Secrets of Sound

Due to the attention Shry had garnered from all the Resonance Hall overseers, plenty of the overseers were more than willing to help in any way they could, and especially when they created this theory and experiment.

They wanted to make sure that it was done right, so they custom-ordered all the equipment they needed to get the most precise data they could possibly acquire. Just to get a lead on developing a new type of Node canister.

"It feels a bit warm, like I'm wearing socks all over my body... But other than that, it doesn't even feel like I have anything strapped on." Shry paused for a moment before continuing, giving out only positive reviews.

All the equipment Shry had strapped to him didn't look out of place. Except for the camera strapped to his head, the other equipment looked more like arm and leg warmers than the high-end equipment that it actually is.

"Also, is it really okay to bring all of this equipment into the Resonance Hall? I remember you told me it was a taboo and to keep it a secret the first time we did it." Shry asked in a neutral tone, more skeptical than hesitant since they had already done this numerous times before, secretly.

"We got special permissions to do this now. As long as we don't overdo it, it's fine for us to bring anything into the Resonance Hall" Hytile revealed, as a small smirk dawned on his face.

As Hytile said those words, an odd feeling kept tugging him, like there was a memory poking at him trying to get him to remember.

"Ah! I almost forgot, I have a very special gift for you today!" Hytile raised his voice unintentionally in realization.

After remembering what he was missing, Hytile quickly ran over to the registration building, which had currently been reduced to a mere storage house for all of their experiments, devoid of life compared to Shry's first encounter on his Resonance day.

*Kiiieeek*

Unlocking the door, the first thing Hytile saw, as the light from outside beamed into the room, was a couple dozen boxes filled with paper stacked on top of each other in a neat pile at the right end corner, a mere start to the many more boxes of documentation to come.

To the front of all those boxes was the main table for the reception, connected to the currently shut windows. There were many fewer items on the table compared to every other place in the small building, used only to store the most important items, as it would be troublesome to clear it for the next Resonance Day.

Remembering exactly where he put the item he was looking for, Hytile didn't need to turn on the lights. He locked the door in place by making it cling onto the wall and simply walked, heading straight for the reception table.

As the evening sun shone into the building, a rectangular object on the table began to glimmer as it refracted the light, immediately alerting Hytile to the location of the item he's been searching for.

Confident, Hytile didn't even look at what he grabbed; it was only when he exited the administration building that he took a closer look.

In the sunlight, the item in Hytile's hand glowed like a gemstone; its marble-like exterior reflected light like crazy, almost as much as a mirror.

"I can't believe they actually gave me permission to make this." Hytile spoke to himself, still recalling a meeting he had with his colleagues.

In Hytile's hand was something similar to the controller he had. However, it is much simpler; it's much smaller, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and instead of the complicated engravings his had, this controller only had 3 buttons.

"Hey, Mr. Luftra, I'm ready!" Shry waved his right hand vigorously as he noticed Hytile's figure finally began to make his way to him.

During Hytile's absence, Shry began to get a bit antsy, his energy surging after a long period of immobility. Making him unable to stay still any longer, he got up, did a couple of stretches, and once he was done, he decided to walk to their usual starting point early.

"This is for you; it's a controller like mine, so please be responsible with it." Hytile presented his gift and made sure to inform Shry about its significance and the responsibility that comes with it.

"Emmmm... does it come with a case? I don't want to accidentally press a button and cause the Resonance Hall to fly off somewhere." Shry expressed his worry animatedly, both extremely excited and nervous at the idea of owning a controller for the Resonance Hall just like Hytile.

"No, I didn't make one. If you want one, draw up a design, and I'll get the craftsman that made those chairs and the table to make it for you." Hytile pointed at the canopy as he spoke.

"Really!" Shry's face lit up with joy, forgetting about the main reason why he wanted a case in an instant, excited about the prospect of getting something custom-made for him.

"Yeah, before that, let's double-check if everything is working properly." Hytile smiled, chuckling at Shry's childish display.

"Today's experiment is not only for gathering data; it suffices as a trial run to check if we're missing anything." Hytile continued, getting a bit antsy himself.

As Hytile finished double-checking all the monitoring equipment on Shry, making sure they were properly strapped in.

After making sure all the physical aspects of the equipment were working well, Hytile reached into his right pocket, his right hand rustling around inside for a moment before finally pulling out his hand, now with a foreign object wrapping around his index finger.

A normal-looking ring without any exaggerated designs appears on his finger, tightly clinging onto the base of his finger, almost like it's a tiny bit too big for him.

Without fixating on anything else, Hytile moved his right hand with the ring on it to the same level as his chin and away from his chest, at about the same distance as how one would usually use their phone.

Before long, right as he locked his hand into place, he flared up his Node, making only his index finger glow light green, expertly controlling his Node output as a simple form of training to force a habit, engineering his mind to do something equivalent to a volume wheel on audio devices.

Following that, two parallel lines at the middle of the ring glowed blue, and in the next moment, globs of water began to manifest from around the ring like a fountain, hovering less than an inch away from the ring, like a second ring in the shape of a malformed heart, as an indent remained in between the two outlets at which the water derived from.

*Cuung!* A dull-sounding sharp noise echoed from the ring.

The moment after that noise, the water that was only maintaining subtle movements before suddenly sprang to life. The half-stagnant water sprawls up like a waterfall in reverse and slowly forms a transparent panel as wide as a 15-inch monitor.

At first, the water that formed the screen was wavy and looked like it was barely being held together, with periodic recession and shaky movements, but yet, throughout all of that, it remained completely flat. And soon, after about 3 seconds, it stabilized, becoming a perfect panel without all its previous creases.

It looked still, unbothered, almost like it's a normal pane of glass, and even if someone were to look at it closely, the person wouldn't be able to tell that it's actually constantly moving unless they touched it.

(It's still as impressive as the first time I saw it), Hytile thought as he moved around his right hand, playing around to test its adaptability, but yet, against all expectations, the water stream never wavered or even showed any signs of disruption; it just followed the ring like a hologram.

After that, seeing that the water screen had been fully formed, he masterfully flared up his node again, making only his thumb on the same hand glow light green while maintaining the light green glow of his index finger.

Following that, Hytile tapped his glowing light green thumb on the ring, and in the next moment, the once transparent water screen was suddenly filled with color, dozens of what looked like camera feeds listing out themselves in an organized state as it received real-time footage from both the cameras on Shry and inside of the Resonance Hall. However, most of them were completely dark, except for 3 specific feeds, which were the reason why Hytile activated his ring so early, to check if Shry's cameras were working well.

(Alright, now for the sensors.)

After checking the cameras, Hytile swiped the water screen with his left index finger from right to left, sending calm ripples across the screen as it went.

As his finger passed the end of the screen, the feed on the water screen changed into a spreadsheet, constantly receiving data from the sensors.

"We're good to go" Hytile announced after confirming the functionality of everything, raising a thumbs-up as an approving gesture.

"Once you put your hands in the box, the box will trap them in there, so don't panic when it happens," Hytile warned in advance.

"Ok! You can open the doors now; I'm ready." Shry excitedly said, giving a thumbs-up as well as his wide, excited smile, and onyx eyes glistening with curiosity.

Hytile didn't answer. Instead, he just left Shry standing there, confused, while he walked to the canopy and sat down on his chair, facing the Resonance Hall, with the water projection still activated.

"TRY OUT YOUR NEW CONTROLLER." Hytile enthusiastically yelled from the canopy.

After hearing that, another smile grew on Shry's face, bringing up the controller that he had been holding onto ever since Hytile handed it to him and pointing it at the Resonance Hall.

Because he was occupied with being astonished by Hytile's ring in action, he never got a good look at the controller, and looking at it now, it really did reflect the image of a remote for children.

On the controller were only 3 buttons, labeled open/close, lights, and emergency. The open/close button was colored white and slightly transparent. Following that, the lights button was colored yellowish-white, which gave off a soft and gentle tang vibe. Finally, the emergency button is bright red, so blindingly bright that it looks out of place anywhere you put it.

"Alright, let's do this!" Shry cheered, pressing the open/close button as he did so.

...

Sliding smoothly, the entrance to the Resonance Hall slowly opened, revealing its familiar dark internals as the gap began to appear.

Before going in, Shry felt a bit troubled as he tried to find a way to store the controller without accidentally pressing some of the buttons, though his worries were unfounded, as the buttons on the controller are stiff enough that it wouldn't be easy to accidentally press one of them.

In the end, right as the entrance to the Resonance Hall opened enough to fit his body through, Shry finally gave in and reluctantly lodged the controller into his right pocket.

Looking at the entrance, Shry quickly cupped his hands together and briefly adjusted them to a more comfortable position before he walked into the Resonance Hall.

(It's a bit strange seeing nothing in here now after seeing how beautiful it was an hour ago), Shry thought, in slight disappointment as he stepped into the Resonance Hall.

Unlike the usual, the Resonance Hall wasn't completely devoid of sound, as the devices and cameras, along with the experimental apparatus in the middle of the hall, emitted faint sounds that normal people won't be able to pick up on even if they press their ear an inch away from them.

Shry wasn't able to pick up on any of these sounds, but just like usual, he's somehow still able to hear his own breathing and heartbeat.

By now, Shry had grown extremely familiar with how the Resonance Hall works; in fact, he might even be second in terms of knowledge about the Resonance Hall, with the overseers being number one in the ranks.

(It should be about time now), Shry thought as he finished counting.

Instead of directly counting in his mind, he counted his heartbeat instinctually, and when the 2-minute calibration ended, he automatically knew it.

"Haaaah, huuuuu" Shry took in two heavy breaths.