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.

The stars above were distant, uncaring.


And Soren Blackfall stood between Aru and the only family he had left.


"Kairo," Soren said softly, as if tasting the name.


"Okay—time out. Why does this guy know my name?"


"Because," he said gently, "we share a father."


Silence crashed down like a dropped curtain.


"Our father was careless," he continued. "A noble man with common impulses. You are the result."


"Doesn't matter," Kairo said after a moment, shrugging.


"That," he replied, "is exactly the problem."


Soren raised his hand—not toward Kairo's body—


Aru screamed, but his voice didn't reach him.


Soren stepped closer, calm as a priest.


"I won't stain my hands," he said quietly.


—and slammed into an unseen barrier, thrown back hard against the stone.


A soundless explosion tore through Aru's soul.


He placed a single black feather on Kairo's chest.


"He never belonged among us," Soren said, standing.


He looked down at Aru, who was shaking, breath broken, eyes empty.


"I'm here. I didn't forget. I didn't—"


Chapter 30 - Chapter29