Sparks in the Dark

The tunnels beneath Fort Argenvale were older than Gaia itself. Remnants of the pre-Etheric War, lined with echo chambers and rusted channels from before the age of Divine Artifacts. Long ago sealed off, they now functioned as advanced simulation zones—battle scenarios reconstructed with Abyss mimicry for testing combat synergy under extreme conditions.

It was here that the Octagon found themselves again, less than a week after their Eiswacht mission.

"Another simulation?" Sylvia asked flatly, brushing a loose strand of silver-blonde hair from her eyes.

"Live combat's unpredictable," Julius Synthesis 2 said as he leaned against the command rail. "These tests measure response under pressure. Decision-making. Ego. Emotion."

"You mean arguments," Charlotte muttered.

"I mean sparks," Julius replied with a grin.

Cyg remained silent, already analyzing the mock layout. A synthetic city block. Six target zones. Two threat types. Hidden triggers. All variables noted.

Thea's voice echoed over the comms.

"Begin when ready. Success requires unity. Not survival."

The simulation initiated.

The moment they entered, the air shifted.

Cyg, Charlotte, and Harriet moved west, flanking the taller buildings. Hikari and Eun-Ha took the rooftop routes. Sylvia and Elaine ran forward in a sweeping arc, with Mia trailing mid-rear, casting layered barriers like petals from her grimoire.

And then—

BOOM!

A burst of sonic distortion exploded beneath Harriet's boots. A misfire trap. She grunted as the impact knocked her off her feet and into Charlotte's side, nearly throwing both into a digital wall of ethereal fire.

"Watch it!" Charlotte barked, rolling away.

"It triggered on its own!" Harriet hissed.

"You stepped on it," Cyg said coldly. "Our map showed five trap zones. That was one."

Harriet stormed to her feet. "Maybe next time lead with actual words, Tactician."

"Maybe listen when I issue formation cues."

"You bark like a machine, not a leader."

Charlotte's voice snapped like a whip. "Both of you, shut up."

They turned to her—eyes burning, ether rippling—but Charlotte had already activated a drone pulse that suppressed the wall of fire. She pointed to the east.

"Focus. Priority threat incoming."

Across the simulation field, a massive Fracture Tank simulation—a biomechanical Abyss monstrosity—rose with grinding steel and synthetic ether screeches. Its sides peeled open like petals of a twisted flower, revealing glowing rift cores and triple plasma cannons.

"It's mock-grade, but its firepower's real," Cyg warned. "We split it. Mia, support. Sylvia, interference."

"Got it!" Mia called, launching three creation seals to intercept the cannon fire.

"On it," Sylvia said, activating Orisha and weaving her soundforce into a harmonic vibration that destabilized the cannon trajectory.

The fight turned wild.

Elaine zipped through the air in spirals, slicing open false-abyssal constructs with her wind-carved rapier.

"Whee! Target down!" she laughed.

"Too close!" Sylvia called out. "Cover the left flank!"

From the rooftops, Eun-Ha summoned a beam of radiant ether, blinding the monster long enough for Hikari to descend like a whisper of death. Her scythe cleaved through the central core in a single, graceful arc, her eyes closed in pain.

Harriet charged the weakened shell with flames bursting from her back, and Charlotte's drones detonated perfectly in sync.

Then silence.

And the construct collapsed.

As the team caught their breath, Harriet spoke first.

"You know, we fight fine when no one's micromanaging us."

Cyg turned, wiping ash from his coat.

"You call that fine? You triggered a trap, failed to reposition, and—"

"And you never miss a chance to critique," Harriet snapped. "It's like you'd rather win the fight alone than trust anyone."

Before Cyg could respond, Charlotte cut in.

"Enough. Both of you."

She stepped forward, her tone more tired than sharp.

"I get it. We're different. We clash. But this isn't helping. We're not on the battlefield now—we're in training."

"Maybe we need that clash," Eun-Ha said quietly. "Some bonds are forged in silence. Others in fire."

Everyone turned to her.

Hikari took a step closer, voice soft. "I think Eun-Ha's right. Even when we fought that Black Core… we didn't think. We felt. Together."

Sylvia nodded slowly. "We still lack rhythm. But we're starting to move in tune."

Mia smiled. "Like a song?"

Elaine grinned. "Or a storm!"

Cyg looked around at them. His gaze lingered on Harriet, who still bristled with stubborn heat, and Charlotte, whose drone hovered cautiously at her side.

Then he exhaled.

"We'll debrief later. Thea will want a full analysis."

Harriet scoffed. "Still you."

But this time, she didn't walk away angry.

Later that night, Cyg sat alone on the balcony, overlooking the storm-lit cliffs of Gaia's coast. His gunblade, Aetheron, rested beside him, silent. He didn't clean it this time.

Charlotte approached, holding a steaming mug.

"Cocoa," she said. "Don't read into it."

Cyg stared at her. "I don't drink sugar."

"I know." She sipped her own. "I just didn't want to drink alone."

They sat in silence.

For once, it wasn't uncomfortable.

And when Harriet passed below them in the courtyard, she didn't shout. She just waved—two fingers and a smirk.

Cyg didn't wave back.

But he watched.

And that was something.