after the Source changed…"
"…So it doesn't have a defined identity yet."
Kael looked deeply unsettled by that sentence.
"…Born…"
The fact that resonance entities could now develop individuality naturally—
Was terrifying.
— The First Trace Location —
Suddenly—
A warning signal appeared on the main map.
Kael immediately enlarged it.
A resonance spike had appeared physically.
Location:
A ruined district near the outer collapse zone beyond Ground Zero.
"…It manifested somewhere real," Kael said quietly.
— Decision —
Maxruell immediately stood upright.
"…Alright."
"…We're going, right?"
Kael looked uncertain.
"…This could be dangerous."
Maxruell smirked.
"…Everything around us is dangerous."
— Juvy Makes the Call —
Juvy looked at the screen one last time.
The resonance pulse had become weaker now.
Unstable.
Like the entity was struggling to maintain itself.
"…If it's afraid of returning…"
She turned toward the others.
"…Then we can't leave it alone."
Lina nodded immediately.
Kael hesitated—
Then sighed.
"…Fine."
"…But if this evolves into another global event, I'm blaming all of you."
One hour later—
A transport vehicle moved through the ruined outer districts.
The city beyond Ground Zero still carried scars from the collapse.
Entire areas remained abandoned.
Some zones still warped slightly with lingering resonance instability.
And somewhere ahead—
The signal waited.
— Strange Resonance Activity —
As they approached—
Juvy's Balance Resonance reacted more strongly.
Not violently.
Drawn.
Maxruell noticed immediately.
"…You okay?"
Juvy nodded slowly.
"…It's nearby."
The team stopped near a partially destroyed structure at the edge of the collapse zone.
The resonance readings spiked instantly.
Then—
Everything went silent.
No wind.
No movement.
Just one faint pulse.
Heartbeat-like.
Inside the ruined building—
A figure slowly looked up from the darkness.
Young.
Human.
But surrounded by drifting resonance fragments.
Their glowing eyes fixed directly on Juvy.
And softly—
Almost fearfully—
They asked:
"…Will you make me return too?"