Fragile Trust

Location: Gaia HQ – Central Plaza, Morning

A soft golden sun rose beyond Gaia's crystalline spires. Yet the warmth in the air did little to melt the creeping uncertainty within the hearts of the Octagon.

The knights gathered for their routine morning drills. Sylvia adjusted her gloves. Mia carried Lexigra to the stone bench and watched quietly. Cyg observed them all with calculated silence, his fingers tapping against Aetheron's handle as if keeping time with every subtle movement in the square.

Harriet arrived last, fire still in her stride.

"What's the lineup today? Another illusion maze? More combat simulations?" she asked cheerfully.

"Trust exercises," Charlotte muttered without looking up. "Of all the ironic days."

Elaine gave a quick, breezy laugh—though her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"We're all here, aren't we? That's what matters."

Cyg's stare lingered on her for a beat too long.

Location: Training Grounds – Arena Delta

The Octagon split into pairs.

Cyg and Elaine.Sylvia and Charlotte.Harriet and Mia.Hikari and Eun-Ha.

The challenge: track each other in complete darkness while remaining silent and avoiding detection.

As the simulation began, the arena's lights faded to black. Shadows danced. The only sounds were faint movements—controlled breathing, the shuffle of boots on padded ground.

Elaine moved like wind itself—graceful, silent, almost untouchable. But Cyg knew her rhythm too well. She flickered past a fake shadow, only to find him waiting, gunblade leveled not to strike—but to test.

"You changed your stance," he said in the dark. "Three centimeters more fluid."

"You've been watching," she whispered.

"Everyone."

Elaine hesitated, then stepped back.

"Cyg… do you trust me?"

"Would it matter if I didn't?"

Silence.

"It would matter to me."

Location: Observation Deck – Outside the Arena

Thea and Irene stood in silence, watching the Octagon's movements play out on a projected pane.

"Elaine's grown stronger," Irene noted.

"She's grown quieter too," Thea replied. "Which means she's hiding something."

"Do you think she's the leak?"

"I think she's close to whoever is."

They turned as Julius and Aria arrived, both having just returned from border patrol.

"Any signs of Rift openings?" Irene asked.

Julius shook his head.

"No Abyss activity. But I did see shadows where there shouldn't be any. Like something's walking just out of reach."

"Or someone," Aria added quietly.

Thea nodded.

"Stay alert. Trust is thinning. And shadows move easiest where doubt lingers."

Location: Hall of Mirrors – Private Reflection Chamber

Later that evening, Elaine stood before a large reflective pool, where wind flowed unnaturally from within the water's surface.

Her Divine Artifact, Aetheris, glowed at her hip.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" she whispered. "Something's watching me."

Behind her, a soft gust rippled through the room.

"You shouldn't be here," came Eun-Ha's voice.

Elaine didn't flinch.

"And yet here you are."

"I follow the wind," Eun-Ha said simply. "It leads to wounds hidden deep."

Elaine turned, her expression unreadable.

"Do you doubt me?"

Eun-Ha stepped closer, light catching the golden runes on Solmaria.

"No. But someone does. And we can't afford even one strand of doubt."

Elaine exhaled slowly, fingers brushing the pool's surface.

"Then perhaps it's time we found out who's weaving the web."

Location: Orion Citadel – Subsurface Archive Vault

Coyote N'Kari slammed a fist into the wall.

"She's catching on. The wind girl. Too fast."

Marta Sirova, Widowmaker, didn't look up from her hologram.

"Then steer her where we want her. She finds the truth? We give it to her."

"We don't control the winds."

"No," Marta said, smiling coldly. "But we whisper into them."

Final Scene: Gaia HQ – Octagon Dormitory

That night, while most of the base slept, Charlotte stared at her schematics.

Hikari read silently.

Mia sketched a new spell matrix in her notebook.

Cyg stood by the window, watching the rain begin again.

And Elaine?

She opened a hidden compartment beneath her bed and pulled out an encrypted crystal. It pulsed with an unfamiliar shade of light—a frequency only one other person had given her.

A voice echoed from the crystal.

"They suspect. But if you want to end this war, you must keep playing your role."

Elaine stared into the darkness.

And whispered:

"For peace… I'll carry this alone."