LIGHT 09: Sharing the Unease

LIGHT 09: Sharing the Unease

Lumira and the others moved through the rest passage in the outer edge area.

They should have been some distance from the collapsed zone, but the instability in space had not disappeared. Fine cracks ran through the stone walls, and near the ceiling, white dust drifted slowly. Along the wall, the air sank faintly inward, and the shadow falling across the floor slid behind its proper position.

Small distortions were still occurring intermittently.

And yet, no one stopped.

Residents crossed the passage with their belongings in their arms, continued speaking in low voices, and passed close beside the distortions as if it were only natural. Some did not even turn their eyes when white particles brushed past their shoulders.

Lumira kept walking while supporting Elia by the shoulder.

Elia’s steps were not steady yet. Her stride slipped slightly, and even the moment her feet touched the floor came late. Still, only her gaze turned again and again toward the far end of the passage.

The direction of the distortion.

The place where white particles floated.

The point where space had trembled.

Without realizing it, Elia kept following them.

She was looking again.

Lumira moved Elia a little closer to the edge of the passage. But Elia’s face slowly turned back, and she began staring toward the distortion again.

She was being drawn in.

That sensation still had not disappeared.

The three guardian bodies moved as if surrounding them.

One ahead.

One behind.

The last one spread its gaze across the entire passage.

The luminous patterns running over their dark garments blinked quietly. Thin light flowed like breathing, searching for the abnormalities around them.

That guardian body’s gaze turned toward the residents moving through the passage.

Around several bodies, very faint light reactions had begun to appear.

They were not strong.

But there was more than one.

At the end of the passage.

Beside the wall.

Within the crowd.

Weak abnormal light reactions were increasing little by little.

They were spreading.

The luminous pattern at the guardian body’s chest pulsed slightly stronger.

On the management display beside the passage, pale letters appeared again and again.

Minor fluctuation.

Recognition wavering.

Observation only.

The display remained for only a few seconds, then shifted each time into automatic correction processing. The letters of light faded quietly and were eventually returned to normal status.

The nearby administrators were confirming it.

But no one showed alarm.

They only poured light into the record boards in their hands and sorted each event as processed.

They would not stop it.

Lumira let out a short breath while watching the display from the corner of her eye.

Nearby, two residents were speaking together.

One said something, and the other opened their mouth to answer.

But halfway through, they stopped.

Only their eyes drifted through the air for several seconds.

The words had fallen away.

It seemed as though they could no longer remember what they had been talking about.

And yet, no one around them reacted.

The one who had stopped showed no sign of confusion either. In the next moment, they began speaking about something else.

The conversation continued.

As if nothing had happened.

They were used to it.

That sensation spread quietly through the entire passage.

Lumira did not stop walking as she watched.

The whole passage was too quiet.

Something abnormal was happening, and no one stopped for it.

That feeling was beginning to seem more dangerous than the distortions themselves.

And inside the passage, the number of small distortions was slowly increasing.

The air beside the wall caved in, and white particles floated upward.

A pillar that had been visible far ahead shifted close for the span of a blink.

The shadows on the floor lagged behind, and the outline of space slipped silently out of place.

Too slow.

The response around them was far too weak for how quickly the distortions were spreading.

Then it happened.

One young resident walking through the passage suddenly stopped.

He stared at part of the wall, his brows drawing together.

It seemed that the wall, which should have been farther ahead just moments ago, had suddenly appeared much closer.

The other residents passed beside him without concern.

No one looked back.

After glancing around, the young resident approached Lumira and lowered his voice.

“...Did that wall just move?”

Lumira did not answer immediately.

First, she checked their surroundings.

One of the guardian bodies was looking at the resident as well. The luminous pattern at its chest strengthened faintly as it detected a thin abnormal light reaction around him.

The resident lowered his voice even further.

“I’ve been seeing it a lot lately. Walls, shadows... their positions keep changing.”

White particles crossed past his shoulder.

“But no one cares. They just tell me I’m seeing things, and that’s the end of it.”

Lumira narrowed her eyes slightly.

Someone had noticed.

Not many.

But not none.

The display beside the passage updated again.

Minor recognition wavering.

Automatic correction processing.

Within normal range.

The administrators only glanced at it. None of them tried to heighten their vigilance.

They were cutting it away.

That feeling remained faintly with her.

Lumira looked away from the display and turned to Elia.

Elia did not move.

She only kept staring toward the far end of the passage.

Her breathing was shallow.

Only her gaze remained with the distortion.

Deep within her eyes, white light flickered briefly.

For only an instant.

But the three guardian bodies reacted at the same time.

It was coming.

The air tightened quietly.

Lumira pulled Elia closer without thinking.

In the next instant, space at the far end of the passage slowly warped.

There was no sound.

Only white particles rose silently, and the outline of the scenery shifted into another position.

A new small distortion had appeared as if nothing at all had happened.

The young resident held his breath softly.

He was the only one who had seen it.

And a few seconds later, the display had already returned to within normal range.

— Lumi 🪄💕

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