Neon blue light veins slashed across the night sky, flickering as they wove between the high-rises of Eloria. From ground level, they would have looked like constellations. But from where Kaelan stood, the neon was like fluorescent lights stuck to a ceiling. Broken Quarter. This city's fractured memory—a district where the quantum lattice surveillance network had malfunctioned due to ruin interference, where those without Neural Tags lived in hushed concealment. Kaelan had existed here for sixteen years, remaining "unmeasurable" as an entity. Deep in the night, Hollow Arcade's underground market. Dim light sources hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, and beneath them, black market dealers continued their transactions. Synthetic narcotics, forged Neural Tags, relics from the pre-convergence era—items that would earn five years imprisonment if touched, yet lay here as casually as everyday goods. "Operational check complete," Kaelan said. He handed the repaired quantum lattice terminal to his client—a middle-aged man with half his face covered in cloth. From the frayed cuffs of his leather jacket, Kaelan's fingertips showed a faint metallic sheen. It was a trace of neural circuit awakening, though he didn't yet know it. "Confirmed," the client said. The man took the terminal and pulled eighteen Qbits from his pocket. Not coins. Physical tokens of quantum currency—a thumb-sized metal piece embedded with a quantum processor that recorded its value. Kaelan accepted it and rolled it between his fingers. Tonight's food and tomorrow's spare parts budget. The amount was just right. The client disappeared into the darkness. Kaelan leaned his back against the wall and observed his surroundings. The merchants' voices echoed low. Price negotiations, transaction confirmations, occasional laughter leaking through. On his left ear, Kaelan bore a small tattoo modeled after a quantum circuit. He'd carved it himself. It meant nothing. He simply liked it. The geometric beauty of quantum circuits. (Well, time to head back.) Kaelan pushed off from the wall and headed toward the market's exit. Along the way, he checked a memo he'd written on the back of a broken sign. "East collapse wall, third tier from the right. Might be able to go deeper than last time." The memo was three days old. A record of an entry route to Fundament Ruins—the pre-convergence era relics at the deepest part of Broken Quarter. It took less than a second for curiosity to overcome reason. ——Why did Kaelan venture into ruins? The reason was simple. Curiosity. Pre-convergence relics operated on principles different from modern technology. Something called magic circuits—not quantum processors—was etched into them. When Kaelan saw them, his heart soared. His curiosity about the unknown outweighed the danger. He lived as a repairman. He fixed broken things. That was his trade. But if his repair work was limited to modern technology alone, it felt insufficient. He wanted to touch pre-convergence relics—the remnants of an era when magic and technology had fused. That was Kaelan's secret desire. Leaving the market, Kaelan passed through winding alleys. The cold night air brushed his cheeks. In the distance, he heard a drunk man's voice. Eloria was a city that never slept. The quantum lattice operated twenty-four hours, and people worked continuously day and night. But Broken Quarter was different. Here, there was no benefit from the quantum lattice. People lived by their own strength alone. Kaelan's dwelling was an abandoned room in a decommissioned power facility. About six tatami mats in size. A modified workbench, a futon, and scattered parts waiting for repair. But tonight, he wouldn't go home. He headed toward Fundament Ruins. He passed through gaps in collapsed buildings and climbed over mountains of rubble. The darkness was deep; moonlight alone couldn't illuminate his feet. Kaelan pulled out a modified light source device. Three times brighter than commercial models, with one-tenth the power consumption. His own creation. Light tore through the darkness. Before him spread a labyrinth of collapsed beams and solidified wiring. Quantum circuit remnants were embedded in the walls, and occasionally, faint electrical currents ran through them. Kaelan adjusted his tool bag and proceeded carefully. The descent took thirty minutes. Deep underground. The air changed. Humidity rose, and the smell of dust grew stronger. On the wall surface, unfamiliar patterns were carved. Quantum circuit geometry. And—distinct from that, sculptural engravings. Kaelan stopped and reached toward the wall. His fingertips touched the patterns. Cold. A stone-like texture. But clearly different from quantum circuits. (Is this... a magic engraving?) Kaelan possessed almost no knowledge of pre-convergence history. But he'd heard rumors. That there had been an era when magic and technology fused. That relics from that era had both quantum circuits and magic engravings carved into them simultaneously. He brought the light source device closer to the wall. The patterns emerged. Exquisite. So precise and beautiful that it seemed impossible for human hands to have carved them. Kaelan held his breath. (Amazing...) Deeper still. He reached a small chamber. About three meters square. The entire wall surface was covered in patterns. Quantum circuits and magic engravings were intricately intertwined. In the center of the room. Something was buried in the rubble's crevices. Small enough to fit in a palm. Multifaceted. Its surface was carved with patterns. Kaelan crouched down and poked it with a tool handle. No response. (Well, it's probably broken anyway.) He was aware that this was self-deception. But curiosity won out. He picked it up with his bare hands. ——In that instant. Something other than electrical current ran through his nervous system. His vision inverted. Eloria's blue neon disappeared. In its place, golden veins became visible, shining through from inside the buildings. The walls, the floor, the ceiling—everything became semi-transparent. Beyond them, a structure of flowing light existed. It was as precise as an anatomical diagram, pulsing like a living thing. Kaelan had no time to cry out before consciousness left him. ——. ——. ——. Cold. A cold sensation on his cheek. Water? Kaelan slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurred. Focus wouldn't come. (Where am I...) An alley. His face was submerged in a puddle. Kaelan hurriedly pushed himself up. In the process, his tool bag caught, and he fell again. His back struck the ground. "...Ow," Kaelan groaned. He slowly got to his feet. His entire body was covered in mud. Mud clung to the back of his leather jacket. (What happened?) He traced his memories. Fundament Ruins. Small chamber. Multifaceted object. The moment he touched it—his vision inverted. After that, nothing. Kaelan patted his pockets. The multifaceted object was there. (Did I bring it with me?) Despite having lost consciousness, it was somehow in his pocket. Kaelan pulled it out and examined it in the moonlight. The patterns on its surface seemed to glow faintly—or so it appeared. (...Neural connection overload? No, I don't have a Neural Tag connected.) Kaelan brushed mud from his knees, trying to make sense of his situation. But it wouldn't come together. His head ached. A clumsy landing after a harrowing experience. But because of it, laughter came before fear. "...Well, at least I'm not dead," Kaelan said. He returned the multifaceted object to his pocket and began walking through Broken Quarter's winding alleys. The way home. A quiet night road. In the distance, he heard someone laughing. A drunk, probably. As he walked, Kaelan kept replaying what had just happened. His vision had inverted. He'd seen golden light. The insides of buildings had become transparent. Had it been a hallucination? Or—— ——Something resonated deep in his ear. Kaelan stopped. Not a sound. Not language. Yet it possessed clear intention—a vibration, the only word for it, existed as if seeping into the depths of his nerves. Kaelan placed his hand over his ear. The vibration continued. (Auditory hallucination?) The rational thinking cultivated through his work as a repairman began listing causes. Was some resonance device emitting electromagnetic waves? Aftereffects of oxygen deprivation in the ruins? Or had he hit his head in the fall? But the vibration in that voice had a quality unlike electromagnetic waves or hallucinations. It didn't inspire fear. Rather, it felt warm, like a distant memory. Kaelan pulled the multifaceted object from his pocket and examined it in the moonlight. The patterns on its surface seemed to glow faintly—or perhaps that was merely how it appeared. "...Did you make that sound?" Kaelan asked. There was no answer. Only the vibration continued. Kaelan gripped it tightly. The cold sensation of metal. Yet strangely, it brought comfort. He began walking. The vibration resonated quietly in the depths of his ear. ——. A section of an abandoned building. A modified room in a decommissioned power facility. Kaelan's dwelling. He opened the door and stepped inside. On the workbench lay three parts waiting for repair, one food package, and one small metal piece—his mother's keepsake. Kaelan placed the multifaceted object on the workbench. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating it. He pulled out his notebook and scribbled hastily. "Multifaceted object. Possible pre-convergence relic. Visual distortion and loss of consciousness immediately after contact. Currently experiencing persistent vibration in ear. Danger level: Unknown. Return destination: None. Disposal: No." After writing the last two lines, Kaelan wondered why he was so certain he wouldn't dispose of it. No answer came. Only the vibration continued, awakening curiosity rather than fear. The workbench lamp flickered once for no apparent reason. Kaelan tilted his head at the sight. (Is the power supply unstable?) He tried to check the wiring, but exhaustion won out. He collapsed onto the bed. Staring at the ceiling. The vibration continued. In that moment—Kaelan sensed something feminine in the vibration, not as language but as an impression, a presence. But he immediately attributed it to fatigue and closed his eyes. That presence didn't fade until sleep took him. ——And so Kaelan's long journey quietly began.