"What the hell is going on here? Why does the building keep changing? Why can't we get out?"
"Calm down! You're not letting me think. If you're so worried about Miyu, why don't you try contacting her with your phone?" Kotone suggested.
Mochi immediately nodded and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She quickly unlocked the screen, opened her contact list, and selected Miyu's name. But there wasn't a single bar of signal.
"What...?" she murmured, checking the screen a second time. "There's no reception."
Kotone placed a hand on her chin.
"No signal..."
While Mochi kept trying uselessly to send messages, the young prodigy began organizing every detail in her head.
The building was constantly changing, the walls and windows seemed impossible to destroy. The windows showed an outside world that didn't match reality, and now they couldn't communicate with the outside either. Everything pointed to a single conclusion.
However, that answer didn't satisfy her. Every OHRA agent knew exactly what it felt like to pass through a barrier. It was difficult to describe in words, a strange pressure that ran through the body for an instant. Some compared it to passing through a thin membrane of water; others said it felt like a brief dizziness. Whatever the case, it was impossible not to notice it, and Kotone hadn't felt anything.
"Hey... are you even listening to me?"
Mochi waved a hand in front of her face. Kotone didn't even blink; her mind was still working.
She considered the possibility that it was some kind of new technique developed by an anomaly, then discarded the idea. For decades, OHRA researchers had tried to perfect the art of creating barriers. Entire generations had worked on it, and even so, no one had managed to completely eliminate that sensation of transition. At best, some experts could reduce it, but making it disappear entirely... that was considered impossible.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Kotone ignored the protest once again, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and expanded her senses. An instant later, she released a pulse of ether. The energy spread through the corridor like an invisible wave, passing through the air and exploring every nearby corner.
"Brat, stop ignor—!"
Mochi cut herself off mid-sentence. Not because she wanted to, but because Kotone's ether pulse hit her head-on.
"Mgh!"
The sensation was so sudden that she froze for a second.
Kotone barely paid her any attention; her concentration was focused elsewhere. The pulse had failed to pass through the walls or reach the outside, exactly as she had expected, but it had detected something. Something that made her eyes snap open.
A presence, not far from them.
It was faint, but unmistakable.
An anomaly.
Kotone quickly turned her head toward Mochi, the arrogance that usually characterized her expression had completely disappeared, replaced by a serious and completely focused look.
"I need you to release an ether pulse," she ordered.
"What?"
"A big one. The biggest you can produce."
Mochi blinked in confusion.
"Don't order me arou—"
Mochi was about to respond as she usually did, with a complaint or some sarcastic remark, but she stopped herself. She clenched her teeth and took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to argue. Not when they were trapped who knew where, separated from Miyu, and with no apparent way out. Besides, as much as she hated to admit it, Kotone far surpassed her in theoretical knowledge. If she was asking her to do this, she surely had a reason.
"Fine…" she muttered reluctantly. "But don't get used to it."
She closed her eyes and slowly began gathering ether. The energy flowed through her body like a warm current running through every muscle and nerve. Her breathing became slower and steadier as she concentrated everything she could. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and released the pulse. The wave of ether expanded in every direction, and at the same time, the building began to tremble again.
RUMBLE...
The walls vibrated, the floor creaked beneath their feet, and some of the hallway lights flickered for an instant. Mochi barely paid attention to them, her mind occupied with processing the enormous amount of information she had just received. The thick walls were still there, completely impenetrable. Her energy collided with them and was unable to pass through. As if the entire building were enclosed inside a huge invisible box.
But that wasn't the only thing she sensed.
She also felt that presence.
The anomaly was still there, and it was close. Very close.
However, for some reason, she couldn't pinpoint its exact location.
It was a strange sensation, as if the presence were behind a door… but at the same time, in front of her. As if it were above… and below at the same time.
Mochi frowned. None of it made sense.
"I can feel it," she said as she opened her eyes. "It's close. Very close. But I can't tell exactly where."
Kotone listened carefully to every word, then nodded. The information matched her own observations, but instead of clarifying things, it only complicated the situation further. And there was another detail that worried her.
Every time Mochi released a pulse…
The building trembled.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
The idea was absurd, and yet she couldn't ignore it.
"Do it again."
"Huh?"
"The pulse."
"Again?"
"Yes."
Mochi sighed but obeyed. She gathered her energy once more and released a second pulse.
RUMBLE...
The entire building shook again. A nearby door opened on its own for a second before closing again.
Kotone observed every detail, her expression becoming even more serious.
"Again."
"Again?"
"Do it."
Mochi did it again.
And once again, the building trembled.
"Again."
"Hey, this uses up energy…"
"Again."
Mochi grumbled something under her breath but obeyed.
Once more.
And again.
And again.
Each pulse caused the same reaction, as if something inside the building were responding to that energy. Kotone was becoming increasingly confused. The pieces didn't fit together. She had hypotheses, many hypotheses, but no solid explanation, and standing around analyzing theories wouldn't solve anything.
Time continued to pass. If they remained trapped for too long, they could fail the exam, and although she would never admit it out loud... she was also worried about Miyu. Finally, she made a decision.
"Let's go."
"Where?"
"To find the core."
Mochi looked at her in confusion.
Kotone crossed her arms.
"It doesn't matter what kind of barrier this is. All barriers have something in common."
"And what is that?"
"A core."
Her voice sounded firm.
"There's always a central point that sustains them. If we find that core and destroy it, the barrier will collapse."
It made sense. At least it was a plan, and it was better than simply waiting around. The two of them began moving through the endless hallways. At first, they walked quickly. They kept walking and walking. The minutes turned into hours, or at least that was how it felt.