12:00 AM. Salem. The Authors’ House.
The Book was shaking.
2 pages opened at once.
_Page 1: Table 14 Detected
Location: Kyoto, Japan.
Signal: A child crying.
Problem: She writes, but no one reads._
_Page 2: Table 15 Detected
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico.
Signal: An old man crying.
Problem: He reads, but no one writes._
Umi: "The Network can’t split.
But The Silence can."
Elin: "Then we split too.
Team A to Kyoto. Team B to Oaxaca.
Meet back in 24 hours."
TEAM A - KYOTO
Umi, Miri, Elin, Hana + 2 Tokyo Authors
Mission: The Writer
11:11 PM. Kyoto. A small library.
Table 14.
White. Blue rim. Covered in paper.
Thousands of pages. All with the same story.
And 1 chair.
A girl. 10 years old. Writing nonstop.
The girl: didn’t look up _"Don’t read it.
No one ever does.
So I just keep writing."_
Around her: The Echo.
A shadow that copies your voice and throws it back.
So you think you’re talking to someone... but it’s just you.
The Echo: _"No one reads it.
No one reads it.
No one reads it."_
Hana: sat down. "Then I will."
She picked up a page. Started reading out loud.
The girl froze. Pen stopped.
"...someone heard me?"
Miri: started singing the words.
Elin: drew the scenes from the story.
Umi: wrote the next chapter with her.
The Echo screamed and shattered.
Because an echo dies when someone actually listens.
The girl cried. Then smiled.
"I’m Yui."
A 2nd chair appeared.
Table 14: Saved.