Vanished

[Note: This is a transition from Dence Unwired Volume 1's ending to the opening of Volume 2 ― a connection from the previous volume]

[Present Timeline | Futagawa Warehouse]
A big Vietnamese man, wearing an X-Spence Corp. patch uniform, leans in toward the Storm Maker Machine operator,

(Speaking in Vietnamese):
"Hit the west on your 2:00 ― destroy that beautiful spot!"
He points at the shimmering screen that shows a breathtaking valley under golden light. They don't realize... it's a hologram of the Unwired Realm in the past.

Suddenly, a distant echo cuts through the static. Dence's voice, singing―coming not from the west, but from the east. Confused murmurs rise. Then, from the shadows near the Futagawa Portal, Dence appears―his katana glowing. He leaps, striking the machine's signal core. A blinding resonance pulse ripples across the warehouse. The portal closes. Darkness falls. Silence. Whiteness. Then a voice.

Judith:
"The Storm Maker Machine was never built to tame weather. It was made to make the Realm kneel."

[Two Weeks Earlier | Conference Room, X-Spence HQ]
Judith Mirano stands before a long glass table. Twelve men in coats and green ties sit in a sterile corporate boardroom. No sign of Billy Spence, the CEO. A silent screen behind Judith displays blueprints of the Storm Maker Machine and a map of the Unwired Realm.
Judith:
"Glossokomon. Mt. Lava Hymn. Whispering Tree. If we control that, we control the whole resonance industry." Everyone’s nodding. Seem agreeing with what Judith is saying.
Judith (continued):
"Quality acoustic guitar and other musical instruments. Guitar strings. Name it. I am very very sure that we can convince big music stores and even single consumers on this venture!" Someone raises a concern―"And the creatures there?" (referring to the living creatures in Unwired Realm)
Judith (leans forward, smiling, cold.):
"Let them beg and suffer. Their disgusting songs took my father."

[Flash of memory: (lightning and thunder) a glowing wolf-musician with matte-black beaded bracelet standing over a fallen man.]

She continues.
"The Storm Maker wasn't built for the earth. It was intentionally built for them."

A knock.
The door opens slowly.
A petite Filipina, head slightly bowed, steps in. She's Judith's personal assistant―quiet, unreadable, with large eyes behind round glasses. She hands Judith a folded note and leaves without a word.

Judith opens it under the table. Her eyes scan the message:
"Two weeks from now, under the full moon, five performers will be tested at Moonbar, Hamamatsu City."
(A small imprint at the bottom: the inky stamp of a crow's foot.)
She stares at it for a second―then folds it again. She stands and faces the boardroom.

Judith:
"We need to double time."

[Back to Present | Warehouse ― Just After the Portal Closed]
Sam pulls the emergency lever. The humming stops.
Dence's voice continues in the background (inside the Unwired Realm), echoing like a fading anthem. Portal closed.
The sound of action's climax abruptly stopped.
Silent victory felt in Futagawa Warehouse.
Sam sits on a rusted metal chair, exhausted, holding the green glowing cube. Tears falling, as sirens wail distantly.
Standing heavily from that seat. Sam carefully puts the cube inside her sling bag, leaving a used black calling card on the chair, walking slowly and crouches on a rusted catwalk. Successfully escaped from the shadows of the warehouse.
Just before the police cars arrive, a broken beam... Judith appears quietly but heads up. Like a queen walking on a red carpet―rising from a swirl of black smoke shaped like a thousand crow.

The crows fly toward the Storm Maker Machine.
In under a minute, it's gone―devoured by feathers and smoke.
Then―Judith vanishes too.
Silence.
Then―

GGGGGRRRNNNNNK!

The warehouse's massive metal door slams open.

The morning sun creeps over the eastern hills, bathing the cherry blossoms in golden light. White petals drift gently through the air, one landing on the edge of Sam’s purple hood — a delicate brush, like nature itself whispering, “You’re okay…”
Sam closed her eyes. "No, I’m not."
Her voice was quiet, but cracked with emotion.
In her hand, the green cube pulsed — slow, angry light flickering beneath its glassy shell. "Betrayal like this... it's unforgivable."

Above her, a single black crow perched on a humming powerline. It tilted its head toward her — oddly still, like it understood.
Sam met its gaze.
And without warning, the crow flapped its wings — lifting into the air with a sharp caw, vanishing into the brightening sky. As if it had heard enough.

[Final Scene: Mt. Horaji, Shinshiro]
A tremor shakes the mountain. Cracks spread across the rocks. From one crevice―black smoke pours out. Judith emerges on the mountain top of Mt. Horaji, calm, untouched. Behind her, the towering Storm Maker Machine rises again―restored, reassembled. Crows emerge from the smoke and become real, encircling the structure like sentinels. A low voice echoed through the forest mist.
The Voice of the Forest:
“You failed...”
Judith rolled her eyes.
“I know, I know…”  she muttered with a theatrical sigh. Her tone was laced with venomous sarcasm, but her stare burned with something colder — not witch-like, but calculating.

She stepped forward, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“We just need more cubes. More auditions. More crushed dreams. Not just Japan — let’s go regional. Korea. Taiwan. The Philippines. Anywhere creativity breathes.”

The Voice of the Forest (deeper now, thoughtful):
“Patience, Judith. Don't burn the world in one night. Team up with Dr. Takahashi. He’s made... improvements to the Storm Maker.”
Judith’s lips curled.
“Now that’s a delicious idea.”

She scoffed. “Unlike those ridiculous Vietnamese foot soldiers of Billy. Dressing like rebels, thinking they’re clever—clowns, the lot of them.”

The surrounding crows erupted in a frenzy of caws — wild, mocking, chaotic. The sound circled her like a storm of laughter.
Judith raised her hand.
“Enough!”

Her voice cracked like thunder, silencing the birds. Then, more quietly, almost to herself:
“We still need Dence.”

She approached a table-like boulder, where a single green cube pulsed like a heartbeat. Lifting it gently, she whispered,
“His rejected demo… Let’s make this one... flawless.”

A final breath from the voice in the woods — a hiss, almost a whisper.
The Voice of the Forest:
“You should be.”

And then, nothing.

Judith calmly fixed her coat, smoothed her hair, and looked up to the towering silhouette of the Storm Maker machine. The wind shifted. The game had just changed.
Judith (commanding the crows):
"Guard it. Wait for the rain."

A crow flutters forward. It drops a small, creased note into Judith's palm.
She opens it slowly. Her lips curl into a smirk... then giggle...
...that grows into an unhinged, a sinister-laugh echoing into the hills.
She tosses the note into the wind.
It floats down.
Lands softly on the grass.
Close Up:
"As planned, we got the attention of Sam." (A small imprint at the bottom: the inky stamp of a crow's foot.) 

[Next: Creative Juices]