The diner's fluorescent lights didn't just flicker; they screamed. A high-pitched whine vibrated through the salt shakers until they exploded into fine white powder.
Kaito didn't look like a mentor anymore. He looked like a soldier in a war no one else could see. He snapped his silver-etched fan shut, the sound cutting through the noise like a gunshot.
"Stop trying to breathe, Ren," Kaito commanded, his voice dropping to a jagged whisper. "Your breath is a rhythm. In this world, rhythm is a weapon. If you don't control yours, He will."
"Who is 'He'?" Ren gasped, clutching his chest. His heart wasn't beating; it was clanging against his ribs like a hammer on an anvil. It felt like something made of cold iron was trying to punch its way out of his sternum.
The King of Dissonance: Akuma-no-Oto
Kaito grabbed Ren's wrist, forcing his hand flat against the table. "History says a thousand years ago, a man found the Silent Note. The frequency where all matter ceases to vibrate. He didn't just kill; he deleted. He was the first and most absolute Vessel-Eater—The Dirge."
Kaito's eyes were hard behind his tinted glasses. "Most monsters are born from fear. The Dirge was born from Apathy. The collective human urge to simply stop existing. He is the personification of the end of the song."
The Fractal Body: He wasn't killed—you can't kill a sound. Instead, the ancient Bureau shattered his essence into Twelve Obsidian Tuning Forks. Each one holds a fragment of his 'Song.'
The Inheritance: "The chain your grandfather left you wasn't just a weapon," Kaito hissed. "It was a seal. But when you fought that thing at the subway, you broke it. The First Fork didn't stay in your bag, Ren. It's fused to your marrow."
The Shadow Frequency
Ren looked down at his forearm. Under his skin, a jagged, black vein was pulsing, glowing with a nauseating violet light that hummed in his ears.
"He isn't a ghost sitting on a throne in your head," Kaito explained. "He's an Echo. Every time you use your Kinetic Resonance, you 'play' his music. The stronger you get, the louder he becomes. He doesn't want to possess you—he wants to amplify you until your body becomes a living broadcast tower for the end of the world."
Ren felt a cold, mocking vibration in his bones. It wasn't a voice, but a feeling—like the low rumble of a landslide.
The Intrusion: The Maestro of Misery
The front window of the diner didn't break—it liquidized. The glass turned into a shimmering, viscous curtain, and stepping through it was a nightmare in a pinstripe suit.
It was tall, gaunt, and its fingers were elongated into ivory needles. It wore a tuxedo stitched together from different shades of human flesh, the seams still weeping. This was a High-Density Vessel-Eater, a creature dedicated to "tuning" the world for its King's return.
"A new instrument," the Maestro whispered, its voice sounding like a thousand violin strings snapping at once. "So raw. So loud. Let us see if you can hold a tune, little amplifier."
The Maestro raised an ivory finger and flicked it toward the counter.
A wave of distorted sound hit the diner. The heavy oak tables didn't move—they disintegrated into gray ash. No splinters, no debris. Just nothingness.
"Ren!" Kaito shouted, throwing his fan into the air. The fan expanded, creating a shimmering geometric barrier. "If his vibration touches your skin, it'll strike the Fork in your ribs. If that Shard starts ringing, this whole city block becomes a crater!"