In the forgotten suburbs of Greyline City lived **Bungo**, a poor boy with fire in his feet and music in his soul. While others saw only hardship, he saw a stage—every rooftop, every dusty alley, every broken streetlight. His best friend, **Kairo**, a prodigy drummer who could make tin cans sound like temple drums, was always by his side.

Together, they gathered other street kids and formed a small performance crew called **"BeatRoots."** With Bungo's electrifying dance and Kairo's heartbeat-drumming, the group amazed crowds and earned enough to survive—and dream.

But their last performance became their last breath.
One night, while practicing under a collapsing bridge, the vibrations of Kairo's drums triggered a hidden structural crack. The bridge collapsed in a roar of metal and dust, swallowing the entire crew.

They died… but their rhythm did not end.

Bungo and Kairo awaken as **orphans** in a strange, magical realm named **Ardenia**, a world where music is a sacred weapon called **Aural Arts**. In this world, melodies shape spells, dances invoke spirits, and rhythm alters reality.

Despite starting anew, destiny pulls them back together. Their bond—stronger than death—reunites them as children in the same orphanage. Together, they grow, train, and rediscover their street-born talent in a world ruled by aristocratic musicians known as **Aural Nobles**.


At age sixteen, just when their dream of joining the prestigious **Conservatory of Arcs** becomes real, Kairo is found dead—murdered in cold blood. No signs of struggle. No injuries. Just a single black feather placed on his chest.

The killer?

**Soren Blackfall**, a rising star of the Aural Nobles…
and Kairo's secret older brother.

His motive?
Kairo was born from a forbidden union between their noble father and a commoner mother. His existence threatened Soren's claim to the noble title. Unable to allow a "street-born stain" to rise, Soren murdered his own brother.

But he underestimated Bungo.

Bungo breaks.
He cries until his voice fails.
He dances until his legs bleed.
And then it happens.

As his tears hit the ground, the sound of Kairo's drumming echoes—not from the world, but from **inside his soul**.

A forgotten Aural Art awakens:

### **✨ *"Soulbeat Resonance"***

*A rare, forbidden ability that amplifies Bungo's physical and magical power every time he imagines the rhythm of a lost bond.*

When Bungo dances to Kairo's remembered drum rhythm, his strength multiplies, his speed becomes supernatural, and his movements gain destructive harmony. Every step becomes a strike. Every spin becomes a storm. Every heartbeat becomes a weapon.

Fueled by grief, loyalty, and the echo of a friend's rhythm, Bungo sets out on a path of vengeance and truth.

He vows to expose the corruption of the Aural Nobles, uncover the mystery behind Soren's dark power, and protect the world Kairo would have wanted to save.

Because some rhythms never die.
They only change worlds.

*Some tests don't ask if you are strong. They ask who you are willing to lose.*


The announcement echoed across the Conservatory at dawn.


Then the voice of the Head Conductor, amplified through layered harmonics:


**"All second-year trainees will report to the Grand Arena.


The Conservatory Trials begin today."**


The arena was carved from white stone and gold-veined marble, open to the sky. Noble banners hung high above, fluttering like silent judges.


Thousands of students filled the tiers.


At the center stood the **Resonance Platform**—a circular stage etched with shifting sigils.


"Participants will be evaluated on rhythm control, emotional integrity, and harmonic stability," the Head Conductor intoned.


"Failure will result in immediate disqualification."


Aru and Kairo stepped onto the platform together.


He struck a rhythm with his hands—no drums, just flesh and air—but the sound manifested anyway, echoing like distant thunder.


The Observer's warning screamed in his mind.


A sharp discord tore through the arena.


Kairo doubled the rhythm, trying to stabilize the platform.


Aru felt it like a tendon ripping inside his soul.


—and was thrown backward as if struck by a giant's hand.


He slammed into the platform's edge, skidding dangerously close to the drop.


Aru launched himself forward, sliding across the glowing floor—


—but the sigils flared violently, throwing him aside.


Kairo hung there, fingers gripping the stone.


Chapter 28 - Chapter 27