The dormitory door had barely closed behind them when Reika stopped in place with a snap of her fingers and wide eyes.
"The masks! We forgot them in the kitchen!"
Takumi turned around immediately.
"Damn it, did we just leave our souls there like a bag of rice?"
Renjiro had already turned around and dashed down the hall back to the kitchen. As soon as they entered the room again, they heard a sharp, annoyed scream echo through the house.
"WHAT?! SO I TALK AND TALK AND THEY LEAVE ME ALONE?! Typical! They can't even handle me with dignity!"
Kagura. Always the same energy.
Reika picked up her mask with a sigh, holding it by the sides like holding a mischievous cat.
"I'm sorry, drama queen. You were forgotten for… twenty minutes[1]."
"Twenty minutes of emotional abandonment is twenty minutes too much!" Kagura retorted, offended.
Tenax, on the other hand, only commented dryly while Takumi held him.
"It was about time. I was finding the silence too strange."
Nyxalith spoke in a soft whisper in Renjiro's ear as soon as he touched the mask.
"You really have this habit of leaving what's important behind, don't you…?"
Renjiro sighed. It wasn't the time to process that comment.
When they opened the door outside, the cool air hit their faces like a memory. The morning light already warmed the rooftops, but there was a cold, damp breeze hanging in the air, which made Reika pull her scarf up slightly.
Takumi clicked his tongue.
"Yesterday it was fucking hot. And now this? Does this have seasons by the hour or what?"
Renjiro crossed his arms, observing the stained wooden roofs and the trees with red leaves that shimmered in the wind.
"I noticed that too. The weather here doesn't… seem natural."
Reika looked up, seeing a spiraling cloud moving very slowly in the sky, like paint diluted in water.
"Yumehara is like a dream in the middle of the night. The normal rules of the world don't apply here."
And they continued walking, turning onto a street lined with small shops and wooden stalls decorated with ribbons, hanging lanterns, and colorful fabrics. The commerce was alive, full of energy: smells of warm sweets and spices, sounds of conversations in unknown dialects, children running with amulets hanging from their necks, and beings in unusual clothes, but with human features.
It was then that Reika stopped upon seeing a stall of accessories, bracelets, headbands, rings, pendants with stones and small pieces of crystal that seemed to have their own glow.
She approached as if drawn by a magnet, her eyes shining. The vendor, a middle-aged man with a round face and a dark beard with a few white strands, greeted them with a warm smile.
"Good morning! I see you've arrived recently."
Takumi raised an eyebrow.
"Are we that obvious?"
The man chuckled briefly.
"You have 'just awakened' stamped on your foreheads. It's a… different kind of energy."
Reika was already trying on a black headband with silver lines.
Renjiro, more serious, asked:
"Don't you find it strange to welcome so warmly… invaders? People who come here after awakening their masks?"
The man looked at him, his eyes softening with understanding.
"Here in Yumehara, no one is an invader. Everyone in this city arrived here because they heard the call of their masks. It's destiny that pushes them here, not invasion."
He pointed to the street with his open hand.
"Do you see all these people? Every face you meet here… they all went through a moment of collapse, confusion, or despair. They all awakened. And they all found their way to this place. Most don't even know how, they just arrived. Like you."
Renjiro looked around more closely. Ordinary people… laughing, talking, negotiating, living.
"Are you saying that all of them…?"
"All of them." the man confirmed. "Yumehara is more than a city. It's a refuge. A meeting point between what we are… and what we are about to discover we can be."
Reika took a small blue leaf-shaped brooch and discreetly pinned it to her scarf.
"And you… were you already here before you awakened?"
The man laughed, and his eyes shone with an unusual amber hue.
"Let's just say… I woke up a long time ago. Now seeing memories… while others are living their first ones."
Reika ran her fingers along a silver chain hanging in the corner of the booth. The pendant was shaped like a small bluish drop, resembling a molten crystal, with an almost hypnotic sheen. She lifted it, letting the sunlight stream through it.
"I want that one."
The vendor crossed his arms, his affable smile still plastered on his face.
"Good choice. It's made with fragments of Lazarith, a rare mineral from Yumehara. They say it calms the spirit and increases resonance with your mask."
Takumi smiled slightly.
"Of course they do."
"That's 100… Myres." the man said casually.
Reika frowned. "One hundred what?"
Renjiro leaned forward slightly. "Excuse me, but… what are Myres?"
The man let out a small, muffled laugh.
"Ah, of course. I forgot you're newbies. Myres is the currency used here in Yumehara. It's based on residual awakening energy, the stronger your connection to Æther, the more you can generate and convert."
Takumi, speechless: "So this is like… spiritual capitalism?"
The vendor laughed heartily.
"You can say that. But don't worry. The first souvenir is always free."
He extended the chain to Reika, who hesitated.
"Really?"
"Of course. Yumehara's first accessory should be a gift. As proof that they are now part of this, whether they want to… or not."
Reika took the chain, murmuring a "thank you" and staring at the object with more serious eyes.
"Thank you. Really."
The three said goodbye, beginning to walk away.
The man, already gathering some cloths from the stall, murmured softly to himself, almost inaudibly.
"Keep this safe. When the second crack falls… you might need more than luck."
The street widened towards a central square, where the buildings gained height and elegance. The wooden and polished stone facades blended with futuristic elements, floating signs, strings of colored lights, and even some winged creatures that lazily hovered over the rooftops with feline laziness.
Takumi stopped in front of a huge stone and glass structure with wide gates.
"It... looks like a courthouse?"
Reika confirmed, reading the sign in runes and common language: "Yumehara Mediation and Justice Institute."
Renjiro narrowed his eyes: "How does this place have organized justice and commerce if it shouldn't even exist?"
Takumi shrugged.
"Think of it as a functional limbo. Lost souls with taxes and a penal code."
They walked a few more meters and crossed paths with a group of uniformed young people emerging from a tall building with circular windows and small towers. Their clothes were dark, with crests sewn onto their chests. A symbol resembling a broken mask.
"A school…" Reika murmured. "Could it be… they teach you how to deal with masks?"
"Or fighting against those who don't know how." Renjiro commented thoughtfully.
Soon after, they passed a rectangular building with an observation tower and white flags.
Takumi pointed.
"Look there… defense department? But defense against what?"
Reika, more serious now, replied: "Against those who get lost. Against those who don't accept the mask. Against those who return… different. Maybe."
A brief silence fell between them. The kind of silence that weighs more than words.
But it didn't last long.
Takumi turned and saw a vendor handing a bag of sweets to a child with pointed ears. He smiled.
"Okay, this is still weird as hell, but… it's also cute. There's life. Color. Noise. It looks like a normal city… but with glitches in reality."
Renjiro stopped, looking ahead.
In the distance, between tall buildings and the amber sky, rose the Tower of Voices.
Tall. Symmetrical. The edges of the tower pulsed with pale blue energy lines, like living veins in an ancient structure. The upper floors disappeared into the clouds, and an invisible aura seemed to bend the light around the top.
"And there she is…"
Reika tightened the newly acquired chain on her wrist.
"Damn. I still get chills just thinking about going back there."
Takumi took a deep breath.
"Today is just sightseeing, okay? Tomorrow we'll be pawns on the cosmic chessboard again."
Renjiro smiled slightly for the first time that day.
"Tourism with lurking monsters. What an adventure…"
And they continued walking, mingling with the people of Yumehara, like newcomers to a dream they didn't yet know if it was a dream… or a premonition.
The three were admiring a stall selling floating sweets, golden balls that levitated lightly above a cushion of steam, when Kagura's shrill and familiar voice tore through the moment like an untimely thunderclap:
"Tourism? Are you all crazy or what?! Do you think you're on vacation?!"
Reika shuddered, her eyes instantly rolling back. "Oh no… it's already started."
Takumi put his hand to his face. "Not a single day of peace…"
Renjiro crossed his arms. "Does she have GPS tracking or what?"
Kagura's voice echoed directly from the mask, audible only to them, or perhaps not. Some people on the street even gave her sideways glances, as if they sensed something was being said beyond the reach of normal ears.
"You heard what Shiori said yesterday. 'When you're ready.' And I ask: ready for what, huh? To buy bracelets and eat cloud cotton candy? Or to deal with the fucking truth that knocked on your door?!"
Reika, already gripping her mask tightly, sighed.
"It's just a little walk. We need to breathe. Yesterday was too much."
"Breathe? I have a crystal stuck in my forehead and I'm not here crying over a picnic!"
Takumi couldn't help but laugh.
"Damn crazy mask[2]…"
Nyxalith, with her soft, captivating voice, intervened for the first time that day:
"The truth is, she's not wrong. The tower waits. Time here flows in a… capricious way. And if you wait too long, you might lose the thread between destiny and chance."
Tenax with his usual grave calm, added:
"You've been given time to breathe. You've breathed. Now, move on."
Renjiro looked at the other two. "So… we go back now?"
Takumi took a step back, giving a small, ironic bow to the distant tower.
"Tower of Voices… we're on our way. Thanks for ruining the morning."
Reika took one last look at the accessories stand, still with a slight smile. Then, he pointed with his chin toward the road that led them back to the Tower:
"Come on, before Kagura has a breakdown and forces us to levitate."
Renjiro gripped his mask tightly, took a deep breath, and began to walk.
The Tower of Voices seemed even more imposing as they approached. The surrounding streets began to lessen in traffic. The ground seemed to vibrate slightly with each step, or perhaps it was just the collective anxiety of the three, growing with their approach.
Takumi, already climbing the front steps, murmured:
"I still think we should have bought those floating candies…"
Reika replied with a firm look.
"After you survive the Council, I'll pay you for three bags."
The trio stopped in front of the colossal entrance to the Tower of Voices.
The gates were monumental, carved from a kind of dark metal with bluish reflections. Strange runes crisscrossed the surface like living scars, and in the center was a circular symbol, three stylized faces touching at the edges, as if sharing the same identity.
Renjiro took a deep breath, raised his hands, and pushed the gates forcefully.
Nothing.
He tried again.
"Pff… it's locked."
Takumi was already stepping forward, huffing.
"Excuse me."
He confidently put his right foot down and delivered a well-aimed kick. The thud echoed, but the gates didn't budge an inch. Takumi jumped back, shaking his foot in pain.
"What kind of gate is this?! Adamantium?!"
Reika, losing her patience, crossed her arms and punched the metal surface three times in quick succession.
"Open up, damn it!"
The runes pulsed... and then faded again.
Silence.
Takumi looked around.
"Nobody's watching this, are they?"
Reika grumbled: "Too bad... it looks like we're trying to rob a castle with a toy hammer."
Renjiro, instead of joining the physical effort, stopped, crossed his arms, and observed the structure.
"Wait a minute... what if this is on purpose?"
Reika looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"What if… only Shiori or the Council members can open this? Like… permission magic or something like that."
Takumi, rubbing his sore foot, cast a thoughtful glance.
"Or… what if it's a test?"
"A test?" Reika repeated.
Takumi nodded. "Think about it, they send us here, say we'll get answers, but they won't let us in. Maybe they're watching us. Seeing if we're smart enough to turn the tables. Or if we have initiative."
Renjiro looked around, his eyes scanning the high walls, the vertical windows, and the floating platform that provided access to one of the tower's balconies above.
"You think we should enter from another side?"
Takumi raised an eyebrow.
"That's what I'd do if I were testing new recruits. You close the front door and see if they have the guts to find the hidden entrance."
Reika, now looking at the sides of the tower.
"Or maybe… it's like a puzzle? A seal? Do we need to do something, or say something specific, or use the masks?"
Takumi laughed. "I didn't come equipped with puzzles today."
Renjiro, more serious: "Maybe the seal reacts with Æther energy. Or… with intention."
Kagura, impatient, interrupted through Reika's mask:
"You're outside one of the most protected places in Yumehara. Did you really think you could just knock on the door and walk in? If you want answers, move. Find a way in. I won't hold my tongue if you just stand there like glitched NPCs."
Nyxalith, her voice softer but firm, finished:
"The doors of truth rarely open with brute force. Think. Observe."
Tenax added:
"There's always another way in. The question is: are you prepared to pay the price to find it?"
The three exchanged glances.
Reika, determined, pulled her hair back and said:
"Alright. Let's turn this around."
Takumi snapped his fingers. "Either we find her… or we open a new one."
Renjiro, more focused than ever, murmured:
"Let's find out where the real path leads."
And with that, they began to circle the tower, attentive to any sign, shadow, crack, or secret passage that could lead them to what awaited them… inside.
After almost an hour circling the tower, the three young people stopped at a side wall. They had examined every crack, every shadow, every potentially hidden symbol, and nothing. No secret door. No magic balcony. No hidden glow.
Takumi, his coat already hanging from his shoulder, sat down on one of the flat stones near the base of the tower.
"Nothing. Not an alternate entrance, not a secret tunnel, not a slide disguised as a statue."
Reika snorted.
"Honestly, I was already going to accept being swallowed by a hole in the ground."
Renjiro, quieter now, stood with his eyes closed, facing the main gate. He hadn't said anything for several minutes. But he was listening.
Listening to the silence of the gate. Feeling the air. Thinking.
Until, suddenly, he murmured:
"Maybe… we don't have to go into the tower."
Reika raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Takumi looked at him. "Bro, don't tell me the plan is for us to sleep outside."
Renjiro opened his eyes, focused.
"What if… this isn't a normal gate? What if the entrance is through us?"
Reika crossed her arms. "You need to figure this out. Urgently."
Renjiro walked to the center of the door and placed his palm on the symbol of the three intertwined faces.
"Think about it, the tower is called the 'Tower of Voices.' It's the base of Tamashi Zetsumetsu. Everything in this world functions through Æther, the connection between masks and users. And the tower's entrance is blocked."
Takumi stood up, approaching. "Go on."
"What if the tower doesn't open by force, nor by physical tricks? What if it opens… when it recognizes the voices that should enter? Not ours, but… those of the entities that live in the masks."
Reika blinked. "Are you saying… that masks are the key?"
Renjiro nodded. "More than that. That we, humans and masks, are in harmony. Because notice, the symbol on the door is three interconnected faces. A symbol of unity."
Takumi scratched his head. "Then what do we need? To… sing the anthem together? A ritual? Karaoke from hell?"
Renjiro, ignoring the joke, took a deep breath.
"I think we have to channel Æther together, as one. In perfect harmony with our masks. Show the tower that we are aligned. Not as three people with random powers, but as a unified trio, recognized by the spirits that inhabit us."
Reika, now more serious, stared at the mask she held in her hands.
"That… actually makes sense. The masks awakened when we were in total emotional harmony. Maybe the tower is expecting the same… but consciously."
Takumi, observing his own mask:
"So we have to do like a… spiritual 'ping.' A wave of harmonized Æther."
Nyxalith, softly, spoke for the first time in hours:
"Now you're thinking like a real channeler, Renjiro."
Kagura, sarcastically:
"Finally someone turned on their brain. I was almost suggesting we knock on the door with a roast chicken."
Tenax finished:
"This theory makes sense. The gate is a mirror of intention. It doesn't respond to force, it responds to truth."
Renjiro closed his eyes, raised his mask to face level, and said:
"Let's try."
Reika and Takumi lined up beside him, each holding their mask in front of their chest. The symbol on the gate seemed to vibrate slightly.
Renjiro, in a calm voice:
"Masks. We are accepting the path that began with us. Unite with us in this moment. Feel."
Reika closed her eyes as well.
"I am Reika. Bearer of Ame-no-Kagura. And I accept the weight and power of this connection."
Takumi, firmly:
"I am Takumi. Bearer of Tenax. And I swear I will understand this gift and fight with it."
Renjiro finished:
"And I am Renjiro. Bearer of Nyxalith. And I accept this new reality."
For a few seconds, silence.
Then… the three-faced symbol glowed.
The runes on the gate burst into flames with a blue-silver light. A deep sound, as if stone were breathing for the first time in centuries, filled the air.
With an ancient crack, the gates began to open on their own.
Takumi's eyes widened.
"Damn it. It actually worked."
Reika, slightly breathless, laughed.
"Okay, that was brilliant, Renjiro."
Renjiro, still with his heart pounding erratically, simply nodded.
And then, without another word, the three crossed the threshold of the Tower of Voices, ready for what destiny had in store for them… on the other side.
[1] Hyperbole.
[2] Hey everyone! I just want to clarify something about the so called masks here. The mask is simultaneously a physical object and something that doesn't entirely belong to the material world. It can be touched, seen, and used like any artifact. It has form, weight, and presence. But this form is only a superficial manifestation of "something". Its existence oscillates between the tangible and the intangible. It is not just an object, nor just an idea. It is both, coexisting. The mask doesn't "represent" something. It is that something, manifested in a form that can be used. It's kinda hard to explain in my point of view, but it is something like that. Also, when put on, the mask no longer functions as a normal physical object. It loses its rigidity and integrates with the user's face (not entirely!), becoming an extension of the body itself. It might seem a bit confusing now, but this idea will be developed in future chapters, don't worry.