Unidentified Flying Object

03—10—1560 WC

The wind howled over the northeastern reaches of the Britannia Kingdom, whipping through the clouds like a ghost's lament. Rider Al adjusted his grip on the reins of his wyvern, **Draugr**, feeling the beast's muscles coil beneath him. The two had been patrolling the skies for hours, hunting for signs of enemy scouts or rogue skybeasts. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.

A blur streaked across the heavens.

It wasn't a bird. It wasn't a wyvern. It wasn't even a sky serpent. This thing—this impossibility—ripped through the air with a shriek, a howling scream of wind and metal. It was sleek, unnatural, and faster than anything Al had ever seen.

Draugr shrieked, his wings faltering in the turbulence left by the beast's wake. Al cursed, fighting to keep his wyvern steady. He squinted against the sunlight, trying to make sense of the monster tearing through Britannia's sky.

"Damn it," Al spat, pulling a runestone from his belt. He crushed it in his palm, activating the magical communication link to Sky Command. "This is Rider Al—got a sighting in the northeastern sector. Something big, something fast. It's no wyvern. It's something else. A new kind of beast."

Static. Then a response.

"Rider Al, clarify."

Al gritted his teeth. "You heard me. This thing moves like lightning. It's heading toward Patro. We need everything we got—NOW."

Silence. Then the crackle of urgency.

"We're dispatching more Riders. Hold position."

Al scoffed. Hold position? Against a thing like that? He pressed Draugr forward, forcing the wyvern to gain altitude, but it was hopeless. The phantom was already a black speck on the horizon, barreling toward Britannia's heart.

★————

Gorontalo Province—

A vast island under direct rule of the royal family, spanning approximately 97,000 square kilometers. The region, governed by an appointed official, held strategic importance within the Kingdom of Britannia.

★————

Governor Pakaya stood at the highest balcony of his castle, his eyes narrowed as the strange object screamed through the sky above Patro. The city's people below gawked, their faces tilted toward the heavens, some whispering prayers, others gasping in terror.

It circled the city twice, almost leisurely, before vanishing over the distant hills.

Pakaya's blood ran cold.

The Latvia Kingdom—those bastards had been encroaching on Britannia's borders, their hunger for war barely concealed beneath empty treaties. Could this be one of their sky weapons? Something new? Or—

...

Governor Pakaya sat at the head of the council chamber, his expression somber. The incident in Patro had left the province's leadership shaken. A craft beyond their comprehension had violated their airspace, and their military had been powerless to respond.

"This is the work of the Latvia Kingdom," one of them, Baron Orval, snapped. His silver beard trembled as he slammed a fist onto the table. "They've been testing new weapons! First the alchemical firebombs at the border, now this!"

"Nonsense," scoffed Chancellor Edrik, an old hawk of a man. "This thing moved too fast for anything those Latvia mongrels could build."

"What, then?" Orval growled. "A dragon? An elder skybeast?"

Edrik shook his head. "Something else. Something worse."

Pakaya said, "What about the Aurelia Republic? Our intelligence reports that the Aurilea Republic—has been developing flying machines, and its speeds was several hundred kilometers per hour."

"But it was more faster."

"However?"

"In the far north of Venus, a new superpower has emerged—the Magnus Empire. Intelligence suggests they are rapidly expanding. Their technology is largely unknown to us."

Silence.

"Yet…" the officer hesitated, "It's impossible. Because Magnus is incredibly far away. More than thirty thousand kilometers from here. It seems unlikely that this craft could have come from such a distant land."

Frustration grew in the room. The unknown element of the situation was more unsettling than the incident itself.

Then—

A messenger burst into the room, his face pale as death. His voice trembled as he spoke:

"My Lords... A ship has appeared in our sea."

Pakaya straightened. "A ship?"

The messenger gulped. "A leviathan. Unlike anything we have ever seen. They claim to represent a nation called the 'Bernard Empire.'"

The room erupted into whispers.

Pakaya raised a hand for silence. His gaze was sharp, calculating.

"The Bernard Empire?" he murmured. "Who are they?"