Chapter 7 – Dawn of the Resistance
It wasn't the sirens that sounded tonight— It was voices.
As ANGEL's message continued to echo through the silent streets of the city, the state was in a panic. Towers were cracking, data was leaking, and the voices... the voices were taking control. For the first time, they were no longer following a script they had written.
At the entrance of the abandoned train station, Itsuki quietly opened the metal door. He walked on tiptoes, yet his mind buzzed with noise. Makoto's voice came through his earpiece: "Their new weapon is coming. Codename: Asyl. Fast, silent, unresponsive."Itsuki replied with a whisper: "Silent, huh? Then we'll need someone who knows how to answer with sound…"Mizue was already inside. Her eyes had changed. Ever since merging with Lavi, there was a vibration in her gaze—a resonance that spoke before any word was uttered. She said, "If anyone can still hear me… I'm no longer just a song. Even when the melody ends, my voice remains."Asyl entered the station like a shadow. No footsteps could be heard, but everything it passed fell silent—birds, machines, even the wind. It was as if even time had lost its voice. Mizue closed her eyes.And whispered the first lines:"Faded streetlightOn the slopes you once passed…"Her voice spread like waves shattering frequencies. Asyl's mask cracked. Its balance faltered. But at that moment, Itsuki closed his eyes. Millions of symbols began to flow through his mind. His unique ability: "Emotional Encoding." He could convert sound into data— write live algorithms out of feeling.Itsuki spoke, "Let me give you a poem, Asyl. One written in code, and read with a scream." The chip in Itsuki's hand exploded— an EMP blast surged. Asyl's systems locked up, freezing mid-step. That very moment, Mizue raised her voice. It wasn't a song. It wasn't words. It was nothing but an echo: "Wake up."And Asyl collapsed. For the first time, a state agent knelt— not to arrest, not to command— but in surrender.
In the outskirts of the city, a child broadcast Mizue's voice over an old radio. On a balcony,an old woman began to cry. Buried deep in the earth, a music box began to play… on its own. And for the first time— a VANT officer deleted the surveillance logs. "I… I heard it too. When I was little. The same voice," the officer whispered to himself.
Meanwhile, Makoto had breached the government archives. There, he found a frame— a still image of Mizue's father. He had worked on one of the earliest state projects, as one of the architects of a system called'AURELIA.' "This system… was the first to turn sound into data. Mizue's ability— it came from him," Makoto said in astonishment. Just then, Itsuki received a signal. From Aletheia. It was about his sister. "It's your turn to choose, little brother. I silenced them. But will you… listen?"
In VANT's central command building, a giant wall screen cracked. And a sentence appeared:
"THERE IS AN ECHO FOR THOSE WHO HEAR." Then came a voice— a voice that rang in everyone's mind: "This is only the beginning." VANT activated a new security protocol: "NOVA." But ANGEL had already moved one step ahead. They thought the city was under control. Until the echoes began punching holes in concrete walls.
ANGEL HQ
At the center of the hideout, Makoto was on his knees, weaving a holographic network with trembling fingers. His eyes were heavy with sleeplessness; his hands flowed with pure data. "VANT is starting to consume itself," he muttered. "All we need is the right frequency. Mizue's voice is no longer just a symbol. Code name 'AURELIA' must be activated." At the doorway, Itsuki stood in silence. He took off his jacket, tightened the vocal transmission device on his wrist. "Today, I will save my sister. Or burn with her."Mizue took a deep breath. There was no fear in her eyes anymore— only truth. She pressed a single note. And the city trembled.
VANT Tower
As the trio infiltrated the tower in silence, Mizue's melody echoed through its inner systems. Electric circuits flickered. Sensors failed. Cameras trembled. Down one hallway, Itsuki knelt. He placed his hands on the floor and closed his eyes. His mind slipped into the VANT system— now every data stream connected directly to his nervous system. "I'll open the doors with you, Mizue. The walls… they're on our side now."And Mizue changed her tune:"Let the black mist vanish—Let the hidden seasons appear…"The doors opened. A building bowed— to a song.
The commanders sat in an urgent assembly. Suddenly, on every data screen:
CODE 3: AURELIA ACTIVE
One commander stood up, a strange expression on his face. "I know this voice. It was used years ago… during Forbidden Project 0-9. Could Mizue… be that child?"A female officer beside him clenched her fist. "I heard it too… I thought it was my daughter. But Mizue... she can't be my daughter… can she?"Silence.Then — a piercing alarm.System Alert: "ECHO detected. Frequency walls collapsing. Probability of internal breach: 65%."
An elevator door slid open. Standing before them: A colossal cybernetic enforcer—DAEDALUS.Mizue stepped forward. For the first time, her voice took physical form. Vibrations, radiating in waves, cracked the armor of DAEDALUS. "Classification: Hazardous Audio Source. Intervention Protocol: Eliminate."Mizue didn't scream. She whispered: "I was just a song. Now… I'm an echo."And her voice shattered concrete walls. DAEDALUS knelt. Itsuki stepped in— completing the code. "The final note must merge with the data." Makoto rerouted DAEDALUS' core circuits. And the giant weapon— switched sides.
In a distant forest, Children crouched near the earth. From small cracks in the soil, light seeped through. Birds, long silent, sang again. There was no thunder. But hearts, thundered within.
Mizue reached a chamber at the top of the tower. Old documents covered the walls. She found a file. A photo of her father. Below it, a single line: "Code Name: AURELIA — Project for Memory Transmission via Human Voice."Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. "If my father tried to save me through sound... Then I'll save everyone the same way."
The heart of our dystopia cracked— but did not collapse. Now, voices have declared war. And the walls are listening.Are you ready?