The command center was a mix of quiet hums and occasional murmurs as the team gathered around the holographic table. The map of anomaly hotspots flickered in soft blues and reds, painting a tense picture of the region.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Celeste said, her tone brisk as she gestured at the map. "We have confirmation that the Class-6 anomaly is still dormant, but activity in the surrounding zones has increased by twenty percent. This is no coincidence."
Victor leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So, what's the plan? Wait for it to wake up and say hello?"
"We're conducting a reconnaissance mission," Celeste replied, ignoring his sarcasm. "Standard sweep. Aria will manage remote data analysis, and the rest of us will investigate on-site. No unnecessary risks."
Yuki, sitting cross-legged on the table itself, grinned. "Sounds boring. Can we at least hope for some action?"
Celeste sighed. "Your definition of 'action' usually ends with someone in the med bay."
"It's not my fault if they can't keep up," Yuki said with a shrug, her gaze sliding toward Kaito.
Kaito, who had been quietly trying to blend into the background, stiffened. "Why are you looking at me?"
"Just wondering if you'll survive the first five minutes," Yuki teased, her grin widening.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: USER YUKI MOCKING USER KAITO SORA. RECOMMENDED RESPONSE: ASSERT DOMINANCE.]
"Assert dominance?" Kaito muttered under his breath. "What does that even—?"
"Something to add, rookie?" Yuki asked, her tone dripping with amusement.
"N-nope. All good here," Kaito stammered, waving his hands defensively.
Victor snorted. "Yeah, he'll definitely survive."
————————————————————
After the briefing, the team gathered in the mess hall for a quick meal. The tension from the command center dissipated as plates of steaming food were passed around.
Kaito poked at his meal cautiously, half expecting it to come alive. "What is this supposed to be?"
"Protein supplement," Aria said without looking up from her tablet. "It's nutritionally balanced."
"It tastes like despair," Kaito muttered.
Yuki leaned over, snatching a piece from his plate. "Stop complaining. It's better than the rations we had last month."
"Better how?" Kaito asked. "Last month's rations didn't feel like they were judging me."
The table erupted into laughter, even Victor cracking a rare smile.
Amid the chatter, Kaito noticed Aria watching him out of the corner of her eye. She quickly looked away when their gazes met, her expression neutral.
Yuki, however, wasn't as subtle. "So, Kaito," she began, leaning her elbow on the table and smirking at him. "When are you going to show us more of those glitch tricks? Or are you saving them for a grand finale?"
Kaito scratched the back of his neck. "I'm still trying to figure them out. The last time I tried, I almost deleted my shoes."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Define 'deleted.'"
"Gone. Vanished. Into the void, maybe?" Kaito shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure."
————————————————————
Later that evening, Kaito found himself alone in one of the empty training rooms. The quiet hum of the System interface was his only company as he stared at his outstretched hand.
"Alright," he muttered, taking a deep breath. "Let's try this again."
He focused, calling up the strange, glitchy energy he'd felt during past missions. At first, nothing happened. Then, faint lines of glowing code began to materialize around his hand, swirling in chaotic patterns.
[SYSTEM WARNING: UNSTABLE ENERGY DETECTED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.]
"Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence," Kaito said through gritted teeth.
The energy coalesced into a floating rune, shimmering faintly in the dim light. Kaito stared at it, a mix of awe and confusion on his face.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" he asked, poking the rune cautiously.
The rune responded by shooting a small burst of light into the air, which promptly hit a nearby potted plant. The plant grew three times its size in a matter of seconds, its leaves brushing the ceiling.
"Uh… oops?" Kaito said, backing away slowly.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: USER HAS ACTIVATED GROWTH RUNE. SUCCESS RATE: 63%.]
Before he could process the implications, the door to the training room burst open, and Victor stepped in, his expression one of pure exasperation.
"Kaito, what the hell are you—" Victor stopped mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing at the now-massive plant. "…Do I even want to know?"
"Probably not," Kaito admitted, hiding the rune behind his back.
Victor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're going to get us all killed one day, you know that?"
"Hey, I'm just experimenting!" Kaito protested. "How else am I supposed to figure out what this glitch power can do?"
Victor gave him a long, unimpressed stare. "By not doing it unsupervised."
————————————————————
As Victor dragged Kaito out of the training room, they passed by an inactive System terminal embedded in the wall. Kaito glanced at it absently—then stopped in his tracks as the terminal suddenly flickered to life.
[SYSTEM ALERT: CLASS-6 ANOMALY CODEX ACTIVATION TRIGGERED. USER INPUT REQUIRED.]
The screen filled with streams of incomprehensible symbols, their meaning just out of reach. Kaito's hand twitched, the glitch energy sparking faintly around his fingers.
"Victor," he said slowly, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "I think… I did something."
Victor followed his gaze to the terminal and cursed under his breath. "What did you touch this time?"
"I don't know!" Kaito exclaimed. "But whatever it is, it's definitely not good."
The terminal emitted a low, ominous hum, and the symbols began to coalesce into a single, glowing rune.
[SYSTEM WARNING: ANOMALY DATA SYNCHRONIZATION IN PROGRESS. STAND BY.]
Kaito's pulse quickened as the rune floated out of the terminal and hovered in front of him. It pulsed faintly, almost like it was waiting for him to act.
"Victor," Kaito said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I think it's alive."