In 2049, Tokyo's suburbs are ruled by an AI autonomous surveillance network—a perfect city where crimes and accidents are 'collected' before they happen. But those who slip through the cracks of this net form an underground organization called Anomaly. They survive by eating money and information through the gaps in surveillance.
Rei Mishiba is an ordinary high school senior. On his way home after failing a job interview, he accidentally witnesses a bloody turf war between semi-gangsters. Their
Synthetic Sound Runway - Primordial Key, Reverse Flow—Light the Core of the Silenced Partner
The smell of iron. The smell of mold. The cold concrete wall leeches the warmth from Rei's back.
Basement level two. Storage block.
Rei held a black box against his chest. A small box, palm-sized. Letters carved into its surface—NOCTURNE.
(Found it.)
His fingertips tremble. His left shoulder aches. The burn on his palm pulses with pain as it touches the cold of the box.
Rei opened the box.
Inside was a core.
A fist-sized lump of black metal. Countless terminals sprout from it. At its center, a faint red light blinks.
(Still alive.)
Rei gently stroked the core.
Cold.
But at its center, there was definitely heat.
"...Nokutaan."
His voice cracked.
No reply.
Of course. The core is silent. Nothing comes from the radio either.
Rei pulled the Primordial Key from his pocket.
An old encryption key, USB-shaped.
(Use this.)
(Reverse-seal the recovery mechanism.)
Rei approached the terminal at the center of the room.
Server racks lined the wall. In the center stood a single operation terminal.
The screen emitted a pale blue glow.
'Recovery Target: Sanshiba Rei'
'Premonition Probability: 99.9%'
'Recovery Priority: Highest'
Rei's face. Rei's name. Rei's numbers.
(99.9.)
Rei stared at the screen.
(A single number decides my life.)
(But I won't obey it anymore.)
Rei inserted the Primordial Key into the terminal's slot.
—Click.
A small sound.
The next instant.
The screen flickered violently.
'ERROR.'
Red text surfaced one after another.
'Recovery Mechanism Command System: Abnormal'
'Premonition Detection Algorithm: Reverse Flow Detected'
'Target: Sanshiba Rei — Premonition Probability: Recalculation Impossible'
Rei reached toward the screen.
His fingertips tremble.
'Premonition Probability:——'
The number vanished.
'Premonition Probability: Blank'
(Blank.)
Rei doubted his own eyes.
(My premonition probability.)
(Gone.)
From the screen, his face, his name, his numbers—all disappeared.
In their place, a single phrase.
'No Target.'
Something pulsed violently deep in Rei's chest.
(Did it.)
(I rejected the Grid.)
Rei pulled the Primordial Key out with trembling fingers.
The key is hot.
Heat spreads slowly across his palm.
(This is the reverse flow.)
(The power that flows backward through the surveillance network's command system.)
Rei adjusted his grip on the core.
(Next, Nokutaan.)
Rei tried to leave the room.
—Then.
A voice came from behind.
"My, you've already found it."
A sweet, light voice.
Something cold runs down Rei's spine.
He turns.
She was there.
Silver hair. Purple eyes. The iris of her left eye reflects the emergency light, gleaming silver.
Eve Crow.
Anomaly Representative.
A nineteen-year-old monster.
"You've put me through quite a bit of trouble, Sanshiba Rei."
Eve walks slowly toward him.
The sound of her heels echoes through the quiet corridor.
Click, click.
"Because of you, my plan has gone a little awry. Do you understand? The Grid's recovery mechanism chased you around, and because of that, my core recovery procedure was pushed back at every step."
Eve stopped in front of Rei.
A smile.
A perfect smile.
But her eyes aren't smiling.
"So now, here, I'll take everything back. That key and that core. Hand them both to me."
Rei adjusted his grip on the core.
His arms tense.
"...No."
His voice shakes.
But Rei looked into Eve's eyes.
"Oh, didn't you hear me? I said hand them over."
Eve's smile deepens.
"You may cry if you like. But you will hand them over."
Rei took a step back.
"No. This is my partner's core. I won't give it to you."
His voice grows louder.
Eve tilted her head.
"Partner? Ah, you mean that old-model sedan? That thing is already dead. You let it die."
Rei's chest tightens.
(No.)
(I didn't let it die.)
(Nokutaan protected me.)
"You're wrong. You wouldn't understand."
Rei shouted.
"I don't understand. Nor do I want to. What I want is that key and that core. That's all."
Eve reached out her hand.
White fingers.
Rei dodged.
"Oh, running? It's useless. You're already inside my encirclement."
Eve's voice turns cold.
"Your premonition probability has already risen to 99.9% thanks to the Grid. No matter where you run, you'll be recovered. If you hand it to me, at least I'll protect you from the Grid."
Rei shook his head.
"The premonition probability is blank now. Things won't go the way you say."
Eve's smile vanished for an instant.
"...What did you say?"
Rei held up the Primordial Key.
"With this, I reverse-sealed the recovery mechanism's command system. My premonition probability is no longer in the Grid."
Eve's left eye gleamed silver.
"...Interesting. You really are an interesting kitten."
Eve stepped forward.
"But that's the Grid's problem, isn't it? It has nothing to do with me. I'll simply take it from you directly."
Rei retreated.
His back hits the wall.
(Damn.)
(No escape.)
Eve approaches slowly.
"It's all right. I won't hurt you. I don't particularly like violence. So just hand it over obediently."
Eve's voice echoes like a whisper in his ear.
Rei closed his eyes.
(Nokutaan.)
(Help me.)
(No, that's wrong.)
(I'm not asking for help.)
(I'm going to save you.)
Rei opened his eyes.
"No!"
Rei shouted and slipped past Eve.
"Oh my."
Rei ran.
Through the corridor, at full speed.
Core clutched to his chest, Primordial Key gripped tight.
Behind him, Eve's voice gives chase.
"I won't let you escape. Rei."
—Then.
The entire facility shook.
BOOM.
A low, heavy sound.
Concrete debris falls from the ceiling.
Rei braced himself against the wall.
(What.)
(A collapse?)
Eve stopped too.
"...What is this? This vibration."
Rei looked up at the ceiling.
Cracks are spreading.
(The reverse flow's effect.)
(The Grid's control system is in chaos—even the facility's structural maintenance system is going haywire.)
Rei started running.
"Wait!"
Eve's voice echoes behind him.
But that voice is drowned out by the sound of collapse.
The ceiling crumbles.
Walls fall.
Corridors are blocked.
Rei leapt over rubble, running through the collapsing facility.
His breath is ragged.
His shoulder hurts.
His palm burns.
Even so, Rei ran.
(I'm bringing Nokutaan home.)
(No matter what.)
Rei dashed up the stairs.
From basement level two, upward.
And to the surface.
—The loading dock.
Rei stopped in front of the shutter.
(I'll get out through here.)
Rei tried to lift the shutter.
Heavy.
But it moves.
Ggggg...
Rei pushed the shutter up.
Outside air rushes in.
The smell of night.
The smell of iron and exhaust.
Rei stepped outside.
—Then.
"Hold it! Sanshiba!"
A shout of rage.
Rei turned.
Kai Solvent came flying out from the entrance of the crumbling facility.
Blond, spiky hair.
Sharp green eyes.
The knuckles of his right hand are red and swollen.
"You bastard—you left me behind!"
Kai lunges at Rei.
Rei dodged, still holding the core.
"Damn it! Just let me catch you!"
Kai's fist cuts through air.
Rei looked into Kai's eyes.
(This guy's scared too.)
Kai's hand is trembling.
His breathing is ragged.
Rei said quietly.
"You're just scared of someone too, aren't you."
Kai froze.
"...Hah?"
"You're afraid Eve will erase you. That's why you're so desperate. But that has nothing to do with me."
Rei stepped forward.
"I'm going to save my partner. I don't have time to play along with your fear."
Kai's face twists.
"Shut up... shut up shut up shut up!"
Kai lunges again.
Rei dodged Kai's charge by a hair's breadth.
Kai tumbles to the ground from his own momentum.
"Damn it! Why does someone like you—!"
Kai's voice is shaking.
Rei turned his back on Kai.
"I hope someday you can stand on your own two feet."
Rei started running.
"Wait! Sanshiba! Wait!"
Kai's voice echoes behind him.
But Rei didn't look back.
—Then.
Noise burst from Kai's radio.
Zzzzzz...
"—Lady Eve—"
"—Communication, impossible—"
"—Grid, reverse flow—"
Kai stared at the radio.
"...Eve? Eve, can you hear me? It's me, Kai! Please respond!"
The radio only spat noise.
Blood drains from Kai's face.
"...No way. Eve, I haven't done anything yet... Orders won't come through... What do I do..."
Kai stood frozen, gripping the radio.
Rei ran through the night city.
Away from the facility.
In the distance, the sound of collapse continues.
He looked back—Recovery Center District 7's building was smoking in places.
(Nokutaan.)
(Where are you.)
Rei traced his memory.
Nokutaan's body was destroyed back then.
Its wreckage should have been transported to the facility by the Grid's recovery mechanism.
(The core was in the storage block.)
(So the body is...)
Rei headed for the materials yard on the facility's outskirts.
There it was.
A black, old-model sedan.
It's a wreck.
The windshield is shattered, the body dented, the tires flat.
But it was definitely Nokutaan.
"...Nokutaan."
Rei ran to the car.
He touched the body.
Cold.
But Nokutaan's wreckage was definitely there.
Rei opened the driver's door.
Inside was a disaster.
The seat is torn, the dashboard cracked, the steering wheel bent.
Rei brought the core close to the control unit beneath the dashboard.
(If I put the core back here.)
(Nokutaan should wake up.)
Rei removed the control unit's cover.
Countless wires.
At the center, the core's connection terminal.
Rei slowly inserted the core into the terminal.
—Click.
A small sound.
Rei held his breath.
(Please.)
(Wake up.)
Silence.
Nothing happens.
The radio stays silent.
The engine won't start.
"...Nokutaan."
Rei's voice shakes.
"Please. Wake up. Don't leave me behind."
Tears spilled over.
Rei gripped the core with both hands.
(Is this not enough?)
(Is putting the core back not enough?)
Rei pulled out the Primordial Key.
(Channel the reverse-flow energy into the core.)
(The power to nullify the Grid's premonition detection.)
(That power, into Nokutaan.)
Rei pressed the Primordial Key directly against the core.
—Bzzt.
Sparks.
Electricity runs through Rei's fingertips.
"Guh...!"
Pain.
But Rei didn't let go.
(Wake up now.)
(Nokutaan!)
The core faintly glowed.
The red light grows stronger.
The blinking quickens.
And—.
Zzzzzz...
Noise burst from the radio.
Zzzzzz, zzzzzzzz...
A sound like static.
Rei stared at the radio.
"...Nokutaan? Is that you, Nokutaan?"
The noise stops.
Silence.
And then.
"...Took you long enough, idiot."
A broken, fragmented synthetic voice.
That voice, cut and pasted from the city's noise.
Rei's tears wouldn't stop.
"Nokutaan...!"
Rei clung to the steering wheel.
"You were alive... Thank god... I'm so glad..."
Noise mixes into the radio.
"...Don't cry. It's pathetic."
The voice cuts out.
Zzzzt.
"...But thanks. Rei."
Rei raised his head.
With a tear-streaked face, he smiled.
"...You're welcome. Idiot."
Laughter came from the radio.
An eerie, warm laugh, cut and pasted from the city's noise.
"Geez. Like I could ever leave you behind."
Rei sat in the driver's seat.
"Nokutaan, can you run?"
The radio spits noise.
"...Not at full capacity. But it's not like I can't move. Can you even drive?"
Rei gripped the steering wheel.
"Teach me. You'll teach me, right?"
Silence.
And then, a noise like a sigh from the radio.
"...Geez, what a troublesome guy. Fine, I'll teach you. First, press the clutch."
Rei looked down at his feet.
"...Which one's the clutch?"
A grand burst of noise from the radio.
"The left pedal! Left! Go back to driving school first!"
Rei pressed the left pedal.
"Pressed it. Now what?"
"...You've seriously never driven before, have you."
"Of course not. I'm a high schooler."
Laughter from the radio.
"Geez, can't be helped. Put it in first gear. The shift lever. See it?"
Rei gripped the shift lever.
"...This? And then what?"
"Push it left and up. Slowly release the clutch while pressing the accelerator. Don't stall."
Rei did as he was told.
Into gear.
Slowly release the clutch.
Press the accelerator.
—Vrrrrrr.
The eng
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