The garden wind intensified.
Leaves spiraled across the marble pathways as the trees bent under the growing pressure in the air.
The soldiers of the Null Division didn't move.
They stood perfectly still, their black armor reflecting pale moonlight. The strange spear-like weapons in their hands began to glow faintly with a dim blue pulse.
Aria studied them carefully.
Their discipline was different from the assassins earlier.
Those men had been confident.
These soldiers were… prepared.
Selene leaned casually against the fountain behind her.
"Well," she murmured, "this escalated quickly."
The lead soldier stepped forward again.
His voice remained completely calm.
"You are surrounded."
Aria glanced around the garden.
More figures had appeared along the outer paths. Silent shadows moving between hedges and statues.
Selene counted quietly under her breath.
"Eight… no, ten."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"That seems excessive."
Selene smiled faintly.
"They're hunting a storm."
The lead soldier lifted his weapon.
The device hummed louder now, producing a low mechanical vibration that disturbed the air.
Aria felt it instantly.
A strange pressure pushing against her control.
She frowned slightly.
Selene noticed.
"You feel that."
"Yes."
"That's their trick."
Selene's tone turned thoughtful.
"They interfere with atmospheric manipulation."
Aria flexed her fingers slowly.
The wind around them weakened slightly.
Interesting.
The soldier spoke again.
"Do not resist."
Aria looked at him.
"Why do people keep saying that tonight?"
Behind her, Selene laughed softly.
"You're not making friends with the empire's secret military division."
Aria shrugged.
"They arrived uninvited."
The soldier raised his hand.
Immediately the surrounding soldiers adjusted their positions, forming a precise circular formation around the fountain.
Perfect coordination.
Selene tilted her head.
"Oh, they practiced this."
Aria looked mildly impressed.
"Professional."
The lead soldier pressed a control on his weapon.
The device released a sharp pulse.
The air around Aria suddenly compressed.
Like invisible walls closing in.
Her breath caught slightly.
Selene straightened immediately.
"There it is."
Aria's eyes narrowed.
The pressure felt unnatural.
Heavy.
Artificial.
The soldier spoke calmly.
"Atmospheric suppression field activated."
Aria exhaled slowly.
"So that's your strategy."
"Yes."
"Contain the storm."
"Correct."
Selene crossed her arms.
"That's actually clever."
The soldiers didn't react.
Aria tested the air again.
The wind barely moved now.
The suppression field was working.
For a moment.
Then she smiled.
"You're assuming something."
The lead soldier waited.
"That I only control wind."
The garden trembled slightly.
Not from wind.
From pressure.
Selene's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
The air suddenly dropped.
A violent vacuum formed for half a second.
The soldiers staggered.
Several lost their footing as the pressure shift threw their balance completely off.
Aria stepped forward calmly.
"You built tools to suppress storms."
She raised her hand slowly.
"But storms aren't the only thing in the sky."
The garden exploded with movement.
The air pressure surged violently outward.
The suppression devices screamed as their systems struggled to compensate.
Two soldiers were thrown back into the hedges.
Another slammed into a marble statue.
Selene stepped aside quickly as the fountain water erupted upward in a spiraling column.
Her grin widened.
"Well," she said cheerfully, "that's new."
The lead soldier recovered faster than the others.
"Stabilize formation!"
The remaining soldiers activated their weapons again.
Blue pulses flashed across the garden.
The pressure field reformed.
This time stronger.
Aria felt it pushing down on her shoulders.
Heavier.
They were adapting.
Selene watched carefully from the fountain edge.
"You're learning quickly."
The lead soldier stepped closer.
"You are now classified as a critical threat."
Aria tilted her head.
"That sounds official."
"It means we will escalate force."
Several soldiers switched settings on their weapons.
The blue glow intensified.
Aria felt the pressure increase sharply.
For the first time that night, she took a small step back.
Selene noticed immediately.
"Careful."
"I know."
The suppression field tightened.
Even the trees in the garden stopped moving.
The air felt thick.
Heavy.
Controlled.
The soldier spoke again.
"Your abilities are being neutralized."
Aria exhaled slowly.
"Not quite."
She closed her eyes briefly.
Feeling the atmosphere around the palace.
The vast sky above.
The distant pressure systems far beyond the city.
Her power wasn't limited to the garden.
It was connected to something much larger.
Selene watched with growing fascination.
"Oh…"
The wind high above the palace began to move.
Clouds shifted rapidly across the moon.
The soldiers noticed it immediately.
"Atmospheric change detected."
Aria opened her eyes again.
Her voice was calm.
"You built your field too small."
The wind crashed downward.
A violent surge of air pressure slammed into the garden from above like an invisible tidal wave.
The suppression devices shrieked.
Three soldiers were knocked flat instantly.
The remaining ones struggled to keep their footing.
Selene stepped farther back now, laughing softly.
"Now that's impressive."
The lead soldier activated a final setting on his weapon.
"Emergency containment!"
A bright blue barrier flared outward.
The air inside the garden distorted violently as the two forces collided.
Pressure against pressure.
Storm against machine.
For several seconds the entire garden shook.
Marble cracked.
Fountains overflowed.
Trees bent almost to breaking.
Aria stood at the center of it all.
Calm.
Focused.
Her hair whipping wildly in the violent wind.
Selene watched like someone observing a rare natural disaster.
"You really are a storm," she whispered.
Suddenly—
Another voice cut through the chaos.
"Stop!"
The command carried across the garden with sharp authority.
Both soldiers and wind hesitated.
Kael stepped onto the garden path, sword drawn.
His eyes locked onto the scene before him.
Aria standing in the center of a raging atmospheric battle.
Null Division soldiers struggling to contain her.
And Selene watching the entire event like entertainment.
Kael's voice hardened.
"Stand down."
The lead soldier turned slightly.
"Your Highness."
"That was not a request."
The soldier hesitated.
Then lowered his weapon.
One by one the others followed.
The blue suppression field collapsed instantly.
The garden wind faded slowly.
Leaves settled across the broken marble paths.
Aria lowered her hand.
The sky above the palace calmed again.
For a moment no one spoke.
Then Selene clapped once.
"Well."
She looked delighted.
"That was dramatic."
Kael stared at Aria.
"You could have destroyed half the palace."
Aria shrugged lightly.
"They started it."
The prince ran a hand through his hair.
"This situation is completely out of control."
Selene smiled brightly.
"Yes."
She looked at Aria again.
"And it's only getting started."