Chapter 8 Whispers of the strom

The rain returned.

Neo-Tokyo was drenched in a summer monsoon, with thunder echoing between buildings like the growl of an awakening beast. In the Shiratori hangar, however, all was still—until a sudden crack! of energy startled everyone.

“System overload!” Sora yelled from the diagnostics panel.

Sparks flew from the glider’s ignition core as Riku dove in with a fire extinguisher. The test flight had failed—again.

Yuto leaned against the wall, soaked from a training sprint, panting.

“This glider’s barely holding together,” Riku muttered.

Coach Amano approached, face grim. “You’ll have to fly with a replacement next week.”

Yuto’s heart sank. That glider—the White Comet—had been his brother’s.

A Sudden Visit

That evening, a mysterious guest arrived at the hangar. Dressed in an old pilot coat, his face obscured by a wide-rimmed cap and aviators, he walked with a limp.

“Name?” Amano asked.

“Jun Hayate,” the man said.

Riku froze. “The Jun Hayate? Former captain of the Phoenix Division?”

Jun nodded. “Heard you’re the school that beat Kaede. Thought I’d see the sparks myself.”

He turned to Yuto.

“And you… you look like him.”

Yuto flinched. “You knew my brother?”

Jun nodded. “He saved my life.”

Silence fell.

Secrets in the Sky

Later that night, Jun shared old footage with the team. Combat recordings. Flight patterns. Details of a mysterious experimental weapon program called Project Aether—rumored to have caused unexplained crashes.

“Your brother wasn’t reckless,” Jun said. “He was targeted.”

Yuto stared at the encrypted footage—frames lost, corrupted. But one thing was clear: Kaede had been covering something that day.

“This wasn’t an accident,” Yuto muttered.

Jun nodded. “And I think they’re still watching.”

A chill crept through the hangar.

Training the Mind

Under Jun’s guidance, the team began a new kind of training—mental agility, tactical deception, reaction under misinformation.

Jun’s motto was simple: “The sky tells lies. Learn to read its truth.”

Yuto found himself growing sharper, more fluid.

Riku—more trusting.

And Sora, surprisingly, began beating AI bots in solo sims.

Even Coach Amano looked impressed.

“Good,” Jun said, watching their progress. “You’ll need every edge. The Aether League’s scouts are coming.”

The Underground Race

Jun took them to a secret glider circuit beneath the city—“Sky Alley.”

No rules. Just guts.

There, Yuto faced off against an aggressive pilot named Kuro, a former prodigy turned rogue.

The race was brutal. Turbulence traps. EMP fog. Zero-visibility tunnels.

Yuto pushed past his limits, relying only on sound and instinct. He heard the wind like music—saw the path in chaos.

He won by a breath.

Kuro grinned. “You’ve got your brother’s fire… and your own wind.”

Jun smiled. “You’re ready.”

A Rising Threat

As the chapter closed, news broke:

A top National League team had dropped out. Their glider had exploded mid-air. No survivors.

Jun stared at the footage. “They’re accelerating the tests.”

Yuto clenched his fists.

“This isn’t just about tournaments anymore, is it?”

“No,” Jun replied. “It’s about who controls the sky.”

Lightning struck in the distance.

And above the storm, unseen wings waited.