The call came at dawn.
Not an alarm.
A request.
That alone made Aiden uneasy.
The system activated before anyone spoke.
[MISSION AUTHORIZATION: RESPONSE UNIT OMEGA-7]
[Incident Type: Spatial Degradation — Suburban Zone]
[Civilian Presence: High]
Aiden sat up slowly.
Suburban.
That meant homes. Families. People who hadn't signed up to be near anomalies.
Hana waited at the door, already armored.
"You're cleared for field deployment," she said. "With supervision."
Aiden nodded.
He didn't ask by whom.
The transport cut through the morning sky in silence.
Lucas reviewed the briefing on a floating display.
"Localized distortion spreading through a residential block. No visible gate yet, but mana density is climbing fast."
Mei-Lin leaned back in her seat. "So it's incubating."
"Exactly," Lucas said. "If a gate forms here".
"It'll tear through the neighborhood," Jaxon finished.
Amara glanced at Aiden. "Can you feel it?"
He closed his eyes.
"Yes," he said quietly. "It's unstable. And afraid."
Mei-Lin scoffed. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
The system pulsed.
[Interpretation: Subject Perception Valid.]
That shut her up.
They landed two blocks away.
The distortion was subtle at first, windows vibrating, shadows stretching unnaturally, air shimmering like heat haze. Civilians were being evacuated, confusion and fear thick in the air.
Aiden stepped out of the transport.
The neighborhood reacted.
Not violently.
Uneasily.
Dogs barked. Birds scattered. The Fragment stirred, responding to the fragile reality around it.
[Output Limit: 0.1% — Active]
Lucas raised a hand. "Formation. Amara, scout ahead. Jaxon, barriers ready."
Mei-Lin glanced at Aiden. "And him?"
Lucas hesitated. "Center. Always center."
Aiden didn't miss the implication.
The distortion intensified as they moved deeper.
A house ahead twisted slightly, its walls bending inward as if pulled by invisible hands. A child cried from inside.
Amara froze. "There's still someone in there."
Lucas swore. "Evacuation missed a pocket."
Mei-Lin drew her weapon. "We don't have time"
"I do," Aiden said.
He stepped forward.
The system flared warnings instantly.
[Civilian Proximity: Critical.]
[Containment Advisory: MAXIMUM.]
Aiden ignored them.
He focused not on the distortion, but on the space around the house.
The Fragment responded carefully, tentatively.
Reality stiffened.
The bending slowed.
"Go," Aiden said.
Amara didn't hesitate.
She sprinted inside.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the distortion spiked violently.
The house groaned, walls cracking as the instability reacted to intrusion.
Aiden felt it surge toward him.
Hungry.
[Output: 0.06%]
Pain lanced through his skull.
Jaxon shouted, barriers flaring to reinforce the structure.
Mei-Lin cursed, slashing at warped entities beginning to form in the air, half-shapes, not fully real.
Lucas barked orders, trying to keep the situation contained.
Aiden stood still.
If he pushed harder, the house would stabilize.
If he lost control,
The system flashed red.
[Suppression Imminent.]
"Amara!" Lucas shouted.
"Almost there!" her voice crackled through comms.
The distortion surged again, stronger.
Aiden felt the Fragment strain, resisting containment.
Not yet, he thought. Please.
The house screamed.
Then.
Silence.
The pressure vanished abruptly.
Amara burst out of the doorway, clutching a small child to her chest.
Aiden collapsed to one knee as the system slammed containment down hard.
[Emergency Suppression Applied.]
He gasped, vision blurring.
But the house stopped bending.
The distortion dissipated like mist under sunlight.
The street fell quiet.
Civilians stared from behind barricades.
The child clung to Amara, sobbing.
Lucas exhaled shakily. "All units, stand down."
Mei-Lin stared at Aiden, expression unreadable.
Jaxon lowered his barriers slowly. "That was… close."
Aiden couldn't respond.
The system flooded his vision.
[Mission Outcome: Success.]
[Civilian Casualties: 0.]
[Penalty Applied: Neural Fatigue.]
Worth it.
Back at the facility, the unit sat in silence during debrief.
"No gate formation," Lucas said. "Stabilized before threshold."
The director nodded. "Acceptable outcome."
Acceptable.
Aiden clenched his jaw.
Amara looked at him. "You held it back. For me."
"For them," he corrected.
She smiled anyway.
The system pulsed sharply.
[Attachment Risk: Increasing.]
Aiden looked away.
Later, alone in containment, Aiden stared at his trembling hands.
He had done everything right.
He had followed orders.
He had saved a life.
And yet,
The Fragment felt heavier.
More awake.
More present.
The system displayed a final line before dimming.
[Conclusion: Subject Capable of Selective Mercy.]
Aiden closed his eyes.
That wasn't praise.
It was data.
And data could be used.