Chapter 42: New Disks

Finally noticing each other's actions, Tiy and Yuwwe both let go at the same time, causing Shry to fall again.
*Oh shoot!* Both Yuwwe and Tiy said at the same time, both going into action to save Shry from falling again.
However, only one of them was successful, which, oddly enough, is neither of them.
Falling backwards, it was like Shry was flying. As his last toe lifted off the ground, Shry twisted his body to his right as much as he could before thrusting his left leg to his right like a kick before anchoring that same leg onto the ground.
Finally, with one smooth motion, Shry pulled his remaining foot and stomped the ground in front of him, finally having both legs on the ground again. Shry stopped the momentum by doing a 180° turn.
"Wiiieeuu, that was close," Shry muttered in relief back on his two feet.
Instinctively, Shry dusted off his shirt even though it wasn't dirty, and as he did so, everyone there except for Hytile reacted with shock and bafflement.
"I'm fine!" Shry announced, articulating his words in cheers.
Being used to falls and tumbles when he's in the calibrated Resonance Hall, Shry had developed numerous techniques to stop himself from falling, so, to him, it is not anything to pay attention to. 
"He just does that sometimes; we tested it." Hytile added context, though it just brought more questions than answers.
After saying that, completely ignoring the shocked crowd, Hytile and Shry discussed and prepared the new disks that Hytile mentioned. 
Pulling them out of his pocket, Hytile began to reiterate the functions of the disk, as well as the new modes and options it offers, referring to both disks as one unit despite being different in element and color, one gray and one light green. While he was at it, Hytile also gave Shry some tips on how to craft this disk by only pointing out the parts where he knows Shry will struggle with.
After a while, although the rest of the group is now unfrozen, it was like there was a forcefield surrounding Shry and Hytile as they spiraled into their immersed states, completely forgetting about the group they dragged here.
...
After 4 minutes of exchanges.
"Remember, don't use the mode with the knives; we'll test that out later. Feel free to put restrictions on it though, as long as it's not sharp." Hytile instructed, his voice filled with authority.
With that said, and seeing a nod from Shry, Hytile began to wrap up their discussion. 
After spending years with Shry, Hytile knew exactly when to trust him and when not to, so, without restraint, he handed over both disks to Shry.
Taking the coin-sized disk into his hands, Shry examined it for a moment, looking all over the gray disk and taking in its new slick design before familiarly twisting the dial squashed in between the top and bottom layers of the coin like a hamburger.
Upon twisting the dial, the bottom casing popped out, revealing that, right behind the engraved special mineral that's the core of the disk's power, was an intricate layout of carefully arranged buttons and levers with no label or indication as to which one does what.
However, even though they have a manual created as a demo to circumvent that problem for future users, neither Hytile nor Shry needed it, as they were the creators of this beautiful piece of technology.
"Wow, the layout is so clean now!" Shry exclaimed as his eyes brightened significantly, pressing and fiddling the buttons and levers with expert precision to bring out, restrict, or enhance certain attributes of the disk.
"Do whatever you want with this; I want to see the potential you can bring out of the disks" Hytile purposefully accentuated his words to get the important point across, knowing that Shry only got bits and pieces of what he was talking about.
"Thank you, Mr. Luftra," Shry said sincerely, completely stopping what he was doing to show gratitude to the man who made all of this happen.
Pleasantly surprised by Shry's gratitude, Hytile didn't say anything; instead, he just smiled as a response, showing his own sincerity as well before walking away.
With that out of the way, Hytile left Shry to his own devices and finally addressed the unmoving crowd.
"Sorry for leaving you guys waiting... Shry is going to need some time before he's ready." Hytile apologized with a neutral face.
For a moment, the group that consisted of Shry's friends just looked at each other, nervous to bring out what was on their minds. While Estin, the only other adult there, had a conflicted look on her face.
Estin had been paying full attention to what Haze was saying, so she understood the gist of what those disks were, causing her to be in shock.
"What is he doing?" Yuwwe asked bluntly, blurting out the question that had been pulling on all of their minds.
Since Hytile had expected to be asked questions like these today, he had prepared short and concise explanations for many similar questions, a habit that he had gained after being Shry's mentor for so long. 
Unknown to him, however, he had always had this trait; it was only when he began teaching that it became known to him.
"As you all know, Shry doesn't have a Resonance Path, so he can't use Node like we can." Hytile briefly flares up his Node, making only his left hand flicker with an orange glow for extra flair to his explanation so it wouldn't be boring.
"In order to make up for that disparity, Shry has to tune these disks to essentially create a new sequence, although... it is definitely not like any sequence you've ever seen." Hytile finished his explanation, leaving only the sound of the sequence inconspicuous, reminiscing about the first time they discovered a method to create what is essentially a natural sequence. 
After testing so many different materials, Shry and Hytile finally found several different materials that can partially trap Natural Node, and by fusing some of those materials together, they can finally begin development of the new canisters.
Coincidentally, on one fateful day, this new material was accidentally left overnight outside, and by tomorrow, when they picked it up, a odd shallow patern similar to waves had form on it's surface. And from then, their research into these waves just spiraled until one day, through a stroke of luck, they actually succeeded in carving out what they now dubbed the reverse sequence.
"What do you mean? If it doesn't follow a melody or rhythm like a sequence, how is it possible to replicate a sequence?" Estin immediately questioned, trying to grasp what Hytile was saying.
"You'll understand later; for now, while we wait, let's get the other guests here as well." Hytile refrained from answering Estin, wanting her to experience the same shock he had experienced the first time he saw and heard it.
Hearing Hytile's suggestion, the 3 kids in the group looked between Shry and Hytile, turning their heads in tandem until all three of them spoke up.
*Can we stay here?*
"I want to watch," Yuwwe 
"I need to prepare." Tiy
"I have to analyze his abilities." Cydel
All three kids spoke out their personal reasons for staying all at the same time, creating a collage of voices.
"Don't worry about it; we don't need to leave." Hytile revealed, changing his decision since most of their group didn't want to leave; additionally, he also didn't want to drag Estin around any more than he already has.
At that moment, while still standing on the same spot, Hytile flared up his Node, revealing another one of his resonance paths: wind.
With great familiarity, Haze wasted no time and began immediately moving his fingers with precision to a rhythm, commanding his Node, guiding it with each of his fingers, and fully understanding what each flick of his fingers was doing, unlike most people who just learn the finger movements of a sequence.
This sort of ability usually entails that either the user is the creator of this sequence or the user had thoroughly dissected the sequence and fully understood what makes it tick.
A visible line of green wind entered Hytile's slightly opened mouth, only stopping when the vague strings of wind around his left hand solidified into a solid lens around his fingers like a bubble blower.
In the next moment after that, it looked like Hytile's mouth was moving to articulate words, but yet no sound came out.
It was then a bubble formed from perpetual wisps of wind began to grow in between his fingers as his mouth moved, continuously growing the more he spoke, the line of wind connected to his throat delivering his words into the bubble.
When he was done, the line of wind retracted from his throat and fused into the bubble.
Not stopping his finger movements, Hytile walked backwards, away from the glistening white walls of the Resonance Hall, while the kids watched in wonder and admiration.
*Paaangg*
When Hytile stepped far enough, he clapped his hands together, a technique used by musicians to transition sequences, as he once again conducted his Node with skill and experience, changing its melody and warping the bubble containing Hytile's voice into a sheet, spread like a rainbow, when he spread his arms to his sides.
Continuing to control his sequence with precision, Hytile flicked his hands forwards, and then the wind followed. After that, the wind that contained Hytile's voice split in half, each going to their designated site, flowing around the Resonance Hall until it reached the front, following the movements of Hytile's hands and fingers.
At that moment, Hytile stopped all his movements, and quickly, the sequence followed, releasing its power and effect.
*EVERYONE, PLEASE COME TO THE BACK OF THE RESONANCE HALL*
Waves of wind took Hytile's voice from behind the Resonance Hall to the front, where everyone else is, going around the Resonance Hall like it had a mind of its own.
...
"Auntie Shelt!" Ren yelled, finally finding the person he had been looking for. 
Shelt, who was just minding her own business, exiting the registration building/storage while trying to find something to do, was surprised by Ren's sudden yell, causing her face to flinch slightly before she turned in the direction of that voice.
"Ren?" Shelt unconsciously muttered, confused about her visitor.
Finally bringing his movements to a halt when he came face-to-face with her aunt, Ren raised his lips, looking like he was about to say something, but contrary to Shelt's expectation, Ren lowered his lips, looking like he was hesitantly pondering something before nervously lifting his lips again.
"Uh... Hello." Ren said awkwardly, his voice slightly shaky as he pathetically tried to suppress what he was originally going to say.
Shelt felt the vibe that Ren was giving off, causing her motherly senses to go off, urging her to do something, even though she knew nothing about what caused Ren's current state.
Just by hearing how Ren articulated his words and his body movement, Shelt could almost immediately see that Ren had encountered something traumatic recently and quickly deciphered the reason why her nephew came to see her. 
"Ren, what's wrong?" Shelt cut to the chase, her already serious-looking resting face turning sharper as she confronted her nephew.
"..." Ren was silent. 
Ren, who had always been so stable and composed for the past 3 years after his parents death, was suddenly showing a face he had never shown before, well... Never when it was visible, that is.
For a long moment, Ren wouldn't look up to meet Shelt's eyes, because if he did, what Shelt would see would be an unsightly appearance, almost like a cracking pane of glass, but with facial expressions instead.
Although he had been hiding it exceptionally well, ever since Ren was reminded of that day through the Rejection Phenomenon, and even though its effects are long gone, it was like a phantom of what drowned him that day still remained, not constantly but occasionally enough to slowly chip at his sanity.
"I'm sorry... I don't know." Ren suddenly found himself boxed in, nervous to speak his thoughts, as he slowly shifted back into his old self that he abandoned.
Ren's walls began to shift, desperately clinging onto each other, as he instinctively stood back, clinging onto his last shred of composure like his life depended on him keeping this facade up.
It was then, as he was drowning in his own thoughts, a gentle warm hand reached out and grabbed onto Ren, holding him in a comfortable tightness.
"Ren, don't go; you can talk to me." Shelt quickly said, losing her signature composure and indifference so she could calm her nephew down.
It was then that those walls that Ren had built, years of refining and self-delusion, finally took the shift, completely crumbling with only a push from a human hand, showing how fragile that fraudulent wall really was.
"I—I wish Mom and Dad were still here; it has been lonely, too lonely." Ren finally broke down, his tears coming down in continuous streaks, wetting his cheek.
Shelt didn't say anything; all she did was be there for him, hugging him tightly with great gentleness, sharing with him that he wasn't the only one who felt that way, as Shelt also began to feel a deep heaviness inside her heart as she thought about her brother and his wife, Ren, and Rekka's parents, feeling sad that she's the last one of their generation despite not even being 40 years old.
The couple were so excited to live out their lives and grow old together, but fate had cut it short, a cruel fate that didn't even leave a body to bury, a complete deletion of the proof that they existed. 
"I couldn't s-save them again..." Ren blurted out, his voice desperate and even slightly crazed.
After hearing that, Shelt's sympathetic eyes shifted slightly, switching into that of confusion and concern, worried that Ren's mental state may have been much worse than she thought. 
Shelt is not one to mince words, so, immediately, Shelt changed modes, gently peeling Ren away while still keeping him close enough that Ren wouldn't need to move if she wanted to hug him again.
"It was like I had a second chance, a second try to reach out and change the outcome" Ren muttered, getting more and more downcast as he reiterated the words that had been haunting him.