Basement - Special Operations Room - 20:01 PM
The thick glass door opened with a quiet mechanical sound, and a pale blue light flooded Hiroshi's face.
The walls are covered with glowing screens, intelligent control centers, robotic arms connected to neurological and biological analyzers, and a central unit with a logo: "**** Core Sync - Restricted Access."
Hiroshi stepped up to the central platform, pressed a biometric security button with his index finger... and scanned his eye print.
"Activation code: H4R-001."
The system replied in an artificially feminine voice:
"Full access granted, welcome Hiroshi-sama."
The screens began to show incomprehensible data and tangled mana diagrams, some belonging to Ryuichi, some with a signature labeled: "NOVA/AURA - Unstable Condition."
Hiroshi approached one of the interfaces and began running his fingers over Ryuichi's data:
"Mana consumption rate: Unbalanced..."
"Disturbance signals in the third nerve center..."
"Caffeine effect: Trigger for breaking point?"
Hiroshi chuckled softly, and said in a cold voice:
"Even coffee plays a role in this game... How fragile you are, Ryo."
He then opened another file, this time containing Ryoko's data. Moments of silence... Then he narrowed his eyes.
"The kinetic energy exceeded the limit... And the last technique was unauthorized? Where did he get this power from?"
A long moment passed as he pondered this, before he uttered a sentence, a voice that seemed to come out of the darkness of his heart:
"I have to speed up the activation process... he won't wait long."
He raised his hand and pressed a red button:
"Initiate simulation #27 - Confrontation Scenario."
As the systems ignited in front of him, and a hologram of Ryuichi and Ryoko began to appear inside the virtual training room... this time the smile wasn't a calm one.
It was a smile of danger.
On the other side..... Simple neighborhood - small one-story house - 21:18 at night
Slow, lumbering footsteps traversed a quiet alleyway under dim lights, Ryuichi appeared, exhausted, head tilted down, his coat stained with water stains and road dust. His eyes were half-closed with fatigue, as if the distance from the station to the house had been an endless mountain climb.
He approached the door of the house, slowly inserted the key, and when he opened the door, he was greeted by the lights inside and a warm breeze from the familiar smell of the house... A scent that resembled nothing but Sera.
"Ryo?"
Her voice rang out from the kitchen like a bullet of fear, and she ran quickly toward him, wearing a simple homemade apron, her face wrinkled with worry.
"Where have you been all this time? I thought something had happened to you!"
He did not answer. He just gave her a weary look, then smiled a slight smile, half apology, half tiredness. He calmly raised his hand:
"Long way... No bus... One foot in front of the other."
Sera grabbed his arm and helped him inside.
"You should have called!"
"Phone... ran out of battery." He muttered, as he sat on the chair near the door as if gravity had suddenly doubled on him.
Sera looked at him for a long moment, then whispered as she placed her hand on his head:
"Your face is pale, your fatigue is obvious... "Why are you exhausting yourself like this?"
He looked at the floor, then his eyes met hers, and he whispered as if confessing a sin:
"I'm fine, Mom... Just... coffee."
Sera's hand froze for a moment, then her eyebrows rose:
"You drank it?"
He shook his head slowly.
Silence.
Then a long sigh from Sera, not just angry... but sad. She sat down next to him and wiped his forehead with a warm cloth:
"I told you repeatedly... your mana center doesn't tolerate stimuli like the others... No one knows what might happen if the pressure is increased any further."
He replied in a hushed tone:
"I needed something to keep me standing... if only for a moment."
She looked at him with teary eyes, but didn't finish, just hugged him like she used to do when he was little...
His heart calmed down a bit, and his eyelids started to get heavy.
"Welcome home, Ryo." Sera whispered, falling asleep on her shoulder without realizing it. "I was going to send your father, or even come myself!"
The moment Sera uttered those words, she froze.
It was as if the air itself had stopped.
Her voice suddenly softened, and she seemed to take back every letter she uttered.
Ryuichi backed up, turned away from her and raised his gaze towards her... slowly.
Just one look... but it was enough to revive 17 years of absence.
"Oh..." "I'm sorry, Ryo..." Seira said, whispering barely audible words, "I'm sorry, Ryo..."
Her eyes widened, and a small tear rolled down the side of her cheek even though she tried to hold it back.
She turned her face for a second, as if to escape her guilt.
"I don't know how that sentence came out... I was just... scared."
Ryuichi didn't speak.
He kept looking at her silently, but something in his eyes broke for a moment, as if it had fallen from within and was unheard.
He took a deep breath, then muttered hoarsely:
"It's okay, mom... I sometimes forget that he's not here."
It was a simple sentence... but it made Sera shiver inside.
She approached him again, sat down next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder:
"But he will come back one day... won't he?"
He didn't answer.
The air grew heavier.
But amidst the gloom, there was warmth.
The warmth of absence... and longing... and fear of oblivion.
Then Sera said in a soft voice, trying to lighten the mood:
"I'll make you something warm... You'll feel better."
And with that, she got up, quickly wiping away a tear, pretending to be fine,
while Ryuichi kept looking at the door... as if someone would knock on it one day.
21:52 - Upstairs - Ryuichi's room
The wooden door opened silently, as if even the walls conspired with him not to disturb the stillness.
He stepped inside with slow steps. The room was as he had left it, but it felt different... more cramped, as if it was closing in on him the longer he remained silent.
With a heavy hand, he tossed his bag near the door, and it hit the floor and made a muffled sound.
Then, without even changing his clothes, he lay down on the bed, face buried in the pillow, breathing slowly as if trying to drown his thoughts in it.
He stayed like that for a few seconds... before whispering loudly, sarcastically, cynically:
"Well done, Ryuichi... another day surviving death... and reality."
With difficulty, he turned his face to face the ceiling.
His fingers were fiddling with a loose thread from the bedspread, then he muttered with a slight chuckle:
"AI is collapsing... professors are conspiring... Aura is mysterious... my parents? Fine, just missing for 17 years."
He laughed... but it was a bitter, choked laugh.
He paused, then continued:
"You know what, life? I see you trying, but you're not very good at acting."
He got up, sat on the bed, looked out the window... where darkness was slowly engulfing the horizon.
"I'm not well."
He said it in a whisper, as if he didn't want anyone to hear him... not even himself.
He then reached into a side drawer and pulled out a small black notebook... which he slowly opened.
There was a simple sketch, and a single sentence written years ago:
"I won't let them break something that hasn't already been repaired."
He read it... then quietly closed the notebook.
He stretched again, put his hand over his eyes, and let the night gradually swallow him up.
22:58...
The sound of light footsteps ascending the wooden staircase, carrying with them the restlessness of a mother.
Sera stood in front of the door to Ryuichi's room, knocked lightly, and whispered:
"Ryo? I made you a cup of hot milk chocolate... I know you like it on cold nights."
She waited a moment... no response.
She sighed lightly, then quietly turned the handle and opened the door.
Ryuichi was lying on the bed, his face buried in the pillow, his shoes still on his feet, his jacket half wrapped around him, and his bag on the floor, still unopened.
She stared at him silently, then whispered to herself:
"You look so tired, baby... even from talking."
She approached him with soft steps, placed the chocolate cup on his bedside table, and then looked at him tenderly, feeling a small twinge in her chest... that old twinge, the one that won't go away.
"Just like your father... you always sleep like that when the world weighs on your shoulders."
She gently lifted his jacket off him and brought a light blanket from the closet, wrapping it around him carefully, like she was wrapping a precious piece of the past.
She ran her hand through his hair softly, then whispered:
"I hope you dream something beautiful tonight... something to remind you that you're still okay."
She backed away slowly, turned toward the door, and turned off the light.
All that remained in the room was the faint glow of the streetlight and the sound of regular breathing, as if he had finally found some peace.
She quietly closed the door and left him to the night... and his memories.
Inside Ryuichi's dream - an indistinct, cozy place, bathed in a soft golden light.
The air was slightly damp, carrying the scent of old wood and old book paper. Trees surrounded him as if guarding him, and the ground was carpeted with soft grass like a mother's lap. The place was familiar... but he didn't remember it.
He walked slowly, his footsteps whispering over the ground, until he spotted shadows moving among the trees. Suddenly... those shadows came into the light.
A tall man with a light beard and a quiet smile that looked just like him.
"Dad?" Ryuichi said, as if the words came from the depths of his soul.
The man smiled and opened his arms.
"You've grown up a lot, Ryo..."
He ran toward him without thinking, rushing to his chest as if trying to make up for years of absence with a single second.
He hugged him tightly, burying his face in his shoulder, and his heart quivered with a warmth he hadn't felt since... since forever.
"Dad... I miss you, why did you leave? Where have you been? Everything is so strange... I need you."
Ryuichi's voice is hoarse, a child in a young man's body.
The father, whose name was Kaito Ayajin, replied in a deep, reassuring voice:
"I've always been there, in ways you don't yet understand. I watched you fight alone... I was proud of you, despite everything."
They sat together on a tree stump, the father placing his hand on Ryuichi's shoulder.
"The world is not as you see it, there is so much more under the surface... and you have to see."
Suddenly... Ryuichi looked beside the bench and saw strange points of light, then formed into a definite pattern:
" ---... --- --- -.---. -.-.-... -. ---..---.---... -. ... ... ... ---"
Ryuichi looked at it in amazement:
"What are these? They look like dots and dashes..."
Kaito calmly raised his head, then said:
"This is Morse code... It says: LOCKING INSIDE. There is something trapped, something waiting to be discovered."
Before he could finish his explanation, the sky opened up in a pure blue color... and Aura appeared.
A female body radiating a blue aura of light, her hair flowing like liquid light, her eyes as if she knew everything.
She approached Ryuichi slowly, passing through his father, as if from another dimension... and then stood in front of him.
She gently reached out and placed her hand on his chest, just above his heart.
"Hong Kong..." pierced his mind like a scream.
His heart pulsed hard, his whole energy felt like it was shaking... and then:
An internal scream. Light. Pulse. Choking. Awakening.
---
Ryuichi's room - 03:12 AM
He sat up suddenly, sweating. His breath is ragged, his heart hammering as if it wants to come out of his chest.
"That blade..." he whispered, staring into the darkness.
Then he remembered - Aura, the symposium, the symbol that passed before his eyes before the blackout.
He whispered softly:
"LOCKING INSIDE... but who... Or what?"
Lifting his eyes to the ceiling of his room, he felt like something had changed forever.
Time: 03:15 AM - Ryuichi's room - dim light fills the room
Slowly, he reached his trembling hand towards the light switch...
"Knock" - the room lit up with a dim yellowish light, as if consoling him from his nightmare.
He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to catch his breath, then reached into the pocket of his jacket lying on the floor...
and took out his small notebook, the one in which he records everything paranormal, and in which he wrote that mysterious code days ago:
"...-... --- --- --- ---. --- ...--- ... -. ---..---.---... -. ... ... ... ---"
"Locking inside..." he whispered it again, like a key to another world.
He pulls out his old phone - the front screen is cracked, the back cover is cracked - but it still works.
He opened the screen, and the first thing he saw was a gray app icon with no name...
just a black circle with a white diagonal line like a cursor.
"You... weren't here before..." He muttered as he clicked on it.
An all-black interface appeared in front of him, then a strange message in a symbolic language first, then automatically changed to:
"Authorization Required: Input Morse-based Passkey"
"Morse code?" He said as his eyes widened.
He looked at his notebook... then quickly started entering codes, tapping the phone screen with his fingertips with nervous precision:
.-... → L
--- → O
-.-.-. → C
-.- → K
-.- → I
-. → N
--. → G
.-.-. → (symbol for separator)
... → I
---. → N
... → S
... → I
-... → D
. → E
Press "ENTER"...
A moment of silence... the screen shakes slightly... then:
"ACCESS GRANTED"
The phone vibrated slightly, then turned bright blue, and a new interface opened up, as if from an as-yet-unknown operating system...
Transparent data floated on the screen, holograms, mana pointers, complex graphs, and pulses of light moving in a pattern that resembled life itself.
A large headline appeared in the center of the screen:
"AURA SYSTEM: VERSION 0.7 ALPHA - PROPERTY OF ARIMA CORP."
Suddenly...
A pure blue light exploded from the phone, like a celestial beam piercing the darkness.
The light was so strong that the entire room lit up, and the phone began to vibrate violently.
Then...
"Warning: The temperature of the device is too high."
A message appeared on the screen, accompanied by a voice alert.
Ryuichi frowned as he looked at his overheated phone:
"What the hell...?!"
He pushed the phone away from his face, trying to relieve the heat with a futile puff of air.
(Sarcastic inner voice)
"Nice... That's how faces explode in action movies, and the hero always survives... Me? Just a scared teenager in mismatched socks."
Then...
The light suddenly disappeared.
The screen went out.
There was no more data.
No Aura, no images, no system. Just a plain black interface.
"Huh?!"
He pressed ENTER again, nothing.
He exited the app, then reopened it, but it didn't respond.
It's like... everything evaporated.
"No... no... no... no...! What is this stupidity?!"
Frustrated, he threw the phone on his desk with light force, then lay on his back on the bed,
and stared at the ceiling.
"Oh great, just what I needed, a silly dream, a haunted phone, burning nerves... Thanks, Con!"
He turned off the light.
He plunged into the darkness of the room.
Then he started muttering to himself sarcastically, out loud:
"Sure... Tomorrow I'll wake up to find out that my mom is the director of Hiroshi Corporation... Or that I'm the secret heir of a mana lord!"
He laughed lightly...
and then closed his eyes.
"Who knows, I might also discover that I can fly, or grow magic potatoes with a single touch..."
(sarcastic female voice)
"Oh, magic potatoes? Now I'm really starting to suspect that you're the heir of a genius."
His eyes slowly opened...
"Huh...? Nice that joke..."
He said as he was about to react to the voice, then...
froze.
"Wait... who... who just spoke?"
He sat up suddenly, his eyes scanning the darkness.
And then:
"Who's there?!"
"Who spoke?! Is my mom back?"
(female voice again, laughing lightly)
"You're exaggerating... I didn't know my voice was that scary."
Ryuichi jumped out of bed, looking for the source of the voice.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!"
Then he spotted something...
A faint light came from his phone lying on the desk.
The screen lit up again.
He stared at it cautiously, walking towards it slowly.