"Okay, it looks like the resonance hall is ready now." Hytile patted Shry on his shoulder to get his attention.
Hearing Hytile, it was like Shry had suddenly forgotten all about his conversation with Yuwwe. Looked at Hytile Shry's face got serious, ready to follow Hytile's commands earnestly.
Seeing that Shry had steeled his resolve, Hytile nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"This time, I'll watch after you until you get inside and the door fully shuts, be careful not to make any unnecessary sounds this time." Hytile instructed Shry with a serious face.
Shry nodded and used his right hand to perform the gesture of him zipping his mouth shut.
"Hahah, alright then... also, Yuwwe Tyhal." After chuckling at Shry's gesture, Hytile looked at Yuwwe
"Yes..." Yuwwe questioned after hearing her name
"It is a tradition to not tell anyone about what happened in the Resonance hall, so try your best to keep it a secret." Hytile told Yuwwe, smiling warmly.
*What!?* Yuwwe and Shry said at the same time.
After hearing that, both Yuwwe and Shry had the same facial expression, expressing their shock and realization as a revelation slapped them in the face.
"Alright, please go to the registration building with your parents; you and Shry can talk after he's done," Hytile told Yuwwe as he smirked in satisfaction after seeing their reactions.
Leaving Yuwwe to go their separate ways, Hytile and Shry quickly made it to the entrance of the resonance hall.
During their walk there, Shry didn't make a single noise, not only because he was still shocked by his revelation, but also to show his sincerity toward Hytile.
Once they were there, Hytile gestured for Shry to move forward, and without any resistance, Shry obeyed Hytile's order, going up to the entrance, face to face once again.
Closing his eyes and taking one deep breath, Shry's body became as stiff as a statue, and when he opened his eyes, he wasted no time and pressed the center of the entrance.
...
Watching the entrance slowly open, Shry cleared his head, and his eyes turned sharp. Behind him, Hytile was observing the resonance hall closely, taking mental notes on everything that is happening.
As the entrance continued opening, Shry never moved a muscle. Even as the gap between the outside and inside got big enough for Shry to slide in, he patiently waited for Hytile's command.
Watching this, Hytile was glad that Shry is taking this so seriously. He was sure now that if there is truly nothing wrong with the resonance hall, Shry will be able to successfully get his results this time.
(Alright then, I think that's enough waiting) Hytile thought as he watched the entrance open more than halfway through.
Hytile went behind Shry without taking his eyes off the resonance hall and put his hand against Shry's back and gently pushed him forward, silently telling him to proceed.
Knowing what Hytile meant by his gesture, Shry slowly stepped into the Resonance hall, making sure he makes as little noise as possible and once he was inside, the entrance began to close automatically.
As the gap closed, the last bit of light disappeared, but Shry was already prepared for that. He closed his eyes and entered a semi-meditative state, waiting for the indication that the entrance had been fully shut.
...
The moment the entrance shuts completely, it was as if someone flipped the switch on the sound, turning it silent. However, Shry was ready and didn't do as much as flinch; he held his ground and, in time, began counting.
(1, 2, 3, 4.... 28, 29, 30) Shry counted steadily in his mind.
Successfully counting to thirty, Shry decided not to move yet. He was afraid that he may have counted too quickly, but in actuality, he was actually more nervous about the results of his first step. So he stalled.
(30, 31, 32.... 58, 59, 60) Shry resumed, silently.
Now that he had waited double the suggested time, Shry's heart began racing. His emotions fluctuate as he has no excuse now... he must take his first step.
*Badump, badump*
He wasn't nervous at all during his first time, but after learning about the resonance hall from Hytile and even getting a firsthand account from Yuwwe, Shry became significantly more nervous.
Raising his right leg, Shry steeled his resolve, sucking in one last breath, and finally, in a steady motion, his right foot landed.
....
...
…
At that moment, it was like Shry's heart had stopped beating for a second. There was no sound, no anything, only a deep silence accompanied by his rough breathing.
Within the darkness, Shry's eyes widened, filled with shock and even a hint of fear. It was almost like time had stopped for that second.
...
When time resumed, the sound of Shry's heartbeat returned, but not in a perfect state, as it thumped harder and faster than what Shry had ever experienced. Even worse, as if to mock him, the subsequent footstep that took so much resolve to make didn't even make a sound.
(No...) Shry thought in denial
Shry's face churned and scrunched up like he was in pain, even though there were no signs of injuries. It wasn't like Shry was in pain either, as the source of his agony was purely from emotional turmoil.
All the events that had built up until now, now raged and wreaked havoc on his mentality
In the midst of being consumed by the overwhelming amount of distress, something strange happened. It was like Shry's body moved on its own; his other foot began to lift up in a movement similar to an arch, Shry's foot rose and landed.
....
...
…
Nothing happened...
Strangely, even though the second step also didn't amount to anything, its movement managed to snap Shry out of his hypnotic state and somehow dispelled his feeling of distress, managing to regain some of his usual luster.
(This is just the start; it's not the end!) Shry encourages himself internally, as he scrunched his fist
Shry stared at the path in front of him, and even though he couldn't see anything, he saw an infinite road with enough possibilities to make anything possible.
Right then, Shry's demeanor returned, and now with a heart of steel, he walked the path, oozing confidence with each step.
Even though Shry still can't hear anything other than his own breathing and heartbeat, every time he took a step, he felt like he could hear thunder strikes. But of course, that was all in Shry's imagination.
Shry walked and walked. 5 steps remaining, 4 steps remaining, 3 steps remaining, 2 steps remaining, and finally 1 step remaining.
During all this time, Shry had both of his hands in front of him, so when he took his last step, both of his hands were pretty much pressed directly onto the altar.
(Alright, let's do this!) Shry thought
Knowing exactly what was in front of him, Shry's eyes opened and turned sharp, but his slightly faltering smile can't help but expose a hint of what he's truly feeling internally, or at least partly.
He may not know it, but there is a part of him that wishes he could walk that path infinitely, either until he gets a response or he turns insane.
"Hmmph" Shry huffed
Shry winded up both his arms, turning both of them a full 180 degrees backward, and once both of his hands were able to touch each other while remaining straight, Shry used all his strength and swung forward until the palms of his hands connected, causing a torrential storm of sound to engulf the resonance hall.
*PAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNGGGGGG!*
After that clap, its sound rang and reverberated through the resonance hall for a full minute.
Shry looked hopeful even though the resonance hall didn't react, because as long as the sound continued to reverberate through the air, that would mean that there was at least something.
But his hopes were unfounded; the sound of his clap peaked but faded as quickly as a flickering flame on a candle.
....
...
…
Silence rose in the hall again when suddenly, without any warning, Shry clapped again, somehow even louder than before.
*PPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNGGGGGH*
Shry's hands stung, but at least he kind of got the results he wanted. His clap stayed for a little longer this time.
It was as though Shry had given up on getting a reaction, so with nothing else he could do, he clapped and clapped and clapped.
*PAAAANNNNGGGG, PAAAANNNGG, PAAANNG*
Shry couldn't even feel his own hands anymore as they had gone numb over his incessant clapping. But still, he continued.
PAAAAANG, PAAANG, PAANG...
Shry's arms gave in; he tried to continue, but it was like his arms had lost energy.
"IF IT DOESN'T WORK TODAY, THEN I'LL KEEP ON TRYING!" Shry yelled frustrations, breaking the rules.
Getting caught up in the moment, Shry accidentally slipped up.
"MARK MY WORDS, THIS IS NOT THE END!"
As he calmed down, Shry finally came to his senses and realized what he did. Immediately he regretted it, but since he'd already done it, he figured that there wouldn't be any harm in looking for the results and reaction to his voice.
With renewed vigor, Shry began frantically looking all over the hall while remaining in the same place, trying to spot something, anything, but yet again his plans were thwarted by the eternal curtain of darkness.
"C'mon, at least show me somethingggg...." Shry stretched out his words in frustration.
As Shry finished his sentence, he saw the entrance to the Resonance hall open.
The entrance slowly inched open and a familiar man was standing outside, trying to get a peek at what was happening.
Seeing this, Shry knew it was over. But yet, he strangely felt calm about the matter; maybe it was because. After going through so many emotions during the almost 20 minutes he had been in here, he felt better after receiving his results, even though they're not good ones.
So, with a twisted form of peace of mind, Shry started to make his way out of the Resonance hall.
Unexpectedly, when Shry was just about 3 quarters of the way out, he suddenly saw Hytile step inside the resonance hall.
Earlier...
(What's going on! This shouldn't be happening) Hytile thought as he looked into the interior of the resonance hall, desperately trying to find a clue.
Hytile's thoughts were going haywire, bombarding him with ideas and questions. He had a headache from all of this, and after looking into the resonance hall one more time from the outside, Hytile decided that he must personally step inside the resonance hall to investigate this oddity.
*DING*
As soon as Hytile stepped inside, the resonance hall instantly reacted to him with a high-pitched ding reverberating as his foot touched the floor.
Slowly, as that sound faded, the flowers around where Hytile was standing released their pollen.
There are 4 different colored pollens that floated up: orange, light blue, light green, and dark blue.
These 4 types of pollen then burst into their own respective elements, exposing Hytile's musician grade. Elemental particles that consisted of fire, ice, wind, and water flew around Hytile aimlessly.
"Wow! Is this how the resonance hall is supposed to react?" Shry said to himself as he stopped his movement, intrigued by the phenomenon.
Seeing and hearing that Shry was still positive even after all the events that transpired today, Hytile was relieved, but he had a job to do, so he'll save all of that talk for later. Because, right now, he must inspect the Resonance Hall thoroughly before the next kid's turn.
"You go out first; I'll join you after I finish." Hytile patted Shry on his shoulder as he walked past him.
Snapping out of his stupor, Shry turned around and looked at Hytile. He felt like he wanted to say something, but after a moment, he couldn't find what he wanted to say. So instead of dwelling on that, Shry turned back toward the exit and gave Hytile one last glance before making his way out.
"I'm going to go check on him." Kanum's void black hair swayed as he expressed his concern.
During Shry and Hytile's short interaction inside the resonance hall, Shry's parents, Kanum and Shelt, began to get increasingly worried as they waited. The sight that they saw was very concerning.
At first it was normal when the entrance opened, albeit it was a bit strange that the proctor was looking into the resonance with such deep intent. What really drew the line for both Kanum and Shelt was when the proctor stepped into the resonance.
Kanum and Shelt had never seen the proctor go into the resonance hall ever, not even when they went through their own resonance day.
(I hope everything is alright), Shelt thought as she looked at the entrance of the resonance hall while walking behind the anxious Kanum.
As his parents got closer to the entrance, Shry coincidentally walked out right as they arrived.
"What happened to you?!" Kanum asked while checking every part of Shry.
"Um... I don't know...?" Shry said with a contemplative look.
Seeing that there were no injuries or any problem, Kanum didn't question Shry's response yet, in an effort to inspect the cause of their worries.
While holding onto Shry, Kanum and Shelt glanced into the residence to take a peek at what the person in charge was doing in there.
Although what they saw was an uncommon sight, Kanum and Shelt weren't too surprised by the Resonance Hall's reaction. What they were surprised about, though, was that the man that's currently walking and inspecting the hall actually had 4 different resonance paths unlocked.
Unlike the other participants, since Hytile is an adult, his Node is significantly more refined and mature, so the resonance hall is able to easily recognize the resonance paths that Hytile held.
"Could he be in grade 12!?..." Shelt expressed her bafflement.
Kanum looked like he was contemplating something while holding onto Shry, making the scene look somewhat comical.
From a third person's perspective, Kanum looked quite goofy because of the way he was holding Shry, because instead of holding him normally, Shry was trapped in a one-arm hug.
"He could be Grade 8, since there's a possibility that he'd resonated with two elements on his Resonance day." Kanum had his eyes closed as he answered with fingers pinching his chin.
"WOW, is Mr. Luftra's grade really that high!?" Shry asked bombastically.
While they were talking about Hytile, a little girl with bright yellow hair slowly approached them with golden eyes glowing with curiosity.
"Hey, Shry! What resonance path did you get?" Yuwwe tapped Shry on his shoulder.
"Huh? Oh hey Yuwwe!" When Shry turned around and saw the girl, he was a little bit confused at first, but as he remembered, he quickly greeted her with excitement.
Usually Shry wouldn't be this dazed, but after all that happened today, he was mentally exhausted.
"Yeah! What resonance path did you get!?" Yuwwe repeated with even more enthusiasm this time.
"Ummm... I don't knowww...?" Shry answered with clear uncertainty in his voice.
When he said that, Yuwwe, along with Shry's parents, finally noticed the discrepancy with Shry's clothing.
*WOOOO, WOOOO, WOOOOOOO!*
Suddenly, without any warning, alert sirens began to blare out loud, disturbing everyone.
Accompanying the sirens, everyone's phones also began to vibrate violently, urging them to check what was happening with their phones.
As soon as they turned on their phones, despite some being password locked, an emergency news broadcast overrode it.
There was a male reporter on the screen, he had neat black hair and looked very professional, but when you look closely, you will be able to notice a peep of panic in his eyes.
"We're currently reporting live at Pertice City. Currently, every citizen living here is in mortal danger!" The male reporter rapidly announced
As soon as the reporter finished his words, the camera quickly panned over to the left.
At first it was blurry, but as the camera focused, a deeply disturbing sight became clear for all to see.
Through the lens of the camera, it showed a scene of Pertice city from afar, and in the middle of the sea of buildings and architecture that make up the city, a pillar of darkness was pierced in the middle of it, and on closer inspection, the pillar seemed to be expanding.
Without panning to the reporter, the reporter spoke and announced something with a strong and desperate voice.
"TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP WITH EVACUATIONS, PLEASE HEAD OVER TO PERTICE."
"WE NEED YOU!"