Midday in Varkhast—
was precise.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Just… moving.
Sora stretched as he walked beside Johan.
"…Finally, food."
They passed through a busier street now—
lined with stalls.
Voices.
Movement.
Normal.
Too normal.
Johan's gaze shifted slightly.
"…Something's off," he murmured.
Sora sighed.
"…You always say that."
But then—
A sound.
Sharp.
A gasp.
Then—
a scream.
Both of them turned.
Not far—
a small crowd had formed.
"…What now?" Sora muttered.
Johan was already moving.
They pushed closer.
Through the crowd—
And then they saw him.
A man.
On his knees.
Shaking.
"…Help… me…" he whispered.
His hands trembled violently.
A faint glow—
flickering around his body.
Unstable.
Sora frowned.
"…Is that… aether?"
Johan's eyes narrowed.
"…It's wrong."
The glow pulsed—
erratic.
Not controlled.
Not formed.
Breaking.
"…It hurts—" the man gasped.
Then—
It spiked.
A violent surge of aether exploded outward.
"BACK—!" Johan pulled Sora.
The crowd scattered instantly.
But the aether didn't disperse.
It twisted.
Compressed.
Condensed into something—
Alive.
A shape formed—
distorted.
Limbs stretched unnaturally.
A body—
that wasn't fully human anymore.
"…W-What is that…" Sora whispered.
The creature let out a broken sound—
not quite a scream—
not quite a roar.
Its body flickered—
like it couldn't stabilize.
"…That's not a transformation," Johan said.
"…That's corruption."
The ground trembled slightly—
Then—
"Clear the area."
Voices.
Sharp.
Commanding.
Knights arrived.
Fast.
Efficient.
Cloaks flashing—
Silver.
"…Silver Vanguard," Sora muttered.
They didn't hesitate.
"Contain it."
A formation spread instantly.
Two moved forward.
Three flanked.
Perfect coordination.
The creature lashed out—
its arm stretching unnaturally—
slamming into the ground.
Stone cracked.
But—
A barrier rose.
Dark.
Solid.
Obsidian Bastion.
They had already arrived.
Civilians were pulled back.
Protected.
Controlled.
"…They're handling it…" Sora said.
But Johan didn't relax.
"…No…"
His gaze remained fixed.
"…They're reacting."
The Silver Vanguard engaged.
Blades formed from condensed aether—
clean.
Sharp.
They struck—
precise.
The creature staggered—
but didn't fall.
Its body shifted—
adapting.
"…It's not behaving like normal aether…" Johan whispered.
Then—
It changed.
Again.
Its form distorted further—
splitting—
reforming—
As if something inside it—
was trying to take shape.
"…That's not possible…" one knight muttered.
Then—
It lashed out again.
Faster.
Stronger.
A Silver Vanguard knight was forced back.
"…It's evolving—?!" Sora's voice shook.
"…No," Johan said quietly.
"…It's being shaped."
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
More knights arrived.
Gilded Chain.
"…Lockdown the district."
Instantly—
routes were sealed.
Movement controlled.
No one in.
No one out.
The system responded.
Perfectly.
And yet—
Johan's eyes narrowed further.
"…Too late."
With a final coordinated strike—
The Silver Vanguard pierced the creature's core.
Aether shattered—
The form collapsed.
Disintegrating into fragments of light—
Then—
nothing.
Silence.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
"…It's over…?" Sora asked.
"…No," Johan replied.
Because something remained.
A residue.
Faint—
but present.
Wrong.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Measured.
The crowd parted again—
but this time—
not from fear.
From instinct.
A different kind of authority.
"…Aether Inquisition," someone whispered.
They walked through the aftermath—
eyes scanning everything.
Not the damage.
Not the people.
The air.
The space.
The unseen.
One of them stopped.
Right where the creature had formed.
He crouched slightly—
fingers hovering over nothing.
"…Distorted flow," he said.
"…Artificial interference."
Another stepped forward.
"…Source?"
A pause.
"…Unclear."
His gaze lifted.
Scanning.
Searching.
Then—
It passed over Johan.
Just for a moment.
But it stopped.
Not fully.
Just—
slightly longer than everything else.
Sora felt it.
"…Hey…"
Johan didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't exist.
"…Not here," the Inquisition member said quietly.
"…But close."
A faint silence.
"…Mark the area."
"…And observe."
They stood.
Turning away.
As if nothing had happened.
As if everything had already been decided.
Sora exhaled.
"…Man… I don't like those guys…"
Johan remained still.
"…That wasn't natural," he said.
"…Yeah, no kidding."
"…No…"
Johan's eyes darkened slightly.
"…That wasn't accidental."
A pause.
"…Something caused that."
Far above—
Within the Magic Knight Headquarters—
She already knew.
Queen Vaeloria Varkhast stood in silence.
Eyes half-lidded.
"…The system responded," she murmured.
A pause.
"…But the anomaly remains."
Her gaze shifted—
beyond walls—
beyond distance—
"…Observe it."
Not the creature.
Not the event.
Something else.
Something newly present.
Far beyond the kingdom—
Where sight could not reach—
Something stirred.
Not fully here.
Not fully formed.
But waiting.
And somewhere—
deep within the order of Varkhast—
A single imperfection—
had taken root.