Prologue
It all happened so quickly.
Irys and Calliope Mori, like coiled springs set loose, charged upon each other. No holds barred. Bae, Mumei, Kronii and J-chad could only watch it all unfold before them.
They bore witness to a symphony of destruction that ripped through the desolate streets of Yekaterinburg. Scythe clashed against scythe in a furious flurry, sending out red sparks that illuminated the faces of their wielders.
Red sparks that seemed like rose petals contrasting the snow.
The scythes, made of different material and built of different shapes and sizes, sang different tunes while they sailed through the air. Calli's scythe of tempered Underworld steel sang low, brimming with intense strength and skill honed over three centuries. Irys' scythe of red Nephilium crystal, meanwhile, raced for the high notes of magic-spurred speed and the staccato of rage unleashed.
And yet, the scythes harmonized with every strike. Their styles of battle were similar - near-perfect mirrors of each other.
Irys and Calli swung their scythes with broad strokes interspersed with blunt base jabs and flashes of kicks and punches. It was an unorthodox style taught to the Potomac Platoon of Grim Reapers - a style developed by Calli and J-chad themselves.
The style that Irys had always dreamt of mastering.
Like a madwoman obsessed, Irys trained day in and day out until it was ingrained into her very being. Her fifty years of afterlife were dedicated to that task. She longed for the day that she could wield a scythe.
That day had finally come - and she was going to make her idol witness her.
"Calli-senpai!" Irys cried, swinging her scythe desperately.
"You're making a serious mistake here, kiddo!" Calli warned. She caught Irys' scythe and pinned it down into the snow with her own, "We're not here to fight!"
However, in the midst of the cacophony of combat, Calli's words couldn't reach Irys' ears. Under the shadow of the galactic orca looming over Yekaterinburg, old wounds that Irys bore in her heart were torn open while she fought and let loose. Memories of loneliness and agony over being some sideshow to the great Calliope Mori and J-chad, clouded her entire being.
Those memories, mixed with the shadow of the orca, forming a mirage tailor made for Irys' eyes and ears.
It started off with mild distortion: a delay in Calli's speech like a telephone call with bad reception that got worse and worse. Then, the words that Calli spoke were twisted outright. Before Irys knew it, Calli's overtures for peace and calm suddenly became scathing tirades that belittled Irys.
" You never amounted to much, my dawg! Get your head out of the fucking clouds! "
" Irys? What a stupid fucking name. You never got your scythe! You don't deserve a name! "
" You wouldn't even have that tiny sickle you had if it wasn't because of me! Don't get ahead of yourself! "
" You let Death-sensei down. That's why you're stuck in this crappy world! "
" Become Hope, my ass! You were a failure in our world - you'll be a failure in this world too! "
It was like the mirage drew from the darkest depths of Irys' soul.
"No… stop it." Irys winced, wounded by the words she thought she was hearing, "Calli-senpai, please!"
But the shadow-twisted words kept coming. Then, something within Irys snapped. The lies that bled into the Nephilim's wounded heart, mind and soul blinded her and spurred her to action. With every clash of their scythes - and with every bloom of rose-like sparks - Irys grew to wholeheartedly believe the false mirage.
This wasn't the Calliope Mori that Irys remembered, the Nephilim convinced herself. This was an agent of the Manipulator mimicking her fondest memories to derail her. This agent was standing in the way of Irys and her moment of glory.
Thinking this, Irys didn't have to hold back.
Irys spun around and walloped Calli with a high kick. Calli raised up her scythe to block the blow, but this let Irys retrieve her own scythe.
The Nephilim followed through and swung her scythe backhand, peppering Calli with snow. Calli hopped back, but not before Irys' scythe tore the sleeve of her traveling coat - and her wrist.
Calli's blood splattered on the snow. The reaper winced with pain. However, her narrowed eyes saw something else fallen on the snow: a small bracelet with jewelry letters that spelled 'TAKA'.
"Fuck!" Calli cursed, grasping her bleeding wrist.
She gritted her teeth and struck back at Irys. Calli's scythe shimmered with bright pink magic and Irys moved to clash with her once more. However, as soon as their scythes struck, a powerful shockwave cut Irys down, disarmed her and thrust her back-first into a snowbank.
Irys' blood mixed with Calli's in the snow.
"What the hell's gotten into you, dumbass!?" Calli demanded, glowering at Irys, "We don't even know if Revival works here!"
Irys didn't listen. Instead, she stubbornly picked herself up from the snowbank.
"Kronii." Irys croaked, eyeing the broken, bloodstained bracelet in the snow, "I got her totem."
As soon as Irys said this, Kronii's clock-like headdress spun briskly. Wisps of blue magic gathered around the Warden of Time. Then, Kronii cried.
"Caesura!"
Eighty-Second Scene - Vengeance Served Frozen
Kronii's spell froze Yekaterinburg and everyone inside of it instantly. The Warden of Time watched the scene around her with a frown painted on her lips. Doubt gripped at her heart, so she turned to the fervorous Nephilim caked in snow - then to the owl-girl standing tall beside her.
Kronii bit her lip. Then, she approached Mumei and laid a hand on her shoulder. As soon as Kronii did, the owl-girl unfroze.
Mumei's honey brown eyes met with Kronii's, followed by a frown that grew in her lips.
"What are you doing, Kronii?" Mumei asked, puzzled by Kronii's detour, "Take Calliope Mori out!"
"I have a minute. Maybe two if I push it to the limit." Kronii countered firmly, "We need to talk."
Mumei furrowed her brow and fell silent. That was Kronii's tense signal to explain herself.
"Stop and think for a moment, MeiMei. Are we sure that Cover Corp is the enemy?" Kronii asked.
Mumei's eyes shot towards J-chad and she hissed.
"Is this because they're offering you and Bae a job, Kronii? Are you gonna let them stop us from saving the world just because of that?"
"That's not…"
"Ninety seconds left." Mumei warned sharply, eyeing the Warden's spinning headdress, "Just go."
"Mumei…"
"Eighty five." Mumei snapped, "Stop hesitating, please!"
"But Mumei…!"
"Aren't you angry at all that Lady Knowledge and Lady Janus were taken from us so suddenly by the Manipulator!?" Mumei demanded, "One of their murderers is right there in front of you - at your mercy, Kronii! Strike her down!" She looked straight at Kronii, showing her the tears forming at the sides of her eyes, "Do this for me. Help me avenge out mentors. This… may be the last chance we'll ever get."
Kronii's lips wrinkled.
"I thought you said that you would protect me." Mumei tested.
Kronii shuddered. She felt a chill running up her spine.
"When you comforted me over the phone that night - was that all a lie?" Mumei asked, watching Kronii with her glistening eyes, "Are you going to leave me like Lady Knowledge did too in the end?"
The minute hand of her headdress ticked ominously.
One minute left.
It was at that time that General Sparrowhawk's words echoed in Kronii's mind.
' Continue being the pillar that supports her. Stand at her side through hell and high water… just like how Lady Janus stayed by Lady Knowledge to the bitter end. '
To the bitter end, huh?
Kronii leaned towards Mumei and brought out her handkerchief. She wiped the tears from the owl-girl's eyes.
"For you, Mumei." Kronii started, "I'll do this for you."
Mumei managed to smile.
"That's all I ask of you, Kronii."
With that, Kronii let go of Mumei. The owl-girl was frozen in time once more. She felt the warmth of Mumei's tears on her hands - then she mixed them with her wisps of blue magic and transformed them into her twin blades.
Kronii turned her eyes towards Calliope Mori. She marched forward with shifting shadows over her bright blue eyes.
"Boros." Kronii whispered to the air.
At her command, the white, serpentine Guardian Spirit revealed himself in his full form.
"Warden." Boros dutifully answered her call, "What is your bidding?"
"Prepare your venom." Kronii commanded, showing him her minute-hand longsword, "We're going to bring Calliope Mori back in time - before she became a Grim Reaper." Her blue eyes sharpened, "Turn her mortal. Then it's off with her head."
"Are those your orders?" Boros asked. Then, he glanced at the time-frozen Mumei - then to the time-frozen Nephilim, "Are you absolutely certain this is what you desire?"
"I wouldn't have called you if they weren't." Kronii snapped, raising up her longsword.
"If you say so." Boros answered, "I shall do as you ask."
The tip of Kronii's longsword touched one of Boros' fangs. A potent, temporal venom emerged and coated the sword.
Kronii's headdress ticked once more.
Thirty seconds and counting.
"Let's do this!" Kronii cried.
Boros nodded. Then, the large serpent and the Warden of Time charged towards the unsuspecting, time-frozen Calliope Mori.
Kronii held her venom-coated longsword firmly. Her boots kicked up the bloodstained snow on the streets, but they too froze in time and were suspended in midair. Her shadow, just like the shadows of Irys and Mumei, shifted unnaturally ever so slightly. Boros, meanwhile, loomed over Calliope Mori like a tightening noose.
Kronii raised her sword and prepared to strike Calliope Mori down.
But she wouldn't get the chance.
All of a sudden, a war cry reached Kronii's ears in the time-frozen realm.
"KIKIRIKI!"
A wall of flame erupted from the snow in a straight line, like a sword-stroke. It rose as high as the tenements along the roads of Yekaterinburg and burned with intense, otherworldly heat. Kronii had to shield herself from the wall. Boros, meanwhile, was set ablaze and roared in agony.
Then, the culprit approached the Warden.
It was the Phoenix, Kiara Takanashi! The 'MORI' bracelet on her wrist shimmered with blue magic.
"Damn it!" Kronii cursed.
Kiara charged at the staggered Kronii with her magical broadsword and buckler shield in tow. Even with her two blades, Kronii barely managed to defend herself. The Warden was pushed further and further away from her target.
Then, Kronii's Caesura expired.
The world around Kronii and Kiara unfroze.
…
Kiara promptly picked up the broken, bloodstained 'TAKA' bracelet from the snow and pocketed it. Then, she turned to Calli and J-chad.
"We can't stay here. They're after us." Kiara warned, "And they know about the others!"
Troubled expressions formed on Calli's and J-chad's faces. J-chad shook her head in disbelief.
"But I thought that we…" The manager started, absolutely bewildered.
Just as J-chad was speaking, the quadruple engines of an AC-130 gunship roared overhead and cast a new shadow over the battlefield. A formation of Cobra attack helicopters also loomed in the horizon.
"Operation Eleven has been critically compromised!" Kiara urged, "We leave. NOW! We won't get another chance."
"Leave…!?" Irys screamed over the cacophony of noise, "I'm not done with you yet!"
The spurned Nephilim charged towards Calliope Mori with her scythe. However, Calli simply whirled around with her own scythe. Their scythes clashed one last time, but they didn't resonate this time. Calli overpowered Irys mercilessly.
The blow sent Irys' scythe flying out of the Nephilim's hands and into the tainted snow.
"We're done." Calli said with finality.
The Phoenix and the two Grim Reapers turned around and ran through Kiara's wall of flame. Neither of the three were harmed. Irys tried to chase after them, but the Phoenix fire nearly scorched her.
"Irys!" Bae cried. The rat-girl pulled her out from the fire, "Let them go."
"But Bae…!" Irys tried to argue.
"Let. Them. Go." Bae growled.
Irys' face soured. Then, she kicked up the bloodstained snow in anger.
Kronii, on the other hand, gripped the handle of her venom-coated longsword and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry…" Kronii apologized somberly, "I was about to strike her down, but then the Phoenix…"
"It's not over yet." Mumei interjected.
The owl-girl wore a complex expression and looked up to the AC-130 gunship flying overhead.
"Do we have new orders from Sparrowhawk?" Kronii asked.
Mumei pressed on her earpiece and listened. After a while, she nodded to the Warden.
"Kronii. You and I will go after the Cover Corp interlopers. The Air Force will give us as much Close Air Support as they can." She turned towards Irys and Bae next and spoke, "As for the two of you - please go on to GKTV-5. The TV station is ready for your broadcast. Don't let them interrupt the SSS." She looked straight into Irys' two-colored eyes and promised, "Once we freeze the Horrors attacking this town and fill the world with your magic, we'll deal with that senpai of yours, Irys. You will have your revenge this time. I promise."
Dejected, Irys lowered her head. She picked up her crystal scythe and grumbled.
"I hope so, Mumei. I really hope so."
Eighty-Third Scene - Smile For The Camera
Burdened with heavy hearts, Irys and Bae hurried to the GKTV-5 TV station. The American and Soviet soldiers manning the barricades around the TV station, despite the war-weary air lingering about them, greeted the Telstar Nephilim and the Representative of Chaos with hopeful cheers and fanfare.
Irys and Bae could barely reciprocate their gestures.
Bae, already tired from battle with the Horrors, hung her head low and kept herself ready to do battle once more. Irys, on the other hand, felt the doubts gnawing at her heart intensify tenfold. Even as MACV soldiers who worked on the Armed Forces AFVN Radio welcomed the famous Telstar Nephilim, she had to force herself to smile, nod and pretend to understand everything they were telling her.
Still, Irys understood enough to know that the Telstar satellite networks of the United States and the Sputnik satellite networks of the Soviet Union were standing by. The two systems were ready to broadcast Irys' song throughout Yekaterinburg and the surrounding areas - and to the world at large. All they were waiting for now was their broadcast tower to tune in to the SSS network - and for Irys to sing her song.
And so, while the AFVN technicians worked on activating the tower, Irys and Bae were led to the dressing room by the station's recording studio.
On their way there, they passed by the command center of the TV station. A dozen television screens on a panel were tuned in to major TV stations from around the world through the SSS network.
From Moscow to Saigon. From Tokyo to San Francisco. From Toronto to London.
The whole world was waiting for Irys to sing in real time. All of them turned to Irys, longing for Hope. Knowing this, Irys gulped nervously. Shivers ran up her spine.
Bae, tired as she was, saw this and tended to Irys.
"Oy - you alright?" She asked, "You look pale as a ghost."
"A ghost? No…" Irys shook her head.
Bae pursed her lips. Then she held Irys' shoulders.
"Hold still for a second."
"What are you…!?"
Before Irys could ask, Bae tiptoed to reach her height. The rat-girl then pressed her forehead on the Nephilim's. Irys' face promptly flushed red and she fell silent.
"Your temperature is kinda low but it ain't too bad. For someone who was just out in the cold Siberian winter, at least!" Bae assessed with a smattering of cheerfulness, "I'll have the AFVN boys run the radiators here overtime. It'll be warm and toasty in the recording studio when your time to sing comes."
"Mm…" Irys answered halfheartedly.
Bae looked at Irys more closely, but Irys shied away. The rat-girl hummed curiously.
"You're fretting about this whole SSS deal, ain't ya?"
"I'm…" Irys started, but she couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, she pouted, "You know me too well, Bae." She looked at the recording studio being prepared for her by the AFVN crew, "Singing to the whole world ain't a joke."
"You've sung for a global audience before." Bae folded her arms, "The Western world at least. Then, that song at the Bolshoi Theater was a show for the East."
"I know - but I wasn't singing like this with so much on the line!" Irys argued, "Crystallizing a handful of Horrors at a time is one thing… but crystallizing an entire army of them in one go? Filling the entire world with my magic? That's something else entirely!"
"Did that stupid senpai of yours say something to you earlier?" Bae frowned, "I haven't seen you this distressed since, well - ever! The way you fought earlier - turning it into a scythe too…" She blinked and furrowed her brow, "It reminded me of that time Mumei fought us back in the Army Infirmary in Da Nang."
Did I really seem that scary back then?
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Irys apologized, "There were a lot of things that I've been keeping bottled up inside. Seeing Calli-senpai again popped the cork off the bottle and, well…" She shook her head, "When I heard that they wanted to take you and Kronii away with them - that hurt me."
Bae looked into Irys' two-colored eyes. Then, she laid a hand on Irys' shoulder.
"Well, don't let it get to you, Irys." Bae reassured her, "If they're gonna be arseholes about this whole mess, then Cover Corp can suck it for all I care! I think the Kronster's on the same boat as me there."
"Bae…" Irys managed a small smile, but this deflated into an apologetic frown, "Thinking about it now - I think we might have to hold off on our plans of traveling my world for now. I don't think I'm welcome there anymore."
Bae chuckled.
"As much as I would have wanted to see your world, I'm more than happy to help you make your home here." Bae spoke cheerfully, "Don't bother with what your senpais told you. You're a new gal now - a gal who can cut her own path and reach for her own destiny with her own two hands!" She spread her arms out wide and cheered, "Reach for the stars, Irys, and sing for the world! Make those senpais of yours hear your voice. Make them regret abandoning you!"
"That's going to take some time…" Irys started somberly. However, she took Bae's hand from her shoulder and clasped it gently, "I'll sing my heart out."
"I know you will." Bae smiled.
She also clasped Irys' hand in hers. After a short while, the silence broke when the dressing room door creaked open. AFVN staff poked their heads inside and called on Irys.
The SSS network was ready for her.
"Bae…" Irys turned to the rat-girl nervously.
"You'll do great." Bae reassured her, "I'll be listening from the station's command center. I'll watch the entire world get blown away by your singing!"
"You really think so?" Irys asked.
Bae nodded and pointed to herself proudly, "You're talking to your number one fan right now, though! I'm pretty biased about this thing."
Irys chuckled. She jabbed Bae tenderly.
"Remember my promise to you?" Bae smiled, "If things go to hell and the sky comes falling down, call out to me. I'll come running."
All of a sudden, Irys hugged the rat-girl tightly.
"Promise?" Irys asked.
"Promise." Bae hugged back, holding the Nephilim close. After a short while, she let Irys loose and urged, "Now go and save the world!"
Eighty-Fourth Scene - Diamond Tears
Irys bid farewell to Bae and marched into the recording studio. The joint AFVN and local GKTV-5 crew stopped whatever they were doing and welcomed Irys. In Irys' eyes, the fanfare in that little studio seemed like the footage of the Apollo 11 space mission at the NASA control center that she had seen in classified films.
She knew that this was going to be one for the history books. - the first acapella performance for both sides of the Iron Curtain. This wasn't lost on her.
"Thank you, everyone." Irys spoke graciously to the crew, "Please - let's get started."
With that, Irys was led into the recording booth behind the sound control panel. It was a brightly-lit, soundproof room with a stool, a microphone stand and a window into the main studio. There was even a GKTV-5 television camera set up behind that window too.
Irys brought out her crystal microphone and set it on the stand. She took a seat on the stool and gathered herself for the performance that lay ahead of her. She looked out the window and watched the crew scramble over their equipment. Then, she looked at her reflection on the lens of the television camera.
C'mon Irys. You can do this. You're a recording artist - this ain't your first rodeo. It's just another recording session. It's just another recording session!
Irys closed her eyes and focused her thoughts. She thought about her songs, going through the chords and melodies piece by piece. She took long, deep breaths and prepared herself to sing a medley just like she did during her battles with the Horrors.
However, once the soundproof door of the recording booth closed, the sudden silence gripped Irys. The din of the crew beyond the window disappeared, replaced by stark, deafening silence.
Irys found herself alone with her thoughts. She could hear her own heart beating against her chest. Her hands trembled. Cold sweat formed on her brow.
Her two-colored eyes shot open, searching for Bae. Instead of the red rat-girl, however, Irys saw the red light of the television camera flicker on beyond the window.
The camera was rolling
The microphone was live.
The world was listening.
Irys froze. Her mouth creaked open ajar, but no song emerged. Only faint wisps of magic gathered around her - barely enough to crystallize even a measly Type A Horror.
Irys gripped her kneecaps. The bright lights hanging overhead in the booth threatened to blind her. She felt the eyes and ears of the world regarding her, scrutinizing her. The false, shadow-twisted words of Calliope Mori reared its ugly head in her mind once more.
A shadowy image of Calliope Mori manifested beyond the window of the recording booth. Irys saw that mirage frowning at her, showing their disappointment and displeasure clearly. The silence in the booth persisted, but Irys could read the words that Calli's mirage mouthed.
It was the same scathing tirades that she heard on the battlefield just minutes ago.
Irys' grips on her kneecaps intensified. The shadow that Irys cast started to stir. Five seconds of global dead air became ten, then fifteen, then thirty. Then, all of the sudden, Irys found her voice and her song.
She opened her mouth in earnest and started to sing into her crystal microphone.
Wisps of radiant maroon magic manifested around her, swirling around inside the studio like it always did in battle. The crystal microphone absorbed Irys' maroon magic, amplifying it many times over. However, the broadcast tower of the GKTV-5 television station amplified Irys' powers exponentially more!
Irys' supercharged magic flew through the airwaves and were carried throughout the world by the Telstar and Sputnik satellites, activating the SSS network. TV and radio stations tuned in to the SSS picked up the signal and broadcast the Nephilim's song.
The world was flooded with Irys' magic. Wisps of Irys' magic emerged from the speakers of radios and televisions sets. They also emerged from the invisible radio waves emanating from broadcast towers carrying the Nephilim's song.
…
From the broadcast tower of Yekaterinburg's GKTV-5, the radio waves carried Irys' magic throughout the city and the surrounding regions. Maroon wisps of magic scattered throughout the battlefield like snow. As the wisps descended, the army of Horrors pouring from the Ural Mountains was stopped in its tracks. They were crystallized en masse, trapped in the fragile blue prisons of Nephilium crystals.
The battered MACV and Soviet troops manning the trenches around Yekaterinburg saw their enemies crystallizing before their eyes. Colonel Omega, Sana and Fauna looked up to the heavens in awe.
Omega's heavily damaged Sheridan light tank rammed a crystallized Type D Horror and shattered the mighty beast like glass. The Colonel slammed her mechanical hand against the cupola of her tank.
"The tide is turning in our favor!" Omega declared.
Soviet and MACV soldiers cheered as well. Many of them switched their radios from the tactical channels over to the frequency of GKTV-5. Irys' song reverberated throughout the battlefield, bringing even more magical wisps into the fray. Omega's own tank crew did the same. They too, sang along to the heartfelt medley of the Nephilim's songs.
Fauna pulled the reins of Nemu, urging her Guardian Spirit to halt beside Omega's Sheridan tank. The Keeper of Nature watched all of the crystallized Horrors throughout the battlefield and she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Irys did it!" Fauna cheered, "We've got this in the bag." She lowered her splintered lance of petrified wood and sighed, "We can finally put this battle behind us. Don't you think so, Sana-na?"
Sana Tsukumo, however, stayed silent.
"Sana-na?" Fauna repeated. She turned to the passenger clinging onto her from behind.
"Something's not right." Sana suddenly revealed. She let go of Fauna and held out her hand to the falling magical wisps.
Sana caught one of them on the palm of her hand and observed it. Her brow furrowed and a frown formed on her face.
"What's wrong?" Fauna asked.
"I've seen magic like this before… but where?" Sana racked her mind, "Think, Sana! Think!"
All of a sudden, that little wisp on Sana's palm turned into red crystal. Sana's winter gloves started crystalizing before her eyes too! She scrambled to take off her crystallizing gloves and threw them onto the trampled snow.
This was the magic that Sana saw emanating from the shattered Known Worlds that Yatagarasu had showed her!
"This isn't Hope…" Sana gasped, "This is Despair - the Destroyer of Worlds!"
"Despair!?" Fauna and Omega cried in unison.
"Cover your ears!" Sana urged desperately, "And don't let the wisps touch you!"
Before Sana could say anything else, panic rocked through the MACV and Soviet soldiers who had just been cheering earlier. Fanfare quickly turned to dread, echoing throughout Yekaterinburg. Irys' song was crystallizing humans too!
Irys' magic bathed the human soldiers and imprisoned them in sturdy red Nephilium crystals. It started from the extremities, crystallizing toes, fingers and hair. Then, it spread from there, ravaging the body mercilessly. Soldiers tried to run away from it, but the battlefield was saturated with magic.
There was no escape.
When the magical wave came to pass, thousands of soldiers were crystallized from head to toe - but they were the fortunate ones.
There were thousands more who were only partially crystallized. Only their limbs, their hair and their ears were afflicted, cutting them off from the rest of their bodies. They became immobile, lame and deaf in the blink of an eye.
The survivors cried in horror and agony, unable to feel their arms or their legs. Omega's jaw dropped and her heart sank. She ripped off the radio earpiece she wore and tossed it away before the device crystallized.
She looked down into the cupola of her Sheridan tank. Her entire tank crew was crystallized. Everything below Omega's waist was caught in the crystal as well.
"I can't… feel my legs." Omega whimpered, "I thought I had everything under control…" Her mechanical hand tried to crush the red crystal trapping her, but it barely left a dent, "I thought that the SSS would…!"
Omega paused. Then, her eyes turned towards Sana Tsukumo.
Sana felt the weight of Omega's gaze. Tears started to form at the sides of Sana's eyes.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry!" Sana tried to apologize.
Tiny shards of crystal, however, shimmered in Omega's ears. Irys' song had made her deaf.
The Colonel couldn't hear Sana's apology.
"Cover Corp made a mistake." Omega closed her eyes, "I..."
Before she could finish her sentence, however, the rest of her body crystallized before Sana's and Fauna's eyes.
Eighty-Fifth Scene - Radio Silence
Back in the soundproof recording booth of GKTV-5, Irys finished her medley of songs. Her heart was beating hard against her chest, but she managed to sing wholeheartedly. She laid the contents of her soul bare for the whole world to hear. Her tempo was fine, she thought. Her singing was crystal clear too.
It wasn't the best performance that she gave, but that was something Irys thought that she could live with.
Irys took a deep breath and slouched down on the stool. In the corner of her two-colored eyes, she glanced at the red light of the TV camera pointed into the recording booth.
The camera was still rolling.
The microphone was still live.
But was the rest of the world still listening?
"Uhm…" Irys started, speaking into her crystal microphone, "Are we still going? I don't have any more songs left." She started to fret in the booth, "Or are we gonna have to do a retake? W-we can do that if we really have to."
There was no answer. The TV camera was still focused on her.
However, the lights in the recording booth flickered ominously. In that brief moment of darkness, Irys' shifting shadow swelled right underneath her nervous, tapping feet. The silence of dead air unsettled her. The flickering of lights continued.
What the hell is going on? Aren't they supposed to fix that?
Irys looked out the booth window. The lights there were flickering too, but there was something strange. Faint maroon light emanated from the seats of the TV and radio crews. When Irys tried to squint, however, she saw that the glass of the window was frosted with a thin layer of red crystal.
She couldn't see far beyond it.
Concerned, Irys ducked away from the view of the camera and dared to open the door of the soundproof booth. To her shock, the deafening silence in the booth continued outside of it. Not a mouse stirred in the recording studio of GKTV-5. All of the hopeful fanfare and cheer evaporated.
Irys stepped out of the booth. Then, she saw it.
The TV and radio crews were still in their posts, wearing wired headsets plugged directly into Irys' broadcast. All of them were trapped in prisons of red Nephilium crystal!
Chills ran up Irys' spine. She shook her head and dared to touch one of the crystallized crew members. The wired headset they wore slipped off from their crystallized heads. Then, Irys saw the shards of crystals sprouting out from the crew member's ears.
"No… no, no!" Irys panicked.
The gravity of the situation dawned upon her. Her heart ached.
"Bae…" The rat-girl's name escaped her lips. Then, her eyes shot open, "Bae!"
Irys slipped between the crystallized bodies of the crew members and burst out of the recording studio. She retraced her steps through the halls of GKTV-5, but the flickering lights made it hard for her to see. Even more bodies of crystallized station employees blocked her path too.
Many of them were covering their ears. Their faces were frozen in crystal, forever twisted in pain and agony.
Irys forced herself to move past them and ran towards the command center. All of the station employees there were crystallized too. The panel of twelve television screens displayed 'NO SIGNAL' in Russian briefly before devolving into black and white static.
Moscow and Beijing. Saigon and Tokyo. Washington and London.
All gone.
All because of Irys.
Standing in front of that panel of televisions was the Nephilim's very first victim - Baelz Hakos, trapped in a crystal prison just like everyone else. She froze in crystal while standing with folded arms. Her eyes were closed serenely and the wired headset over her rat-ears were snugly in place.
Bae froze without a hint of fear or agony. Instead, she looked like she was lost in the music entirely.
Soul, and now - body.
"Bae…" Irys whimpered, lumbering towards the rat-girl, "Hey, listen to me."
There was no answer.
"Bae!" Irys started to weep, "Bae, please! I'm sorry!" She dropped down to her knees before her crystallized companion, "Don't leave me… please! Not like this!"
Television static filled the room.
Irys' shadow continued to grow.
Irys wept, but her tears turned into red Nephilim crystals too. She looked like she was crying blood. The crystallized, bloodlike tears dropped down onto Bae's crystallized feet with hollow, glassy dings.
All of the hope that had welled in Irys' heart turned into vicious poison. It became pure, unfiltered despair that tore the Nephilim from within. Intense grief and pain gripped at her entire being.
Irys cried out at the top of her lungs.
Her own wisps of magical energy swarmed her and swelled. In the blink of an eye, Irys herself was imprisoned in crystal. Her consciousness eroded and she slipped away into the eye of her own mind.
In the wake of Irys' implosion, the entire TV station was turned into a crystal prison. Everywhere that dared to broadcast the Nephilim's song followed the same fate.
Then, there was deafening silence once more.
Eleven
And Hell Froze Over
Epilogue
At the Koltsovo Aerodrome, just outside of Yekaterinburg City proper, the AC-130 gunship of General Sparrowhawk sat on the runway completely crystallized. All of the gunship crew and the ground crew of the aerodrome were trapped in red Nephilium crystal too. The ever-falling snow started to accumulate over those crystals, burying them in frigid white.
However, one figure still stirred in the aerodrome. General Sparrowhawk herself.
In the midst of the crystallized bodies strewn out around her, the General leisurely sauntered past them without batting an eye. As a matter of fact, she was humming to the tune of Irys' song while wearing a big smile on her lips.
Sparrowhawk barged into the main building of Koltsovo Aerodrome, accosted by the army of crystallized Soviet and American security forces there. She found her way into the hidden safe room where President Nixon and General Secretary Brezhnev were stowed away. There, she found the two supposedly most powerful men in the world crystallized along with all of their delegations and deputies.
The entire lines of succession of the United States and the Soviet Union were frozen in red crystal. Sparrowhawk watched the scene.
She couldn't help but laugh.
Completely unfazed, Sparrohawk reached under her coat pocket and brought out a cigar. She sat on a sofa between the crystallized Nixon and Brezhnev, crossed her legs and proceeded to smoke.
While Sparrowhawk was smoking, however, she heard the crackle of static. The earpiece of a crystallized US Secret Service agent was still somehow functional.
Sparrowhawk took the earpiece, ripping off the Secret Service agent's ear along with it. She plucked the earpiece out from the hardened flesh, dusted it off a little bit and wore it.
"This is Spirit-In-The-Sky." Sparrowhawk spoke while she smoked, "Who's on the line? Over."
" General Sparrowhawk…!" Mumei Nanshi's voice reached her ear, albeit with high distortion and static, " What's going on!? "
"Calm down, Barn Owl." Sparrowhawk feigned innocence, sinking down into the sofa with a smirk, "What is your situation?"
" I'm in Yekaterinburg, madam General… " Mumei replied, barely able to keep up her professional air. Her voice was trembling and racked with horror, " I was with K-Kronii. We were hunting down the Cover Corp people… but then the SSS kicked in and then… and then, she! " The owl-girl sobbed, " She got crystallized! Even her Guardian Spirit! And so did everyone else in this God-forsaken town! "
"What about the Cover Corporation agents?" Sparrowhawk asked calmly, "What about the Eleventh Council? Where are they?"
" I… I don't know ." Mumei broke down into tears, " I don't… "
"Retreat to Koltsovo Aerodrome for now, Barn Owl. If you meet up with the Council, send them here as well." The General shifted her legs and added, "If you can take Kronii Ouro's body with you, do so. We'll figure out our next steps here. We're gonna make Cover Corp pay for this crime. Is that understood?"
Mumei sniffled on the other end of the line. Then, she replied, " Ma'am… yes ma'am. "
Once the line cut off, Sparrowhawk crushed the earpiece in her hand. The crackle of electricity didn't bother her in the slightest. Instead, she just focused on her cigar once more.
After a short while, there was a knock on the door of the safe room. The door creaked open and Clover Gosling poked her head through the threshold.
"It happened just like you predicted, my lady." Clover smirked at Sparrowhawk, "Colonel Omega and the Cover Corporation really did do our work for us!" She stepped inside the room and snickered devilishly, "They managed to crystallize my galactic orca - but at what cost?"
"A small price for the Ancient Ones to pay." Sparrowhawk scoffed, "This Known World is brimming with despair. Not even the Cover Corporation can stand up to the kinds of Horrors that can be borne of this world." She grinned menacingly, "Just thinking about it makes my black heart leap!"
"Oh, but of course. I look forward to raising an army for you, madam." Clover concurred eagerly, "But I must say - your masterstroke is that owl-girl that you're leading on." She made an obscene gesture, "You've got her by the hrgng! She'll bark like a dog if you ask, I'm sure!"
"Mumei Nanashi is a Bird of Prey, just like Lady Knowledge before her. Powerful. Predictable. Incredibly easy to manipulate." Sparrowhawk took a long puff of her cigar and blew it into the air, "Convince them that you have their best interests in mind - then they will do whatever you ask. They won't dig too deep. Weaker-willed lapdogs won't question them." Her bright red eyes shimmered against the smoke. She imagined the faces of Kronii Ouro and Lady Janus manifesting from the tobacco, "Omega taught them well and harnessed their potential - but she failed to realize that they answer to me in the end."
"All in all, a brilliant show. Yet another Known World will soon fall to you - the great Manipulator herself!" Clover pushed away Nixon and Brezhnev from the couch and sat beside Sparrowhawk, cuddling against her like a cat, "So - is our job in this Known World done?"
"Not yet, my dear. Don't be impatient." Sparrowhawk rubbed under Clover's chin, making the schoolgirl-shaped Eldritch Horror purr, "Retrieve the bodies of Omega and the Eleventh Council. Then, raise a new army and hunt down the Cover Corp interlopers."
Clover hummed with intrigue. She peeled herself off of Sparrohawk and rose up from the sofa. She gave Sparrowhawk a salute and mimicked Mumei's voice.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"
The schoolgirl turned around and made her way out of the crystallized safe room. Before Clover could close the door, however, Sparrowhawk called to her.
"Clover!"
The schoolgirl paused and turned around.
Sparrowhawk raised up her hand and made a V-sign.
"V. For victory."
To Be Continued
