Glitchy Visions
Chicago's skyline faded into twilight, casting a purplish hue over Garfield Park. Gou, his fingers stained with ink, scribbled hastily into his notebook, each stroke a dance of desperation and determination. The hum of the servers in his room played a discordant melody, punctuating the tension. A petabyte of data—a universe of its own—whirred and waited for synthesis.
The city noise retreated, replaced by the familiar chime of Node activating. But this wasn't the usual start-up tone; it was a frequency Gou hadn't heard before. The cube pulsated with an ethereal blue light, illuminating the schematics of the Toroidal Turing Machine on his worktable. With every iteration, he was inching closer to unveiling the 'database of souls,' yet the multidimensional puzzle eluded completion.
His sister, Lilu, perched on the edge of his bed, eyes fixed on the now-vibrant Node. "Every time you dive deep into that thing, it feels like you drift farther away," she whispered, her voice a mixture of awe and concern.
Before Gou could respond, the room quivered. Not an earthquake, but a resonation—as if the walls themselves held memories yearning to be shared. It was a sensation they'd felt at the conservatory with Ladybug, where hidden frequencies revealed secrets of the past.
Suddenly, an image projected from Node—like an AI-rendered dream—of their father, Chino, younger and eyes full of wonder, working on an early prototype of the cube.
"Is that... Dad?" Nōn, leaning against the doorway, whispered.
They watched as Chino interfaced with an antiquated computer, fervently typing. Text flashed across the screen: "Accessing Akashic Frequency... Calibration in Progress." The resonance grew more intense, the room vibrating in harmony.
The projection shifted, unveiling the Skeleton Crew's secret chamber. There was Zion's father, Quan, and other members, circled around an artifact emitting the same pulsating blue light as Node.
"Zion never mentioned this," murmured Gou, realization dawning on him.
The scene changed again, focusing on a parchment—the very blueprint for Node. Chino's voice, distorted but recognizable, echoed: "If I fail, my son will continue. The Ether holds our past, but also our salvation."
As quickly as it began, the resonance receded, and the room returned to its familiar state. The Node, however, had transformed—its sides etched with intricate patterns reminiscent of Olmec glyphs.
Lilu, breaking the silence, whispered, "Dad left more than memories; he left a map."