Part 1
The phone in Kael's pocket vibrated violently, Elara's signature cheerful ringtone sounding jarringly discordant amidst the chaos. His head was still ringing from the explosion and the shockwave. The battle between Rina Volkov, his classmate who turned out to be an elite soldier, and the silver-haired girl with the scythe, designated a Nova-class Phantasm, was still seared into his mind's eye.
"E-Elara!" Kael stammered, finally managing to answer the call.
"Big Bro Kael! Where are you?! There was a huge explosion! I'm scared!" Elara's panicked voice, mixed with sobs, came from the other end.
"Calm down, Elara, calm down! I'm okay. Where are you now? Still at the cafe?"
"Y-yeah… but…"
"Don't go anywhere! Stay inside the cafe, find cover. I'll be there right away!"
Kael ended the call, his heart pounding with worry. He glanced towards the crater, looking for Rina or the girl with the scythe. However, they had both vanished. Only the remnants of destruction and billowing smoke marked where the terrifying battle had just taken place. Had they gone somewhere else? Or…
There was no time to think. Elara was his priority. Kael got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body, and ran with all his might towards the cafe where his sister was waiting. The streets were still deserted, the warning sirens still wailing in the distance, creating an ever more chilling atmosphere.
A few minutes that felt like an eternity later, Kael arrived in front of the small cafe. The door was slightly ajar. Cautiously, he stepped inside.
"Elara!"
"Big Bro Kael!" Elara, who had been hiding under a table with a few other trapped patrons, immediately ran and hugged her brother tightly. Her face was pale and tear-streaked.
"Thank God you're okay," Kael returned his sister's hug, feeling a wave of relief. "We need to get to a shelter, now."
Just as Kael was about to lead Elara out, a flat voice interrupted them.
"Kaelen Vance."
Kael spun around. Rina Volkov stood in the doorway of the cafe, her combat suit now deactivated, leaving only her slightly dusty school uniform. Her face was still expressionless, but her gray eyes were fixed directly on Kael.
"R-Rina… Volkov…" Kael was taken aback. "What are you—"
"Evacuation of civilians in this area is underway. Your sister will be escorted to a secure shelter by our team," Rina said, her voice calm but firm. Behind her, two individuals in combat gear similar to special forces, bearing the emblem of the Chronosentinel Order, appeared.
"Wait, what do you mean 'our team'? And you…"
"There's no time for explanations now. Come with me. Someone wants to speak with you." Rina gave him no choice. Her tone implied this wasn't a request.
Elara looked at Kael anxiously. "Big Bro, where are you going?"
Kael crouched down, meeting his sister's eyes. "I have some brief business to attend to. You go with them, okay? They'll take care of you. I promise I'll catch up soon."
Though hesitant, Elara finally nodded. One of the Order's personnel kindly approached Elara and the other patrons, guiding them outside.
Kael looked at Rina. "Who wants to speak with me? And about what?"
"You'll find out," Rina replied curtly, then turned. "Follow me."
Part 2
Kael followed Rina in silence. They didn't head back towards Stellara Apex High, but towards an ordinary, inconspicuous office building among a row of others. However, when Rina placed her palm on a plain wall in a back alley, a hidden panel slid away, revealing a futuristic elevator.
"Get in."
The elevator descended with silent speed, making Kael's stomach lurch slightly. The numbers on the digital display dropped rapidly, passing into increasingly large negative numbers. This was clearly no ordinary basement.
When the elevator doors opened, Kael's jaw dropped. They were in a vast chamber that resembled the command bridge of a starship from a science fiction film. Dozens of uniformed personnel were busy at advanced consoles displaying data, graphs, and holographic imagery. A giant main screen at the front of the room showed a map of Stellara City with various symbols and moving icons.
"Welcome to the Stellara Field Headquarters of the Chronosentinel Order, Alpha Sector," Rina's voice broke Kael's stupor.
"This is… incredible…" was all Kael could say.
Rina ignored his awe and walked towards a slightly raised platform in the center of the room, where a woman with neatly cut short black hair and a dark blue commander's uniform stood facing the main screen.
"Commander Thorne, I've brought Kaelen Vance," Rina reported.
The woman called Commander Thorne turned around. Her face was firm but not rigid, with sharp brown eyes that seemed to see right through anything. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
"Kaelen Vance," Commander Thorne repeated his name, her tone level but full of authority. "Sit down. There are a few things we need to discuss." She indicated an empty chair near her console.
Kael sat down awkwardly, feeling like the center of attention even though no other personnel were overtly staring at him.
"I'm sure you have many questions," Commander Thorne began. "In short, the Chronosentinel Order is the organization tasked with handling threats from the Lunanima Rifts and the entities that emerge from them, which we call Phantasms."
"That girl with the scythe… she was a Phantasm?" Kael asked.
"Correct. We've classified her as a Nova-class Phantasm, based on her energy levels and destructive potential. We've given her a temporary codename: 'Lyra,' as initial data showed she manipulated energy in patterns resembling harmonic sound waves, prior to her scythe's manifestation."
Kael's heart beat a little faster hearing that name. Lyra. Even her temporary name sounded beautiful, a stark contrast to her deadly scythe.
"Agent Volkov reported you were at the scene when 'Lyra' appeared and engaged her. That was a restricted area. What were you doing there, Mr. Vance?" Commander Thorne asked, her gaze piercing.
"I… I was worried about my sister. We were supposed to meet nearby, and I lost contact with her after the Rift alert sounded," Kael explained honestly.
"An understandable reason," Commander Thorne gave a slight nod. "However, Agent Volkov also reported something interesting. When you shouted 'Stop!', our sensors detected a minor but significant fluctuation in 'Lyra's' energy output. As if… she responded to you."
Kael was shocked. "Responded to me? I didn't do anything."
"Perhaps not consciously," Commander Thorne continued. "Kaelen Vance, we have been monitoring your family's lineage for several generations. There are rare records of individuals with the ability of 'Emotional Resonance'—the capacity to sense, and sometimes influence, the emotional core of certain spectral entities. An ability we suspect you may possess."
Kael's jaw nearly hit the floor. Emotional Resonance? Lineage? This all sounded like nonsense from a fantasy novel.
"That… that's impossible," Kael argued. "I'm just a normal student."
"This world is full of 'impossible' things, Mr. Vance, until they happen right before our eyes," Commander Thorne offered a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Our current methods of dealing with Phantasms are often destructive. We can neutralize them, but we never truly understand them. The Lunanima Rifts are appearing more frequently. We need a new approach."
She paused, then looked at Kael intently. "If you do possess this ability, you could be the key to understanding Phantasms, perhaps even… pacifying them without the need for violence."
The main screen behind Commander Thorne suddenly displayed a recording of the earlier battle. The figure of Lyra with her cosmic scythe was clearly visible, her beautiful face showing an expression caught between confusion, fear, and a profound sadness, even as she swung her weapon with terrifying power.
"Look at her, Mr. Vance," Commander Thorne said softly. "Do you see only a monster that must be destroyed? Or… something else?"
Kael stared at the screen, at Lyra's sapphire-blue eyes captured in the recording. His heart felt like it was being squeezed. He did see frightening power, but beyond that, he felt a complex wave of emotions—loneliness, suffering, an indescribable longing. Just like when he met the girl in his prologue dream… or was it not a dream?
"I… I don't know…" Kael whispered, more to himself than anyone.
"We would like to ask for your cooperation, Kaelen Vance," Commander Thorne said, breaking his reverie. "Help us understand the Phantasms. Help us find a way to interact with 'Lyra' if she appears again. The lives of many may depend on this."
Kael swallowed hard. From an ordinary high school student worried about his sister, he was now being asked to become some sort of inter-dimensional diplomat or monster tamer. It was too much, too fast.
"I… I need time to think," Kael finally answered.
"Of course," Commander Thorne nodded. "Agent Volkov will escort you back. She will also be your point of contact, should you decide to help, or if there are any new developments."
Rina stepped forward. "This way, Vance."
Kael stood up, his mind still in a whirl. Before he followed Rina out, he glanced one last time at the main screen, at Lyra's face frozen in the recording. A question surfaced in his mind, the same one from the prologue: Who are you, really?
And deep within his heart, a faint resonance, a whisper of emotion that was not his own, seemed to answer with infinite sadness.