__________
Velthorne was descending into madness.
Smoke rose across the massive city as fires spread through multiple districts.
Church bells rang endlessly.
Soldiers flooded the streets.
And above it all—
Fragments glowed through the storm like cursed stars.
Every few minutes—
Another mana explosion echoed somewhere in the city.
Another resonance holder losing control.
Another battle starting.
The Fragment War had truly begun.
Izumi stood atop the shattered remains of the inn, staring across the burning skyline silently.
The resonance connection between the seven pulsed uneasily.
Not panic.
Tension.
Because now—
There were fragment holders everywhere.
And nobody knew who was ally or enemy.
"…This escalated way too fast," Mira muttered beside him.
"For once," Dianara said quietly,
"…I agree."
Eleanor stood nearby, watching the city with narrowed eyes.
"The Church has already lost control of the eastern district."
Lior looked stunned.
"…In one night?"
Eleanor nodded grimly.
"…Fear spreads faster than armies."
Emergency Decision
Ravian crossed his arms.
"…We leave the city."
"Bad idea."
Eleanor answered immediately.
Everyone looked toward her.
"…The roads are already being sealed."
"…Church patrols, mercenary guilds, noble forces…"
Her gaze hardened.
"…Everyone is searching for resonance holders now."
Mira sighed dramatically.
"…Amazing."
"…We became illegal overnight."
"…Not illegal," Eleanor corrected calmly.
"…Valuable."
That somehow sounded worse.
Astra quietly stepped forward.
"…Raijin wanted this."
Izumi looked toward her.
"…Chaos?"
"…Acceleration."
The resonance inside the group pulsed faintly again.
Astra continued softly—
"…The more unstable the world becomes…"
"…the faster resonance evolves."
Dianara frowned deeply.
"…Then the Architect is intentionally forcing fragment awakenings…"
"…Yes."
Lior looked uneasy.
"…That means more corrupted holders too…"
Silence followed.
Because everyone had seen what that looked like now.
The Hidden Pulse
Suddenly—
Izumi froze slightly.
A strange pulse passed through the resonance.
Different from before.
Smaller.
Closer.
"…Wait."
The others immediately felt it too.
Mira's expression sharpened.
"…Someone nearby."
Not hostile.
Not exactly.
But connected.
A fragment bearer.
Astra's crimson eyes narrowed.
"…Weak synchronization."
"…Recently awakened."
Then—
A scream echoed from a nearby alley.
Without hesitation—
The group moved instantly.
The Child With the Fragment
The alley was chaos.
Several armed men surrounded a young boy no older than thirteen.
The child was terrified.
Crying.
And floating near his chest—
A glowing fragment pulsed uncontrollably.
"…Monster!"
One of the men shouted.
"Kill him before he loses control!"
The boy backed against the wall desperately.
"…I-I didn't do anything!"
Dark mana flickered around him wildly.
Unstable.
Izumi stepped forward immediately.
"…Stop."
The armed men turned sharply.
"…Who the hell are you?"
Mira cracked her neck slightly.
"…People trying very hard not to become murderers tonight."
The men hesitated briefly after sensing the group's mana.
But fear quickly overtook reason again.
"He has a fragment!"
"…He'll turn corrupted!"
"…Kill him!"
One of them lunged toward the child.
Instantly—
Seraphina moved.
Her blade stopped directly against the man's throat.
The entire alley froze.
Seraphina's voice remained calm.
Cold.
"…Try."
Resonance Instability
The child's fragment pulsed harder.
Faster.
Dianara stepped closer carefully.
"…He's panicking too much…"
Astra knelt slowly in front of the boy.
For once—
Her expression softened slightly.
"…Breathe."
The boy trembled violently.
"…I-I can hear voices…"
Everyone froze slightly.
Astra's eyes darkened.
"…Already?"
The boy grabbed his head desperately.
"…They keep whispering…"
Lior looked shaken.
"…That happened to me too when my fragment awakened…"
But this felt worse.
Different.
The fragment above the child suddenly cracked slightly.
Dark mana leaked from it immediately.
Mira cursed softly.
"…Not good."
Izumi stepped closer.
The resonance between them reacted instantly.
The child suddenly looked directly at him.
And calmed.
Everyone noticed.
The unstable mana weakened slightly.
The fragment's glow stabilized.
Dianara's eyes widened.
"…The primary resonance…"
Astra stared at Izumi quietly.
"…He's affecting nearby fragments now."
End Build-Up
Before anyone could process that—
A massive explosion erupted somewhere near the central district.
BOOM.
The entire city shook violently.
A pillar of black-red energy shot into the storm-covered sky.
Visible across all of Velthorne.
The resonance inside every fragment holder in the city pulsed simultaneously.
And somewhere in the distance—
A horrifying scream echoed across the night.
Not human.
Something had transformed.
The scream echoed across Velthorne.
Long.
Distorted.
Inhuman.
Silence followed for only a second—
Before panic erupted across the city once again.
People ran through the streets screaming.
Church bells rang louder.
Mana explosions echoed from multiple districts simultaneously.
And above the city—
The storm darkened unnaturally.
The child in the alley trembled violently.
"…W-What was that…?"
Astra slowly stood.
Her crimson eyes fixed toward the distant pillar of black-red energy.
"…A complete corruption."
Lior's face went pale instantly.
"…You mean…"
Astra nodded once.
"…A fragment holder fully lost synchronization."
Even Mira looked disturbed now.
"…And that scream came from the RESULT of that?"
No one answered directly.
Because deep down—
They already understood.
The City Begins Collapsing
Eleanor immediately turned toward the central district.
"…If a complete corruption appeared inside Velthorne…"
Her expression hardened.
"…Thousands could die."
Ravian stepped beside her.
"…Then we neutralize it before it spreads."
The child suddenly grabbed Izumi's sleeve desperately.
"…D-Don't leave me…"
Izumi froze slightly.
The resonance pulsed again.
Fear.
Loneliness.
Desperation.
It reminded him too much of himself.
Before he could answer—
Mira crouched beside the boy.
"…Relax, kid."
The boy looked startled.
Probably because Mira looked like the least trustworthy person there.
She pointed a dagger toward the sky casually.
"…We're kinda professionals at surviving horrible situations now."
"…That is not reassuring," Dianara muttered.
"…I'm trying my best."
Decision
Another explosion echoed through the city.
Closer this time.
Eleanor immediately spoke.
"…The Church will evacuate civilians."
Her golden eyes shifted toward Izumi's group.
"…But whatever emerged…"
"…we may not be enough to stop it."
Silence.
Astra's expression darkened slightly.
"…Corrupted resonance entities evolve rapidly."
Lior looked horrified.
"…Entities?"
"…Because they stop being human."
That answer hit hard.
The child lowered his head shakily.
"…Will I become like that too…?"
Izumi immediately answered.
"…No."
Everyone looked at him briefly.
He knelt in front of the boy calmly.
"…As long as you don't face this alone."
For a moment—
The child stopped trembling.
Even Mira looked slightly surprised by Izumi's words.
Though through the resonance—
Everyone felt it.
He truly meant them.
Moving Through Chaos
The group quickly moved through Velthorne's burning streets toward the central district.
The city had become a battlefield.
Soldiers fought unstable fragment users.
Buildings burned.
Fragments glowed from rooftops and alleyways.
And everywhere—
Fear spread.
Some people hid from resonance holders.
Others hunted them.
The Fragment War had already changed society overnight.
As they crossed a ruined plaza—
A group of armed mercenaries suddenly blocked the road.
"There!"
One shouted immediately.
"…Fragment users!"
Mira sighed loudly.
"…I miss when people ignored us."
The mercenary leader pointed his blade toward Izumi.
"…The black market's paying fortunes for fragments now."
Dianara's expression darkened.
"…Already?"
Eleanor stepped forward.
"…Leave."
The mercenaries hesitated after recognizing the Saint of Judgment.
But greed quickly won.
"…Even the Church can't stop this now."
One of them activated a small artificial fragment device strapped to his arm.
A burst of unstable mana exploded outward.
Astra's eyes widened slightly.
"…Artificial synchronization…"
The mercenary charged instantly.
Too fast for a normal human.
But the resonance activated immediately.
Izumi already sensed Mira moving before she disappeared.
Seraphina predicted the attack angle.
Ravian reinforced their defense instantly.
The synchronization flowed naturally now.
Almost effortless.
Mira emerged behind the mercenary.
Her blood-shadow daggers crossed instantly.
The artificial fragment shattered.
BOOM.
The mercenary collapsed unconscious.
The others froze in fear.
Eleanor's golden eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the team.
"…Your synchronization evolved again."
Dianara looked uneasy.
"…Too quickly…"
The Monster in the Center
Then—
They finally saw it.
Far ahead near Velthorne's central tower—
A massive creature stood among the destroyed streets.
Once human.
Not anymore.
Its body was twisted by black-red crystal growths while unstable fragments floated throughout its chest like shattered stars.
Dozens of distorted arms extended unnaturally from its body.
And around it—
The city itself warped.
People screamed while Church knights desperately fought against smaller corrupted creatures forming around the area.
Lior nearly stopped walking.
"…That…"
"…That used to be a person…"
The creature suddenly turned toward them.
Its many glowing eyes locked directly onto Izumi.
Then—
It smiled.
Final Scene
The corrupted entity raised one massive arm toward the storm-covered sky.
Fragments across the city pulsed in response.
And suddenly—
More screams echoed throughout Velthorne.
Other fragment holders were beginning to lose control.
A chain reaction.
Astra's expression darkened immediately.
"…It's spreading corruption resonance."
Izumi tightened his grip on his blade.
Because now he understood.
If they failed here—
Velthorne would become the first fallen city of the Fragment War.
And this disaster would spread across the world.
The monster roared.
The storm answered.
And the battle for Velthorne finally began.