Chapter 9: A date went wrong

MELODYThis song… it’s new.

When I turned around, I saw him.

Noah was there, standing in the middle of the beach all alone, his guitar glowing softly under the sunlight. His music reached me like a wave, gentle and alive. And when his final note faded, our eyes met.

I smiled and mouthed the words, "I see you."

I began walking toward him, but something was wrong. His expression shifted, his body trembled slightly, like he was frozen in place. It was as if something or someone invisible was holding him back.

And then I heard it, multiple voices.

They whispered a name over and over, echoing through the air like a broken record.
Michael Mercury. Michael Mercury. Michael Mercury…

That name… who was Michael Mercury? it can’t be his. His name was Noah Maesutoro. So why these voices were calling him like that?

Noah’s eyes looked pained, like he was fighting against something I couldn’t see. Instinctively, I reached out, wrapping my arms around him and in that instant, the world lifted beneath us.

We were flying.

Noah gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. "We’re flying? WE’RE FLYING!?"

I couldn’t help but laugh. "Of course we are," I said with a grin.

He turned in every direction, taking it all in. "Wow… this isn’t Willowmori… or— wait. It is. But… it can’t be."

I guided us gently back to the ground. Noah exhaled in relief, clutching his chest like he’d just survived something miraculous.

"You can fly?" he said, still staring at me like he wasn’t sure if this was real.

"Of course," I replied with a wink. "Just sing and you’ll fly too. Up, up, to the sky!"

He laughed softly. "That’s… insane."

I leaned closer, our faces only inches apart. "Say, Noah… who’s Michael Mercury?"

He stiffened for a moment. "Oh, that? It’s… nobody."

"But I heard voices calling you that."

"It’s a long story."

"Really?" I turned away slightly, my tone light but tinged with curiosity. "Well, if Michael Mercury is your real name, then that makes me a little sad."

"Sad? Why? Because you think I lied to you?"

"Because when you told me your name was Noah Maesutoro… it felt real. It felt honest. Like it came from your heart, and I even like that name more."

Noah stood up, brushing the dust from his pants. "My name is Noah. The reason behind Michael Mercury is… complicated."

"Whatever you say, my Running Man."

"Your… Running Man?" Noah blinked, clearly confused.

I tilted my head. "What, you forgot already?"

"I really need to ask," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "You’ve mentioned that strange name before, why do you call me that?"

I looked away, pouting. "Since you don’t want to tell me about that mysterious Michael Mercury, then I’m not telling you either."

And just to drive the point home, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He sighed, half amused. "I can’t argue with that."

Then his voice softened. "Listen… it’s something personal. But my real name—" he paused, meeting my eyes "—is Noah."
I smiled softly and nodded. "As long as your real name is Noah, then I’m happy."

Then, with a bright grin, I asked, "So… what do you want to do now?""You’re asking me?" Noah said, glancing around. His eyes swept across the horizon, still wide with disbelief. "This place doesn’t look like my world at all…"

He took a few steps forward, his shoes leaving faint ripples of light on the ground. "It’s like an utopia."

Across us stretched a world washed in white, luminous streets, floating petals, the sea that shimmered like silver threads. He looked at the place with awe, I opened my arms and said to him, "Welcome to my world."

Noah walked toward the beach. The sea glowed with clarity, each wave soft and transparent. He crouched down and let the water run over his fingers.

"This doesn’t even feel like water, it’s so… blue and transparent" he whispered. "It’s… like touching a dream, lighter than any ocean from my world."
I then asked him, curiosity shining in my eyes. "Say… how’s your world, Noah?"

He blinked, caught off guard. "My world?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can tell you’re not from where I’m from. It’s similar, just… different. Full of people, full of noises, literally you can’t miss anything in my world"

I looked down at the sand, if it could even be called that, glimmering white beneath our feet. "Well… my world is quiet. Peaceful, maybe. But also… lonely."

"Lonely?" He looked around, he expressed surprise on our surroundings.

I nodded slowly. "There’s no one here but me. The air never changes, the sky never dims, and the waves never stop. Sometimes it feels like everything here is waiting, but for what, I don’t know."

Noah looked at me, his expression softening. "That sounds… depressing."

I laughed lightly, though the sound carried a hint of sadness. "Maybe to you. But to me, your world seems overwhelming. So full of people, sound, and color. I’d probably get lost in it — but I think I’d love to get lost."

He smiled. "You’d fit right in. Especially with a voice like yours."

I tilted my head, trying not to blush. "Flattery won’t get you far here."

Then, his question caught me off guard. "So… you’ve been living here all by yourself?"

I hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Well… not anymore."

Before he could respond, I reached out and took his hand. He blinked in surprise, and I laughed as I began to hum softly.

The air shimmered, and slowly, our feet lifted off the ground.

Noah gasped. "You’re doing that thing again, we’re flying?"

"Mm-hm." I grinned, my hair floating around me like strands of light. "So… do you want to explore more of my world?"

He looked at me, a thousand thoughts clearly racing through his head, confusion, wonder, and something like awe. Finally, he smiled.

"Of course."

And with that, we soared higher, leaving silver trails across the pale sky.It was magical.
I never expected company to feel this wonderful, someone who could see me sing, someone who shared my love for music not through words, but through silence that understood.

We flew above Willowmori, the quiet town glowing softly below us like a dream remembered. From there, we soared toward the great city of Hoshivalle, the place where the sea kissed the mountains.

The wind carried our laughter. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel alone.

Our first stop was Tenshino Castle, a grand fortress of white stone perched on a cliff. Its towers reached for the sky, the sunlight painting its roofs silver. I could see the cherry trees blooming in the courtyard, their petals rising instead of falling, dancing toward us like they wanted to join our flight.

Then we passed over Mizukaze Shrine, resting quietly in a lake that looked like a mirror of the heavens. The red torii gates stood in a line through the water, and when we flew between them, I saw our reflections ripple below, a boy and a girl gliding through two worlds at once.

He looked at me and whispered, "Beautiful…" so softly that it almost disappeared into the breeze.

I smiled and said, "Every sound here has a memory."

We continued higher, through the mountain path where the Yoruhana Temple slept among the clouds. Wind bells chimed as we passed, and the sound blended with my hum, two notes becoming one.

Further ahead, ruins emerged from the fog, the Castle of Kazeishi, its crumbling towers wrapped in vines. When I sang a few notes, the stones sung back, shimmering as we walked by.

And then we reached my favorite place of all, Sakuramine Hill.
A hill crowned by the great Hoshizakura, the eternal cherry tree. Its petals shimmered like glass, falling slowly through the air like tiny stars. The ground was blanketed in pale pink and white, glowing softly in the endless light.

Noah landed beside me, still in awe. "This place… it feels alive."

I smiled at him. "This tree only blooms when someone sings with their heart. By giving the love through your voice"

He didn’t answer right away. He just smiled, and I could see the same light from the blossoms reflected in his eyes.
"You know," he said, glancing toward the horizon, "there’s one in our town too—near the beach. Called the But it doesn’t have any leaves."

I looked at him and smiled softly. "Well, that’s just sad. Have you tried singing to it? I know your voice could bring the flowers and leaves back."

He chuckled under his breath. "I don’t think that would ever work in my world."

"Well, that’s a shame," I murmured, feeling a flicker of disappointment rise in my chest. But I refused to let it linger. Today was supposed to be about happiness. So instead, I took his hand and tugged him along, dragging him through the crowd with a grin.
Below us, I could hear the faint hum of energy, a long, rhythmic sound that pulsed like a heartbeat. I pointed toward the glowing tunnels beneath the ground.

"That’s the Underground Starline," I told him. "It’s a bullet train that travels through this tunnel leaving an everlasting boom. If you listen closely inside, you can hear the voices of every singer who ever lived in Hoshivalle. Actually it’s not exactly true, but it would be amazing right?"

He laughed quietly. "That’s… unbelievable."

I turned to him. "Believe it. You’re here, aren’t you?"

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The petals floated around us like snow.
I looked at him, at the way his eyes reflected the light of this world and I realized something.

For the first time since I came here, I wasn’t alone.

And maybe, just maybe… this song we shared was the start of something I thought I’d lost forever, the meaning of hope.We were having a great time.However, those moments were short-lived, especially when it came back.

A sharp pain pierced through my head.
It felt as if something was drilling straight into my skull.

I collapsed to my knees on the cold pavement of the Underground Starline. The hum of the rails turned into a deafening roar inside my mind as the bullet train sped past, a blur of light and echoing thunder.

"Noah…" I could barely breathe.

He rushed toward me, his voice trembling, but then I saw him freeze. His eyes widened, fixed on something ahead.

"What are those?" he whispered.

I couldn’t lift my head at first—the pain was too much. My palms pressed against the ground, my vision swimming. But slowly, I forced my eyes open.

And what I saw made every sound vanish.

The Hollows.

They were no longer shapeless mists, no longer echoes of fear.
They were alive and they were mad.

Humanoid figures, dark and trembling, stood across the rails. Their eyes were hollow voids, and their bodies shimmered like broken reflections. The entire station filled with them, an army of sorrow and silence, all facing me.

They weren’t wandering aimlessly.
They were after me.