Awkward Cooperation, Melted by Taste
"In the midst of awkward teamwork, a strange flavor cracked open a buried memory."
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TRANSITION FROM CHAPTER 7 – SECONDS TO THE HELIX GATE
The underground tunnel narrowed, as if the earth itself was rejecting their intrusion. Stones on the walls vibrated faintly. The air grew colder—not like wind, but like something breathing from another dimension.
Pari halted. Just one step away from the spiraling arch of light—the Helix Gate.
Silence fell.
Only Kael's footsteps could be heard, light but firm, as he stepped forward and said flatly:
"This isn't an ordinary gate. It's… a resonance of memories."
Lisse exhaled quietly. "Great. I haven't even moved on from middle school trauma, and now I have to face a memory resonance?"
Jaro pulled a strange device from his pocket. It immediately exploded in his hand. He stared at the scorched wires.
"It was supposed to detect spiral dimensional vibration. But I think it just electrocuted my soul."
Nyx and Rav exchanged looks.
Rav said nothing at first. He stared at the gate like someone assessing a dangerous, tempting ingredient.
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CHAPTER OPENING – AROMA THAT MELTS TENSION
Rav took a deep breath, then reached into his backpack. Everyone turned, tense. With Rav, it was never just "something."
"I know this isn't the right time," he said with the most serious expression of his life, "but I have… something."
He opened a metal container—instantly, a strange aroma wafted through the air, sweeping the cold like a hungry spirit.
"Fermented coffee-seaweed-salt soup."
Silence. No one moved.
"It can unite muscles, fix heart rhythms, and… test friendships."
Jaro backed away. Daryn began praying. Pari blinked slowly.
Kael—as usual—took the bowl without a word. He sipped it. The clink of the spoon rang like a small alarm from hell.
"The taste… is acceptable."
And just like that, the tension broke.
Lisse chuckled—a little insane, desperate, and oddly relieved. Jaro clapped. Daryn added:
"Well. If he can drink that and survive, we can get through the Helix."
Rav's inner monologue:
Kael probably doesn't know sweet from salty or bitter. But he's honest. And an honest tongue is better than all fake compliments combined.
One by one, they stepped into the swirling light. The Helix Gate pulsed… as if it, too, tasted each of them as they entered. And prepared its own flavor in return.
For within the Helix… it wasn't just memories that would be tested.
But taste.
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SPIRAL 1 – JARO: THE ROOM WHERE MACHINES SPEAK
Jaro stepped into the spiral. Silence... humming.
He stood in a room full of his own creations. Gadgets from the past lined up like a heartbreak museum.
Suddenly, every device spoke:
"You chose us over people!"
"Lisse waited for you, bro!"
"You built me for love, but you hid instead!"
A version of himself appeared:
"You're afraid of breaking. That's why you choose to build machines over building relationships."
Before leaving, THE COB mentioned softly:
"Start with an apology. To the machines. And… to Lisse."
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SPIRAL 2 – LISSE: THE FACE IN THE CASKET
Lisse entered a sterile white room. At its center was an open casket.
Inside—her own face.
Flashes from the past: her first post-mortem makeup, the child who still looked afraid even after the eyes were closed.
"If I couldn't save them… at least I could fight beside them."
The figure in the casket sat up:
"Stop covering wounds. See them. Let them speak."
Lisse walked out carrying a small mirror—ready to face the living.
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SPIRAL 3 – DARYN: LAYERS OF LOST FLAVORS
Daryn entered a strange dining room—filled with unfamiliar food. At the table's end sat his younger self.
"Try everything. You always wanted to know what things taste like, right?"
Each dish had a memory-flavor:
Purple Soup: Envy
Boiled Peanuts: Feeling unappreciated
Heart Bread: Love that came too late
Clear Water: Self-betrayal
Young Daryn stared at him:
"If you want to be stronger, don't just taste flavors. Face them."
Daryn left, clutching a single boiled peanut—as a memory.
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SPIRAL 4 – NYX: THE ROOM OF ECHOES WITHOUT SOUND
A pitch-black space. No sound.
Nyx couldn't translate anyone. And it terrified him.
"If I can't hear anyone's heart… then who am I?"
Faces appeared—bearing his own eyes. He realized: what he had read in others… were his own reflections.
Young Pari appeared:
"You always translated me. But never asked if I wanted to be translated."
Nyx walked out with one thing: silence. And understanding.
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SPIRAL 5 – PARI: THE ROOM WITHOUT WORDS
Gray sky. Clay ground. Empty.
She sat on a small chair. In front of her: a chalkboard that read "To Speak = To Exist."
Every time she wrote, the chalk broke.
Three silhouettes appeared. They said nothing. Demanded nothing. Just… were present.
And there… Pari cried. Not from sorrow, but because at last… she was seen, even without words.
She drew a small circle on the ground. A sign that she existed.
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SPIRAL 6 – KAEL: THE AWAKENING MACHINE
A waiting room. Clinical. Neutral. A door read: Individual Evaluation Room No. 017.
He sat down. His system whispered:
"Emotional recalibration initiated…"
The door opened. A child sat on the hospital bed. Pale. Empty-eyed.
"You rejected all feelings. Because feelings are weakness. But in doing so… you forgot what happiness feels like."
Kael's system cracked. From his eyes, memory traces leaked. Not tears.
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SPIRAL 7 – RAV: THE BURNED KITCHEN OF MEMORY
The room resembled a kitchen once burned. Smoke hung thick. Furniture floated above. Recipes etched on the walls—stained with tears and tomato sauce, hard to tell apart.
Rav stepped in. The stove lit by itself. A pot began to boil.
"Cooking again?" asked a voice from the pot. "Or just trying to forget?"
A shadow of his mother appeared—worn smile, hollow eyes.
"You always said flavor could save. But flavor… is an illusion, Rav."
He turned. The table was empty. Chairs upside down.
"What's the point of strange flavors, if no one's sitting with you?"
Rav lowered his gaze. He lit a small stove, quietly. Placed a slice of burnt bread on it. It crumbled, but smelled… comforting.
"I just… didn't know how to say I love you. So I gave food instead."
From behind the smoke, young Daryn appeared, sitting at the table. Smiling.
"I know. And it didn't taste… that bad."
Before leaving, Rav took a paper from the wall—a handwritten recipe.
A normal one. A recipe he wanted to cook again.
For the living.
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As they emerged, Rav offered a drink.
"You don't have to say anything, Kael. But… your tongue doesn't lie."
Kael sipped. Then said:
"Input… unusual."
Rav grinned. "That's… a compliment, right?"
Kael didn't reply. But this time, his steps—still straight—left behind a faint echo.
Not of sound.
But of taste.
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