(Alright, let's go!)
With glee and wonder, Shry took his first step. But as his feet landed, something unexpected happened.
...
There is supposed to be a sound accompanied by a light that triggers when the first step is taken, but oddly, there was no reaction to Shry's step.
Because he had no idea that this wasn't supposed to happen, Shry didn't pay it any mind and continued with his next step and then the next
He walked slowly, but as he took step after step, he felt like there was something missing, he looked around out of curiosity to see if anything had changed, but just like before, all he could see was the inky blackness that surrounded him.
(Could something be happening behind me?) Shry asked him internally
Curious and a bit lost, Shry turned around for a second to look behind him. But that would prove fatal, because when he tried to turn around afterwards, his mind shook and got confused
Because he couldn't see anything but darkness, it messed with his sense of direction and caused him to start wobbling, eventually losing his balance.
In an effort to curb his loss of balance, Shry tried his best to sit down before trips.
He closed his eyes and breathed in and out in steady streams to regain his composure
Finally, after a minute, Shry was able to stabilize himself, but now, another problem has arisen. During Shry's sudden disorientation, he had lost his sense of where the path is.
*Badump, badump* Shry's heart bumped.
For some reason, after hearing his own heartbeat, Shry got calmer and clear-headed. Through all the silence and darkness, his heartbeat and breathing were the only things he could control in this environment, so in a strange way, it kind of grounded him
With this newfound rationality, Shry stood up with his eyes still closed. Suddenly, as he was getting up, he felt a minuscule bump below the soles of his shoes.
(What was that!?... Wait, is it-) Shry thought
Shuffling his shoes all around that area, Shry felt the bump and after forming an image of it in his mind, he finally came to the conclusion that it most likely points him to his destination.
(Whew! That could've been bad) Shry thought as he gratefully looked at the bumps he discovered.
The creators of the Resonance Hall made these bumps with thoughtfulness and care for the successors of humanity, but they would've never expected that a boy like Shry would be using it since it was intended for blind people.
After that, Shry slowly made his way forward, scooting his foot against the bumps so he wouldn't lose his way again.
"A-" Shry almost let out another sound but quickly covered his own mouth before he could
(What was that!) Shry thought as he opened his eyes to look at the thing he hit, but just like he expected, he couldn't see what he hit.
*Sheee* Shry sucked in a breath as he held his knee in pain.
After Shry recovered a bit, he squatted down and tried leaning in closer to the thing he hit while squinting his eyes to figure out what it was, but as he kept on leaning closer and closer; he hit his head against it by accident.
*Heeermmm* Shry groaned as he rubbed his head in pain.
(Is this... the altar, right?) Shry questioned internally, slightly irritated.
Sticking his hands out in front of him, Shry tried to feel all around the object in front of him to figure out what it was. He moved his hands around the object like he was hugging it, slowly making his way up and eventually touching it's surface
Despite not being able to see it directly, Shry was able to form a mental projection of what the object looked like and just like what he assumed, the object in front of him that brought him so much pain was actually the altar.
Additionally, due to the essence of his analysis, Shry was able to get a more in-depth look into the altar compared to most people.
The altar was not very big; in fact, it was shaped more like a lectern than an altar. It also had some very intricate engravings on it that harbors a greater intention than what it seemed on the surface.
(This is it!) Shry thought, excited about what comes next.
Without waiting, Shry raised his hands, winded it up, and instantly, with no hesitation, slammed both hands together.
*PAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKkkKK!*
…
...
.....
Shry waited for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, and even 5 minutes, but... nothing happened.
Shry tilted his head in confusion, with his face clearly displaying the same sentiment. The altar hadn't reacted or even showed any signs of reacting after all this time.
(Aaaa, hello?) Shry thought as he raised an eyebrow
Shry poked the altar gently, trying to get it to react. He wanted to probe the altar even more, but he didn't want to break something or accidentally interfere with the other participants' results.
(Is this because I accidentally spoke at the start?!) Shry thought, somewhat panicked.
Shry began to worry; he didn't want to get into trouble, but he also wanted to get his results, and since he didn't get an answer this time, he was afraid that he might have to wait for next year.
While Shry was ruminating on what to do, the door to the resonance hall suddenly began to open, displaying a light on the opposite end of the hall.
The light was bright in contrast to the rest of the Resonance Hall, but it still wasn't able to light up anything inside.
Shry flinched slightly, due to the sudden exposure of light. his eyes adapted to the darkness, so whenever he looked at the entrance, he had to wait for them to adapt before he could see anything clearly again
At the edge of the entrance, a familiar man poked his head in and looked around, curious about why Shry was taking so long.
"Are you alright in there?" The proctor slightly raised his voice in order to reach Shry, who was on the other end of the hall.
Shry saw the proctor move his lips but he couldn't hear what he said.
"Y-Yeah!" Shry stuttered, still a bit frazzled by his situation.
While the proctor was waiting for Shry, he analyzed the hall, but what he saw was beyond his imagination; that's because the resonance hall looked untouched, almost like no one went in it.
He looked at the opposite end of the Resonance hall, where Shry presumably was, which is when he realized something. Why could he hear Shry's voice
"Alright then, come out here; I have something to ask you!" The proctor gestured with his left hand for Shry to come over.
Unable to hear what the proctor said, Shry got nervous after seeing the man's gestures, but seeing that there's nowhere else to go, he had no choice but to make his way out of the Resonance hall and face the proctor.
As Shry got closer to the entrance, the proctor got more and more confused as he looked around inside the resonance hall.
With his keen eyes and familiarity with the resonance hall, he is easily able to identify a participant's resonance path even if they don't make it to the end, but Shry's case really was unique, especially if he had made it to the altar.
"Um... Mister, can you please step aside? You're in the way." Shry asked nervously as he reached the entrance.
"Oh... sorry." Hearing Shry's voice, the proctor apologized and moved to the side so he wouldn't block the entrance.
As soon as Shry exited, the proctor's whole demeanor changed, and he turned serious. Shry's clothes didn't have any change at all.
(How is this possible?!) The proctor's face hardened involuntarily as he ran through numerous scenarios where a phenomenon like this could occur in his mind.
Shry, who was now out of the Resonance hall, saw the man's hardened expression and froze; he thought he was going to get in trouble, so he tried to gauge the proctor's expressions.
(...But that'll still leave a mark in the hall.) The proctor thought to himself and suddenly looked at Shry.
Surprised by the sudden attention, Shry bounced back a little. he didn't expect to be stared at so suddenly, especially with the proctor's intense look.
"Oh, sorry, you're not in trouble, alright?" The proctor's demeanor quickly softened when he saw Shry's reaction.
Hearing that, Shry was still a bit skeptical, but he cared about finding out what went wrong and if he could go again more than he was afraid of being reprimanded.
*Hahhh!* the proctor sighed in frustration and grew silent afterwards
Seeing that the man was temporarily finished with what he was doing, Shry wanted to ask him about his situation, but he didn't know how to start.
"Errr..." Shry wanted to ask the proctor about his situation, but he didn't know how to start.
"Oh! Can you tell me what happened in there?" The proctor suddenly asked
Shry's eyes widened but turned normal after less than a second. He was surprised for a moment, but after hearing what the proctor said, he felt relieved, thinking he could get a second chance.
Shry wanted to tell the proctor everything as soon as possible, so he tried to summarize it in his mind, but as he tried to do so, he couldn't think of a way to fully articulate his words to express and summarize what had happened to him in limited words
Calming down, Shry took in a breath while looking at the man. The proctor's face didn't look like he was rushing him. In fact, the proctor looked more curious than impatient.
"Don't worry about it; just tell me everything that happened." The proctor sensed Shry's hesitation and decided to reassure him.
Shry nodded, and in that moment, he described everything that happened to him in the Resonance Hall in as much detail as he remember.
(HOW, even if he did make a noise OR A SOUND, THERE'S NO WAY THE RESONANCE WILL ACT THAT WAY!) The proctor screamed internally as he recalled the events. Shry retold
The proctor's face turned conflicted and even slightly agitated as he looked at Shry, trying to analyze his face for any discrepancies that would tell him that Shry was lying, but no matter how hard he looked, Shry's expressions told him that he was being truthful.
At first, Shry was convinced that the proctor would allow him to retake the test, but as he watched the proctor twist and turn through numerous expressions, he couldn't be so sure anymore, especially after seeing how the proctor looked at him.
"Uhh, can I retake the test?" She was confused by the man's expression.
"Oh…uh...yeah." The proctor was caught off guard by Shry's question, causing him to stutter.
Shry couldn't help but unconsciously smile after getting confirmation that he could retake the test. Feeling relieved, Shry looked at the proctor expectantly.
"But you'll have to wait," the proctor told Shry.
Before Shry could reply, the proctor's left arm glowed green from the tip of his finger to halfway up his elbow, and in the next moment, the proctor lifted his left hand up to his mouth and began moving his glowing green fingers, creating a melodic sequence of sounds.
*Wuu Wu wung*
Visible strings of wind current appeared and flowed smoothly around the proctor's left hand, looking like flowing water. As the wind continued to flow around the proctor's hand, he opened his mouth and breathed in a few strings of wind current.
The wind currents the proctor sucked in were still connected to the flowing winds around his hand. After that, the proctor opened his mouth again, but this time, instead of sucking in more wind currents, the proctor spoke.
"YUWWE TYHAL, I REPEAT YUWWE TYHAL, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE RESONANCE HALL!" As the man articulated his words, the strings of wind current that went into the proctor's throat began to retract, carrying his words along with it.
Watching the strings of wind currents from his throat return to the currents of wind around his left hand, the proctor stopped, waved his fingers one last time, and subsequently, waves of wind carrying the proctor's voice burst out.
"Woooaaahhh" Shry stared at the proctor, mesmerized by his abilities.
"Hahh, alright, after this kid, if nothing goes wrong, then you'll be next," the proctor said and looked at Shry after he took a breath.