Date: June X787
Location: Eastern Perimeter — Task Force Nine Mobile Post
Ethne stood at the clearing's edge, arms folded tight, eyes on the faint glow shifting above the trees. The barrier glyphs flickered softly around the mobile post — quiet enough not to alarm, sharp enough to remind anything watching that they were seen.
Something had nudged the outer wards an hour ago.
"Still no ping from Teresa," a rune scout muttered, eyes on a trembling crystal feed.
Ethne didn't answer. She'd already checked the frequencies herself. Teresa's Yoki had brushed the perimeter — faint, quick, deliberate. A whisper instead of a shout.
Kinana's voice came from behind her.
"She went west."
Ethne didn't turn.
"Alone?"
"Always," Kinana said, stepping up beside her. "She didn't take the vault routes this time."
"She knew someone was watching."
"She always knows," Kinana agreed.
Finally, Ethne turned.
"You spoke to her?"
Kinana shook her head.
"No. She left a trace marker. Passive. Meant to be found. Not for us. For whoever else was tracking her."
Ethne paused, thinking.
"A message?"
"Or a decoy," Kinana said. "With her, it's always hard to tell the difference."
Location: Magnolia — Guild Rooftop Observation Point
Romeo sat beside Max, elbows resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the distant western skyline through a long-range mirror orb.
Clouds hung heavy, no rain yet — just a thick pressure that felt like a held breath.
"You think she's provoking them?" Romeo asked.
Max shook his head.
"She's not reckless."
"But she doesn't report in. Doesn't explain. Doesn't… let us help."
Max glanced at him.
"Neither do storms."
Below them, Fairy Tail moved on — repairs, deliveries, job postings. But the air felt ceremonial, like every movement was a quiet prayer.
They were waiting.
For a sign.
A fight.
Or her return.
Location: Oak Town — Ruins Periphery
Teresa approached a half-shattered glyph pillar at the town's edge, steps careful, fingers drifting lightly over the stone's surface.
This pillar hadn't been here last time. Two new glyphs marked its base — fresh, sloppy etchings.
Raven Fang's handiwork. Or someone imitating them.
She stopped a meter back. Waited.
Nothing.
She drew her blade and cut a thin line across her palm, letting one drop fall onto the pillar.
The stone pulsed once, low and dull.
A warped projection field rose — hazy, glitching. A face formed. Not Vareth's. Someone else she'd seen in the shadows. Name lost, but the hatred was clear in those static eyes.
"Reflection Phase One: confirmed."
"Target Class: Mirror-borne."
"Directive: Observe. Record. Erase."
Then it vanished.
She wiped her palm against her cloak, muttering to no one.
"Too late for erasure."
Location: Lamia Scale — Glyph Interpretation Room
Chelia Blendy tilted her head at the spiraling sigil Jura had brought. She traced her finger along a looping mark.
"These aren't for control," she said slowly. "They're feedback patterns. Resonance echoes."
Lyon scowled.
"Meaning what?"
"They weren't meant for a person," Chelia said. "They're meant for a presence. A vault, a spirit… maybe even a mirrored imprint of someone."
Jura's face darkened.
"The vaults have started classifying Teresa as a mirrored threat class."
Chelia looked up sharply.
"Why would they do that?"
Jura lowered his voice.
"Because she passed their test."
Location: Border Ravine — Temporary Camp
Raven Fang's operatives moved in silence, every movement sharp and cautious, like blades left too long in rain.
Vareth sat apart, eyes closed, hands folded lightly.
A younger operative nearby finally spoke.
"She didn't kill you."
Vareth's eyes opened just a crack.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because she needs the idea of me alive — for now."
The young mage frowned.
"But she'll win. She always does."
Vareth let out a slow, tired breath.
"She always has."
"Then why wait?"
"Because something worse than me is coming," Vareth said softly. "And she wants to see whether I'll stand against it — or kneel to it."
His eyes drifted west, as if reading something in the dusk only he could see.
"And I still haven't decided."
Location: Outskirts — Glyph Ridge
Teresa stood at the base of a jagged cliff dotted with half-buried glyph shards.
This wasn't a vault. Too cracked. Too broken to hold a memory properly.
It was an echo site. A scar of a scar.
She knelt, palm against the cold central ring. Her Yoki spread outward, slow and steady.
A name flickered beneath her hand.
Ky'run.
Not whole.
Fragmented.
A shard jammed deep into Earthland's crust like a broken tooth.
It had seen her.
It had recorded her.
She wasn't fighting Raven Fang anymore.
She was fighting the legacy they wanted to wake.
She stood slowly.
Her sword slipped free of its sheath — not in defiance.
In decision.