At the Edge of the Fog
POV character: Sora Kazamachi
The beginning of the story where Sora discovers an Aether Crystal anomaly from the edge of Kasumi-Kyokai Island and becomes convinced of The Great Fall's omens.
The fog is thick. It's always a foggy morning on Kasumi-Kyokai Island, but today's fog is different. The particles are flowing in the wrong direction.
I pointed my Aether Crystal sensor toward the island's edge. The numbers waver. Buoyancy coefficient down 0.3% — less than yesterday, less than last month, less than a year ago. Looking only at the numbers, it's within the margin of error. But my sensor doesn't lie.
"The island is sinking."
Only when I said it aloud did I realize I was trembling. Through the bedrock beneath my feet, a faint vibration transmits. The pulse of the Aether Crystals at the island's heart — just slightly, just a little weaker.
Do the upper-island refiners know? No, they know and are silent. To those people, the lower islands sinking is merely "an adjustable variable." But any refiner should know that accumulated variables will eventually exceed their limit.
I opened my notebook and recorded the observation data. Who should I show these numbers to? The Council won't move. The Refiners' Guild is a subsidiary of the Council.
Then let me look down. For the first time, let me use being close to the ground as a weapon.