It's a cold night.
Approaching off the highway, I see the sign:
"Welcome to Lockfield, Texas."
Exactly where I expected.
The air is vibrating, a mist is blowing and moving dry fall leaves across the asphalt, coming from the north.
All the information was correct—the reports of power surges, blackouts, and blown transformers on the outskirts of Austin have made my rival's escape futile.
Now he hides in a small town, believing he could stay out of my grasp for just a bit longer?
Give me a break. I can't believe he's this naive.
Nevertheless, the air seems to be calming down, the static pulling at my body dwindling.
The hum at the back of my mind, however, is growing even deeper now—
The bastard is stabilizing his Core.
It makes sense that his Resonance is drained.
When he saw me, that likely halved his Attunement.
My suspended Overtone drew no attention back in the City—just as I planned.
The air is giving me goosebumps, so I return to my truck, key still in the ignition and turned over.
Shifting the gear to Drive, I continue straight on South Colorado Street.
A town as small as this doesn't have much of a nightlife.
There's a 24/7 Biggie Bites and a famous Texas fast food restaurant that's open.
Micah's Overtone has softened—just when I was passing by the City Park.
Surely he's nervous now, and seeing a black truck stalking around at 3 AM would cause him to halt the stabilization process.
If I can find him, then he will be a sitting duck.
Typically, you want to tune your Core whenever you're in a safe place, because your mind spirit is halved when syncing with your Echo—
Micah, however, is not safe.
If I can find six points of reflective material, I will be able to use Lumen Hexahedron: Geolock Protocol.
There are plenty of windows to the right of me from the City Hall building—this has to be done in one shot or I'll miss my chance.
I don't see any windows close enough at the opposite of the park, but I spot a metallic traffic sign. Perfect.
Just two more points.
There's a truck parked with large mirrors to help with towing. A large surface—my fifth Sigil Point.
It also looks like somebody left a pair of sunglasses on a bench farther from me. The plastic looks cheap, but it will work.
All locations located, I raise my hands up like a conductor and align my fingers with the Sigil Points.
"Caelux!" I yell out to my Echo.
"Lumen Hexahedron—"
I catch my breath.
"Geolock Protocol!"
A flicker in my vision—then a blast of beams spray out toward the Sigil Points, lighting up the sky.
From right to left, the Form is manifesting from the beams of light.
I feel my Core vibrating, the connection with my Echo in perfect sync.
The beams converge until they come together.
I see a blanket of light emerging from each plane of my Form.
It covers the entire park, leaving not an inch unbathed in light.
Through the volume within my Form, I feel Micah's Overtone and begin walking towards that location.
The light panels surrounding the park have reached their maximum Invocation.
They will not get any stronger—
Which means Micah is trapped within my Form.
My eyes are wide open to not lose focus of the SigilPoints.
The closer I walk, the wider I need to spread my arms and splay out my fingers.
My Attunement does not falter.
I feel Micah's Overtone pressing against my Form, trying to slip away once more.
This light will reveal his deceit.
The shimmer pulsing from each Sigil Point begins to take another shape.
I already feel my Echo's desire.
"Caelux!" I yell into the night.
"Initiate Refraction Blades!"
The air crystallizes.
Light splits along perfect vectors—each blade folds from a corner of the Hexahedron like the edge of a blade being unsheathed from glass.
Six points. Six blades.
They don't hum.
They don't glow.
They vibrate—like they're barely holding back the will to cut.
I flick my hand.
The blades shoot out, folding across the field like trapped sunbeams forced to obey gravity.
Micah dives left—wrong call.
One blade curves, refracts, then redirects mid-air like light off a window.
It slashes low, grazing his leg.
The other mirrors it, slamming into the ground beside him, carving a scorch line through the earth.
He flares.
Electricity screams off his skin like it's begging for release.
But my geometry doesn't care about chaos.
I see it in his face.
He finally understands.
The light isn't here to find him.
It's here to end him.