The Origin Awakens
I stood before it in the academy hangar, staring up at the colossal machine that seemed to radiate an almost predatory presence. “…So this is the Origin Dracore? It looks… terrifying.”
“Hehe… I always wondered what it was. So this is the Dracore that’s been locked away in the research lab’s basement all this time? It wasn’t broken after all?”
“Wait, you knew about it?”
“I might have… snuck in when I was little and stumbled across it by accident?”
“…Of course you did. How do you even manage to sneak into a place like that?”
We stood side by side in the newly relocated academy hangar, gazing quietly at the Origin as it loomed before us. The final calibrations weren’t complete yet, so the actual test activation wouldn’t happen until next week. We were only here because Father had told us to at least come take a look.
“…The three of us Coupling together? Is something like that even possible?”
“Still, doesn’t it sound kind of fun?”
“Fun isn’t the point… I’ve never even heard of anything like this before.”
As their voices washed over me, I stared intently at the Origin. Its exterior was strikingly different from the standard Dracores. It had a familiar shape, yet its silhouette was raw and unrefined. And its size… it was noticeably larger. The training Dracores we piloted at the academy felt almost toy-like in comparison. Its overwhelming presence pressed down on us.
Maybe that was why I felt as if the massive machine might come alive at any moment and swallow us whole. It carried the raw tension of something living trapped inside, like a beast only pretending to sleep. Because of that, the machine before me felt even more alien.
Had something like this really existed all along?
While I stood there, lost in thought, someone poked my side. I turned to find Luna standing there.
“Yuto. What have you been thinking about so quietly?”
“Nothing in particular… Why?”
“That’s not what your face says. You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Do I?”
“Yep. Totally.”
Luna nodded without the slightest hesitation, as if her words were absolute truth and mine were automatically wrong. And honestly… she was right.
Ever since morning, my head had been tangled with complicated thoughts. There was no way around it. Inside the Origin slept a ‘special power,’ and I might be the only variable capable of awakening it. Saying I didn’t feel any pressure would be a lie.
More than that, the biggest problem was that this was all unfamiliar territory to me. Had the Origin even existed in the original story? Or was it a new variable created because of my interference in this timeline?
As those worries swirled inside me, Luna patted my shoulder and laughed.
“But honestly, aren’t you a little excited about the test run, Yuto?”
“About what?”
When I tilted my head, Luna slowly curved her lips into a mischievous smile.
“The three of us Coupling at the same time… This is basically a threes—”
Before she could finish, Yuzuki suddenly stepped forward and clapped both hands over Luna’s mouth, eyes wide.
“W-wait a second! What exactly were you about to say to my brother?! Seriously!”
“Mmph…?”
Luna tried to speak, but only a giggling breath slipped through the gaps between Yuzuki’s fingers. Yuzuki’s face flushed bright red as she frowned deeply, pressing harder with both hands.
But Luna wasn’t one to stay still. She twisted and squirmed inside Yuzuki’s grip, tilting her head to create an opening before slipping free with a bright laugh.
“Hehe, did you really think you could hold me?”
“Why are you so good at escaping from stuff like this?!”
When Yuzuki glared at her with an embarrassed blush, Luna took a playful step back and stuck her tongue out. The two of them pushed and pulled at each other in a childish scuffle, but beneath the surface flowed a strangely comfortable, familiar warmth.
Watching them, I couldn’t help but smile.
In the end, there wasn’t much I could do in this situation. All I could do was follow the flow, make the best choices I could, and give it everything I had.
The mock combat arena was arranged like a ruined battlefield, with derelict buildings scattered across the field. I caught the silhouette of the enemy Dracore behind one of the structures ahead.
I held my breath and raised my rifle, aiming carefully. It was loaded with practice rounds. The trajectory and recoil were nearly identical to live ammunition, but the bullets only left marks to avoid damaging the machines.
In a single breath, I finished my aim and opened fire. But the opponent seemed to mock every shot, scraping across the ground, changing direction, and slipping past the bullets as if they were nothing. The final round streaked just past the enemy’s knee, slicing through empty air before exploding.
Every movement carried the raw instinct and reflexes of a wild beast. It felt as if the machine itself was alive and reacting. Yet I wasn’t surprised. This level of evasion was exactly what I had expected.
After all, the pilots were Haruka and Iori.
“Hehe… they actually dodged all that?”
Luna laughed with clear interest at their movements, her admiration flowing through our Coupling link. At the same time, a strong competitive spirit surged from her into me, and her consciousness whispered inside my mind.
—Let’s push it a little higher, Yuto. You want to surprise those two, don’t you?
Luna’s feedback grew sharper. It felt like she was playfully poking me with her finger, teasingly tugging at the control I held over our Coupling. But this wasn’t simply a contest to see who could fight better.
The true purpose of this mock battle was to measure how stably I—the pilot named Yuto—could operate the Dracore. How long, and how precisely, I could maintain combat capability while Coupled with Luna. This test had been prepared to gather that data.
That was why our opponents were Haruka and Iori. Iori’s precise control and Haruka’s flexible senses were more than enough to draw out my full potential.
“Luna. Don’t forget the objective of this mock battle.”
“Yuto, you’re such a stickler… Honestly, just a little bit of fun would be— eep?!”
I yanked Luna’s control stick hard. It wasn’t just to cut her off. At that exact moment, I had spotted Iori and Haruka’s Dracore charging straight at us.
They had already positioned themselves at an oblique angle between the ruined buildings and were accelerating. This wasn’t simple movement—it was a sharp, calculated rush aimed at transitioning into close-quarters combat.
I calmly adjusted my sights. I raised the rifle, tracking their path, and pulled the trigger in one smooth breath. Practice rounds fired in a sharp burst, but the two of them seemed to predict every trajectory. They weaved through building debris and pillars in a zigzag pattern, evading flawlessly.
The ruined structures served as their shields, and between them the Dracore they piloted moved like a beast, slipping and sliding forward. Our distance closed rapidly. Soon, the warning tone sounded—my rifle was empty.
The moment I heard it, I dropped the rifle without hesitation and drew the Dracore’s blade. At the same time, Iori and Haruka’s machine lightly stepped off a pile of debris and leaped into the air.
I reflexively lowered my stance and barely dodged the first strike. The blade whistled past just above my machine’s head, slicing the air. I used the opening to twist the Dracore’s axis and counterattack instantly.
For a brief moment, blade met blade in rapid succession. The cockpit rang with the screech of friction, as if sparks of intense heat were flying. This wasn’t simple trading of blows. It was a real engagement—reading each other’s patterns, disrupting them, and responding in kind.
We kept our tension high, preparing for the next move without even a chance to catch our breath. After several fierce exchanges of blades—
Iori and Haruka’s Dracore suddenly twisted away, creating distance. Were they planning something?
As I focused on that thought, their machine retreated behind one of the ruined buildings and sent a transmission.
—Haruka, the mock battle isn’t over yet. Stay focused.
—B-but! We were really fighting without even breathing just now! My head went completely blank!
The tension that had filled the air instantly dissolved at the sound of Haruka’s voice coming from behind the ruined building. Even Luna, who had been fully immersed in the fight, let out a small snort of laughter as her own tension melted away.
“…Haruka really is something else. So cute.”
“I wanted to do a mock battle with you too, oppa…”
It was right after the mock battle against Haruka and Iori had ended. I was sitting on a bench outside the changing room, waiting for Luna to finish changing, when Yuzuki, standing beside me, let out a small sigh and grumbled.
Her toes tapped restlessly against the floor, silently expressing her disappointment. I glanced at her and smiled softly.
“You got to do shooting practice with me last time, though.”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
Yuzuki pouted, the corner of her mouth turning down as she shot me a quick glare. Her eyes were filled with the kind of sulky complaint that said this wasn’t the reaction she had wanted. I found her expression so adorable that I simply shrugged.
“Then how about the two of us go somewhere this weekend?”
“Hm? This weekend…?”
“Like last time. Maybe we could go see a movie together.”
“……A movie.”
At my words, Yuzuki rolled her eyes for a moment, as if recalling something. Then, suddenly, her expression shifted into one of surprise, and she carefully lowered her gaze.
“…Okay.”
Yuzuki gave a small nod, the corners of her lips curling up just a little.