Lyra was beginning to learn the rhythm of the University of Resonance.
The starlit dorms didn't just shine for aesthetic—they pulsed in tune with the mood of the students inside. The cafeteria offered "melody meals" that altered taste depending on your mood, and every building she entered felt like it had a soul, a harmony of its own. But even in this dreamy, otherworldly music academy, the pressure was very real: form a band in seven days or be erased like an out-of-key note.
She had Kai, barely. More like a shadow that occasionally played chords beside her before disappearing again. But she needed more than one guitarist. She needed heartbeats. She needed thunder.
She walked toward the West Wing's courtyard, guided by VIVA's soft voice in her ear. "You'll find a high-energy signal here," the AI whispered. "Not optimal compatibility for long-term harmony, but potential for dynamic rhythm—"
Before VIVA could finish, something crashed into her.
Lyra fell back with a yelp, her notebook and her half-eaten harmony bar flying into the air.
A blur of red and silver rolled with her across the courtyard path until they both stopped in a heap beneath a murmuring wind-chime tree.
"Oops," came a breathless voice right above her.
Lyra blinked. A girl straddled her, silver hair tousled and falling around her wild amber eyes like storm clouds around twin suns. Her cheeks were flushed, her school tie was tied around her wrist instead of her neck, and her boots had speakers built into the heels.
The girl grinned. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't see you there—I was doing a tactical retreat. You okay? Wait, are those snacks?"
She reached for the floating bar mid-air and caught it between two fingers before it hit the ground.
Lyra opened her mouth, but her brain hadn't caught up.
The girl leaned back on her haunches, still half-sitting on Lyra's legs, and took a huge bite of the bar. "Mmm. Cherry crescendo. Good choice. You're not mad, right? You don't look mad."
"Y-you…" Lyra managed. "You tackled me!"
"Didn't tackle, more like tripped into you." She stood up and offered Lyra a hand. "Names! I'm Rin. Percussion major. Professional chaos gremlin. Probably still on the Headmistress's blacklist for setting off the entire drum vault last week. You?"
Lyra accepted the hand and got to her feet, brushing dust off her skirt. "I'm Lyra. I—uh—I sing."
Rin's eyes lit up. "No way. A singer! With that name? You're destined. That's fate. You're not one of those uptight vocal purists, are you? I got kicked out of my last group for 'improvising too hard' with a garbage can lid and a vibra-pipe."
"No… I'm actually looking for bandmates."
Rin paused mid-chew of the last bit of Lyra's bar. "Huh?"
"I need to form a band by the end of the week or I'll be erased."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It was… interested. Focused. Rin tilted her head slightly. "You mean your own band? You're the lead?"
Lyra nodded, more unsure than she wanted to admit.
Rin pulled out a drumstick from her boot. Just one. Then she tapped it twice against her other hand. The air vibrated.
"You got a voice on you, Lyra?"
"I—I think so."
"Sing me something. Just a note. Right here. Right now."
"What?"
Rin spun the stick once. "I play by instinct. And instinct says I wanna hear what your soul sounds like."
Lyra hesitated. But VIVA chimed in her ear: Pulse scan detected. Emotional tether forming. Probability of recruitment: 78%. Recommended action: Sing.
So she did.
A single note. Soft. Pure. Just a ripple in the quiet courtyard.
But Rin stood stock still.
Then she grinned.
And then she moved.
She whipped the stick through the air, summoned a small wrist-drum pad from her pocket belt, and began tapping.
No, not tapping—commanding. The beats that rang out weren't just percussive—they were alive, pulsing, thunder with a heartbeat. Rin's feet moved with them, her body flowing with the rhythm like lightning made flesh. And she matched Lyra's hum effortlessly, building upon it, lifting it.
Lyra added another note. Then a short hum-phrase. The rhythm caught it and spun it into something wild and bright.
"YES!" Rin shouted, laughing mid-beat. "This! This is what I've been waiting for! Someone who doesn't flinch!"
She ended the impromptu jam with a final, loud stomp that echoed through the courtyard like a thunderclap. A few students peeked out of windows, but Rin didn't care. She was glowing with joy.
Lyra was panting, cheeks flushed. She hadn't even realized she'd been singing with such energy.
Rin stepped forward and slung an arm around her. "Okay. I'm in. I don't care if you're new. I don't care if you can't read sheet music from upside down like me. You've got that thing. Fire in the throat. Let's make some storms, Songbird."
Lyra blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that. But only on one condition."
Lyra tensed. "What?"
"You let me name the band. Eventually."
Lyra let out a breathless laugh. "Deal."
Rin punched the air. "WOO! VIVA, register me! I'm Team Lyra now!"
Confirmed, VIVA said in both of their ears, a smile in its voice. Second member recruited. Rhythmic compatibility: volatile but powerful. Warning: subject prone to percussion-based property damage.
Rin grinned even wider. "I like your weird AI. It's sassy."
"I think it likes you too," Lyra replied, and for the first time since arriving at this strange university, she felt her heart beat in perfect time with someone else's.
Not just thunder. Music.
END OF CHAPTER 6