Terror in Resonance: If - Sphinxes of the Sleepless City
Terror in Resonance: If — Sphinxes of the Sleepless City
Nine and Touji have returned—not to the Tokyo of their world, but to another sleepless city where the festival lights flicker and the shadows of the Athena Plan still reach. The bomb is set. The detonator is ready. And the world is watching Sphinx.
But in this world, a girl sits alone in the corner of a classroom, her downcast eyes carrying the weight of a silence no one else can hear. She is not Mio. She is just a classmate. A stranger.
Terror in Resonance: If - Sphinxes of the Sleepless City - The Accomplice's Choice —Pale Yellow, So It Won't Disappear—
Tokyo before dawn was dead silent.
On the third floor of an old mixed-use building, black curtains covered every window, not letting a single drop of outside light through. The room smelled of moldy tatami and drain water leaking in from somewhere.
Kokonoe Arata silently counted the cardboard boxes stacked against the wall. Behind his dark navy self-framed glasses, his deep brown eyes moved methodically even in the dim light. The small old scar on his left eyebrow glistened with sweat.
"...This place is bigger than I expected."
Hisami Touji spun once in the middle of the room. His fluffy, light-brown mushroom-cut hair swayed from the centrifugal force. His big amber eyes darted around the room.
"It's a lot older than the last place, but hey—there's a water tower on the roof, so we've got running water."
Touji hugged his motorcycle helmet closer. It was his treasure. He brought it everywhere.
"Risa, you okay? Bet you're exhausted."
Touji called out to the girl huddled in the corner.
Mishima Risa sat slumped against the wall, her shoulder-length black hair stuck to her cheeks with sweat. Her round black eyes wavered with unease. The small earring on her left ear caught a faint glint of light.
"...Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks, Touji."
Risa's voice was hoarse.
The moment her voice vibrated through the air, color bloomed softly in Touji's vision. Pale yellow. That faint color, like the peel of a lemon.
(Risa's voice is a little thin today. Maybe she's just tired.)
That was what Touji thought.
Kokonoe Arata kept inspecting the floor beneath him, listening to their conversation from behind. He peeled back the tatami mats one by one, tracing the gaps in the floorboards with his fingertips.
"Touji. We're moving the supplies. Shift all the boxes by the window to the back."
"Ehh, now? They're heavy, you know."
"Now. We need to get this place in shape before dawn."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Touji let out an exaggerated sigh, then hoisted up a cardboard box.
Risa staggered to her feet too.
"I'll help with something too."
"You sit. Don't move."
Nine's voice was flat. But beneath it, there was something like a faint trace of concern.
"...But—"
"If you push yourself and collapse, that's just more trouble for us."
Risa closed her mouth.
(Nine's always like this. He says cold things, but he's really watching out for me.)
Risa sat back down against the wall.
Outside, the distant wail of an ambulance siren drifted through the air.
Summer mornings come early.
Outside the window, the sky was beginning to pale. A thin sliver of light slipped through a gap in the black curtains.
Risa had fallen asleep without realizing it.
When she woke, her body ached everywhere. It was from lying on the hard floor, barely able to turn over.
(Where...)
Risa slowly sat up.
The room was still dim. Kokonoe Arata sat in the corner with a laptop open. The glow of the screen lit his face pale blue.
Touji was nowhere to be seen.
"...Where's Touji?"
When Risa asked, Nine answered without looking away from the screen.
"Out buying supplies. He'll be back soon."
"I see..."
Risa stood and looked around the room.
Last night it had been too dark to see, but there was more stuff here than she'd thought. Cardboard boxes were piled against the walls, tools and wires scattered across the floor. In the back of the room were an old refrigerator and a small sink.
Risa's eyes drifted to a cardboard box lying at her feet.
Unlike the others, it was sealed with tape—carefully, deliberately.
(I wonder what's inside.)
Curiosity got the better of her. She reached for the box.
"Don't touch that."
A sharp voice cut through the air.
Risa's shoulders jumped.
"...S-sorry."
"Don't touch that box. Understood?"
Nine's voice was lower than usual.
Risa nodded quickly.
But in that moment, her foot bumped another box.
Clatter.
A small box toppled over, and its contents spilled across the floor.
A chunk of metal. Wiring. A tiny LCD screen.
Risa reached to pick it up—then stopped.
(What is this...?)
It was a machine. A palm-sized, angular device. It had several buttons and a cord extending from it.
"Oh—that!"
Touji had come back without her noticing. He was carrying a convenience store bag.
He rushed over and snatched the device from Risa's hand.
"That's, uh, you know. It's like a radio part."
Touji's voice cracked obviously.
"A radio...?"
Risa tilted her head.
It looked far too ominous to be a radio part.
"Yeah, yeah. A radio. I build radios as a hobby. Ahaha."
Touji shoved the device into a cardboard box and shut the lid.
Nine rose silently and carried the box to the very back of the room.
A small thorn pricked at Risa's chest.
(They're both hiding something.)
(It's always been like this. I knew they were people with secrets.)
(But...)
Risa couldn't say anything.
The daytime was a battle against the heat.
No air conditioning. No opening the windows. The room was like a steam bath.
Risa sat against the wall, fanning herself with a paper fan.
Touji lay sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Risa. Don't you want some ice cream?"
"...Ice cream?"
"Yeah. I bought some at the convenience store—it's in the fridge. Want some?"
Touji pulled two cups of ice cream from the refrigerator.
"Oh, sure. Thanks."
Risa took the ice cream.
Vanilla cup ice cream. When she opened the lid, cold vapor rose up.
Risa scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth.
Cold. Sweet.
(It feels like... I'm alive.)
Risa let out a breath of relief without meaning to.
"Good, right?"
Touji asked with a grin.
"Yeah. It's delicious."
"Right?! Summer's all about this!"
Touji finished his own ice cream in three bites.
"You eat fast."
Nine said from the corner, sounding exasperated.
"Well, it'll melt, won't it?"
"It's not melting yet."
"Aren't you gonna eat yours, Nine? I bought it for you."
"I'm fine."
"Okay then. I'll eat it!"
Touji pulled out a third ice cream from the fridge.
"If you eat any more, you'll get a stomachache."
"I'll be fine! My stomach's made of iron!"
Risa watched the two of them and couldn't help but smile.
(Even at a time like this, they're kind of like normal brothers.)
In that moment, something tightened deep in Risa's chest.
(Normal, huh.)
(I'm getting further and further from a normal life.)
Risa gripped her ice cream cup tightly.
Night came.
The summer night was lukewarm, as if it had trapped the day's heat.
Risa woke up thirsty.
(Water...)
She rose slowly, careful not to make a sound.
Beside her, Touji breathed softly in his sleep. Nine sat against the wall in the corner, eyes closed.
Risa headed for the sink.
She looked for a cup. Opened a cabinet.
That was when she noticed a faint light leaking from the back of the room.
(Is Nine still awake?)
Risa crept toward the light, killing her footsteps.
A small room at the back. The door was slightly ajar.
Risa peered through the gap.
Nine was at his laptop.
Video editing software was open on the screen.
Footage was lined up on the timeline.
Risa held her breath.
On the screen were two men.
Two men wearing black masks and black clothes.
One wore glasses.
The other wore a helmet.
The two of them were speaking to the camera.
She couldn't hear the audio. But the footage was clear.
And at the edge of the screen, a caption appeared.
"Sphinx No. 1 and No. 2"
Risa's heart slammed against her ribs.
(Sphinx...)
(The ones who bombed the Metropolitan Government Building...)
(Those terrorists...)
Risa's mind went blank.
The pair on screen. The one with glasses—the scar on his left eyebrow. The one in the helmet—the brown hair.
(Nine and Touji...)
(It was them.)
Risa's legs began to tremble violently.
Her breathing grew shallow.
(I saw something I shouldn't have.)
(I have to run.)
Risa backed away.
That was when she stepped on an empty can.
Clang.
The metallic sound echoed through the silent room.
Nine turned around.
His deep brown eyes caught Risa in the darkness.
"...Risa."
A low voice.
Risa nearly screamed.
But no sound came out.
Her throat seized, letting only air escape.
Risa ran.
To the entrance. Outside. She had to get out of here.
"Stop."
Nine's voice stabbed into her back.
Risa grabbed the front door.
But it wouldn't open.
It was locked.
She rattled the doorknob desperately.
"It won't open... open it..."
Risa's voice was wet with tears.
"It's useless. That door only opens with my fingerprint—from either side."
Nine's voice came from right behind her.
Risa turned around.
Nine stood there.
In his right hand, a black gun.
"...No way."
Risa's lips trembled.
"It's not real, right? Nine. Please. I didn't see anything. I don't know anything. So please, just let me go home..."
Risa clung to the door, crying.
"You saw. You know. You're past the point where not knowing is an option."
Nine's voice was cold as ice.
"...That's cruel. I trusted you two."
Risa's tears traced down her cheeks and fell to the floor.
"Trusted, huh. That was just you believing whatever you wanted. We were strangers to you from the start."
Nine took a step toward Risa.
"You have two choices."
Nine's voice sliced through the air of the room.
"Die here. Or become our accomplice."
Risa's head spun.
(Die?)
(Accomplice?)
(What is he saying?)
"...I can't choose that."
Risa's voice shook.
"Choose. It's your life."
"Stop it, Nine!"
Touji burst out from the back room.
"You can't kill Risa! Absolutely not!"
Touji shoved himself between Risa and Nine.
"Touji, move."
"I won't! Risa's our comrade, isn't she?!"
"She never became our comrade. You just brought her here on your own."
"But! Risa didn't do anything wrong! She was just... she was just with us!"
Touji's voice cracked.
"Now that she knows, we can't just let her walk. If she talks to the police, everything ends. You know that."
"Then I'll protect Risa! She won't tell anyone—right, Risa?!"
Touji grabbed Risa's shoulders.
Risa looked at Touji, her face a mess of tears.
"...I won't tell. I won't tell anyone. Please. I don't want to die."
Risa's voice was thin, barely there.
"Risa..."
Tears welled in Touji's eyes too.
"Nine, please. Let Risa go. I'll watch her properly. I'll make sure she never tells anyone."
Touji bowed his head to Nine.
Nine looked down at Touji and Risa in silence.
A long pause.
Only Risa's sobbing echoed through the room.
"...You decide."
Nine spoke to Risa.
"Die, or become an accomplice. I'll decide what to do after I hear your answer."
Risa wiped her tears with trembling hands.
(I don't want to die.)
(But an accomplice...)
(That means joining the terrorists?)
(I can't do that.)
(But dying is even worse.)
Risa's thoughts spun in circles.
She wanted to go home.
But home had that suffocating surveillance.
She wanted to go to school.
But school had that vicious bullying.
There was nowhere she belonged.
Nowhere to escape.
(What am I supposed to do?)
Risa squeezed her eyes shut.
In the darkness, what floated up was Touji's smile.
"Risa's voice is pale yellow—it's really beautiful."
"When I hear that voice, it cheers me up."
"I'm no good without you, Risa."
(Touji needed me.)
(Nine actually cared about me too.)
(These people are terrorists, but)
(They were kind to me.)
(To me, who had no place at home or at school)
(Maybe this place could be where I belong.)
Risa slowly opened her eyes.
"...I—"
Risa's voice was still trembling.
But her eyes looked straight at Nine.
"I... I don't want to die here."
Another tear spilled down her cheek.
"So... I'll be your accomplice."
The moment he heard those words, color flooded Touji's vision.
Risa's voice vibrated through the air and turned to color.
Just moments ago it had been muddied gray with fear.
But now—
Pale yellow.
That faint color, like the peel of a lemon.
(Risa's voice—the color changed.)
(It's not gray. It's pale yellow.)
(This is the color of resolve.)
Touji felt a warmth spread deep in his che
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