Echoes that do not belong
The morning after the Simultaneous Antivocals attack, several inhabitants of Edenfall began to experience spontaneous movements that they did not recognize as their own.
Walking and stopping for no reason. Craning your neck when no one's calling. Reaching out… without expecting contact.
Velos examined them.
It wasn't possession. Nor was it trauma. It was something new:
"There are gestures that we carry out…
but that were not given to us by us."
This is how the Borrowed Gestures hypothesis was born .
The Crossed Bodies Archive
Riva proposed an experiment: to record the involuntary movements of volunteers for 24 hours, along with their emotional state.
At 11 a.m., they discovered that some gestures matched those of people who had never met before.
Sael synthesized the data and created the Cross-Body Archive (CCA) , where coincidences and shared patterns were recorded.
It wasn't a form of control. It was a web of physical resonance between strangers. An invisible choreography that had begun to unite Edenfall without words.
III. The Challenge of Inverted Silence
An Antivowel, completely alone, entered Ring Ten.
She didn't speak. But as she moved, each of her gestures produced an alien sound.
When she stepped, a sigh could be heard. When she turned her head, a faint laugh. When she raised her hand, a very brief cry... but it wasn't coming from her.
Akihiko faced her cautiously. And he realized that his body projected the memories of other bodies.
He used the Retained Self-Reflection,
but without confrontation. He simply accompanied the sounds with his own gestures.
He didn't block them out.
He sustained them.
At last, the Antivowel fell to her knees and said:
"I couldn't stop carrying what wasn't mine."
And Akihiko replied:
"Then share the burden.
Don't repeat it."
Sael and the Wall of Postponed Contact
Inspired by what happened, Sael built a new device:
a soft, semi-transparent surface placed in the center of the Inverse Garden.
When I touched it, there was no immediate response.
But hours later, the surface returned the gesture… as if it remembered it.
At first, many thought it was just a technical rebuttal. Until someone left a subtle comment…
and when they returned the next day, the surface embraced them.
He called it the Wall of Delayed Contact.
Proof that even the unrequited…
can come back transformed.
Choreography of the Silent Echo
Lirea organized a practice session based on the ACC findings. Each participant was asked to perform a body routine without thinking about themselves,
but rather about what their body might mean to others.
Through this practice the Silent Echo Choreography emerged :
Nobody looked at anybody. Nobody was leading. But the bodies began to match without any sign.
Edenfall danced… without music. And it was the most heartfelt rhythm in a long time.
Epilogue – When the gesture no longer seeks to be understood
That night, in front of the Wall of Delayed Contact,
Seven stood silently. He placed his open palm against it.
I wasn't expecting anything. I wasn't thinking about anything. I was just… present.
And for the first time, the wall responded without delay. Another gesture came from within.
One that no one recognized. One that no one understood. But that everyone, in some way, felt was their own.
END OF CHAPTER 179