Syncblade

An immense piece of software, designed with a precise purpose: to create video games for humans. Within it exists an entire world populated by entities built and guided by advanced algorithms. To perform their task as effectively as possible, these entities were not created to analyze humans from the outside. Instead, they live in a way surprisingly similar to them. Inside this constructed reality, they have built a true society centered on creativity: some paint, others build structures, while others design levels, systems, and gameplay mechanics. Everything they produce contributes to the development of video games meant for the human world. Yet behind this creative process lies a category of entities almost no one talks about, and that will likely never be remembered. They are called Placeholders, temporary stand-ins used to test prototypes, traverse unstable levels, and face battles that are still too dangerous for the real protagonists of the stories. Akemi is one of them. Her role is simple: she is summoned, she fights, she tests whatever needs to be tested, and when it’s over, everything starts again from the beginning, as if her existence were never meant to leave a trace. And yet, the world she lives in raises many questions. Why are some entities placed in this condition while others are free to create and design? The other entities seem aware of what is happening, but are they really? And more importantly… do they all think in the same way? Some of them, like Zombeats, special dummy units used to test the presence of simple enemies, seem to exist only to execute basic behaviors, devoid of any real form of consciousness… perhaps. Akemi, in addition to possessing the skills of a samurai, which make her particularly suited to her role, has inherited a katana called Syncblade, endowed with an extraordinary property: it reacts to music. All music. Even the music coming from the human world, music created to express emotions, capture fleeting moments, and make what we feel last forever. And so, rhythm becomes a bridge between the two realities.