[Opening Spread]
Another house.
Another explosion.
But this time—
The entire structure is flattened inward.
Roof collapsed like crushed tin.
Trees outside stripped of bark.
Windows blown outward violently.
Street signs bent.
But the epicenter—
Inside.
[Inside Scene]
Bodies pinned to walls.
Not sliced.
Crushed.
Organs liquified from pressure overload.
Blood coating ceiling in thick streaks.
This wasn't precision.
This was uncontrolled compression.
Detective Hayato steps into the wreckage.
He doesn't speak.
He kneels.
Touches a dent in the floor.
Indentation pattern circular.
Pressure collapse.
He mutters:
"It's accelerating."
The forensics tech whispers:
"This one wasn't subtle."
Hayato looks at the walls.
Unlike previous cases—
There are inconsistent pressure signatures.
Multiple overlapping compression zones.
Unstable.
Chaotic.
Different from before.
[Cut — Rooftop Nearby]
Ryuto watches again.
Silver eyes narrowed.
He feels it clearly now.
The pressure here is not layered.
It's forced.
Someone is attempting wide-range atmospheric compression—
Without gradient control.
That's dangerous.
Because if you increase pressure too fast—
You cause shockwave recoil.
Which explains the bark stripped from trees.
Uncontrolled decompression rebound.
Amateur replication.
[Mechanic Explanation — Copy's Flaw]
Ryuto manipulates pressure through micro-adjustment.
Layer by layer.
Copy user is brute forcing expansion and collapse cycles.
Result:
Massive output.
Low precision.
High collateral.
He understands now.
This is artificial.
Someone tried to recreate Null Genesis.
But didn't understand that his body regulates pressure naturally.
Without internal regulation—
Atmospheric compression becomes unstable.
Explosive.
[Scene Shift — Underground Lab]
Dim room.
Medical equipment.
Pressure gauges shattered.
A young male strapped to a reinforced chair.
Body trembling violently.
Skin pale.
Eyes bloodshot.
Air around him warps in pulses.
Uncontrolled.
Machines read extreme pressure fluctuation.
A shadowed figure watches through glass.
Notes on clipboard:
"Subject Beta-1."
"Attempted sigil replication via external graft."
"Atmospheric response achieved."
"Regulation failure at 68% load."
The subject screams.
Not in pain.
In overload.
Air compresses violently around him.
The reinforced glass cracks.
The shadowed figure smiles faintly.
"Progress."
[Back to Street — Night]
Ryuto senses a sudden pressure spike.
Far stronger than previous incidents.
He closes his eyes.
Tracks turbulence pattern.
It's erratic.
But growing.
His whisper:
"…That's not survival."
"That's experimentation."
[First Confrontation — Partial]
In an abandoned industrial zone—
Beta-1 stumbles forward.
Breathing unstable.
Each step causes dents in concrete.
Air around him pulses outward in shock bursts.
He sees Ryuto at the far end.
Eyes widen.
"…You…"
He feels familiar pressure resonance.
Because the grafted sigil was modeled after Ryuto's energy readings.
Ryuto feels it too.
A distorted echo of himself.
Beta-1 lashes out wildly.
Massive outward compression wave.
Ryuto counters immediately.
He increases inward pressure simultaneously.
Equal and opposite pressure gradients collide.
Shockwave implodes mid-air.
Concrete shatters beneath both of them.
[Mechanic Contrast]
Beta-1 uses raw atmospheric expansion.
Ryuto uses layered compression.
Beta-1 pushes outward.
Ryuto sculpts inward.
Beta-1's lungs bleed from internal instability.
Ryuto's body absorbs strain gradually.
Because he was designed for this.
Beta-1 screams.
Overloads.
Attempts full pressure burst.
Buildings nearby begin collapsing inward.
Ryuto narrows his eyes.
He does something new.
Instead of attacking—
He stabilizes surrounding pressure field.
Creates gradient barrier.
Reduces collateral.
First time we see him protecting environment.
Not intentionally heroic.
Just strategic.
If buildings collapse—
He loses control field clarity.
He steps forward.
Places hand near Beta-1's chest.
Doesn't touch.
He compresses the air only around the grafted sigil.
Precision.
Hyper-dense micro field.
Release.
The grafted sigil ruptures violently.
Beta-1 collapses.
Alive.
Barely breathing.
Gasping.
"…I just wanted to… be like you…"
Ryuto's eyes flicker slightly.
Not sympathy.
Recognition.
He whispers:
"…You weren't built for it."
[Cut — Shadowed Figure Watching Through Drone Feed]
Static flickers.
Ryuto visible on monitor.
The figure murmurs:
"Regulation capability confirmed."
"Subject Beta-1 failure acceptable."
He writes:
"Proceed to Phase Two replication."
[Final Page]
Ryuto stands over Beta-1.
Wind circling slowly.
He looks at the ruined graft.
Under his coat—
His own sigil pulses.
Not brighter.
Aware.
Someone is studying him.
Someone is measuring his fights.
He whispers:
"…You're watching."
Storm clouds tighten overhead.
Black page.
AERION
End Chapter 6.