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Showing posts with the label LIGHT

LIGHT 10: The Reason It Cannot Be Stopped

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LIGHT 10: The Reason It Cannot Be Stopped Lumira and the others were moving through the passage that led toward the management area. It should have been more structurally stable than the rest passage, but the wavering of space had only grown stronger. Along the walls, small distortions appeared intermittently, pale white particles rising faintly before fading away. Even the shadows falling across the floor lagged slightly, slipping out of their proper positions in silence. And still, the residents did not stop walking. People carrying supplies. Administrators holding record boards. Others continuing low conversations beside the passage. Even when they passed close to a distortion, almost no one showed any special reaction. They did not stop. That had become common sense in this place. Lumira looked around while supporting Elia. Elia’s gaze was still turned toward the direction where distortions were occurring. Each time space trembled faintly, ...

LIGHT 09: Sharing the Unease

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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 aga...

LIGHT 08: Becoming Used to It

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LIGHT 08: Becoming Used to It Lumira moved through the outer edge passage while supporting Elia. The passage had not completely collapsed. The stone walls were cracked in places, and fine fractures remained across the floor. Even so, people came and went through it as if it were an ordinary road. Small distortions occurred intermittently. The outline of a wall shifted sideways for a single instant, and the shadow cast on the floor followed later than the feet that made it. A pillar that should have been at the far end of the passage looked close for the span of a blink. But no one avoided them. No one stopped walking. Residents carried their belongings, continued their conversations, and passed beside the distortions as if it were only natural. Lumira tightened her hand slightly around Elia’s shoulder. Something was wrong. So many distortions still remained. And yet the response around them was far too quiet. Elia’s steps were still un...

LIGHT 07: The Cost of Battle

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LIGHT 07: The Cost of Battle Inside the observation management facility, a short warning tone rang out. A portion of the pale light records flowing across the wall shifted toward red. The administrators standing before the observation panels all looked up at once. Outer edge area. New distortion expansion. Risk level under review. The display was already beginning to move into correction processing, but the management side issued an evacuation order for the surrounding area. Through the quiet facility, a low bell spread, urging people to leave. Lumira checked the display only once while still supporting Elia by the shoulder. Beside her, the three guardian bodies turned in the same direction at the same time. The distortion point was close to a passageway in the outer edge area. They had no choice but to hurry. Lumira and the others left the facility and moved through the broken stone corridor toward the point of occurrence. Once they s...

LIGHT 06: Observation and Reality

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LIGHT 06: Observation and Reality Lumira and the others had moved to an observation management facility for the collapsed zone. The facility stood near the outer edge of the collapse area, enclosed by thick stone walls. Once inside, rows of observation devices lined both sides of the passage, and pale threads of light drifted quietly across the walls. Distortion occurrence records. Regional fluctuation trends. Recognition error rates. Countless records surfaced as letters of light. The light was orderly. No wavering. No disturbance. And that order made it feel even more unnatural. The administrators stood before the observation panels, each checking the displays. No one raised their voice, and there were few footsteps. Inside the facility, only the low pulse of pale light echoed softly. “Distortion occurrence rate, stable.” One administrator reported. “Large-scale fluctuations trending toward convergence.” Another voice fol...

LIGHT 05: The Definition of Normal

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LIGHT 05: The Definition of Normal Lumira and the others continued moving away from the collapsed passage. The distortion that had remained deep inside the corridor was now falling back into a place they could no longer see. Even so, the weight in the air had not disappeared. Pale light leaked from cracks in the stone walls, and each time the dust scattered across the floor brushed against their feet, it rose in small white clouds. Elia still could not walk on her own. Lumira supported her by the shoulder as they moved carefully between the broken stones. Elia tried several times to step forward on her own, but each time, the axis of her body lagged slightly behind. She was walking. But her body was arriving late. She had not returned yet. The three guardian bodies had spread out around Lumira and Elia. One ahead. One behind. The last one watched the side of the passage, following the reactions left by the lingering distortion. Their f...

LIGHT 04: Signs of Exhaustion

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LIGHT 04: Signs of Exhaustion Even after the light leaking from Elia’s fingertips disappeared, the guardian bodies did not move. All three kept their awareness fixed in the direction where the distortion had been, while watching Elia at the same time. Their gaze held no emotion. And yet, their stillness carried unmistakable vigilance. They were still watching. The distortion. And Elia. At the far end of the collapsed passage, the spatial distortion was slowly shrinking. It had not vanished completely. The thin remnant of warped space trembled like the torn edge of cloth. The surrounding dust had begun to settle, but only the white particles drifting near the distortion continued to flow in an unnatural direction. It was quiet. Only the abnormality remained. Lumira adjusted her hold on Elia. There was no longer any reason to stay here. At the very least, Elia had to be moved away from the distortion. Lumira slipped an arm around...

LIGHT 03: A Phenomenon Beyond Understanding

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LIGHT 03: A Phenomenon Beyond Understanding The expansion of the distortion had settled for the moment. But it was not over. Only that place, left at the far end of the collapsed passage, seemed to float slightly apart from the surrounding space. The dust gathered on the floor did not move, yet the white particles drifting near the distortion continued to slowly change direction. Too quiet. The guardian bodies did not lower their guard. One of the three moved silently toward the edge of the distortion. There was almost no sound from its steps. Its outline, formed of light, cast a faint reflection against the broken stone wall. The guardian body raised one hand. Immediately after, a thin circle of light unfolded beneath its feet. The circular glow spread across the cracks in the floor, rotating slowly as if measuring the area around the distortion. Thin white lines rose into the air, trembling as they searched for an unseen boundary. Lumira rem...

LIGHT 02: Remaining Distortion

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LIGHT 02: Remaining Distortion Even after the summoning ended, the distortion in space had not disappeared. The sounds of collapse had grown distant. Even so, the air refused to settle. White dust drifted across the floor, moving slowly as though being drawn by an invisible current. Lumira remained on one knee, checking Elia’s breathing. Shallow. Thin. But it had not stopped yet. There was still time. That was the decision she reached. Then, immediately after, one of the guardian bodies standing behind her suddenly stopped moving. Only its gaze had turned toward the far end of the collapsed passage. Noticing the reaction, Lumira lifted her head. The guardian remained silent, staring fixedly at that single point. It did not look as though it had found an enemy. It looked as though it had sensed something. Lumira slowly stood and followed its line of sight. At the end of the passage, there was nothing but a broken wall an...

LIGHT 01:The Body Beginning to Collapse

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LIGHT 01:The Body Beginning to Collapse The collapse had already begun. Part of the ceiling had fallen away, exposed steel groaning overhead. Cracks spread slowly across the walls, and each time they widened, fragments of debris scattered across the floor. Dust clouded the air white, swallowing the far end of the corridor from sight. If she stayed here, the next collapse would take her with it. Evacuation was no longer optional. Lumira made the decision instantly and turned to leave. There was no reason to remain here — and she had no hesitation in that conclusion. Then something caught at the edge of her vision. A motionless shadow. In the middle of the collapsing space, only that shape remained unnaturally still. Her feet stopped. Through the drifting dust, a faint outline slowly emerged. A person. “...Elia.” The name came before confirmation did. Under normal circumstances, she could have ignored it. Prioritizing the safety of the whole ov...