Kevin, Kim, and Ren met in the old art wing during lunch. No cameras there. No curious ears.
Ren had his laptop open, the decrypted file half-loaded.
"This thing is dangerous," Ren said. "It's not just a map. It's... reactive."
"What do you mean?" Kim asked.
Ren tapped a key. "It uses audio input to alter neural pathways. Basically, if you play the right sequence, it doesn't just affect your mood—it could change what you remember. Or forget."
Kevin's voice was barely above a whisper. "Is that what they did to Amari?"
Ren looked grim. "Could be. This file—it's not just Amari's data. There are test logs. Other subjects. Failures."
Kim learned in. "So this is what Virtuoso 29 *really* is? A front for some psychological experiment?"
Ren nodded. "More like a consciousness algorithm. They're trying to digitize the human mind through sound resonance."
Kevin felt sick.
"And Amari was the prototype."
---
**FLASHBACK — 3 Months Before Her Disappearance**
The music room smelled like dust and lavender oil.
Amari sat at the piano, staring at the keys like they might bite.
KEVIN: "You okay?"
AMARI: "Do you ever feel like... something's being overwritten? Like your memories don't belong to you anymore?"
Kevin didn't know what to say.
AMARI:
"They said I was special. I thought they meant my music."
She pressed a note. C4. It lingered longer than it should have.
AMARI:
"But it's not the music they're after."
---
**PRESENT — Nightfall**
Kevin slipped out after curfew. Again.
The second entrance to the lower levels wasn't marked. But Ren's hack into the building's blueprints showed a duct leading straight to the **signal room**—whatever that was.
He crawled through the shaft, heart pounding, flashlight flickering.
On the other side: a massive chamber lit by pale blue LED. Screens. Audio towers. A circular stage in the center, wired like a spiderweb.
And in the middle—
A chair.
No straps. Just wires. And a keyboard connected to it, like a twisted music stand.
Kevin stepped forward.
The chair pulsed once. Awaiting input.
A soft beep.
**RECOGNITION: Kevin Kobayashi**
**PHASE THREE: RESONANCE INDUCTION READY**
He stepped back.
"No. No, no."
Then—an intercom crackled.
DR. HARROW (voice only):"Welcome, Kevin. I was hoping you'd make it this far."
Kevin turned toward the ceiling, searching for the source.
DR. HARROW:"Your cadence is stable. Neural latency under .04. You're ready."
KEVIN:"Ready for what?"
DR. HARROW:"To finish what Amari started."
A door hissed open behind him.
Two people stepped through. One wore a lab coat. The other—
Sora.
Kevin's stomach dropped. "Sora? What are you—"
But her face was blank. Unreadable.
SORA:"You shouldn't have come here."
Then she reached into her pocket—and pulled out a cassette.
Unlabeled.
She handed it to him without a word.
---
..LATER — Rooftop..
Kim waited. Alone.
Until she wasn't.
A voice behind her:
....UNKNOWN GIRL....
"You're friends with Kevin, right?"
Kim turned.
The girl looked familiar. Too familiar.
Eyes like Amari's.
....UNKNOWN GIRL....
"They told me I was her replacement. But I remember things I shouldn't."
She stepped closer.
....UNKNOWN GIRL....
"I think... I used to be her."
---
....END OF CHAPTER 6....