Kenji–a paper maker–hears screaming in his head while at a concert. He tells Eva, his romantic partner, that he’s stepping outside to get some air. The screaming has happened before, but Kenji knows something is wrong. He believes that his inner voice is dying.  Kenji has tried to be a good artist, like the other inhabitants of his mycological world, but he didn’t have much success until he invented the thinnest paper made out of special mushrooms. Eva created sculptures out of his paper and the two of them became famous in the town. Kenji met Eva five years ago. She has burn marks on her skin and is curious and rebellious like him.  Kenji and Eva feed the World with their inner voice, which helps inspire their art, and in turn, the mushrooms feed them. Kenji lies down in a tub-like room in his apartment and allows the World to feed on him. There is a small mound of flesh at the base of his neck where his voice lives. Kenji believes that he has two weeks left until his voice dies. Eva suggests that he get a new voice. She offers for him to take hers, but Kenji refuses. The two of them go for a walk and pass artists performing in the streets. They stop in front of a giant sculpture that Eva created for the city. Kenji is proud of Eva’s work. They pass a funeral for a man whose voice died and Kenji decides he needs to get a new voice right away. Kenji and Eva take a boat upriver. At the edge of civilization, they find a woman named Caro who successfully transplanted a new voice into her daughter. Kenji is hopeful that the procedure will work. Eva shares her new idea for a sculpture. It will be a giant ship that depicts the first settlers leaving their town.  After the operation, Kenji has a new voice in the back of his head but he can’t hear it. He realizes that most people in the colony don’t create anything original. He’s also noticed that those who dig into the history of the first settlers end up dead. Kenji and Eva head home. Kenji’s voice is still silent. He begins to wonder about what’s upriver, past the edges of civilization. Eva works on her new sculpture, but is angry that the city won’t let her give credit to Kenji for making the paper. When he climbs into the World for his regular feeding, the world shoves him back out because his voice is silent. Kenji returns to Caro, but she doesn’t have any spare voices. Kenji and Eva must flee by boat because there’s no place for the voiceless in their world. They pass another funeral and the mob of people knock Kenji into the water. When he wakes up, Caro is there. She tells him that Eva gave him her voice. He searches for Eva everywhere, but can’t find her, so he returns to town to look at her new sculpture. One of the figures in the boat is pointing upstream. Kenji realizes that’s where he will find Eva. Eva’s voice screams in his head as he paddles away from civilization, but he keeps going.