Kingdom of Bernia, the rebuilt main pier of the Silver Capital. Waves lapped gently against the sturdy breakwater, while distant sailors' calls mingled with the surf.
Aaron Ball stood alone at the very end of the pier, far from the cargo-handling area and the tourist walkway. His arms were folded across his chest, and the front of his black everyday clothes hung slightly open in the sea breeze, revealing the faintly glowing outline of the Superconducting Ring beneath. His eyes were closed, his short silver-white hair stirring in the wind. He appeared to be enjoying the sea breeze, but his mind had already risen into a realm ordinary people could never reach.
His perception extended like invisible feelers, piercing the troposphere and reaching into the thin, active ionosphere above. His thoughts stirred.
A strange change began in the previously clear sky above the pier. Countless tiny points of energy, flickering with pale blue fluorescence, fell silently from high above like a rain of stars in reverse, slowly descending. At first, there were only a scattered few, but they soon became a dreamlike shower of blue orbs covering the sky over half the port. Inside each orb, tiny arcs of electricity darted like living things.
On the pier, busy workers, curious tourists, and patrolling security soldiers alike involuntarily stopped and looked up at the impossible spectacle, pointing and exclaiming in wonder.
Boer kept his eyes closed, but a cold smile curled his lips. This was not enough.
He slightly unfolded his arms and held his palms upward. A strand of brilliant golden lightning began gathering, stretching, and twisting above his right palm; at the same time, a streak of blue electricity, deep as polar ice, took shape above his left, hissing.
"Go."
The next instant, the two snake-shaped streaks of electricity