Kei took another step, determined to find out what it was. His vision was still slightly blurred from the previous combat, and the cold, pale lights of the laboratory bothered him more than usual. Every creak of the floorboards beneath his feet reminded him of the exhaustion from the fight. The air was thick with dust, a metallic scent, and the smell of old parchment that pricked his nose.
Suddenly, a hand moved across his path.
"Wait," Eirene stopped him. Her tone was low but firm.
She stepped forward cautiously, measuring every stride as if the air itself could trigger a trap. Her eyes scanned the desk, the edges of the file, and the dust accumulated around it, looking for any sign of a hidden mechanism. Everything was too intact, too prepared. The shelves overflowed with glass jars, and some instruments emitted a faint glow, as if they still held latent magic.
Eirene leaned in slightly and touched the file with her fingertips, barely moving it. She watched to see if the weight activated anything, if a thread tightened, or if a rune reacted. Nothing happened.
She lifted it carefully. The pages were cold and stiff, as if treated to withstand the passage of time. The cover was marked by irregular lines in the dust, suggesting someone had handled it recently. She could even feel a faint hum, almost imperceptible, vibrating through her fingers; it was as if the file were reacting to her proximity.
She opened the folder just an inch, quickly scanning the first few pages. She looked for seals, magic traps, or activation symbols. The silence of the lab grew heavy, almost tangible. The only sounds were the group's bated breath and the occasional clink of an instrument vibrating in the draft.
Finally, she closed the file and held it for a moment longer, as if finishing a silent conversation with herself. Then, she handed it to Kei.
The weight of the file in his hands felt greater than expected—not because of the material, but because of what it might contain. Kei flipped the pages open and frowned immediately.
The letters were nothing like the ones he knew: straight lines, incomplete circles, and figures that seemed to connect like diagrams. Some parts were crossed out; others had hurried annotations, as if several people had worked on the same document with urgency. None of it made sense. A faint scent of freshly spilled ink hit his nose, reinforcing the feeling that this had been written under extreme pressure.
Kei let out a weary exhale and passed it to Arata.
"I don't understand a thing..."
Arata took it carefully, as if afraid to damage it, and cleared his throat before starting to read. Initially concentrated, his expression shifted bit by bit. The lab remained silent, broken only by the faint sound of glass and metal vibrating from the wind in the main hall and the subtle creak of the planks under their feet.
"This isn't a common text..." he whispered. "These are logs."
He turned the first page. The paper crinkled softly.
"'Report on Subject K... Status: Unlocated...'"
His brows knit together. He turned another page.
"'Resonance event out of control... Location: Lirathaine... Classification: Disaster.'"
The air in the room grew heavier. Eirene stopped checking the shelves. Yuto looked up from the nearby equipment. Even Kael, who was still holding Kei's ankle, went dead still, breathing carefully.
Arata continued, turning the pages with more care. Some were stained with dark ink. Others had urgent notes in the margins. Suddenly, he stopped. His hand hovered over the sheet.
"...There's something else here."
He turned the page slowly. A header occupied almost the entire upper margin:
"Project: Zero Resonance."
The name hung in the silence of the lab. His eyes scanned line by line, and his voice, when he spoke again, sounded strained:
"'Classification: Active Anomaly.' ... 'Current Status: Linked to an unknown host.'"
Yuto took a step closer, as did Eirene. Their gazes met, and a shiver ran through them all. The file seemed to radiate a silent aura of warning.
Arata continued reading more slowly:
"'The phenomenon shows a direct response to the user's mental states...' ... 'and appears to strengthen based on their willpower.'"
Absolute silence fell. Kei felt a chill run down his spine. The ink ran as if written in haste, a reflection of the project's urgency.
"'Capabilities: Undetermined.' ... 'Risk Level: Indeterminate.'"
He closed the file gently. The dry snap of the paper echoed louder than expected, reverberating off the walls filled with shelves and capsules.
"They don't know what it is," Arata said seriously. "Nor what it's capable of doing."
For the first time, the laboratory felt truly dangerous.
"So... Zero Resonance is real..." Kei felt his heart pounding; his stomach churned, and his muscles still burned with fatigue, but he couldn't stop now. "We need to go to those two provinces. If Varyss wanted to attack them... there must be something important there."
He limped toward the wall where the map hung. His eyes fixed on the pins marking Kaelthar and Eryndor. Every step made the wood creak beneath him, reminding him of the previous fight, while a shiver crawled up his back at the thought of what they might find.
Yuto followed him closely, pointing to the border between Aurelia and Keshvar.
"We'll have to cross Keshvar first to get to Kaelthar," he said. "We're right on the border of Aurelia and Keshvar now... any detour will cost us valuable time."
The air was laden with dust and the faint scent of old parchment. The light filtering through the windows partially illuminated shelves filled with jars and tools. Every corner seemed packed with secrets, and the silence seemed to wait for them to take the next step.
Kei analyzed the map carefully. "Spirit provinces... I didn't imagine them like this..." he thought, swallowing hard.
After studying the map and mentally marking the pins for Kaelthar and Eryndor, Kei looked down, taking a deep breath. Every muscle still ached, but he couldn't stay still. The sense of urgency pushed him forward.
"Guys..." he said, his voice ragged. "We have to get ready to cross Keshvar. It won't be an easy path, and what we find in those provinces... could be worse than anything we've imagined."
Eirene nodded, closing her eyes for a moment as she leaned back in a nearby chair, exhausted by the tension.
"I know..." she said softly, her fingers fidgeting. "But if we don't go, we might lose vital information—or even the chance to stop something before it's too late."
"All of this because of that idiot... what did I get myself into..." She opened her eyes, trying to stay firm, but her trembling gaze betrayed her.
Kael approached Kei, examining the wounds that still stung. With steady hands, he applied ointment and makeshift bandages, his movements precise and calm. Kei sighed in relief as the immediate pain subsided, though he knew he wasn't fully recovered yet.
"There..." Kael said, looking down. "You aren't at a hundred percent, but this will let you walk without risking too much."
"Thanks..." Kei murmured with a weak gesture of gratitude.
Yuto began organizing the supplies. Water flasks, dried food packets, bandages, some basic tools, and scrolls that might be useful. Every object was carefully checked before being placed into sturdy backpacks, trying not to exceed the weight limit.
"We can't carry too much," Yuto commented, picking up some bandages and testing the weight. "Any extra weight will slow us down, and Keshvar won't be a safe place."
Arata inspected the weapons and tools they could carry, ensuring nothing was defective. His gaze swept over every edge and mechanism, while the weight of the Zero Resonance file served as a reminder that every detail counted.
Eirene, meanwhile, reviewed the spells and potions they could pack. She picked up several jars with care, reading labels and symbols, searching for those that might offer protection or additional information.
The atmosphere was thick with tension. It wasn't excitement they felt, but a palpable unease. Each of them knew the risk; each knew that the world beyond the lab would not wait for them.
Kei walked with slow steps through the secret room, his eyes scanning every capsule and every instrument. The air smelled of cold metal and restrained magic, as if the place held secrets that were never meant to see the light of day.
He stopped in front of one capsule in particular. Inside, a spirit slept deeply, its body enveloped in a faint glow that seemed to breathe with its own life. Its features were delicate, almost human, but there was something about its presence that made Kei's heart beat faster.
He looked for a button, a lever... any mechanism to open it. Nothing. Only smooth, cold glass separated him from what appeared to be... alive.
He took a deep breath. Every inhalation felt heavy, as if the air itself were loaded with silent warnings.
With determination, he grabbed a nearby tool. He struck the glass with all his might. A sharp, dry crack broke the silence. Small fissures webbed across the surface until, finally, the glass gave way.
Inside, the spirit blinked. Its eyes, previously closed, slowly opened, revealing irises that seemed to contain an entire world. Her gaze locked with Kei's. For an instant, everything else vanished: the room, the lab, the jars, and the instruments. There was only her.
"...Kissaki."
The name floated into Kei's mind before he could even utter it. And something in the way she looked at him made him know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was no ordinary creature.
The air seemed to vibrate around them. The release wasn't just physical; something older and more powerful was beginning to stir.
The spirit quickly covered her right eye, found a bandage, and put it on. "Hey, you... who are you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the left with her arms crossed.
Kei looked down. "My name is Kei Moriyama... you're... Kissaki, right?" He looked up again, meeting her eyes.
"How... I do know her name?" he thought, squinting at Kissaki.
Kissaki narrowed her eyes slightly. "Yes... although it's strange that you know my name. What is it that you want?" she asked, her tone serious.
Kei felt a knot in his throat and swallowed hard. "Can you... help us? We need to get to Kaelthar." He waited patiently for her answer, looking a bit sheepish for the unnecessary interruption.
Kissaki let out a sigh and closed her eyes, hesitant. Finally, she opened them and looked him in the eye. "Fine. I'll help you." Without saying another word, she began walking toward where the others were.
Yuto turned toward Kissaki, arching an eyebrow. "Where did you come from?" He stopped his preparations, a tool halfway into his bag.
Kissaki approached with precise steps, the wood creaking softly under her feet. "My name is Kissaki. Your friend Kei released me from a capsule and asked for my help. I can guide you to Kaelthar," she said in a serious tone, though she seemed slightly softened.
Yuto closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I guess she could be useful," he thought, opening his eyes and finally stowing the tool.
No one said anything else. After several minutes of silent preparation, the group gathered at the lab entrance. Kei leaned his hand against the wall, taking a deep breath as he watched the sky begin to stain with the last rays of the day. The shadows lengthened, and the air smelled of earth and burnt wood, reminding him of the fragility of the peace surrounding them.
"Ready," Kei said firmly. "There's no turning back now."
Without waiting for an answer, they began to walk toward the exit. The wood of the floor creaked under their feet; the lab corridors felt longer than usual. Every sound resonated like a reminder of the weight they carried.
When they finally stepped outside, the exterior light hit their faces. The capital stretched out before them, silent, with empty streets and buildings bearing the scars of recent conflicts. Some inhabitants watched them with fear, others with indifference; the echo of their footsteps seemed amplified in the city's stillness.
"There's no time to lose," Yuto murmured, looking at the map pins one last time. "Kaelthar first, Eryndor second. Any mistake could cost us more than just time," he said, his tone grim, eyes narrowing.
Kei nodded, adjusting his backpack and taking a deep breath. Every member of the group remained alert, scanning the surroundings as they advanced toward Keshvar—the first obstacle between them and the spirit provinces. The preparation was over; now the true journey began, and with it, the shadow of Zero Resonance that already loomed over them.