【Juliana’s City of Nine Consciousnesses】Chapter 2 Ear-Consciousness: The Voice of Silence

The streets of the Axiom Empire had no sound.

To be precise, only “necessary minimum sounds" existed. Machine operation sounds, traffic guidance announcements, state-approved music.

But all of these were “approved sounds" processed through “Legion." Citizens called them “pure sounds" and eliminated all other “noise."

Juliana had never heard any sound from that dog.

That conspicuous white fur, that substantial presence. Yet not even a single footstep. But from some point on, she began hearing “voices" in places where no one should be.

At first, it was in dreams.

In an endlessly white room, someone said this. Even when she woke with a start, no one was in the room. However, in the depths of her ears, like tinnitus, a “sound’s lingering fragrance" remained.

The next morning, Juliana went out into the city. Secretly removing the “sound filter" attached to her ears.

The ear filter was a sound control device mandatory for all citizens. Since raw sounds destabilize emotions, the empire maintained complete “audio hygiene management."

The moment she removed it, the world transformed completely.

The sound of wind. People’s footsteps. The chime of bells from distant towers. She could hear. Far too much, overwhelmingly so.

Her head felt like it would split. But at the same time, she noticed there were “voices that shouldn’t mix in" among them.

“…Who?" A whisper that shouldn’t reach anyone arrived directly in the depths of her brain. Not a voice as sound, but “resonance" itself.

The old opera house was located in a restricted area at the northern edge of the city. It was once a palace of music and theater when the empire still permitted art and emotion. Now it was a prohibited zone. The acoustic space was sealed, controlled so that no reverberation remained.

In that space, Juliana heard the “voice" again.

The owner of the voice introduced himself as Johannes. An exiled scientist who had deviated from the filter management network. He had been in Legion’s central system but became a fugitive after learning the empire’s truth.

A low, murky “scream" resurrected in Juliana’s ears. Long ago, in a corner of the city engulfed in flames, someone had been screaming. The government had “silenced" that voice—supposedly.

But somewhere in memory, the “raw voice" had remained.

Johannes’s words continued. “If you keep opening your consciousness like this, the sixth layer—the division of consciousness—will begin. But don’t fear. First, listen to the world with your ears. The 'voices’ that everyone has forgotten."

At that moment, something reached Juliana’s ears. It wasn’t “words." It was simply a nostalgic “melody." A lullaby her mother had once sung to her in whispers. Not recorded anywhere. A song that existed nowhere.

Juliana listened carefully. In the city’s bustle, beyond the electronic noise, there were voices of someone crying out. Help me. I am here. Don’t erase me. Countless souls’ voices flowed on the sound.

At that moment, she understood.

And that connection was guiding her to the next “consciousness."