Echoes Without Gravestones | Chapter 10, Part 1

The former hideout was more vast than I had imagined.
Even though there was no sign of anyone, I felt like something was still lingering.

The exterior was aged, with cracks running along the walls. But once we stepped inside, a futuristic, inorganic expanse of white walls spread out instead. There was no furniture, no signs, just a simple space where nothing seemed to be placed.

“...A hollow shell, is that it?”
Priyuka muttered in a low voice.

Shizuku placed her hand against the wall. Only a cold sensation returned.
(Is there really no one here...? But it’s not just empty. It looks like the 'aftermath' of being cleaned out.)

I walked down the hallway with my companions, searching for other rooms.

Eventually, we arrived at the server room. Black racks were lined up, and lights were blinking faintly. The air was chilly, yet it held a certain humidity. Along with the lingering scent of air conditioning, the smell of burnt circuit boards stung my nose.

A low hum resonated incessantly from deep within the racks, and occasionally the fans would drop in speed as if coughing. A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the floor, and the blinking red and green lights cast shadows. Even though it should have been just the light of machines, to Shizuku, it felt like 'eyes of surveillance'.

I couldn't tell if they were alive or breaking down.
However, scraps of paper and tools were scattered on the desk, leaving behind 'traces that someone had been here' until very recently.

At that moment, I felt a chilling presence behind me.
I turned my gaze toward the entrance.

Deep in the darkness, a human shadow moved slightly.

“Who’s... who’s there?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Emerging from the shadows was an old man wearing a deep hood. His shoulders were slumped, and his steps were small. But I recognized his face. It was that old man who had been pleading in Sinclair.

“I don’t intend to startle you.”
His raspy voice reached me clearly.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a human voice.”

“You... you were in Sinclair.”
When I asked, the old man nodded quietly.

“Back then, I had no choice but to plead. Since moving here, I’ve been living by picking up the embers of voices.”

The old man pointed to a terminal.

“In this room, sometimes 'voices that shouldn't be here anymore' play on their own. Yesterday, it was my granddaughter’s laughter. Another day, it was a work song. The chorus I sang with my companions remained just as it was. Even though there’s no one to be seen, only the sounds live on here.”

He lowered his eyes slightly and continued in an even lower voice.

“I don’t know if they are alive or if the recordings are just playing on their own. But there is still 'something' here. Of that, I am certain.”

Priyuka poked Shizuku in the elbow.
“Hey, where’s the changing room?”

“Huh?”
A vacant sound escaped me.

“Because, we’re going to change into bunny suits, right?”
She said it with her chest puffed out.

“You’re saying that here!?”
I started to raise my voice, then hurriedly covered my mouth.

Hina laughed modestly. The tense atmosphere loosened just a little. As long as there are moments like this, I won't break. Shizuku told herself that.

At that moment, Yuino operated the screen. An inorganic reading played.

“Subject number seventy-two. Resonance index sixty-one. Retention rate thirty-eight. Excluded from selection.”

Priyuka’s expression turned stern.
“Please, really stop erasing people with numbers.”

My heart tightened. The anger was simple, and the sadness was deep. But if I screamed here, I would only be observed again. The meaning of a voice changes depending on how it’s used. I took a deep breath.

The old man muttered quietly.

“This is a graveyard of voices. But no gravestones stand here. No one knows who has disappeared.”