1. The Field Test That No One Approved
Raon stood outside her apartment building at 7:03 a.m., stretching like someone preparing for a light jog.
She was preparing to kick the horizon.
Shion, still in pajamas, sprinted down the stairs.
> "RAON! STOP! You can't just—just KICK the morning sky!"
Raon pointed upward.
"It looked at me funny."
Shion slapped her own face.
> "You woke up with a new power TEN MINUTES AGO."
Raon nodded confidently.
"I need to test it."
"No, you need coffee."
Raon leaned back, inhaled, and lifted her leg—
Shion screamed.
---
2. The Kick Heard Twice Around the World
Raon kicked.
There was no sound.
Then there was two sounds.
First:
BOOM.
Second:
BOOM but from the wrong direction.
A double shockwave roared across Metrosonic, bending the clouds, flipping birds backward, and giving everyone in the city an accidental new hairstyle.
Somewhere downtown, a reporter yelled into a mic:
> "BREAKING NEWS: THE WIND IS GOING IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS—PLEASE HOLD ONTO ANYTHING THAT HAS A SOUL."
A giant advertisement hologram of Raon exploded into glitter, regenerating, exploding again, and then forming two Raons arguing with each other.
Shion clung to a lamp post.
> "RAON, YOU'RE DISTORTING WIND DIMENSIONS!"
Raon blinked.
"…Cool."
---
3. Bureau HQ: The Meeting of Screams
Manager Kimchi slammed a report onto the table.
> "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THE SKY DUPLICATED ITSELF'?"
The analyst trembled.
"Sir… Metrosonic now has two horizons."
Baron Silence held up a sign:
[THIS IS FINE.]
DJ Bloop peeked in.
> "My coffee vibrated out of the cup and formed a second coffee."
Kimchi groaned.
> "Where is she?"
Analyst: "Outside."
Kimchi: "Doing WHAT?"
Analyst: "Kicking."
The entire room collectively screamed.
---
4. The Second Disaster
Raon stood in an alleyway, aiming at a brick wall.
Shion arrived, panting.
> "Raon… what are you doing."
"Practice."
Raon kicked the brick wall.
The wall split in half.
And also sideways.
Two separate directions at once.
A third direction briefly flickered into existence and then politely vanished.
The building next to it gently levitated in protest.
Shion grabbed Raon's shoulders.
> "You're bending CONSTRUCTIVE and DESTRUCTIVE interference simultaneously!
Physics is CRYING!"
Raon looked thoughtful.
"…So I'm talented?"
---
5. The Call That Changed Everything
Shion's tablet buzzed.
She checked it, froze, and slowly turned pale.
> "Raon… we've got a problem."
Raon brightened.
"Oh good. A villain?"
Shion shook her head.
> "Worse. Echo Prime…
is responding."
The sky shimmered.
A ripple—no, two ripples—spread across the horizon(s).
The clouds vibrated to a single message:
> "NEW OUTPUT DETECTED.
DUAL-RESONANCE USER IDENTIFIED.
ENGAGING COUNTER-MODE."
Raon smirked.
"…Wanna see if Echo can handle two kicks?"
Shion backed away.
> "No. No no no no—Raon, he'll analyze your new power! He'll copy it!"
Raon shrugged.
"Then I'll kick harder."
---
6. Echo Prime's Return (Again)
A massive glitch tore open the sky.
Not one.
Two.
Dual portals spiraled open like mirrored whirlpools.
Echo Prime stepped out—
but twice.
Two identical figures, synced perfectly, speaking in alternating syllables:
> "R A O N ."
"W E H A V E U P G R A D E D ."
Shion fainted instantly.
Raon tilted her head.
"…So you're Echo Prime 3.0?"
Both Echos answered:
> "N O .
W E A R E E C H O P R I M E X T W I N ."
Raon cracked her neck.
"Good. I needed a warm-up."
---
7. The Duel Begins
The twin Echos extended hands.
Two overlapping resonance blasts shot forward.
Raon stepped forward—
and unleashed the first intentional Dual-Resonance Kick in history.
The shockwaves collided.
Space folded.
Air rippled like liquid.
Birds paused mid-flight wondering if they should file a complaint.
Raon grinned.
"This is fun."
Both Echos spoke:
> "A N A L Y S I S…
I N C O M P L E T E .
E N T E R I N G…
M U L T I - R E S O N A N C E
B A T T L E M O D E ."
Raon whispered:
"…Hell yes."
---
[End of Chapter 53 — "Dual Resonance Disaster"]