Late afternoon shadows slanted across the edge of the forest as Souta Minakawa made his way through the winding path that skirted the school grounds. The air was cooler beneath the pines, and the fading sunlight filtered down in thin beams, illuminating swirling motes of dust and settling leaves. Each footstep on the soft bed of needles and moss felt muffled, as if the world itself pressed inward to listen.
Souta's posture remained calm, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, but inside, his mind hummed with quiet urgency. He had reviewed the system interface that morning and traced the approximate location of Node 2 to this very ridge—a spot where the forest thinned and an old stone marker, half-buried in moss, stood sentinel. Now he approached it with deliberate care. All around, the pines bowed low, their needles whispering a lullaby he suspected was more than simple breeze.
As he neared the stone marker, Souta extended his senses again and summoned the interface, letting it materialize as faint golden lines against the dimming canopy. Only he could see the HUD.
[Host: Minakawa Souta]
Age: 39
Biological Cap: 53 Years
Brain Processing Power: 1.1x
Life Points: 2.8
Below, new readings flickered:
[Environmental Node Interference: Moderate – Resonance Rising]
[Node 2 Signal Strength: 48% – Approximate Proximity Radius: 15 meters]
[Resonance Field: 0.05 LP/hr Passive]
Souta's breath hovered steady. He traced the node's radiating waves, almost picturing them as ripples on a pond. But these ripples were invisible, their energy coursing through root networks beneath his feet and brushing faintly against his consciousness like ghostly fingertips. The system confirmed that Node 2's influence had grown stronger since this morning; now, it hovered at nearly fifty percent signal strength, meaning he was well within its sphere.
With a brisk nod, Souta closed the interface, letting the lines dissolve into the forest gloom. He took careful steps toward the ancient stone marker. Moss blanketed its surface, but half of an engraved crest remained visible—a circular symbol, fractured along its edge, that matched no ordinary design. It looked older than any recorded history of Hoshinaka Village. The bottom half had eroded away centuries ago.
Souta knelt beside the marker, pressing a gloved finger to its cool, damp surface. He felt a faint vibration—a slow, rhythmic pulse that matched the system's "resonance rising" reading. Kneeling in the soft pine needles, he let his senses open.
A sudden rustling among the bracken caused him to still. A solitary crow, black as obsidian, fell from the pine canopy and landed twenty meters away atop a sunlit boulder. Its beady eyes tracked Souta. Then, in a sharp caw that echoed through the trees, it flapped its wings and hopped forward, hopping closer, as if summoned by some unspoken command. The crow's feathers seemed almost to shimmer in the late-day light.
Souta closed his eyes for a moment, recalling childhood fears of crows as ill omens. But here, the crow's presence felt more like a guardian than a herald of doom. He whispered in thought: Are you waiting for me?
The crow let out one more low caw, then took flight, rising above the canopy toward the ridge's crest, its silhouette elongating before vanishing into golden light. Souta watched until it was gone, then stood and turned to face northward, seeking the ridge that the morning interface had mapped.
He walked up a small rise, noticing how the forest floor dipped and rose in a gentle valley. The pine trunks grew older here—massive, wide-barked giants that had stood for countless generations. He could feel the residual warmth of sunlight on their western faces, but the eastern side remained cool, shaded, and almost untouched. Dort, the node's signature was strongest, feeding into those very roots.
He tapped his elbow twice to reactivate the interface for a direct environmental scan:
[Node 2 Signal Strength: 67% – Proximity Radius: 8 meters]
[Environmental Distortion: Localized Magnetic Flux Detected]
His breath caught as he realized the distortion was not merely metaphysical. The compass in his pocket began to spin slowly, as if losing its grip on true north. Even the faint compass needle his student Took's copper coil should have remained stable, but Souta sensed the coil's influence nearby: a steady, humming warmth where the tool had been stored in his jacket pocket. Now it buzzed faintly, as though excited by the node's presence.
Beyond his sense of hearing, a distant chime of wind instruments—bells, maybe—coming from deeper in the pine grove. He could not pinpoint the exact source, but the melody felt oddly familiar: a lullaby from the childhood tales the village elders once told. It drifted into his mind, carrying soft notes that echoed memory and promise.
Souta approached the cluster of roots emerging from the forest floor at the base of a hollowed pine, where the earth had eroded to reveal a network of thick, twisted tendrils. He knelt again to run a gloved hand along the largest root. The bark was warm to the touch, as though pulsing with life energy. He hesitated, remembering the pain of Node 1—the burning cold in his palm when his blood had first activated the system. But Node 2's energy felt strangely tempered—neither wholly warm nor cold, more like a quiet, living hum.
He held his finger to the root and closed his eyes, reaching out without words. A shiver traveled down his spine as a vision flickered before his mind's eye: a time before humanity's rise, when this node was one of many guards placed across the land by an ancient observer civilization. The memory was fragmented—whispers of a people who had once watched Earth's progression and curated its potential. Now, the knowledge lay dormant, scattered like seeds waiting for fertile soil. The node's code recognized his presence; he could feel the latent instructions in the pulses beneath his skin.
A snapping of twigs behind him caused him to turn swiftly. A single deer, fur dappled in the soft light, emerged from the underbrush and froze at the edge of his vision. It stared for several heartbeats, antlers lifting and lowering as though nodding in greeting. Then, as quietly as it had come, it bounded deeper into the forest, its hooves muffled by moss.
Souta exhaled slowly, still keeping his senses tuned to the node's patterns. He rose and stepped back from the root cluster. The interface delivered one final note:
[Node 2 Contact Possible – Decision Pending]
[Recommendation: Delay contact until further assessment of follower resonance]
He let the data settle in his mind. The node was unquestionably within reach, but rushing forward would risk drawing the children closer without their readiness. He looked north up the ridge, where slivers of evening sun illuminated the highest crown of pines.
He pocketed his hands, letting the interface fade entirely, and took a steadying breath. The world seemed to exhale with him—the forest exhaled lingering scents of pine sap, moss, and earth. He had no illusions of going into the woods alone; the node's presence radiated a subtle command to those attuned—and the trio of students were far more attuned now than he had imagined.
He turned away from the ridge and began retracing his steps back down the path. With each step, the humming beneath the soil receded, but the awareness remained. His mind buzzed with possibilities: How much had Node 2 influenced his students' dreams? How close were they to seeking it on their own? What would happen if Ryoko joined him in the woods? Could he keep them safe while unlocking the node's secrets?
As he reached the lip of the ridge, the forest opened up to reveal the school's playing field below. A group of first-years practiced volleyball in the late sun, their laughter ringing through the air. Souta paused to watch them, imagining each naive student oblivious to the undercurrents shaping the world around them. He felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders: if Node 2 awakened fully, the village's fragile peace would shatter. And if his students stumbled onto it unprepared, they might be changed irrevocably.
He squared his shoulders, determination hardening his gaze. He would need allies—Ryoko most of all. Her insight, compassion, and trust were crucial if the system was to grow responsibly. He would gather her tonight, once the students returned home, and share what he had discovered. Then, together, they would decide how to protect their children while uncovering the node's mysteries.
Until then, he had a brief window to secure his students: to inform them of safer boundaries, caution them about venturing deeper than needed, and gauge whether any of them felt prepared to witness Node 2's awakening firsthand. He would tread carefully, as the system urged, but he also knew that hesitation could be costly. The longer he waited, the stronger the node's resonance would become.
Souta took a final glance at the ridge before stepping onto the dirt path leading back to the school. Pine needles carpeted his footsteps, muffling his descent. As the canopy closed overhead, he murmured softly:
"Tomorrow, I will decide."
Beneath his feet, the earth pulsed once more, as though responding to that unspoken promise.