Brown liquid from the vines dripped onto the uneven bluestone floor.
"Drip..."
"Drip..."
Inside the passage suffused with a dim, ghostly glow, the faint footsteps of three people echoed almost imperceptibly.
Kisho walked very slowly.
As he moved forward, he kept his mind tightly focused, constantly paying attention to the sound of the harp that appeared in his head.
The two people behind him kept their eyes fixed on him the entire time, with no intention of urging him to hurry.
Five hours later, the three of them returned to the entrance of the passage.
After stepping out of the winding corridor covered in vines, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
Kisho quietly let out a breath of relief, then turned around, looking at the two behind him as he pressed his lips together in thought.
Along this stretch of road, the harp had sounded seven times in his mind.
Amos and Sion also left the winding passage and walked up to him.
"You were changed in speed six times."
Before Kisho could ask, Sion told him his observation directly.
Then Sion's expression suddenly darkened.
Because Kisho, as if doubting his judgment, turned to look at Amos again.
Amos curled his lips slightly and nodded, indicating that Sion was correct.
A look of understanding flashed through Kisho's eyes.
He had been changed in speed six times.
But he had heard the harp seven times.
Seeing the expression on Kisho's face, Amos asked,
"Did you notice what's wrong?"
"Eh heh, of course~" Kisho smiled slyly. "If you want to know, come back with me one more time, and I'll tell you."
Amos rolled his eyes. "Just keep making trouble."
Kisho turned to Sion again, seemingly polite yet actually full of disdain.
"However, if Examiner-sama feels tired—"
Sion cut him off directly.
"Not tired."
He snorted.
"Trying to shake me off when you reveal the answer? No way!"
...
Inside the passage, the three of them talked as they walked.
Kisho said,
"What was changed was me."
Amos nodded.
"Right."
Sion added,
"There were three slowdowns and three accelerations. And each change wasn't identical."
Kisho nodded slowly and began to lay out his speculation.
"I believe this is the effect of the harp version of Sonata of Darkness on people. On the surface, it looks like only 'acceleration' and 'slowing,' but I'm certain there's a third type—'stagnation.'"
Kisho glanced at the runes on the wall.
"I guess every note in the entire movement was rewritten into this kind of 'stagnation' rune, then scattered and carved throughout the passage."
After hearing Kisho's thoughts, Sion showed a strange expression.
"Can you explain the basis for this guess?"
Kisho paused, then said,
"My Nen ability allows me to hear the harp. That's why I can sense the sound that carries the effect of 'stagnation.'"
Sion nodded lightly.
Under Kisho's guidance, they arrived at the rune where he had heard the harp but had been judged by the two as having 'no change in speed.'
"Let's do an experiment. Amos, use your Nen ability to draw me."
Amos nodded, took out a pen, and in just a few dozen seconds sketched Kisho onto a sheet of paper. The moment he lifted his pen, the blank paper vanished.
At the same time, Kisho's name and portrait appeared in Amos's manga book.
"Alright."
As he spoke, Amos activated his Nen ability.
Kisho crouched down and picked up a stone from the ground, then stood there quietly, waiting for the harp to sound.
"Don~"
The moment he heard the harp, Kisho released his hand.
With a "clack," the stone fell to the ground and rolled away.
However, in Sion and Amos's eyes, Kisho had simply picked up the stone and let it go.
Sion fell silent.
After a moment, he said flatly,
"...So, did anything happen?"
But the way Amos looked at the manga changed.
He raised a hand and poked Sion, signaling him to look at the manga book in his hands.
In the comic, Kisho's hand holding the stone was lowered. After he released it, the stone clearly remained suspended in midair, as if someone had pressed pause.
Though it lasted only a very short time, it was unmistakable—
In that instant, the stone's time had been stopped.
Sion: "..."
His expression suddenly turned serious.
"I suspect that the 'acceleration' and 'deceleration' only occur at specific points within the relic passage."
Kisho's voice sounded at the right moment.
"But once 'stagnation' occurs, its influence covers the entire passage and that stone hall."
"If the stone hall is truly related to a burial chamber, then to prevent the corpse from decaying, the one who built it would inevitably make use of the power of 'stagnation.'"
"So I think," Kisho looked at the two of them,
"The key to opening the stone hall is this rune that causes 'stagnation.'"
He spoke softly yet firmly.
"Let's go back and try injecting Nen into these runes!"
A moment later, they returned to the stone hall.
Following Kisho's instructions, they entered each side chamber one by one and, among the densely packed runes, found the crucial one.
After Nen was infused, blue light suddenly flickered around that rune.
"Rumble—"
As the final rune lit up, some mechanism in the center of the stone hall was triggered. The once flat bluestone floor split open, revealing a narrow stone staircase leading deeper below.
Excitement flashed through Kisho's eyes at having solved the puzzle.
"It worked!"
Sion looked at Kisho, admiration showing in his eyes, though it soon dimmed slightly.
Kisho was truly a remarkable young man.
But no one knew what this boy, covered in secrets, would bring to this world in the future.
A turning point?
Or new darkness?
As a witness to the unraveling of the mystery, Amos also wore a deeply satisfied smile. He looked at the two of them.
"Shall we go down and take a look?"
"Of course."
Kisho nodded.
"But only I can go."
Amos frowned, just about to refuse, when Sion, standing at his side, lightly tugged him.
Sion motioned for Amos to watch.
A leaf appeared in his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, he shot it forward.
But the leaf, infused with Nen, suddenly froze the instant it flew out of the side chamber, hovering motionless in midair.
Amos's face darkened.
"See? The entire stone hall is affected now."
Sion's gaze swept around the side chamber as he said calmly,
"It's probably because there's a rune-based Nen formation inside the side chambers that can offset the influence."
He smiled faintly.
"If you rush out recklessly, you might be left inside forever~"
Amos looked at Kisho in silence, frowning as he thought for a moment before asking,
"Can you guarantee there won't be a problem?"
Kisho nodded lightly, then looked again at the runes on the wall.
As the final movement was activated, within his Nen book, the piece titled Sonata of Darkness (harp) was rapidly condensing.
Like thick fog over the sea dispersing for the most part—though the full picture was still unclear, parts of it could now be glimpsed.
If part of the movement existed within his book, perhaps just like the Nen formation in the side chambers could offset the stone hall's influence, this sonata's effect on him would also be reduced somewhat.
His The Fantasizing Musician seemed to possess a certain resistance against music-score and sound-based Nen abilities.
Just like the Sonata of Darkness (piano) he had encountered at Whale Manor—at the very least, he would not lose all ability to act the instant he heard it.
Kisho let out a sigh. What a pity—there was no piano in this damned place.
Otherwise, he might have been able to condense a four-cornered badge—Calamity's Mouth—and perhaps completely nullify the effects of Sonata of Darkness.
Kisho looked at Amos.
"Don't worry. If I sense something wrong, I'll use my badge to come back."
Amos remained silent for a long time before nodding lightly, tightening his grip on the [Chapter of the Stars] in his palm.
A vine also appeared in Sion's hand as he said to Kisho,
"If you agree, I'll use this as extra insurance. If anything strange happens to you, I can pull you out."
After Kisho nodded, Sion summoned a vine and slowly wrapped it around his waist, tying it into a firm knot.
All preparations were complete.
Kisho stepped into the stone hall and descended the stone staircase step by step.
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