Oracle of the Three Towers

by Pentalithia

Growing up in Skuwat village, Eumelia had always had a vague feeling of something not quite right… but it wasn't until disaster struck that she realized she may be destined for greater things.

3. Encounters in Firefly Alley

Far above the Wings of Horus, clinging to the side of Ar Tonelico just below the field of plasma known as the Blast Line, there was a city called Platina, home to the humans who had sworn to honour the Covenant of Elemia between them and the teru of Em Pheyna. At the core of the city lay the great cathedral, from which the day-to-day running of the city was managed.

Commander Leard Barsett was discussing a matter of some importance with the tower administrator, Shurelia, who as usual was clad in her linkage suit, and Heinrich Myrtle, head of the Knights of Elemia.

"Virus sightings have increased by about ten percent between this month and last month," Heinrich said.

"We're finally starting to see the effect of losing the Star Singer," Leard mused.

"We should consider ourselves lucky that Mir is taking so long to awaken," Shurelia said. "It must be a side effect from being sealed for so long."

"I wish Em Pheyna would send more regular updates on their search," Leard said. "You haven't heard anything either, Lady Shurelia?"

"No, I haven't," Shurelia said.

"If only we could dispatch some personnel of our own," Heinrich said. "But the knights already have our hands full exterminating viruses…"

"Indeed, I doubt we could spare anyone," Leard agreed. "Especially considering the other matter of concern… this so-called reveris virus which has been decimating our reyvateils. Is Masticus any closer to a cure?"

Heinrich shook his head. "We haven't received any news from Dr Masticus, but thanks to Horai uncovering an old document about a technique called a proxy dive, we managed to save two girls. Unfortunately, we can't perform the treatment at scale, as it requires a healthy revyateil with a high degree of cosmosphere control…"

"At least we have a way to save a few," Leard said. "How many have we lost?"

"The Knights of Elemia have lost about one-fifth of our reyvateils since the condition broke out," Heinrich said. "I don't have equivalent data for non-combatants, but it's likely at a similar level. As far as I know, only mature reyvateils have been infected."

"That's quite the significant loss," Leard said. "It seems we'll have no choice but to lower the minimum combat age to thirteen and bring the latest batch of beta-types into service as soon as possible."

"That reminds me," Shurelia. "Should I start another batch?"

"The current batch is fifteen," Leard mused. "It's already more than the usual, but… at the rate we're losing reyvateils, we'll probably need more still, even after factoring in the third generations."

"Then I shall start twelve more," Shurelia said.

"And I'll have to switch up the unit composition to make up for the losses," Heinrich said. "If I assign three-man units per reyvateil instead of two, we may be able to sustain a few more losses."

"Let us hope the disease does not worsen still further," Leard said.

Heinrich and Shurelia both nodded in agreement.

"As for the highly skilled new recruit, Ayatane, who I mentioned earlier… I was thinking I could assign him and your son to be Lady Shurelia's personal knights," Heinrich said. "Since it will likely become necessary for Lady Shurelia herself to join battle, it is important for her to have skilled defenders."

Leard sighed.

"If Lyner truly has the skill for that appointment, then I suppose I will have to allow it," he said reluctantly.

---

3767 AD, Platina, Sol Ciel.

Leaning on the balcony at Apsaranika Park, gazing down at the Wings of Horus far below, a lone reyvateil stood, her long, silver hair gently billowing in the wind. Though the floating continent below was already cast in shadow, Platina still received the last remnant of the sun's rays. Due to the late hour, there was no-one else in the plaza – even the man who ran a stall selling funbuns had packed up for the night.

The sound of footsteps drew her attention away from the view. It was a man dressed in simple pants and a button shirt, with a long, flowing white coat worn atop it all, falling just past hip level. The coat's shoulders were decorated in the same shade of red that the Knights of Elemia used on their armour, though this man was not himself a member of the knights.

"Is everything prepared, Masticus?" the girl asked.

"Yes," Masticus said. "I have worked out everything you'll need. First of all…"

He handed her a small, rectangular device with a small display screen and a numerical keypad.

"Do you know how to use that?" he asked.

The girl looked at it. "Oh… a telemo?" she said. "Yes, I know how to use it…"

"Use that to keep in touch with me, in case you run into difficulties," Masticus said.

"Thank you, that'll be very helpful!" the girl said. "But it's so far to the lower world… will it really reach all that way…?"

"Of course," Masticus said. "The next item is something to enable you to return to Platina. Though I can temporarily enable the two-way teleporter to send you down, I probably won't be able to do that on your return. Therefore, use this circula teleporter to pass back up through the Frozen Eye."

He handed her a silvery double-ring with a small clamp at one side connecting the two rings and a pair of contacts facing each other a quarter turn away from the clamp.

"You'll need to use a Hymmnos spell to activate it," Masticus continued. "I've written it down on this paper."

He handed her a small scrap of paper, then took out a pendant – a large golden crescent opening upward, with a spherical jewel nestled between the points.

"That necklace will show you the way," he said. "The jewel will resonate with the hymn crystal Soporific, and when it comes close enough, it will begin to glow."

"Understood," the girl said. "Is that everything?"

"Yes, but Sonnet… are you really sure about doing this all by yourself?" Masticus asked.

"The reyvateils are suffering," Sonnet said resolutely. "I can't just abandon them. This hymn crystal will help you treat the reveris disease, right?"

"Yes, it's just that the lower world is full of dangers," Masticus said. "Are you really sure you'll be okay?"

Sonnet smiled, beaming at him.

"You know how strong I am," she said. "I won't be taken down so easily."

"I see," Masticus said. "In that case, there's nothing more for me to say."

"Then, I'm going," Sonnet said.

"Alright, I'll leave it in your hands," Masticus said.

As she turned and headed towards the stairs that led to the symphonic reactor, Masticus spoke up once more, though this time it wasn't loud enough for her to hear.

"It's all for the sake of this world," he said. "For a world ruled by humans alone…"

---

3767 AD, the Sailor Squad's island near Falcon's Claw.

Before she knew it, Eumelia found herself celebrating her twelfth birthday. She'd left the Falcon's Claw region only a few times after her little adventure with Claire, when the squad wished to put her stealth magic to use. But she'd had a lot of fun taking care of the garden, and thanks to the bird calling magic that Elen had taught her, she could summon all sorts of birds to play with, not just monstrous ones, though the largest she had managed to summon thus far was a falcon hawk, which wasn't quite large enough to be ridden. Still, with help from Elen or other bird summoners for transport, there was plenty of time to just explore the Falcon's Claw and, on occasion, interact with the other residents there. As a result, she rarely found herself to be bored, and even made a friend or two.

Still… those visions of the future she'd gained three years ago still gnawed at her constantly. The vision about Claire quitting Tenba after discovering Crew's secret research had already come true, after all. While most new visions that surfaced still pertained to historical events or simple scientific facts rather than future events, there were occasional exceptions.

Recently, several visions about a mysterious disease that only affected reyvateils had surfaced, and those, it seemed, were also starting to coming true. It had been a month or two since Vivian had first mentioned it to her – the disease was called reveris, which meant 'nightmare' in the Hymmnos language, and it caused reyvateils to go completely berserk, burn themselves out, and die. There was no known cure, though there were a few rare cases of reyvateils somehow recovering from the condition.

It matched exactly with what she'd seen in the prophecy, which meant that the cause of the disease was very likely also the same. Therefore, she wanted to help solve the problem; but to do that, she would need to venture out from the Falcon's Claw.

So when Vivian posed the question on her birthday, the answer was obvious.

"So… what do you want for your birthday, Eumelia?" Vivian asked.

"Hmm… well, I'd like to see Firefly Alley," Eumelia said.

"Firefly Alley?" Nicky said. "That's kind of dangerous for us, you know. There's a reason most of our operations are done up on the Wings of Horus rather than in Firefly Alley…"

"Sure, but you should be fine as long as you don't wear those tiaras, right?" Eumelia said. "At least, that's what you told me before."

"Yes, you're right," Vivian said. "And we do go there from time to time, after all. Alright. We'll take you along the next time we go."

"Any idea when that'll be?" Eumelia asked.

"Hmm… should be in a few days," Vivian said. "We need to gather information for our next operation… so we'll drop you off there early in the morning and you can do whatever you want for the day."

"Yay!" Eumelia said. "I can't wait!"

---

So a few days later, Vivian woke her up really early in the morning. Then Elen summoned her rocs, and the five of them all climbed on. They flew to Firefly Alley, landing on the Great Morning Sun Bridge just as the sun was starting to poke over the horizon. Despite being the main thoroughfare connecting the two halves of Firefly Alley, the bridge was almost deserted at this time of day. True to its name, it gave a clear view of the sunrise.

After a quick discussion as to when and where they would meet back up, they then dispersed. Each of the squad had their own role to play in their information-gathering, which meant Eumelia had the whole day all to herself.

First, she spent a few hours just exploring Firefly Alley. There was a lot more to the place than what she'd seen in those visions, as it turned out. Even the bridge hadn't been seen in those visions, only briefly mentioned in passing. She peeked inside a dive shop, but didn't go in since she was still too young for a dive even if she had a willing partner.

When she finally reached Firefly Main Street, she spotted Spica there, selling her candy to a couple of kids. Eumelia waited for the children to run off with their candy, then stepped up to her.

"Spica!" she said.

"Oh my, if it isn't Eumelia," Spica said with a smile. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you."

"And you've hardly changed at all," Eumelia said. "You're just as pretty as I remember."

"My my, you don't need to flatter me so much," Spica said.

"It's not that," Eumelia said with a smile. "I truly think you're beautiful."

Spica giggled. "Well, what can I say? You have a good eye, Eumelia. So, would you like some of Firefly Alley's famous kitty candy? It's only twelve leaf per candy."

What Eumelia really wanted was a grathnode crystal that could reduce the energy needed to activate her stealth magic, so she decided to try the secret code she'd learned from those mysterious visions.

"Who cares about the price, I just want to eat a bucket's worth!" she said.

Spica looked momentarily surprised, then nodded, her face becoming a little serious.

"My my, that isn't peaceful at all!" she said. "Am I to understand that you are looking for grathnode crystals?"

"Yes, please!" Eumelia said.

"Then, let's get down to business," Spica said. "What kind of crystal are you looking for?"

"Do you have any that can reduce the energy needed for blue magic?"

"So, a crystal suitable for install, right?" Spica said. "Let me check my stock."

She rummaged through the box she had with her, eventually coming up with a blue crystal.

"I have a level three crystal here," Spica said. "But it is a little pricy… it's more than eight thousand leaf. Do you have that much?"

Eumelia had been getting an allowance from the squad over the past three years, but hadn't had a lot of opportunities to spend it, and at last count it was approaching ten thousand. She'd actually been hoping to acquire a level four crystal, but she was almost certain she wouldn't be able to afford that anyway, so level three seemed like a good enough compromise for now.

"Eight thousand… yes, that should be fine," Eumelia said.

"Then, eight thousand, six hundred and forty leaf, please," Spica said.

Eumelia pulled out her wallet and counted out the requested value, handing it over. Then Spica handed her the crystal.

"Thank you very much!" Eumelia said. "This will be very helpful!"

"I'm glad I could be of help," Spica said. "I hope to see you again, Eumelia."

"Yes! I'm sure I'll stop by again sometime! See you later!"

Clutching the crystal to her chest, she ran to the nearby Frying Room Shop and Inn, where she headed upstairs to ask if she could use a room for a little while. It was fairly common for people to use an inn for grathmelding but not stay the night, so the innkeeper didn't ask questions and just accepted the meagre day fee to use the room for one hour. Eumelia headed into the room and sat down on the bed, steeling herself for what she was about to do.

After all… installing a crystal was painful.

She took a few deep breaths, then reached back to pull her hair across her shoulder, exposing the install port on the back of her neck. Then she lay down on her front and reached back again, locating the install port with one hand before reaching around with the other hand to press the newly-acquired crystal into it.

Almost immediately she let out a gasp of pain. She almost gave up on it, but she was certain she really needed this, so she decided to persevere. Taking a few more deep breaths, she pushed the crystal in more firmly. It slowly slid in, and she gritted her teeth against the pain. Finally, once it was almost all the way in, the crystal disintegrated in her hand and the pain quickly subsided. A sort of ping entered her consciousness, informing her that the crystal's energies had been integrated into the Sneaky Nick song magic, which meant the install had been successful. She lay there for several minutes more, recovering from the experience. She'd known it would be painful, but actually experiencing that pain was a whole different story. Nothing could have prepared her for it, she thought. And from what she understood, installing diquility once every three months was going to be even more painful, so she wasn't looking forward to reaching the age where that became necessary.

Eventually there was nothing left of the pain but an unpleasant memory, so she sat up with a sigh.

"Well… guess I might as well test it out," she said out loud.

With that, she left the room and made for Caracola Avenue, where an old man had a stall selling trading cards. Next to his stall was a flight of stairs leading down to the power generator, so she descended those stairs, then started to sing.

"Fou paks ga fountaina sii mea dea clare fusya."

There were a few security guards down here, but they didn't even notice her as she walked by. She followed the catwalk until she came to the door leading into Tenba Labs, but by that time her magic was about to run out, so she hurried past it so the guard in front of the door didn't spot her, and stopped to catch her breath and regain some energy at the dead end. The guard fortunately couldn't see her there, and it was far enough that he couldn't hear her breathing either.

All things considered though, the test had been a success. Compared to the last time she'd used her magic, about a month ago, the maximum duration she could handle had significantly increased thanks to installing the grathnode crystal.

As she recovered, she heard the door open, and she froze. Who was it? Should she start singing again so they wouldn't see her? Whoever it was, it seemed the security guard at the door had stopped them for questioning.

"Where do you think you're going?" the guard asked.

"What? I'm hungry, so I'm going to Firefly Alley."

It was a girl's voice. It wasn't a familiar voice, yet something about the cadence tugged at her memory.

"Do you have permission?" the guard asked.

"Of course I do. Just ask the president if you don't believe me."

"From the president herself!?"

"So, will you let me go now?"

"Alright, but you better be back before my shift's over in two hours."

"Fine… if you insist."

The girl emerged into view a moment later. She wore an elaborate blue dress and had her black hair tied in twintails – quite unlike the typical uniform of a Tenba reyvateil. She also had a fancy golden headpiece fixed to the back of her head. Her voice might not have been recognizable, but there was no mistaking the unique outfit of the Star Singer. Though she should have been around fifteen years old, she looked more like a twelve-year-old.

By chance, the girl happened to look to her left and spot Eumelia. She blinked a couple times in surprise, and Eumelia put a finger to her lips. The girl glanced back towards the door she'd just emerged from, then approached Eumelia.

"What are you doing back here?" she asked, keeping her voice soft. "This isn't a place a kid can just casually wander into…"

"That's… I guess I was just practicing my song magic," Eumelia said.

The girl looked confused.

"That doesn't make sense," she said. "If you were singing back here, you'd immediately be discovered."

"Well… it's an unusual type of song magic," Eumelia said. "It can make things invisible."

"Oh, I've never heard of song magic like that," the girl said.

"Want to see it?" Eumelia asked.

"I'm definitely interested," the girl said.

"Then I'll meet you at the card-seller's stand," Eumelia said.

With that, she opened her mouth to sing, and the girl looked startled. Eumelia didn't wait to see the rest of her reaction, instead heading all the way back to the stairs leading up to Caracola Avenue. Glancing back, she saw the girl was also coming, but at a slower pace. Once she reached the stairs, she made sure no-one was around, stopped singing, and then ascended the stairs before pausing to catch her breath.

The other girl joined her a minute or two later.

"So it really is true," she said.

"Of course it is," Eumelia said.

"Um, so… why don't we find a better place to talk?" the girl said. "Actually, we could just go to the bar. It's noisy enough there that no-one would be able to hear us."

"Sure, I was getting hungry again anyway," Eumelia said.

So they headed to the Frying Room and ordered a Huff-Puff Set for each of them, then sat down at a table. Eumelia tried the food, which turned out to be very delicious.

"We should introduce ourselves first… I'm Misha Arsellec Lune. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Eumelia Nestmile, nice to meet you!"

"So, how long can you keep up that song magic?" Misha asked.

"Um… about as long as it takes me to walk briskly from Caracola Avenue to the door you came out of," Eumelia said.

"That's not bad," Misha said. "It's also impressive that you can walk so fast while singing in the first place…"

"Well… I had to practice a lot," Eumelia said. "That magic is most useful if you're on the move, after all…"

"You have a good point," Misha said. "So, I was wondering… would you like to help me out? With that magic, it would be easy to sneak into restricted areas."

"Sure, as long as there aren't too many people around," Eumelia said. "Or maybe if I had some tranquility so I could keep the magic going for even longer."

"The labs usually aren't very crowded," Misha said. "And if you need some tranquility, I'm sure we can find some somewhere. I think this place even sells it downstairs."

"Sounds good," Eumelia said.

"Will you be coming to Firefly Alley often?" Misha asked.

"I'm not sure," Eumelia said. "I guess I'd like to visit often… but it might be difficult."

She would need to be able to summon a bird large enough to ride on before she could freely visit Firefly Alley. She couldn't rely on Elen to transport her all the time – the squad had their own agenda, after all.

"I see," Misha said. "It might be hard to coordinate a meeting time then, right?"

"Yeah, it might be," Eumelia said.

"Hmm… but I go out for a walk almost every day," Misha said. "Say… do you know Spica?"

"Yes, I even bought something from her earlier," Eumelia said.

"You mean her kitty candy, right?" Misha said. "It's cheap and delicious, isn't it?"

Though that wasn't what she'd bought from Spica today, she had tried the kitty candy the previous time they met.

"Ah… yes, it's certainly delicious," Eumelia agreed.

"Then, if you'd like to meet me, just talk to her," Misha said. "Or you could even just wait around nearby and I'd probably find you, most days."

"That's a good idea," Eumelia said.

"Then I'll be looking forward to your help!" Misha said. "This is a little exciting… maybe I can finally find it…"

"I hope you can find whatever you're looking for too," Eumelia said.

---

After parting from Misha, Eumelia got on the tram towards Rocket Plaza, thinking she might be able to meet up with Ilya. Before long, she had disembarked next to the plaza, now filled with people, and she worked her way through the crowds, looking for him.

"Eumelia!"

It sounded like someone had called her name, so she turned to face the direction of the voice, but she couldn't see who had spoken.

"Eumelia!" the voice repeated.

Looking around a little warily, she nevertheless moved towards the voice. Before long, the press of people parted, and she caught sight of the boy who was calling her name.

"Eumelia! It is you, right?" he said. "It's me, Ilya!"

They had been about the same height when they last met, but now he was about half a head taller than her. His voice hadn't changed, however.

"Yeah, it's me," Eumelia said with a smile. "It's good to see you again, Ilya."

"I didn't think it would be three whole years though," Ilya said.

"Well… nor did I," Eumelia admitted. "But there were unavoidable circumstances, so… how've you been doing?"

"Hmm, well… my father's still up to his old tricks," Ilya said. "But he hasn't gotten so badly hurt since that time… and Krusche left last year, saying something about airships or something. Ah, that's the girl who gave me the Carillon Organito."

"I see," Eumelia said. "Speaking of which, do you still have it?"

"Ah, no, I gave it to the reyvateil who'd been chasing us," Ilya said. "I think her name was… Jemi?"

"Huh… a Tenba reyvateil?" Eumelia said.

"Well… she was one back then, but I have no idea if she still is," Ilya said. "The man who was with her apparently died in the Singing Hill ruin…"

"Maybe it would be easier to follow if you tell me the story from the beginning," Eumelia suggested.

So they found a place to sit and spent about an hour discussing their life up to that point. Ilya spoke of the adventure in the Singing Hills, and Eumelia spoke of the adventure with Claire. Besides that, Ilya talked about Krusche a lot, as well as all sorts of interesting things that had happened to him in the past three years. Eumelia on the other hand mostly avoided the topic of that time, as most of it had been spent in the Falcon's Claw with the Sailor Squad. But she did let a few anecdotes slip, to satisfy Ilya's curiosity, and she even briefly demonstrated her new song magic, using it to call over a flock of seagulls.

Eventually, their discussion was interrupted by the sound of an explosion nearby.

"W-whoa!" Ilya gasped. "What was that…?"

"An explosion…?" Eumelia said. "Could that be…"

"Hmm? Do you know what it is?" Ilya asked.

"Ah… no, not really, but… shall we go check it out?" Eumelia suggested.

"Sure, I'm game," Ilya said.

They hurried out from Rocket Plaza into one of the connecting streets, where there were people shouting about the explosion. Another explosion occurred while they were on the move.

"A reyvateil is rioting!" one man shouted.

"This isn't good!" another shouted. "Someone, go call Tenba right now!"

Before long, they found themselves in front of the building that seemed to be the source of the ruckus. As they looked on, a young man with short black hair showed up, banging on the door for a moment. Then he backed up and kicked it down. There was a strange sword attached to his hip, but apart from that he looked little different from an ordinary civilian.

"Kauron!" the man shouted. "Kauron, where are you!?"

She hadn't been quite sure, but calling that name was the final confirmation she needed – surely that man was the man from her visions, Espada. As he called out that name, he headed inside the building.

"Should we peek inside too…?" Ilya asked.

"Let's wait a bit more for it to calm down first," Eumelia said.

"Ah, sure, it could be dangerous," Ilya agreed.

As he said that, someone else charged inside, a green-haired boy wearing a bandana. More explosions were heard from inside. Then, a couple of minutes later, a silver-haired girl in fancy clothes showed up and ventured inside. At this point Eumelia had no doubt at all that they were Adagio and Sonnet from her visions.

"Alright, let's follow her," Eumelia said.

She hurried after Sonnet, and Ilya kept pace with her. The three of them soon emerged into a large room containing what looked like three dive pods. Two of the pods were closed, with reyvateils within, but the third had been broken open. Adagio and Espada were holding off the reyvateil that must have emerged from that pod, who was attacking ceaselessly without mercy. Behind them, another man lay on the ground, apparently unconscious. Eumelia assumed that must be Kauron.

Espada raised his sword, about to deal a killing blow to the rampaging reyvateil. The action elicited a protest from Adagio.

"Hey man, wait!" he said.

Then Sonnet chimed in as well, hurrying forward to join the two of them.

"Wait!" she said. "Please help that reyvateil! She's only being affected by the reveris disease!"

They both glanced back at her.

"We can't even touch her, much less help her," Espada retorted. "That's not a—"

"It's a little rough, but there's a way," Sonnet said. "While she's chanting song magic, hold her attention for a few seconds, and we'll knock her into a coma."

"Alright!" Adagio said. "You handle the finishing blow! I'm gonna take care of the song magic!"

"Hey!" Espada protested.

But there was nothing he could do to stop Adagio from leaping in front of the enraged reyvateil to draw her attention.

"Ilya, do you think you could drag that man out into the hall?" Eumelia asked. "Should be safer…"

Although, she was thinking about her own safety, not Kauron's.

"Ah, the one on the ground?" Ilya said. "Yeah, of course."

While Ilya hurried to drag Kauron out, the enraged reyvateil opened her mouth to chant, summoning a formless ball of symphonic power, and threw it at Adagio.

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge!"

"I won't let you!" Adagio shouted. "Ketora!"

The symphonic power struck a force barrier in front of him and harmlessly dispersed.

"Oh!" Ilya gasped. "That magic…!"

"Alright man, charge in!" Adagio shouted.

As Espada approached the reyvateil from one side, Eumelia opened her mouth and began to sing.

"Fou paks ga fountaina sii mea dea clare fusya."

The enraged reyvateil half turned towards Espada. Eumelia ventured into the fray, aiming to approach her from the opposite side as him.

"Oy, she's looking at me!" Espada shouted.

"I'm on it!" Adagio shouted. "Hatito!"

A flurry of winds drew the reyvateil's attention back to him, and Eumelia unhooked her whip from her waist and flung it such that the lash curled around the girl's neck and pulled tight. With a gasp, she reached up to drag it off, but that gave Espada plenty of time to clobber her over the head with his sword. He shot Eumelia a glare as she stopped singing.

"The hell're you doing?" he asked. "We had it all under control. I didn't need help from a kid, and a reyvateil at that."

"Nice to meet you too," Eumelia said with a smile.

At that moment, Sonnet ran up. Ilya and Adagio were close behind her.

"Ah, um, thank you very much, you two," Sonnet said.

"No need to express your gratitude," Espada retorted coldly.

"Hey, hey!" Adagio exclaimed. "That's right, we haven't introduced ourselves yet! The name's Adagio… Adagio Vitis!"

"Espada Reid."

"I am called Sonnet."

"And I'm Eumelia… Eumelia Nestmile."

"Ilya's the name!"

"Again, thank you very much," Sonnet said. "Um, Espada…?"

"What is it?" Espada said.

"Is that sword there yours?"

"It is," Espada confirmed.

"I won't waste your time," Sonnet said. "Will you please give me that blade? The same phenomenon is happening where I came from. That's why I've come here to stop it."

"And where exactly are you from?" Adagio asked.

"Platina," Sonnet said.

"W-whoa, you're an apostle of Elemia!?" Ilya gasped.

"Um, yes," Sonnet said. "The reveris disease is spreading unchecked… the world is in great danger!"

"I won't hand it over," Espada said.

With that, he turned to make for the door, and Sonnet turned to follow him.

"P-please wait!" she said. "The disease contaminates a reyvateil's cosmosphere…!"

"Espada!" Adagio shouted.

"Please, listen to me!" Sonnet pleaded. "Please, I beg of you!"

"This sword is something very important to me," Espada said. "I won't just hand it over. Besides, reyvateils are none of my concern."

He shot Eumelia a glare, but she just kept smiling back at him.

"Espada!" Adagio exclaimed.

"So, that's how it is…?" Sonnet said.

Suddenly she stumbled, and Adagio caught her.

"You okay, Sonnet?" he asked.

"Y-yes…"

"Huh…? What's that on your hand…?" Adagio said.

"Ah…!" Sonnet gasped. "T-that's…!"

Espada suddenly spun and grabbed Sonnet's right hand, pushing back the overly-long sleeve to reveal a geometric pattern arranged around a central circle, like a tattoo on her skin – her install port. Sonnet squeaked, her cheeks turning red.

"Y-you're also…!?"

Eumelia immediately leapt forward, putting all her strength into her arm and slapping the man backhanded across the face. She probably didn't have enough strength to seriously hurt him, but she hoped it at least stung a little. Startled, Espada turned to face her.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Eumelia shouted. "Do you make a habit of going up to women and flipping their skirts and pulling their panties down!? Do you? Because what you just did is no different than that! How could you force a girl to reveal her install port!? You perv!"

"Who the hell are you calling a perv!?" Espada shouted back.

"Ah… t-thank you, Miss Eumelia," Sonnet said, pushing her sleeve back down.

"Just Eumelia is fine," Eumelia said.

"But whatever. I get the picture now," Espada said. "Our discussion is over. Bye."

He turned and made for the door again, but Adagio darted forward to grab his arm.

"Espada, don't be ridiculous," he said.

"Shut up and let go," Espada said.

Eumelia seized Sonnet's hands.

"Um, Miss Sonnet, was it?" she said. "Don't you think it's a bit much to ask him to hand over the sword without any explanation? Why don't you let us know what you need the sword for?"

"That's… alright, fine," Sonnet said. "I've been tasked with finding the hymn crystal Soporific… and if I'm not mistaken, it's embedded right into the hilt of that sword."

"Soporific, you say…?" Eumelia mused. "Why would you want such a dangerous hymn crystal…?"

"What do you mean…?" Sonnet said. "If I sing that song, it will put an end to the reveris disease…"

"Are you sure you've got the right crystal…?" Eumelia asked. "I happened to see that name in an old document somewhere, but it said it opens a reyvateil's boundary gate… I can't see how that would cure the reveris disease…"

"Y-you must've misread it!" Sonnet said. "My mentor clearly stated that it would be able to put reveris to sleep so that it could be eliminated once and for all…!"

"But even your mentor could be mistaken, right?" Eumelia pointed out.

"N-no way… he's a genius," Sonnet said. "You must've confused it with some other hymn crystal…"

"Hmm… it's possible," Eumelia said. "It's too bad the document was lost, otherwise I could go double-check…"

Since the document in question was actually just another of those mysterious visions, she wouldn't be able to produce it even if asked, so she made up a little story about it being lost.

"Are you quite finished with this farce?" Espada asked.

Shaking off Adagio's grip, he took another step towards the door.

"Then I have no choice!" Sonnet exclaimed.

With that, she opened her mouth to sing a short chant.

"Wee wol ga gyen rre wase wase shen savath elle fwal mea."

A powerful laser beam struck the doorway, causing it to collapse. Adagio and Espada leapt back in surprise as the only exit to the room caved in, expelling a cloud of dust and small debris.

"Without that, there's no way I can return to Platina!" Sonnet shouted. "For everyone's sake, I'll remove all the obstacles at any cost! So, again, I'll ask you one more time! Please hand over that sword!"

"I refuse!" Espada said.

"Fine then!" Sonnet said.

As she was about to open her mouth to sing again, Eumelia slipped behind her and wrapped her hands around Sonnet's waist.

"Stop this!" she said. "We shouldn't fight here! Please consider your surroundings!"

"But I need that hymn crystal no matter what!" Sonnet said.

"So you're going to resort to violence?" Eumelia retorted. "Is that how an apostle of Elemia should behave?"

"T-that's…!" Sonnet gasped.

"The little lady is right," Adagio said. "Calm down and let's talk things over for awhile. Maybe you can reach a compromise."

"Yeah, and that other man looked like he needed treatment, too," Ilya piped up. "Why don't we take him somewhere and then settle down for a talk?"

"I… I guess we could do that," Sonnet said.

"Whatever, I'm leaving," Espada said. "I'm taking Kauron to get medical treatment."

He turned to the destroyed doorway, dragging out enough of the debris to squeeze through.

"Well, let's go," Adagio said. "Come on!"

"R-right," Sonnet said.

Sonnet followed him, as did Adagio after picking up the fallen reyvateil, and Eumelia and Ilya squeezed out as well, just in time to see Espada lifting Kauron over his shoulder and stomping outside. Most of the onlookers outside had already dispersed, so there was no-one to stop the group as they followed Espada to a nearby medical facility.

They had almost arrived at their destination when Sonnet suddenly stumbled and pitched forward. Adagio leapt in to catch her by the arm, while Eumelia ducked in to support her other arm.

"Whoa, what's this?" Adagio asked.

"Are you okay, Miss Sonnet?" Eumelia asked.

"I… I'm fine," Sonnet said. "Thank you for the help… I'm just a touch tired, since I have been travelling for awhile to get here…"

"How long is awhile…?" Eumelia asked.

"I think… it was about… seventeen days ago that I left Platina," Sonnet said hesitantly.

With a little help from Adagio, she managed to regain her feet. Espada paused to look back at them.

"Seems like you're the one I should be carrying over my shoulder," he retorted.

"W-wha— I can walk just fine by myself!" Sonnet said.

"Present circumstances suggest otherwise," Espada said.

Without another word, he turned and headed into the medical facility, and the others hurried to follow them.

"By the way, Miss Sonnet, have you ever met the tower administrator?" Eumelia asked.

"Huh…?" Sonnet said. "How could one such as me even dream of meeting Lady Shurelia…?"

"Why not?" Eumelia said. "Aren't you pretty strong yourself? That light magic earlier was pretty powerful…"

"W-well, yes," Sonnet said. "I have a lot of different song magic, thanks to my dive partner!"

"And you attacked really fast back there too," Eumelia said. "Most reyvateils would've taken longer to sing a song magic like that. At least, most reyvateils down here in the lower world… is it different up in Platina?"

"Um… I'm not sure, to tell the truth," Sonnet said. "I don't know many other reyvateils, even in Platina…"

"I thought there'd be lots of reyvateils in a place like Platina!" Ilya exclaimed.

"Well… there were a lot, yes," Sonnet said. "I'm just not close with any of them…"

"Huh, so loners exist even in Platina, huh…?" Ilya said.

"I'm not…" Sonnet began to protest.

But before she could finish her sentence, she stumbled again, startling the doctor who was presently talking with Espada.

"Ah, are you okay, miss?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just a little tired!" Sonnet said.

"If you'd like, we can do a quick checkup, just in case it's something more serious," the doctor said.

"Huh?" Sonnet said. "Um, I don't—"

"I think that's a great idea, Miss Sonnet!" Eumelia interrupted. "And even if it's just exhaustion, you can take a quick nap while they treat Espada's friend."

"Well… if you insist," Sonnet said.

So they took both Sonnet and Kauron in, settling them down on beds. The other reyvateil was taken to a different room. While the original doctor examined Kauron, another doctor came over to give Sonnet a checkup, but they didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Looks like it really is just exhaustion," the doctor said.

"No chance of the reveris disease…?" Eumelia asked.

"No, there are no symptoms consistent even with the early stages," the doctor said.

The two of them looked at Sonnet, who had laid back and apparently already dozed off.

"We'll just let her sleep for a bit," the doctor concluded. "Fortunately we have no shortage of beds right now."

"Say, could I ask you something?" Eumelia asked. "Do you normally treat reyvateils here too?"

"Of course," the doctor said. "We even have two reyvatologists on staff."

"Do you know a way to, um… suppress reyvateilic signals?"

"That's forbidden, so I'm afraid I can't give you any information on it," the doctor said.

"Ah, I see," Eumelia said. "Sorry to bother you…"

With that, the doctor headed off, and Ilya leaned in close.

"I might be able to help you acquire one," he said. "Something to suppress those signals."

"Huh, really?" Eumelia said.

"Krusche dumped a pile of grathmeld recipe cards on me before she left," Ilya said. "I think I remember seeing one that could be what you're looking for."

"Oh, that's great!" Eumelia said. "I know a good grathmelder, so if I had a recipe card, I could probably ask her to make one for me."

"In that case… I expect she's gonna sleep for awhile, so why don't I nip back and grab it right now?" Ilya suggested.

"Sure, if you don't mind," Eumelia said. "You could do it later if you prefer, though."

"Nah, it beats waiting around for her to wake up," Ilya said. "I mean, I could also chat with you in the meantime, but… it's probably better to stay quiet so she can sleep, right?"

"Good point," Eumelia said. "Then I'll be waiting!"

"Alright, I'll be back in a jiffy!" Ilya said.

With that, he hopped up and ran outside.

---

"So, you alright, old man?" Adagio asked.

He had been sitting between Kauron's and Sonnet's beds the entire time, waiting, and just now Kauron had opened his eyes. Without a word, Eumelia slipped off her chair, startling Ilya who was back to sitting next to her, and ducked under Sonnet's bed. She glanced back to see him staring at her, and pressed a finger to her lips.

At the same moment, Kauron sat up in bed and looked around, his eyes lingering on the sleeping Sonnet for several seconds before turning to face Adagio.

"Yes, I'm feeling fine," he said. "Can you explain what happened…?"

He listened while Adagio explained the flow of events after he'd blacked out. Once the story was done, he nodded.

"I see," he said. "I'm something of a reyvatologist myself, so I could examine Miss Sonnet too, just to be on the safe side."

"Well, I think it couldn't hurt," Adagio agreed. "But even so, you're injured yourself… is that really okay?"

"My injuries are minor," Kauron said with a smile. "I'll be fine."

The doctor came over for a moment to confirm his situation, nodding in agreement when he asked to be discharged. Then Kauron got out of bed, put his shoes back on, and examined Sonnet as promised.

"Didn't you say there was another reyvateil as well…?" Kauron said. "Where is she? I would like to thank her too."

"Huh?" Adagio said. "She was here until recently…"

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped," Kauron said. "Anyway, Miss Sonnet appears to be fine. That fatigue doesn't look like it's caused by an illness."

Adagio let out a sigh of relief.

"That's a relief," he said.

At that moment, Espada stepped back into the room.

"Kauron, you're okay?" he asked.

Kauron turned to smile at him.

"Yes, thanks to your quick thinking," Kauron said.

"Espada!" Adagio said. "It looks like Sonnet's alright!"

"That has nothing to do with me," Espada retorted.

"Don't be so cold, man!" Adagio said. "She helped you, didn't she? So what if she's a reyvateil?"

"Well, I'll leave you young ones to chat," Kauron said with a smile. "The doctor wanted to talk to me, but I'll wait outside for you when I'm done, Espada."

"Hey Kauron, wait…!" Espada protested.

But Kauron ignored him and exited the room. Once she was sure he was gone, Eumelia emerged from under the bed again.

"Huh? Oh, you were there all along," Adagio said. "Why were you hiding under the bed?"

Eumelia glanced at Espada, but he was pointedly looking away from everyone.

"Well… I just felt it was… necessary," Eumelia said.

Taking a seat beside Ilya once more, she muttered the rest of the answer under her breath – the cover story she'd thought up to avoid having to bring up her visions.

"Something about that man Kauron just… I can't really explain it well, but he scares me…"

Ilya blinked at her in surprise and responded in a lowered voice.

"I'm surprised to hear that there's something that can scare you," he said. "After hearing what you did at the Tenba Headquarters… but I didn't see anything off about Kauron…"

"Maybe it's because I'm a reyvateil…?" Eumelia suggested.

"Hmm, I suppose it's possible," Ilya said.

"What are you whispering about…?" Adagio asked. "Ah, look, Sonnet's starting to wake up!"

Sure enough, Sonnet's eyes had just fluttered open. Suddenly she sat up, looking around wildly.

"Sonnet, you're awake!" Adagio exclaimed, beaming at her.

"W-where…?" Sonnet said.

"Did you forget…?" Eumelia said. "You almost passed out from exhaustion, so the doctor let you sleep here. Are you really okay, Miss Sonnet?"

"Ah… right," Sonnet said. "I'm alright… I just needed some rest… that's all, really."

"Hey, Espada, it looks like her throat's dry, why don't you fetch her some water?" Adagio said.

"I'm not your servant," Espada retorted.

But despite the retort, he did grab a glass and fill it with water, bringing it over to the bed. Adagio took it and passed it on to Sonnet, who gulped it down.

"It tastes… nasty," she said.

"That's just what Firefly Alley water is like," Espada snapped. "You'll get used to it if you stay here long."

With that he turned and stalked off, leaving the room.

"Geez, he's so cold around her," Adagio said. "I honestly can't read what's going on with him… and he was all ready to kill that other girl too… he really has a strong hate for reyvateils!"

"His name was Espada Reid, right?" Ilya said. "I've heard of him… he's a pretty well-known adventurer…"

Eumelia nodded. "I think I heard a rumour that reyvateils killed his parents… or was that some other well-known adventurer…?"

"Huh, that's terrible," Adagio said. "Why would they do that…?"

"Reveris," Eumelia said.

Sonnet gasped.

"Oh right, like that girl earlier," Adagio said. "Huh? Wait, but when did that happen…? And how long has this reveris been around…?"

"It's actually been around for quite awhile," Sonnet said. "At least six years, I think? There were occasional cases going back at least that far. But it's only in the last year that it became widespread… and quite suddenly, it seems…"

"What is this disease, really?" Adagio asked.

"The reveris disease invades the reyvateil's cosmosphere and overwrites it, erasing her ego and replacing it with blind rage," Sonnet said. "It can be cured if caught early, at the cost of some memories, but if left for too long there is no recourse. That reyvateil from earlier should be okay as long as she gets immediate treatment."

"How does it spread?" Adagio asked.

Sonnet hesitated a moment before answering.

"We don't know," she said.

"Couldn't it be spreading via the SH server?" Eumelia suggested. "Each reyvateil's cosmosphere is assigned to a random available slot on the SH server, so if it only spreads to adjacent cosmospheres, then it would probably look completely random from the outside, right?"

Sonnet gasped and blinked at her in surprise. Then she averted her gaze as she responded.

"W-what is that…? You sound like you know a lot about this… but I have no idea if any of that makes sense, sorry…"

"Hmm?" Eumelia said. "If it doesn't make sense, why are you averting your gaze from me, Miss Sonnet? Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"N-no, I can't say there is," Sonnet said.

Eumelia tilted her head.

"Are you really sure…?" she asked. "It seems like there's something bothering you… maybe I can help if you tell me what it is?"

"W-well…"

Sonnet looked around for a moment, lowering her voice.

"I don't really understand it but… the investigation in Platina drew a similar conclusion to what you just said," she said. "And… the, um… memory addresses of victims seem to spread out in both directions from a specific initial address…"

That briefly startled Eumelia – she'd come up with the theory based on a lot of pondering, but hadn't expected that Platina would've already reached a similar conclusion through empirical investigation. Similar implied she maybe didn't quite nail it, but to even be close enough that Sonnet, who didn't seem to be technically inclined, could recognize the similarity…

"And I suppose that initial address happens to be where your cosmosphere resides…?" Eumelia said.

"H-how d-did you…!?" Sonnet gasped.

"It was just a guess," Eumelia said. "If it was someone else's cosmosphere, I figured you wouldn't've been quite so reluctant to talk about it. So, was I right?"

Sonnet hesitated, taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh. Then she nodded once.

"Well… yes… b-but I really didn't do anything, honest! I would never do something like that!"

"I believe you," Eumelia said with a smile.

"Huh?" Sonnet said.

"I said I believe you," Eumelia said.

"Yeah, anyone could see you don't have a dishonest bone in your body," Adagio said with a grin. "It's probably just a coincidence. The source of the disease was probably one of those first victims, not you."

"M-maybe," Sonnet said. "Yes, I suppose that's possible… but anyway, because it's spreading so fast, I need the hymn crystal Soporific to shut it down!"

"I still don't understand how that helps," Eumelia said. "If Soporific's effect is to open the boundary gate, wouldn't that just make the virus spread even faster…?"

"N-no, that can't be!" Sonnet protested. "My mentor couldn't have made such a big mistake!"

"Anyone can make mistakes, though," Eumelia said. "Even your mentor."

"Well… sure, but… not on that level!" Sonnet said.

At that moment, Eumelia heard Kauron's voice outside and ducked under the bed again, startling everyone else.

"Ah, please just pretend she's not here for now," Ilya said. "Just humour her, okay?"

"Ah… sure…?" Adagio said, sounding confused.

The man himself entered less than a minute later.

"What will you be doing next?" Kauron asked. "The doctor said there's no reason to keep Miss Sonnet here."

"Well, I think we haven't decided yet," Ilya said.

"Hey, old man, you seem close to Espada," Adagio said. "Do you know why he hates reyvateils so much?"

"Well… he has his reasons," Kauron said. "He wasn't like that before…"

"Huh…?" Adagio said.

"His mother and father were a reyvateil and her partner," Kauron explained. "Stanza and Svelt Reid… they strongly believed in each other. That sword of his is a gift from his father."

"Eh!?" Adagio gasped. "A reyvateil and her partner with strong bonds… did she let her partner do it? Did he dive into her cosmosphere?"

Kauron just chuckled and shrugged.

"So that's why," Sonnet mused.

But then Kauron suddenly turned sombre.

"Those parents were killed six years ago by reyvateils," he said.

Adagio and Sonnet gasped in unison, and Ilya followed a beat later.

"I rushed over, but I was too late to do anything," Kauron said.

Everyone fell silent, and Eumelia could imagine the expressions on Adagio's and Sonnet's faces. Ilya's she could see – he looked distinctly crestfallen.

Suddenly Espada returned, looking slightly annoyed.

"What's taking you so long, Kauron?" he asked.

Then he noticed the atmosphere in the room and blinked at them.

"What…?" he said. "Is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like I'm a wet dog?"

"It's nothing," Kauron said.

Suddenly Adagio leapt up and glomped him.

"Sorry!" he said. "I never realized anything! I thought you decided to be cold and insensitive all on your own! Forgive me, Espada!"

Espada shot a look at Kauron.

"Hey, Kauron, just what kind of stuff did you tell them!?"

"Ahh, it really was nothing," Kauron said. "Just some things about you that were misunderstood."

"And just what was it that you said?" Espada asked.

"I probably shouldn't say," Kauron said, smiling.

Espada sighed and shook Adagio off.

"Alright, I get it, enough already!" he said.

"Anyway, Miss Sonnet, I heard the situation from this young man here," Kauron said, indicating Adagio. "You said you need Espada's sword to cure reveris, but… what do the two things have to do with each other?"

"T-that's…!" Sonnet gasped.

"Not going to say anything?" Espada said.

"Now, now, Espada," Kauron said. "She deserves the chance to explain her case. That's not the right kind of attitude for a girl's partner. Understood?"

He ruffled Espada's hair, pushing his head down a bit, and Espada glared at him.

"And your response?" Kauron prompted. "Hey, I can't hear you."

"Huh, old man Kauron's pretty good at keeping Espada's head down," Adagio noted.

They watched as Espada shook off Kauron's hand. Finally Sonnet decided to speak up.

"Say, um… that sword is a memento of your father, right?" she said.

"If you know that, then why are you so persistent?" Espada asked.

"I apologize for my impertinence," Sonnet said, bowing her head a little. "But I have something important to me too… to protect it, I need you to hand over the sword!"

"You know how important this is to me," Espada said. "Why do you keep telling me to give it up?"

"I know I'm making a selfish request, and you're tired of it," Sonnet said. "But… but I…"

She looked up, meeting his eyes, and quailed under his gaze, her words trailing off.

"Hmm… hey, Espada," Adagio spoke up. "What about your work? Do you take any kind of bodyguard requests?"

Espada turned to look at him.

"Yeah, as long as they pay," he said.

"So how about taking up a job of mine?" Adagio suggested. "That way I don't have to deal with being alone for awhile."

"An escort request, you say?" Espada said.

"Yeah," Adagio said.

"So why is it so important, and who's it for?" Espada asked.

Adagio's smile faltered a little, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Eh?" he said. "Uhh… you won't be miffed if you find out?"

"I'm turning it down if I don't know what it's for," Espada retorted.

Adagio's expression turned serious, and he tilted his head slightly, fingering the bandanna wrapped around his head.

"Well… Espada, hear me out entirely," Adagio said. "I've got a little something to show ya."

With that, he pulled the bandanna free, revealing the horns poking out through his short green hair.

"My full name is Adagio Low Vitis," he said. "I'm on a journey for my coming of age, to find a familiar to protect me. It's a teru tribe ritual. I want you to come along with me, Espada."

There was a pause, as Espada seemed to seriously consider the offer.

"So… you're from the teru tribe?" he said finally.

"The teru are from Em Pheyna, in the middle section of the tower," Kauron mused. "I've heard they can handle and sense supernatural power much better than we can…"

"That's right!" Adagio said. "I'm from Em Pheyna! You see, a teru becomes an adult once he or she finds a familiar to partner with. That's why I want to find one that'll stick around! Ah, of course, that's not all! Of course, I can pay you as well!"

He pulled out a small chunk of rock embedded with a number of sparkly inclusions and showed it to Espada.

"This is… a stone tree fragment…!?" Espada said.

"No good?" Adagio asked.

"No… this'll work as payment for your request," Espada said, nodding. "I'll accept the job."

"Alright!" Adagio said.

"Well then, I have things to get ready," Kauron said. "So I'll see you soon."

With that, he left the room, and Eumelia emerged from under the bed.

"Is it really okay to reveal your identity so easily, Adagio?" Eumelia asked.

Adagio looked at her. "Huh? You two don't seem all that surprised…"

"Well… I already knew," Ilya said. "As soon as you used that ketora or whatever it was…"

Eumelia nodded. "Yeah, I could tell at a glance that that was teru magic," she said.

"I even saw someone else use that exact magic once before," Ilya said.

"Oh, who, who?" Adagio said. "Maybe it's someone I know!"

"Um… I think she said her name was… Lyra?" Ilya said. "Lyra… Lyra Ross, um… I forget the last name…"

"Ah, her," Adagio said. "Lyra Ross Reitel, right?"

"Yeah, that's her!" Ilya said. "Do you know her?"

"Well… not very well," Adagio said. "But yes, I know her…"

"Sounds like you and her don't get along," Eumelia said.

"I wouldn't go that far…" Adagio said.

"Um!" Sonnet said. "Let me go with you too!"

Adagio chuckled. "I was just about to suggest the same thing!"

"Huh!?" Sonnet gasped. "W-what do you mean…?"

"You're still not ready to give up on the whole sword thing, right?" Adagio said.

Sonnet nodded. "It's a memento… I know he won't simply hand it over… and yet…"

Adagio placed his hands on Sonnet's shoulders.

"Well then, let's go together!" Adagio said. "You said you needed the sword, right? And Espada's dead set on keeping it. But y'know, if you come with us, maybe we can escort you back home after I find my familiar. And if we're in Platina anyway, maybe he'll at least let you borrow it for a bit."

"H-hey…!" Espada protested. "Don't go making promises all on your own!"

But Sonnet nodded resolutely. "Alright… then I'll go with you."

"Geez, you got a problem with it?" Adagio asked. "I'm the employer, so what I say goes around here!"

"Ugh… whatever," Espada muttered.

"And what about the two of you?" Adagio asked, looking at Ilya and Eumelia.

"Well… I'd like to travel with you for at least a little while," Eumelia said. "But I'd have to ask my guardian first… and I think climbing the tower is a bit too much…"

"It seems interesting," Ilya said. "I'll ask Dad if I can come with you… but I'm also not sure about actually climbing the tower."

"Alright, then why don't you two run off and do what you need to while we get packing?" Adagio suggested.

"Okay!" Eumelia said.

Ilya jumped up and followed her out of the room. There was no sign of Kauron now. Ilya led her into the underbelly of the city, the dark zone colloquially known as Kitty Town, where he identified one of the houses as his own. She waited outside while he went in to ask his father permission. From his expression when he emerged, permission had been granted.

"He says I can go!" Ilya said. "So, where's your… guardian?"

"I'm not sure," Eumelia said. "We agreed to meet on the Great Morning Sun Bridge in the evening, but it's probably a bit too early to find her there…"

"Well, it can't hurt to check, right?" Ilya said. "Let's go!"

He took the lead again, and Eumelia followed. The bridge turned out to be closer than she expected, and upon arriving at it, she was surprised to see Elen idling beside it.

"Elen!" she called.

The woman turned at the sound of her name and spotted her running over.

"This is your guardian?" Ilya asked.

"Well, one of them," Eumelia said.

The two of them came to a stop by the bridge.

"What's up, Eumelia?" Elen asked. "I was waiting here because I finished early and had nothing else to do, but… there's still a lot of time left before the agreed time, you know."

"I know," Eumelia said. "I was hoping I could find Vivian to ask her something, but I guess you'll have to do…"

"That's rude!" Elen protested. "But alright, I'll hear your question."

"I wondered if it would be okay to go on a short trip with my friend?" Eumelia asked.

Elen blinked. "Well… I think that's a bit of a tough call," she said. "If I knew you could find your way home on your own, it might be a different story, but… you've still only managed to summon smaller birds, right?"

"Ah, yes, that's right," Eumelia said. "Seagulls, hunting falcons, songbirds, an owl or two, and once or twice even a falcon hawk… but nothing large enough to ride on…"

"Hmm, but the truth is, I think you may just be holding yourself back," Elen said. "Tell you what… I'll give you a little test, and if you pass, you can go."

"R-really!?" Eumelia gasped. "Thank you very much! So um… what's the test…?"

"The test is to go to Rocket Plaza and summon a grand vulture," Elen said.

"H-huh!?" Eumelia gasped. "Is… is it really okay to do it in Rocket Plaza!?"

"A grand vulture…? W-wouldn't that be dangerous…?" Ilya asked.

"I think the challenge of being watched should help you make some progress," Elen said. "Of course, it's a little dangerous, but if you succeed in summoning it but can't maintain control over it, there should be plenty of people present who can put it down or drive it off."

"But won't that cause too much of a spectacle?" Eumelia asked. "Wouldn't you prefer to keep a low profile…?"

"What are you saying?" Elen asked. "I'll be watching of course, but it's not like anyone's going to associate me with you – I'll just be another member of the audience. And I think in your case there's no real reason to keep a low profile, is there?"

"Hmm," Eumelia said. "Well, maybe you're right… alright, fine, I'll do it!"

"I'll help you out," Ilya said. "I can try to calm people down when they see a monster, for example."

Eumelia nodded. "Yes, that would be a great help, since I won't be able to do that very easily while singing," she said. "Thank you, Ilya."

"Well then, let's go and do it right now," Elen said. "Good luck, Eumelia."

Elen followed the two of them back to Rocket Plaza, and Ilya identified a good place to sing – a large, slightly raised platform that apparently was commonly used by street performers, but fortunately there was no-one there right now.

A few passers-by glanced at the pair of them as they stood on the stage, and then Eumelia closed her eyes to focus on calling forth the song. She took a few deep breaths, and then, with her eyes still closed, she opened her mouth and sang.

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here."

As she reached the end of the first line, she experienced for only the second time in her life the feedback effect of the tower's song support. The sound of strings swelled around her, seemingly emitted by the very air itself, as if she were surrounded by people playing the fiddle, and perhaps a cellist as well. Then a deep kettle drum joined in, and even a piano and something like a low trumpet… no, probably a trombone? She repeated the second half of the opening line softly like an echo, in harmony with the music, and then moved on to the next line of the song.

"Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi fwal has pat."

She opened her eyes and saw that the seagulls roaming around the fringes of the plaza had begun to approach, gathering around her and arranging themselves in regular formation. Several people gasped in surprise at their behaviour. She felt that she should have been nervous to sing with so many people, but she'd already descended into what she thought of as the 'reyvateilic song trance', a state which muted any emotions not directly related to the song being sung. It was this state that was largely responsible for a reyvateil's power – though a normal human could theoretically perform song magic, on their own they could not amplify the emotions of the song above all else in the way a reyvateil could, which meant all those extra unrelated emotions interfered with the song and drastically muted its power. It might be a different story if they could synchronize with a genom, but that wasn't something the people of Ar Ciel were currently capable of.

As she sang that line, she truly wished for it to come true, for a speedy companion to descend and join her in song. The tower's accompaniment swelled again as she came to the end of the line, and she switched into accompaniment mode, repeating parts of the previous two lines and stringing them together.

"Jass ferx ess here, wi har ffas, wi fwal has pat!"

Then the accompaniment backed off, and she moved on to the next primary line of the song.

"Was yea ra famfa presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare fau ess ciellenne."

This time, she heard her own voice echoing back some of her words in the accompaniment, as if there were two of her singing. The accompaniment swelled as the song emphasized how much she would care for the companion, and again after the line was finished, with her own ghostly voice in the second swell repeating the same words as during the first swell. Right after that, Eumelia launched into the final line of the song.

"Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Again, her own voice chimed in with harmonious interjections from the tower's accompaniment. After that, she paused to catch her breath a little, then launched straight into the second verse of the song. She was just starting on the second line when the flapping of great wings was heard. She looked up to see a lone grand vulture circling over the plaza, and many of the watchers looked up as well. It was a huge bird, about the size of a grown man or perhaps a little larger, with golden underbelly feathers and light brown wing feathers, the head completely bald. Quite a few of the watchers gasped, and it looked like some of the people were starting to panic, but then Ilya took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his voice, cupping his hands around his mouth like a makeshift megaphone.

"Don't be afraid!" he shouted. "Have you not heard the stories? The tales of reyvateils in remote regions who can control beasts with their songs? Well, the rumours are true! You're witnessing it with your own eyes! There's nothing to fear! That bird is not hostile!"

"How can you say that!?" one man shouted from the audience. "Everyone knows that grand vultures are dangerous monsters!"

"But it's true that it's not attacking!" a woman countered. "I heard they were usually pretty aggressive…"

"Now that I think of it, there's only one," another man said, raising a spear to the sky. "Even if it did attack, there are enough combat-ready people here that we'd be able to deal with it in short order."

Eumelia reached the end of the second verse, pausing for breath again, then launched into the third verse. Almost immediately, the grand vulture swooped down to land on the platform right in front of her, the seagulls all scattering at its approach. The creature folded its wings and lowered its head so that its eyes were level with hers. Still singing, she stepped up to the great bird and laid a hand on its beak, rubbing it gently. The great creature let out a sort of crooning sound, in time with the music, almost as if it were singing along. Were she not singing, Eumelia would have immediately smiled at the sight, but she couldn't smile and sing at the same time, and not bringing the song to a proper close could have disastrous results, so she continued to sing, finishing the third verse off properly and finally drawing the song to a close. The sound of the tower's support trailed off as well, fading out for a few seconds after she stopped singing, then vanishing completely.

Silence settled across the plaza, a silence both tense and awed. Eumelia ignored it, smiling at the bird and addressing it in a low voice.

"Say, can I call you Falc?" she asked.

The bird crooned in response.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said.

She stood up on tiptoes and hugged Falc's head as best she could.

"Will you let me ride on your back later?" Eumelia asked.

Again, Falc crooned at her, but this time it also bobbed its head up and down.

"Seems like you can understand me, huh?" Eumelia said. "I'll be looking forward to it, but… could you wait for awhile? I've got some things to do first. I'll call you when I'm ready, so you can just go back to what you were doing for now."

Falc crooned again and bobbed its head, then spread its wings and took off, letting out its signature call just once before wheeling and flying off.

"That was amazing, miss!" one boy shouted.

"Incredible!" a girl shouted.

Before long, she was being showered with similar remarks from the audience. Several of them even offered her small amounts of money, which she did her best to accept with a word of thanks, though she couldn't do that for the people who just tossed it at her feet. Eventually though, the crowd began to move on from her, and she and Ilya knelt down to gather up all the money that had been tossed at them.

As they did that, Sonnet approached through the crowd. She was with Adagio, but Espada was nowhere to be seen.

"That was amazing," Sonnet said. "I heard the song and came to see what it was, but… I never thought it would be you… nor that a monster would appear…"

"Oh, Miss Sonnet," Eumelia said. "Thank you… to tell the truth, I wasn't quite sure if I would succeed…"

"Really?" Sonnet said. "You seemed to be pretty confident while singing, I thought."

"Well, I dunno… was I really…?" Eumelia said.

Sonnet simply nodded.

"But still, I've never heard of song magic that can control monsters," she said. "Is that kind of song magic common in the lower world?"

"It's common in more remote regions, like Falcon's Claw," Eumelia said. "I don't think you see it much in the built-up regions though. You probably wouldn't find a reyvateil in Tenba or the Church of Elemia who can use that kind of song magic…"

She straightened up, tucking all the gathered money into her purse.

"Well, I think it's very impressive," Sonnet said. "You can control such a large bird however you want… it's amazing."

"I wouldn't quite say it's however I want," Eumelia said. "I think it's more like forming a contract… at least, that's how it felt just now…"

"Well, I think it's pretty incredible too!" Adagio said. "Those big guys can get dangerous if they attack in groups, but you tamed it like it was nothing!"

"That's a bit too generous!" Eumelia protested. "That actually tired me out quite a bit, you know… though not as much as my other unique song magic."

"You even have two unique song magics at your age?" Sonnet said. "You look like you're too young to dive…"

"Ah, yes, I think I can dive next year," Eumelia said. "Not that I'm going to, but… you have to be at least thirteen, right?"

"That's right," Sonnet said. "So that means you're only twelve years old and already have two unique song magics… I didn't even have that much at the age of twelve, so you might be even more impressive than me!"

"Oh, come on now," Eumelia said. "I just had a really good teacher… if I manage to get more song magic than you by the time I'm your age, you can praise me then, but… if anything, I think this is more luck than talent."

"Hmm, I suppose it could be," Sonnet said. "But you had someone teach you song magic…? I don't think I've heard of that in Platina… as far as I know, most song magic is crafted by diving…"

"Reyvateils in remote areas often don't even have access to a dive machine, let alone a reliable partner," Eumelia said. "So of course they'd have to find other ways to craft song magic. It's not easy to intentionally craft song magic in the real world, but compared to crafting it in a dive, I think there'd be more of a sense of accomplishment. You actually worked for it, all on your own. Obviously I can't properly compare the two yet though…"

Sonnet giggled. "You have some quite strong opinions on this matter, don't you?" she said. "So are you from a remote region, then?"

"Well, I've lived in the Falcon's Claw for the past three years," Eumelia said. "Before that, I lived in Skuwat village."

"Are those remote regions…?" Sonnet asked. "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the lower world…"

"Falcon's Claw is a place that the airships usually avoid due to monsters," Eumelia said. "Skuwat was one of the furthest villages from the population centre of Nemo. The only place more remote than Falcon's Claw is maybe the area around the Singing Hills ruin…? I suppose Falcon's Claw is technically not that remote, since it's right between Nemo and Firefly Alley, but since airships avoid it, I think it can count as remote."

"Come to think of it, old man Resos mentioned a place called Skuwat awhile ago," Adagio mused.

"Yeah, Tenba and the teru trashed the place three years ago," Eumelia said.

"Ah, um… sorry about that…?" Adagio said.

"Were you in that battle too?" Eumelia asked.

"Of course not," Adagio said. "They won't let me join battles until I've come of age!"

"Then it's not your fault," Eumelia said. "And to be honest, Tenba bears more of the blame than the teru in any case. Anyway, is everything ready to go yet?"

"Ah, I think Espada's just finishing up some arrangements," Adagio said. "We're supposed to meet up at Seagull Port within three hours."

"Then I'll see you there, probably," Eumelia said. "I just have to talk to Elen a bit more first."

"Is that your guardian?" Sonnet asked.

"One of them," Eumelia said. "See you later, Miss Sonnet, Adagio."

"Right, let's get going!" Adagio said.

The two of them turned and headed off, and Eumelia headed for the edge of the plaza where she could see Elen waiting. The woman beamed at her as she approached.

"I had a feeling you'd find it in you if you tried it in front of a crowd," she said.

"Why would you think that though…?" Eumelia asked.

"Well, it's just, I've noticed that you seem to like showing off," Elen said. "So I figured that giving you a chance to show off your magic would be the push you needed."

"Huh… well… I suppose I can't really deny that," Eumelia said. "Thank you, Elen… so, I can go, right?"

Elen nodded. "I'll let Vivian and the others know, but… how long do you think you'll be?"

"Hmm," Eumelia said. "They were planning to search for something, starting in Nemo… and once they find it I think they planned to climb the tower… I was going to split from them at that point…"

Elen nodded. "Yes… I wouldn't agree to you climbing the tower," she said. "You're a bit too young for such a dangerous venture."

Eumelia felt like pointing out the irony there, as Cocona would be a year younger when she eventually climbed the second tower, but… then she'd have to explain about the visions, and it would just get messy.

"So, I think it could be as little as three days," Eumelia said. "But it could be longer, too. I'm not entirely sure."

"Well, we'll look for you in three days," Elen said. "It would make things a lot easier if we could just use a telemo, but… you do have your bird calling, so you could send a message by bird if something comes up."

Eumelia nodded. "One more thing," she said. "Do you think I could get one of these before I leave?"

She pulled out the recipe card she got from Ilya earlier, and Elen peered at it.

"Ah, we've been looking for these," she said. "It's actually very hard to get them… where did you get this card?"

Eumelia hooked her thumb towards Ilya, who bobbed his head and answered.

"Um, a neighbour just dumped a pile of recipe cards on me awhile back," he explained. "I don't grathmeld myself, so they're no use to me really…"

"Well, I'm not sure about getting you one before you leave," Elen said. "Vivian's the melder, not me… but we could see if we can find her and ask."

She turned and led them through the streets, back towards the Great Morning Sun Bridge.

"Is there a particular reason you want it so urgently?" Ilya asked.

"It's about that man, Kauron," Eumelia said.

"Ah, you said he scares you, right?" Ilya said. "Though I didn't see anything off about him myself…"

"I feel like he's hiding his true self behind a mask," Eumelia said. "Though it's a very good mask, which means I can't be certain it's not just my imagination, but…"

"Okay, but how does this item help with that?" Ilya asked.

"I think he said himself that he's a reyvatologist, didn't he?" Eumelia said.

"Ah, he did say that, now that you mention it," Ilya said.

"So if my feeling is right, I feel like it'd be better not to let him know I'm a reyvateil," Eumelia concluded. "And having one of those patches might help with that goal."

They arrived at the bridge and saw that none of the other three were there, so Elen immediately turned away and led them in a different direction.

"But he never said he was coming with us, did he?" Ilya said. "I thought it was just Espada, Adagio, and Miss Sonnet…"

Eumelia shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I wish I'd had this before I met him, to tell the truth. The install port exposes the memory address of my cosmosphere, after all… so it's definitely not a good thing to let an enemy get hold of it. Though I doubt he actually noticed me under the bed, but still."

"I really don't get what you're seeing in him, but if he does show up, I'll help keep you hidden from him," Ilya said.

"Thanks!" Eumelia said. "I can maybe use my song magic too, though for this I'd prefer not to."

"By the way, I heard reveris has hit Nemo particularly bad," Elen said. "So be very careful while you're there, okay? If you see a reyvateil who's going berserk, stay out of her way."

"Of course," Eumelia said.

"Looks like we're in luck," Elen said. "There's Vivian over there, see?"

Eumelia followed her pointing finger and found Vivian talking to a street vendor. Elen waited until she was finished, then stepped up to whisper to her. Vivian glanced at Eumelia and Ilya, then accepted the recipe card from Elen and nodded. Elen then turned to the two of them.

"Well, I'll leave you with her now," she said. "I'll be back at the bridge if you need me for anything else."

"Thank you very much!" Eumelia said.

She headed off, and Vivian stepped up to smile at the two of them.

"Come on, let's get to an inn," she said.

"Do you already have the ingredients?" Eumelia asked.

"By chance, yes," Vivian said. "Looks like it doesn't require any rare ingredients, which is helpful. I can make five of them all at once. There should be a small inn just around the corner…"

She led Eumelia and Ilya to the inn in question and requested a room for grathmelding. The two of them followed her into the room and waited around while she worked, Eumelia watching the process with some fascination.

"Is it really that fascinating…?" Ilya asked.

"I love watching people grathmeld," Eumelia said. "It's so strange how it just fits everything together… it's quite different from watching a reyvateil's song magic, yet I can sort of see the similar principles at work."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Ilya said. "You seem to have a habit of going off on technical tangents, much like Krusche… perhaps the two of you would really get along."

"Sorry about that," Eumelia said. "I do get a little carried away at times…"

"Nah, I don't mind it that much," Ilya said. "I may not understand it all, but the way you smile when you talk about those things is worth it all on its own."

Eumelia giggled. "Aw, you little charmer," she said. "You could easily mislead a girl with statements like that!"

"I was just saying how I felt about it," Ilya said.

"Well, of course you were," Eumelia said. "But I think you haven't really considered how a girl might feel at hearing such words. It makes you sound like a boy in love."

"Uhh, i-is that so…?" Ilya said. "I guess I'll try to think about it better next time…?"

Eumelia shrugged, and they fell silent for a bit as Vivian continued to work. Finally, the work was done, and she produced five small patches.

"It's done!" Vivian said.

"Yay!" Eumelia said. "I'd like to put mine on right away, so could you please leave, Ilya?"

"Huh?" Ilya said. "What for…? It's not like you'd need to strip to put on something that small…?"

"It has to go right over my install port," Eumelia said. "And I'd rather not have even a friend see where that is. Don't worry, I'll only be a moment."

"Oh… I see," Ilya said. "Then I'll wait outside."

With that, he left the room.

"I can wait outside too," Vivian said. "Unless you need my help…?"

"Well, you already know where my install port is, so… yeah, it might be easier if you put it on for me," Eumelia said.

"Sure thing," Vivian said.

Eumelia turned to face away from Vivian, pulling her hair forward over her shoulder, and Vivian stepped up to place the patch firmly atop her install port located on the back of her neck.

"Looks like it's sticking properly," Vivian said. "Alright, the rest of us will do our own later, so you go ahead and have fun with your friends."

"Thank you, I will!" Eumelia said.

With that, she headed out to catch a tram with Ilya to Seagull Port.

---

Hymmnos Corner

In this section I'll provide translations of any Hymmnos passages that occur in the main text.

"Fou paks ga fountaina sii mea dea clare fusya."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_SNEAKY=UNICORN/.
Singer: Eumelia Nestmile
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first line of Eumelia's unique stealth magic.
Meaning: "I shall nervously cover up my secrets with a transparent shroud for a little while."
Credit: Original

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge!"

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME/.
Singers: Unnamed revyateil infected with reveris
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The basic song magic that simply summons a ball of symphonic energy.
Meaning: "Though I'm nervous, I'll injure the enemy so this can end soon."
Credit: Original

"Wee wol ga gyen rre wase wase shen savath elle fwal mea."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_WING=LIGHT/.
Singer: Sonnet (surname unknown)
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first line of Sonnet's light magic.
Meaning: "I shall fervently craft a very intense light, surging forth from my wings to end this quickly!"
Credit: Original

"Ketora! Hatito!"

Speaker: Adagio Low Vitis
Language: Teru Language
Notes: Teru magic words that summon a round barrier and a gust of winds, respectively.
Meaning: "round shield", "winds"
Credit: Translation taken from the Twilight Dreams scanlation of Arpeggio

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here."
"Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi fwal has pat."
"Was yea ra famfa presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare fau ess ciellenne."
"Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_BIRD=CALLING/.
Singer: Eumelia Nestmile
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first verse of Eumelia's bird calling magic. (The first line is technically the refrain.)
Meaning: "Here I wish for a companion and will accept what comes. I'm excitedly wishing for her to be fast, and free of wing. Please let me fly happily through the skies with my greatly beloved bird. Release my soul into happiness so I can journey forever as I please."
Credit: Original

---

With this chapter, I decided to adjust some names to better align with the fact that Sol Ciel is supposed to have a more Western-like culture, in contrast with Sol Cluster which has a more Eastern-like culture. Thus, I'm mostly avoiding words that sound very Japanese; so, for example, "Fu-Rai-Bo" becomes the "Frying Room" and the "Dokkoi Set" becomes a "Huff-Puff Set". I also respelled Karakola Avenue to use C's, as there's a real word with that spelling. I'll update the previous chapter as well with these changes, as well as a fix for improper capitalization in the Carmena Foreluna words used by Dian (capitalization conveys meaning in Carmena Foreluna, so it shouldn't be used to start a sentence).

For this chapter, I went to the trouble of composing an entirely original song for Eumelia's bird calling song magic. Unfortunately, FanFiction hates links like the plague, so I can't link to it here. If you want to listen, you can search for this fic on AO3 and follow the link there.