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.

7. Escape to the Floating Wharf

Once they were finished shopping, they headed back to the power generator. Misha led them all the way back to the bend, where there was a door they'd gone past earlier. She stepped up to it and examined it.

"This… looks like the door," she said.

"This door?" Lyner said. "It looks really old…"

"This door was used for communications when Firefly Alley was first created," Misha said. "But, no-one really uses it now. It's a great little hiding spot. The door has a lock, but it's just for decoration. Let's go! We can't let anyone see us!"

She pushed the door open, and the three of them headed through it, following the catwalk on the other side. It curved around until they ran into a major obstacle – a pile of steel beams blocking the way. They looked like they'd been deliberately stacked there specifically to block access to the passage beyond, and it didn't look like there was enough room left to climb over them.

"A dead end…" Lyner said.

"Oh no!" Misha gasped. "It used to run all the way through… but now it's completely blocked… I guess we can't go this way."

"Damn," Lyner said.

"But there must be another way in," Misha said. "Eumelia, do you have any ideas?"

Eumelia considered a moment. She was pretty sure she remembered something about this in her visions, but she couldn't seem to recall the exact one she needed. With a sigh, she shook her head.

"No… I have this feeling like I should know something, but I just can't remember," she said.

"Then let's go back to the city," Misha said. "I know someone who might know something. We could ask her. I'm sure she could help us somehow."

"Misha… you sure do know a lot of people," Lyner said.

"Hey, I wasn't fooling around when I worked for Tenba," Misha said. "I did it for a reason… come on, let's go find my friend."

They headed back to Firefly Alley, and Misha turned to face them as they emerged near the card stand.

"She's usually selling kitty candy on Firefly Main Street," Misha said. "She wasn't there earlier, but hopefully she's arrived by now… keep your eyes open."

They turned right and made for the main street. Sure enough, Spica was there now, and Misha approached her without hesitation.

"Hello!" Spica said. "Would you like some of Firefly Alley's famous kitty candy?"

"Spica!" Misha said.

"Oh, if it isn't Misha and Eumelia!" Spica said. "It's twelve leaf per candy!"

"That's cheap!" Lyner gasped.

"How many would you like?" Spica continued.

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

Lyner blinked. "Huh? What the hell was that…?"

Eumelia giggled at the look on his face as Spica's expression suddenly turned serious.

"What's happening?" Spica asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, we need to get to Nemo," Misha said.

"Oh my, and I heard that all the flights are cancelled," Spica said. "I can easily get you a forged ticket, but that won't help you if the airships can't fly."

"Yeah, I know," Misha said. "Can you tell me if there's another way to get there?"

Spica looked thoughtful, considering the question, and then Misha spotted Lyner's confused look.

"Oh, Lyner, you've never met Spica before," she said. "She sells kitty candy. And… she's also a special merchant. I know she doesn't look like it, but she also sells rare grathnode crystals. And because of that, she even hears a lot of top secret info."

"It's nice to meet you, Lyner," Spica said with a smile.

"Spica, we don't have much time," Misha said. "Is there another way out of this city? The way you told me before is blocked."

"My oh my, that's too bad," Spica said. "I suppose there is one other way…"

"Really!?" Misha gasped. "Tell me!"

"Well… I'll get in serious trouble if anyone finds out I told you this," Spica said.

"Please?" Misha said. "It's an emergency!"

"If you get caught, you don't even know me," Spica said.

"Of course!" Misha said. "I'll never betray you like that!"

"Okay," Spica said. "Listen carefully. Have you heard the saying, 'the hardest things to find are those that are right in front of you'? Well… it's true. There are places in the power generator that don't quite fit together. They may be parts that have bent, or warped in some way. That's your opening. Those areas are just too damaged. No matter how many times they fix it, another wall falls off. If you go down from Caracola Avenue, you'll find a place like that."

"Really!?" Misha gasped. "We already passed by there today. There were children playing there!"

"Like I said, the hardest things to find are those that are right in front of you," Spica said. "Look carefully at the walls. You'll see that one wall looks awkwardly new. If you blow up that wall, you can reach the pipeline."

"Okay," Misha said. "Where did you hear this from?"

"I can't tell you that," Spica said. "So, now can you do me a favour? Lyner, from now on, can you buy your grathnode crystals from me? I may not look like it, but I do collect high-quality grathnode crystals. You might not need them now… but soon, you'll learn to appreciate all I have to offer."

She giggled.

"I-is that so…?" Lyner said.

"Well then, I'll register you as a member at my store," Spica said. "From now on, when I say, 'It's twelve leaf per candy', you respond with, 'Who cares about the price, I just want to eat a bucket's worth'. Understood? Then I'll show you my stock of crystals. So, come back soon!"

"Um… sure," Lyner said.

"It really is worth your while, Lyner," Eumelia said. "You could probably get a much higher-grade version of the healing crystal from earlier, for example. Of course, that's only if she has it in stock."

"Well, we don't have time right now," Lyner said. "But if I get a chance to stop by again, then I'll check it out for sure."

"By the way, Spica, were you able to obtain what I requested last time?" Eumelia asked.

"Ah, yes, I was able to get my hands on one," Spica said. "It'll be one thousand leaf for the trouble."

Eumelia handed over the cash, and Spica fished out a strange-looking yellow device, which Eumelia carefully tucked into her bag.

"Alright, then let's go to the power generator," Misha said.

They headed back to Caracola Avenue and descended the steps to the power generator. It didn't take them long to find the wall Spica was referring to – there was even a step leading right up to the blank wall, so in retrospect it was pretty obvious.

"So this is the place Spica told us about," Misha said. "The hardest things to find are those that are right in front of you… I guess it's true."

She stepped forward to examine the wall more closely.

"I see what she meant!" Misha said. "This wall is newer than the others!"

"So all we have to do is knock it down, right?" Lyner said.

He tried bashing into it with all his strength, but it wouldn't budge, and he let out a squeal of pain for his efforts.

"Are you okay?" Misha asked. "It might be falling apart, but that doesn't mean we can get through it with our bare hands!"

"I'm sure they at least put their best effort into fixing it, after all," Eumelia said.

"So… do we need to use a bomb?" Lyner asked. "I don't have a recipe card for a bomb though…"

"Plus that would be too loud," Misha said. "Someone might find us and catch us."

She pondered a moment, and then her eyes lit up.

"Ah, I know!" she exclaimed. "We could destroy it using song magic! Green magic would be perfect! I've been to the tower before with Tenba – when I was there I saw a reyvateil blast a wall down with a lightning bolt."

"Wind or fire or ice could work for that too," Eumelia said. "Or a sonic blast… though that one is probably too loud. But I suppose maybe lightning suits Misha better…"

"Oh yeah, a lightning bolt should be quiet enough," Lyner said. "Or any of Eumelia's suggestions. That's a good idea."

"I don't know any green magic though," Eumelia said. "Do you know any, Misha?"

"Hmm, let me try it," Misha said.

She concentrated on the wall and opened her mouth, but no song came out.

"Misha… do you know how to sing that song magic?" Lyner asked.

"No," Misha said with a sigh. "Then we'll have to dive to craft it…"

Lyner sighed. "Then I guess we need to find another way of doing this."

"Lyner!?" Misha exclaimed.

"W-what?" Lyner asked, startled.

"Why didn't you ask to dive with me!?"

"What!? W-well, I guess because… I thought you would refuse…"

"I wouldn't refuse!" Misha protested. "I even told you that earlier! Weren't you listening!? I'll be a little nervous of course… it'll be my first time… but… I was kind of hoping you would kind of take the lead… and insist on diving… or… I don't know…"

"Well… I thought…" Lyner began.

"I think you're expecting a bit much, Misha," Eumelia said. "If you want to dive with him, you can just ask him, you know."

"Fine! Enough already!" Misha said. "Lyner!"

"Uh?" Lyner said.

"C'mon, let's go!" Misha said. "Dive into me!"

"Huh!?" Lyner gasped.

"Or are you saying you don't want to do it with someone like me?" Misha asked.

"What… I never said that!" Lyner said. "I guess I'm okay with it if you are…"

"Then, we're going to the dive shop, right now!"

"But wait!" Lyner said. "Are you seriously sure about this!?"

"Damn sure!" Misha said. "And next time, try asking the girl first, like a man!"

"Misha… come on, that's not fair," Eumelia said. "Lyner was trying to be thoughtful of you, you know. But Lyner, when someone tells you it's okay, aren't you a little too quick to question it?"

"I… I don't think so…?" Lyner said hesitantly.

"Whatever!" Misha said. "Let's get going right now!"

They returned to the card seller's shop, but this time they headed to the left, crossing a bridge. The dive shop was right there on the other side of the bridge, so the three of them headed inside. The imposing dive machine took up most of the room, with two massive pods – one for the reyvateil, the other for the diver. The operator, a short and slightly chubby man with fiery red hair, stood near the junction of the two pods.

"Welcome to the dive shop," he said.

"Sir, we'd like to do a dive," Misha said. "Will you help us? It's our first time."

"Well now, aren't you a bold reyvateil!" the operator said. "Okay, since it's your first time, let me explain how this works. By diving, you can craft song magic inside a reyvateil's mind. Well, actually, you're translating the feelings in her cosmosphere, or mind, into songs. The cosmosphere is filled by her emotions and past experiences. You pick something out of there and craft a song with it."

He turned to Lyner.

"That's your job, buddy," he said. "Think you're up for it?"

"I… I'll do my best!" Lyner said. "But… I can't help but think that it seems like an awful lot of trouble. Is there no other way to craft song magic?"

"Oh, there are other ways," Eumelia said. "But this is the fastest by far. If you're okay waiting about a week or two, we could have Misha meditate to craft it." After a pause, she added, "Or well, this is Misha we're talking about, so she might be a little faster than average… but it would still be several days at best."

"T-that's way too long!" Lyner exclaimed. "Why is it so… so… complicated?"

"Well, as you know, we reyvateils have the ability to realize our feelings and memories and translate them into songs," Misha explained. "But, it's hard to realize it all by ourselves – as Eumelia said, it takes a lot of time and effort to guide diveless song crafting. I've done it before, so I know. By diving, we can craft strong song magic with a minimum of effort, but we can't just open up our minds to anyone."

"So, they need reliable partners, you see?" the operator said.

"That's right," Misha said.

"Also, the more a reyvateil opens her mind to a partner, the deeper that partner can see into her," the operator said. "The deeper into the mind, the stronger the feelings will be to craft more powerful songs. So, it's important to bond with a reyvateil."

"Lyner…" Misha said.

"Y-yes?" Lyner said.

"I'm ready!" she said. "Please be careful!"

"O-okay," Lyner said. "I'll try my best!"

"And don't think you have to stop with just the one song magic," Eumelia said. "I've heard that time moves more slowly inside the cosmosphere, so just take your time and do as much as you can."

"G-got it," Lyner said.

"Right then, since it's your first time, that'll be two hundred leaf for a level one dive," the operator said.

Lyner handed over the money, and then the operator pressed a button that opened up the two pods.

"The reyvateil gets into this one," he said, tapping the one on his right, or Lyner and Misha's left. "The diver gets into the other one. Let me know when you're comfortably settled in, and we can get the dive started."

They climbed into the pods, Eumelia standing back and just watching.

"I think I'm good!" Lyner said.

"Y-yes… I'm… ready to go!" Misha said.

"Got it!" the operator said. "Alright… I'm starting the dive!"

He pressed another button, which caused the two pods to close up, and then an array of lights lit up all over them.

"While we wait for them to come out, could I recrystallize something?" Eumelia asked.

"Sure thing," the operator said. "What've you got?"

She took out the card she'd purchased earlier and handed it over.

"Ah, those cards," the operator said. "It's not often I see people recrystallize them… are you sure?"

"Yes, I don't need it," Eumelia said.

"Alright then, but there's no going back, so don't say I didn't warn you," the operator said. "It'll be a hundred leaf."

Eumelia dug out some cash from her bag and handed it over.

"Thank you," she said.

While keeping an eye on the screens monitoring Lyner and Misha in the dive, he stuck the card into the recrystallization machine and set it running. A minute or two later, a grathnode crystal popped out of the slot at the bottom, which he handed over to her. Then Eumelia settled down to wait for the dive to finish, pondering everything that had happened today.

The real Lyner was pretty much exactly the same as the one in those visions, and on top of that, everything she remembered had happened almost exactly how she'd seen it. She herself hadn't been in those visions, but forcing herself in hadn't been enough to change the flow of events to a drastic degree. The information about the shoddy wall had been in those visions too – if she'd only just remembered it, they wouldn't've had to waste time diving. That said, powering Misha up couldn't be a bad idea either – it'd make their journey easier if she could craft some powerful songs.

Ever since she first received these visions, Eumelia had wondered whether they were truly oracular, or if they might just be a figment of an active imagination. But one after another, she'd seen them come true. The attack on Skuwat village, the little adventure with Claire six years ago, the adventure with Sonnet three years ago, and now this situation with Lyner. She considered that sufficient proof that they were, in fact, visions of the future, which meant that from now on she'd be relying on them to predict the future.

She still didn't understand why those visions had suddenly come to her like memories of another life, but… that didn't seem particularly important. What was important was to decide how to act upon them. Of course, if she did nothing, things would probably work out, but she didn't like that idea. What was the point of having these visions if she didn't use them to find an even better outcome? She'd already managed to save Jessamine, and while Sonnet's ultimate fate was still uncertain, she'd definitely made a difference there. Surely there was yet more she could do. That was why she'd gone to such lengths to obtain a boltapolta, after all.

Eventually the pods opened up again, and Misha and Lyner both climbed out.

"Is everything okay?" the operator asked.

"Yes, I think so," Misha said.

"I think so too," Lyner said.

"Excellent," the operator said. "It seems you completed a paradigm shift, so take this card."

He handed over a card that he'd just punched in one of the machines at his monitoring station.

"Show that at any dive shop, and they'll know you're ready for level two," he said.

Lyner took the card, looking a little nervous.

"Um… h-how did you know?" he asked. "Were you… watching?"

"Of course not," the operator said. "But my instruments recorded the occurrence of a shift. I have no idea what you did to cause it, but I can clearly see it happened."

"Ah… okay then," Lyner said.

"Are you going to stop at one level?" Eumelia asked. "I don't think we're all that short on time… you could do another level or two if you really wanted to."

"If you do want to, just let me know," the operator said. "But I would recommend waiting at least an hour between dives, to avoid problems. And if I have to yank you out because you were rushing too much, there's no refund."

"What!?" Misha said. "We don't have an hour!"

"Well, I think we have more time than you think," Eumelia said. "But I won't try to force you…"

"But do we really have to wait an hour…?" Misha asked.

"It's just a recommendation," the operator said. "It gives you some time for the changes caused by the dive to settle down. It's not very common, but we've had cases where a diver almost died because he tried to go back in right away. Even if you don't want to wait a whole hour, I would strongly recommend giving it some time."

"Well… I don't mind if you're up for it, Lyner…?" Misha said.

"Um… do we really have time for that, though?" Lyner asked.

"I really do think we can spare enough time for another dive, maybe even two," Eumelia said. "I estimate we should have at least a day or so before Tenba or the church manage to put together enough forces to end the blockade. Your dive only took about fifteen minutes, so if a second one is about the same, then there should be no problem… and it can never hurt to have more song magic to choose from, right?"

"I suppose it also might be nice if I could craft a spiritual shroud," Misha mused.

"Okay… that's a pretty convincing argument," Lyner said. "But the operator recommends to wait…"

"I get that," Eumelia said. "But he also said it's not common for problems to occur… still, if you want to give it just a bit more time, why not chat a little while I run over to get some kitty candy? You can start the dive after I get back."

"Oh, that sounds good!" Misha said.

"Okay," Lyner said.

So Eumelia headed outside and made her way over to Firefly Main Street, where Spica was still selling her candy.

"Oh, you're still here, Eumelia?" she asked.

"Not for long," Eumelia said. "But yes, I am."

"Would you like some kitty candy?" Spica asked. "It's only twelve leaf apiece."

"Gimme a dozen," Eumelia said.

Spica nodded. "That'll be one hundred and forty-four leaf," she said.

Eumelia handed over the cash and received a small paper bag containing twelve of Spica's candies. Then she made her way back to the dive shop and offered them to Lyner and Misha.

"Oh, this is pretty good," Lyner said.

"It is, isn't it?" Misha said. "Alright, mister, can we start that second dive please?"

The operator nodded. "For a level two dive, it'll be three hundred leaf," he said.

They handed over the money and climbed back into the pods. Eumelia sat back to wait again.

It took a bit longer than the first dive, but eventually the two of them emerged from the pods.

"How'd it go?" Eumelia asked.

"Well… I seem to have crafted an analysis-type green magic," Misha said. "So that could come in handy later on… but it seems I didn't craft a spiritual shroud."

"Sorry… what's a spiritual shroud, exactly?" Eumelia asked. "Vivian never mentioned anything like that…"

"Um… I think it's something like a special magical costume," Misha said. "It can have all sorts of effects, too."

Eumelia nodded. The terminology was unfamiliar to her, but she did know of them from those visions. She also knew from those visions that Misha should be able to craft one in the third cosmosphere level.

"I see… then personally, I think the possibility of one makes a third round worthwhile," Eumelia said. "Though we should probably take another short break… how about letting Ilya know the situation and then coming back?"

"Think you can take care of that yourself?" Misha said. "I don't know him that well yet, anyway…"

"Yeah, sure," Eumelia said. "Alright, I'll see you again soon."

With that, she headed outside and made her way towards Rocket Plaza, where Ilya usually hung out. He found her before she found him, calling her name, and she spun to face him as he approached.

"Eumelia! I didn't realize you were still in town," Ilya said. "And from the rumours, I guess you'll be staying awhile longer too, right?"

"You mean the guardians, right?" Eumelia said.

"Yeah, even though you have your own means of transport, I'm sure they'd go after your birds too," Ilya said.

"Well, I actually came to let you know I'm planning to leave town," Eumelia said. "Misha and I broke someone out of Tenba Labs, and we need to get him out of here before he's found."

"Ah, you did mention something about that last time," Ilya said. "But how're you going to leave? Planning to risk flying anyway?"

Eumelia glanced around, keeping her voice low.

"No, we're going to follow the pipeline to the tower, then climb up to the Floating Wharf," she said.

Ilya blinked at her.

"That's a really strange coincidence," he said. "Because you're the second one to say that today."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, a couple of hours ago, I ran into Krusche again," Ilya said. "She said she was planning the same thing. Is the pipeline really that easy to access…?"

"No… in fact, the corridor was intentionally blocked off," Eumelia said.

"Could that be because they noticed Krusche using it?" Ilya suggested.

Eumelia blinked. "You know… you might be on to something there," she said.

"But if it's blocked off, how will you get through?" Ilya asked.

"We found another way in, which we're going to try," Eumelia said. "A shortcut, so to speak, which will bypass the blockaded corridor."

"Okay, well… good luck!" Ilya said.

"Thank you!"

With that, Eumelia headed back to the dive shop. When she arrived, she found Misha and Lyner just getting out of the pods.

"Ohh, you went ahead and did the dive while waiting for me, huh?" she said.

"I figured we might as well," Misha said. "Anyway, it seems I did manage to craft a spiritual shroud this time. I hope it's not something pervy…"

"W-what are you talking about?" Lyner asked. "What is a spiritual shroud, again?"

"Didn't we just talk about it before the dive? It's something like a magical costume," Eumelia said. "It'll probably be whatever Misha was wearing in your latest dive."

"Ah, well… I wouldn't call that pervy," Lyner said.

"Hey, you're not supposed to talk about what happened in the cosmosphere!" Misha said.

"Huh? I didn't think that counted as talking about it," Lyner said. "Especially if you're going to wear that in battle…"

"Well… I'll try it out at least once," Misha said. "But if it's pervy then I'm not gonna wear it again!"

"Alright, let's get going then," Lyner said.

"Come back again sometime!" the operator said.

The three of them exited the dive shop and crossed the bridge again.

"By the way, Eumelia, I was wondering – what was that thing you got from Spica earlier?" Lyner asked.

"Oh, do you mean the boltapolta?" Eumelia asked.

"Is that what it's called?" Lyner said.

"Yes, it's an item that releases symphonic power," Eumelia said.

"So, um… what would you need something like that for?" Lyner asked.

"Well, I was exploring an old ruin awhile ago," Eumelia said. "And it looked like there was a port that might react to symphonic power. It could be a secret door or something… I just wanted to check it out when I had some time. There could be something really valuable hidden inside!"

"Do you think there might be a hymn crystal there?" Lyner asked.

Though Eumelia already knew the ruin in question contained a hymn crystal, she didn't see any need to let Lyner know about that. It wasn't the specific hymn crystal he needed, anyway.

"It's possible," Eumelia said. "I won't know until I try it."

"Well, here's hoping," Lyner said.

They descended back into the power generator and approached the new wall.

"Alright," Misha said. "Let's open this with the green magic I just crafted."

She turned to face the wall and opened her mouth to start singing.

"Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

As she sang, a continuous arc of lighting connected her with the wall, the heat slowly building up until the wall cracked and crumpled before their eyes.

"I did it!" Misha exclaimed. "It's open!"

"Good job!" Lyner said. "Let's go!"

They clambered through the new hole in the wall and found themselves in another corridor.

"Now it's my turn to shine," Eumelia said.

Grabbing Lyner's and Misha's hands without hesitation, she opened her mouth and began to sing her stealth song. Lyner gasped.

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

"E-eumelia!?"

"She needs physical contact to make the magic affect us," Misha said. "Let's take advantage of it and hurry! Her magic won't last that long!"

They hurriedly followed the path, and before long the stealth came in handy. At the fork ahead, there were two guards waiting, but thanks to Eumelia's stealth magic, they were able to slip by undetected and pass through the door beyond. Once the door had closed behind them, Eumelia stopped singing with a gasp.

"That was close!" she said. "My magic almost didn't last…"

"It was super helpful though," Misha said. "We got by those guys easily."

"And because we slipped by unnoticed, they won't be able to let Bourd know we're escaping," Eumelia said. "That should make things easier later on, too. Or at least, I hope it does… if they find the wall we destroyed, they might still realize what we've done."

They headed up the step and through the next door, emerging onto the pipeline. Lyner took a few steps forward before realizing that Misha hadn't moved an inch after the door closed behind them. He turned to face the girls.

"Misha? What's wrong?" Lyner asked.

"W-well, honestly… I'm… afraid of heights…"

"Really?" Lyner said. "You!?"

"Yes," Misha said. "I didn't think the pipeline… would be this narrow…"

She collapsed to her knees.

"L-lyner… will you… hold my hand?"

"Uh, yeah, of course," Lyner said. "But are you really gonna be okay?"

"I think so, yes," Misha said. "Just don't let go of my hand!"

"Okay, I won't," Lyner said.

"I mean it!" Misha said. "Do you promise? If you let go, I'm gonna grab you!"

"Okay, I get it!" Lyner said. "I won't let go."

He came back and offered her a hand. Misha accepted it and managed to stand up again.

"Hmm… what's up?" Misha asked. "You look… bemused…"

"I'm just surprised that you're scared of something," Lyner said. "I mean, I thought you were the girl who could do anything without even flinching."

"Are you disappointed?" Misha asked.

"Huh? Not at all," Lyner said. "I think it's cute that you have at least one weakness."

"Hmph," Misha said. "Well… let's go."

"You really are impossibly kind, Lyner," Eumelia said. "But don't get a big head over it. Even if you're really kind, I still won't let you dive into me!"

"Huh? I wasn't asking you to though," Lyner said. "If you don't want to do it, then that's fine. We won't do it, then. Though if you change your mind, I guess I wouldn't mind."

"I won't change my mind!" Eumelia said. "I only want Spica to dive into me!"

"That… that seems like it's gonna be a tough sell," Lyner said. "Spica doesn't seem to be the type of person who'd be into that… plus she's a girl."

"Well yeah, she's turned me down at least twenty times already," Eumelia said. "But I won't give up!"

"T-twenty times!?" Lyner gasped. "That's a lot! I really think it'd be better to give up and find someone else!"

"Well… I'll consider it, if I meet someone good enough," Eumelia said. "But until then… I'll keep asking her."

They followed the pipeline until it finally connected with a vegetated area attached to the main tower. Before long they found some houses and fields, as well as the girl from the power generator – Krusche. She seemed to be facing some kind of flower monster, practically right in front of one of the houses. The house was clearly lived in, with a wisp of smoke emanating from the chimney, and a well-tended field out front, but there was no sign of the occupants.

"Ugh! Blast it!" she groaned. "Motor skills… failing…"

"Hey!" Lyner said.

"It's that girl we met before!" Misha exclaimed.

He hurried forward to place himself between Krusche and the flower monster, drawing his sword.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh… who's there…?" Krusche asked. "Is that you… Luke…?"

"Luke…? No, that's not my name," Lyner said. "What are you doing here?"

"Lyner, you can ask questions later!" Misha said. "First we have to beat this thing!"

"Oh, right, sorry," Lyner said.

"Be careful," Krusche said. "After we attack this guy, it'll recover straight away. It recovers too quickly for me, so my attacks are pretty useless!"

"What!?" Lyner gasped. "Then this battle will never end!"

"Don't worry, Lyner!" Misha said. "Let's take it out in one shot with my song magic! If you increase the ambience field, it'll greatly boost the effect of my magic!"

"The ambience field…?" Lyner said. "I don't quite remember what that was…"

"Ugh, I can't believe you!" Misha groaned. "Have you even studied at all!?"

"Um… it's related to harmonics, right?" Lyner said. "I remember that much. By timing my attacks to the beat of your song, the power of my blows greatly increases."

"Yes, it's sort of an extension of that," Misha said. "The ambience field is something that comes into play when there are two or more defenders on the front line. In addition to timing your attacks with the beat of my song, the two of you also need to alternate your attacks on each target, all while still keeping within the constraint of the song. By doing that, the ambience field around the target will be boosted, which in turn amplifies the power of any song magic that affects it."

While Misha was explaining, the flower monster darted at Lyner and tried to bite him. Lyner swung his sword at it, batting the thing back, and then it let out a puff of spores, the wound immediately closing up.

"That sounds like something that would be easier if there were two enemies," Lyner said.

"You've got that right!" Misha said. "You could both attack at the same time if there were two. But there's only one here, so take turns attacking."

"I'll help too," Eumelia said, unhooking the whip from her belt. "Let's attack in the order Lyner, me, Lyner, new girl. That'll give you a little bit of time to recover."

"Guess I can manage that," Krusche said. "Thanks for thinking of me."

"So can you do that, Lyner?" Misha asked.

"Of course!" Lyner said.

"Wee apea ra chs genom oz hymmne," Misha chanted.

With those words, an elaborate pink dress appeared on her with a flash. It even had fake white wings attached to the back, and Eumelia privately thought it looked a little tacky. In any case, she stepped forward to join the front line as Misha began to sing.

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge."

The three of them kept attacking the flower, but every time it regenerated almost instantly. But Eumelia could sense the harmonic energy flowing through the fight, flowing through their weapons and concentrating around the flower. After about three rounds, totalling eight strikes, it seemed to reach a peak.

"Alright, I think it's ready now!" Lyner said.

With that, Misha unleashed the full force of her red magic on the flower. The resonance of the ambience field amplified the effect, practically shredding the flower into tiny pieces. With the monster dead, Misha also deactivated her spiritual shroud, reverting to her regular outfit.

"W-whoa, this power is awesome!" Lyner gasped.

"The field gets wider as you have more people," Misha said. "And if you can get it to a peak, it'll more than double the effect of my song magic."

"That's also why I joined the front line," Eumelia said. "To widen the field and make it more effective."

Misha nodded. "Right!"

"Huh, but aren't you a reyvateil?" Lyner said. "I didn't expect you to use that whip for fighting…"

"I grew up in the Falcon's Claw, so learning self-defence was a must," Eumelia said.

"Well anyway, that was pretty close," Lyner said.

At that moment, a man burst out from the nearby house, waving something.

"I finally found the herbicide!" he exclaimed. "Ah… it's already dead…?"

"Seems like it," Krusche said. "But thanks for trying. These guys killed it for me."

"Ah, that's no problem," the man said. "It would've become a nuisance to me as well if I'd left it."

"I suppose those creatures are just a nuisance to everyone, huh?" Lyner said.

Krusche turned to face him and the others, while the man nodded and took his leave, heading back inside.

"Huh, it's you guys from earlier," Krusche said. "So it wasn't Luke. Of course… it's never Luke…"

"Luke?" Lyner said.

"Forget it," Krusche said. "Thanks. Guess that's what I'm s'posed to say, right?"

"That's pretty rude of you!" Misha said. "We just saved your life!"

"Coulda handled it myself," the girl grumbled. "B'sides, I never asked for help."

"I can't believe you!" Misha gasped. "You were passing out when we showed up…"

"That's enough, you two," Lyner said. "Let's just be glad that no-one's hurt. Out here, we could all use a little help."

"Hmph," Misha said.

"Now, why don't we introduce ourselves?" Lyner said. "I'm Lyner."

"Krusche," the girl said.

"This is Misha," Lyner said.

"Nice to meet you," Misha said, still sounding a little annoyed.

"And I'm Eumelia. It's an honour to meet the one who invented the Carillon Organito."

"W-where did you hear that from!?" Krusche gasped. "That's ancient history now… and it was just a prototype anyway. It didn't even work properly…"

"That's a secret!" Eumelia said.

"So… where are you from?" Lyner asked. "You don't look like you're with Tenba…"

"Oh yeah, you ran away from the guards earlier," Misha said. "Did you do something bad?"

"I don't have to take this from you!" Krusche said. "All I did was enter a restricted area! I was trying to get some parts for an airship…"

"What!?" Lyner gasped. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"How so?" Krusche asked. "You guys were in the restricted area too."

"Yeah, well…"

"So, what are you doing out here?" Misha asked.

"Couldn't take an airship from Firefly Alley, so I'm hoofing it to the Floating Wharf," Krusche said.

"N-no way… you're going to climb the outer wall!?" Misha gasped.

"That's right," Krusche said. "Got a problem with that?"

"Are you kidding?" Misha said. "You look so frail! If you climb the tower wall, you'll die for sure!"

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that!" Krusche protested. "You look way more frail than me…"

"Huh!? I'll be just fine, I have Lyner to protect me… and Eumelia too."

"Well then, I want Lyner to protect me too," Krusche said.

"Hmph! You barely even know him!" Misha said.

"Okay, okay, calm down girls," Lyner said. "Krusche, why are you going to the Floating Wharf?"

"I need to pick something up near there," Krusche said.

"Getting there won't be easy," Misha said. "There are guardians up in the sky. Their job is to attack people. And we don't even know if the Floating Wharf is safe."

"I don't care if it's safe," Krusche retorted. "I gotta go there."

"Sounds like you really need to get up there," Lyner said. "So why don't you come with us?"

"Lyner… what are you doing!?" Misha gasped.

"We're all heading up there, anyway," Lyner said. "It'll be safer for all of us to help each other out."

"I… I guess that's true," Misha admitted. "But…"

"There, problem solved!" Lyner said. "What do you say, Krusche?"

"Sure, I guess," Krusche said.

"Then, how about we have lunch before we get started?" Eumelia suggested.

"Oh right, the Huff-Puff Sets we picked up earlier," Misha said. "And we even have an extra!"

"Well, I suppose I could use some food," Krusche said.

So they settled down and pulled out the Huff-Puff Sets. They were still barely lukewarm, which hurt the flavour a little, but they still tasted pretty good – especially right after a difficult battle. Krusche and Eumelia wolfed theirs down, Lyner ate at a more normal pace, and Misha was slow but steady. Once she was finished, Eumelia took a good long drink from her water bottle.

Once Misha was finished eating, they packed everything up and began to head uphill. The path passed by several more houses, then wound upwards through a cool, dark forest. Some rays of sun still shone down through the gaps in the leaves, however, creating a pretty rippling light effect on the forest floor. Eventually, the path flatted out on a plateau.

"Well, I think this is a good place to camp," Krusche said. "It's starting to get dark already."

"What do we have to eat, anyway…?" Misha wondered.

"All I have is some dried meat and fruit," Eumelia said. "And some kitty candies. What about you guys?"

"I… don't have anything," Lyner said.

"Me neither," Misha said. "We should've bought twice as many Huff-Puff Sets back at the shop…"

"I don't have any food left on me, but I do have a pot and a fire-starter, if that helps," Krusche said.

"Well, I guess we can use some of the meat to make a basic soup," Eumelia said. "There should be some wild herbs or vegetables around here to spice it up… I'll go see if I can find anything, while you guys get the water going."

She dug out a packet of dried meat and separated out three strips.

"I think this should be enough," she said. "If possible I'd recommend shredding it as small as possible but… that might be kinda tough, so don't worry too much if you can't. I'll be back soon!"

"Wait!" Lyner said. "What if you run into a monster?"

"I've got my whip with me," Eumelia said. "And if that's not enough, I can call Falc for backup. Don't forget, I've been living on Falcon's Claw. This is nothing for me."

So while the others got a fire going, Eumelia headed into the nearby woods to find edible wild foods. She found some mushrooms that she knew were edible, some edible wild greens that had a strong aroma, and some tubers that were similar to a turnip. Fortunately, she didn't run into any monsters, and before long she had returned to the camp.

The others already had a roaring fire going, and Lyner appeared to be doing some grathmelding. It looked like he was making tranquility. The pot had been filled with water and was already boiling fiercely, and it looked like they'd already put the dried meat in to soften it up as well.

"You know, I'm so glad you can make tranquility," Misha said. "It lets me feel a little relieved."

"Don't worry about it," Lyner said. "I can feel relieved when I fight because you sing for me. It's only natural I should be able to make it."

"Really?" Misha said. "But I like the ones you make more than the ones we buy at the store. It's filled with your love."

Eumelia snorted with suppressed laughter at that comment, and Krusche also seemed to find it amusing. Misha noticed this and glared at them.

"What are you two laughing at!?" she protested. "It's true, I'm sure of it!"

"Well, that aside, it's definitely good to know that Lyner can make it," Eumelia said. "That stuff is actually pretty expensive."

With that, Eumelia got to work on cooking. She wiped the dirt off the tubers, taking out a knife to quarter them before tossing them into the pot. Then she carefully sliced the mushrooms and added them. Finally, she chopped up the herbs as finely as she could on a flat stone and dumped those in as well.

"You're pretty good at this, aren't you, Eumelia?" Lyner said. "You seem like you've cooked a lot…"

"Well… I was alone a lot of the time, so I had to look after myself," Eumelia said. "I can't promise the taste, but… I think it should come out alright."

"Hmm, I can't wait to try it!" Lyner said.

They sat back to wait for the meat and tubers to cook, and after perhaps half an hour, Eumelia sampled it and declared it ready. So, they took the pot off the fire and scooped it into bowls, drinking it slowly since they somehow didn't have any spoons.

"This is really delicious!" Lyner said.

"Yeah, it's almost as good as the Huff-Puff Set!" Misha said.

"I wouldn't go quite that far," Krusche said. "But it is pretty good."

"T-thank you!" Eumelia said. "I'm happy I could be of help to you guys…"

Once the meal was finished, they washed up, and Krusche pulled out a tent and got it set up. The girls crowded into the tent, but Lyner insisted on sleeping outside on the grass. After a few minutes, Misha got up and poked her head outside. Eumelia rolled over to listen in on her.

"Lyner, are you still awake?"

"Yes, what is it?" Lyner responded.

Misha stepped out with a smile and a giggle. "Good night," she said.

"Misha? What's up? It's so late."

"Huh? I just felt like talking to you," Misha said. "I haven't seen you for awhile, so… for me anyway…"

"Huh…?" Lyner said.

"Well, you might be able to remember me if we talk, you know?" Misha said.

"Hey, you're right!" Lyner said.

"You think so too!?" Misha said. "Then we should talk like this sometimes!"

"Alright," Lyner said.

"If there's anything you want to talk about, let me know," Misha said.

"I see… but that said, I don't think it's a good thing for you to come to my room so late at night," Lyner said. "Though I guess it's not exactly a room today… but still…"

"Why not?" Misha said. "We're only having a conversation. There's too many things going on during the day, and we're so busy. It makes me happy to be able to talk to you. And there are so many things I want to talk to you about, since we've been separated for so long."

"I guess you're right," Lyner said. "But we should be sure to finish up early so that you can get enough sleep."

"Hey!" Misha complained. "Don't treat me like a kid!"

"Well, I need to get enough sleep too though," Lyner said. "I've been tired every day since I got to the world… there's barely been any time to rest. And tomorrow's probably gonna be a busy day too…"

"I see," Misha said.

"By the way, I was wondering something," Lyner said. "How did you meet Spica?"

"Spica?" Misha said. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, it's not that easy to make friends with people who sell those kinds of products and information," Lyner said. "I think it's cool, but… I'm also a little curious!"

"It's not like something amazing happened," Misha said. "It was just a coincidence. One day, I just wanted to buy a lot of kitty candy."

"You mean…" Lyner said.

"I said, 'Who cares about the price, I just want to eat a bucket's worth!'. Then, all these grathnode crystals came popping out of nowhere. And that is how we met."

"Are you serious!?" Lyner gasped. "Coming up with her code by accident! That's amazing!"

"Just kidding!" Misha said.

"Huh!? Come on… gimme a break!" Lyner protested.

"I can't tell you what really happened," Misha said. "But trust me, it's an amazing story, and I know Spica's natural hair colour."

"Oh man… when you say it like that, I really want to know," Lyner groaned.

"You do?" Misha said. "But I just can't tell you. Besides, you'd never believe it…"

"Fine!" Lyner groaned. "I know what you're doing. You want me to obsess about it so I can't sleep!" He paused before continuing. "Hey Misha, I know that you really studied a lot of different things… but, I'm really curious as to why you know how to pick locks…"

"Huh?" Misha said. "Don't you think it's convenient?"

"Well yeah, but… I can't understand why you learned it in the first place," Lyner said.

"Well, it's for emergencies," Misha said. "It's really convenient when I have to get away."

"I guess it is," Lyner said. "But is that the only reason?"

"What do you mean, 'is that the only reason'?" Misha said.

"I thought maybe you were thinking of becoming a thief or something!" Lyner said.

"W-what did you say!?" Misha protested.

"Oh, nothing!" Lyner said. "Misha, you can do everything! You're so dependable! Come to think of it… you were acting a little weird at the bar earlier. Why was that? Was there something wrong?"

"Oh, that?" Misha said. "Yeah, I was just being a little cautious. Someone in Tenba goes to that bar a lot."

"Bourd?" Lyner said.

"Nope. I was worried about the president of Tenba."

"You mean the person in charge?" Lyner asked. "Why would someone like that go to that bar?"

"The Huff-Puff Set they serve at that bar is her favourite," Misha said.

"What…?"

"And she always orders the large size," Misha added. "She's always on the lookout for something fun to do. When she gets bored, she eats. That's just how she is."

"Looks like there's someone I'd rather not meet more than Bourd," Lyner said.

"Oh, there's something I wanna tell you by the way," Misha said.

"Huh, what is it?"

"A ridiculously high place, on the edge of Seagull Port… what were you thinking!?"

"Huh!? I wasn't really thinking about anything… I just wanted to see the view!" Lyner said.

"But you didn't have to go that close to the edge!" Misha said. "There was barely any room to walk! That place is just scary!"

"Really?" Lyner said. "I didn't think it was that scary…"

"It was scary for me!" Misha said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lyner said.

Misha sighed. "I don't even like staying in Firefly Alley that long," she admitted. "What if something had happened, and it all fell down… which almost did happen, too…"

"Geez, there's gotta be a limit to how much you worry!" Lyner said.

"Yeah, but as long as we were there, we were in danger," Misha said. "Anyway! Just don't go to any more places like that unless we have to. Okay!?"

"So, I know it's a little late for this," Lyner said. "But was it really okay that I did a dive into you? Three in a row, for that matter…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Misha asked.

"Well I mean, you remember me and all so it's fine, but I can't remember you at all," Lyner said. "So I was wondering if it was really okay to let me enter your cosmosphere…"

"Well, it is kind of sad that you forgot all about me," Misha said. "It's almost impressive how you completely forgot everything about me."

"Y-yeah well, um… th—"

"If you think that's praise, I'm gonna blast you!" Misha declared.

"—anks… of course that's not praise! I feel really bad about it!"

Misha sighed. "Well, I'll tell you why I let such a cold-hearted guy dive into me," she said. "And it's not because you were an old friend of mine."

"Then why?" Lyner asked.

Misha giggled. "My dream… is to become a bride!"

"Say what!?" Lyner gasped.

"That's what," Misha said. "And, that's all I'm gonna tell you."

"N-no fair!" Lyner said.

"So Lyner, how was my cosmosphere, anyway?" Misha asked. "Was it okay?"

"Huh?" Lyner said. "Yeah, it was fine."

"Really? That's good," Misha said. "Did anything weird happen?"

"Well, there were some weird places, but… it's not the real world, so…"

"It was weird!?" Misha gasped. "Did anything bad happen!?"

"Not really bad, but I… I don't know how to say this," Lyner said.

"What do you mean?" Misha gasped. "Something bad did happen!"

"Well, not really," Lyner said. "I mean… uh, how should I put this…?"

"Never mind, don't tell me!" Misha said. "I'm too scared to find out now…"

"Oh, okay," Lyner said with a sigh. "That's a relief…"

"Just answer me this," Misha said. "Do you want to go back into my cosmosphere?"

"Yeah, of course!" Lyner said.

"Okay… then everything's fine!" Misha said.

"But yeah, you really are very talented," Lyner said. "It's just like everyone said. You can tie up so many songs in such a short time, it's amazing!"

"Really?" Misha said.

"Yeah, it's seriously amazing!" Lyner said.

Misha giggled. "Well, I'm different from every other reyvateil!" she said smugly. "It's the quality, you know? Even though it's not like I'm perfect, either. It's just that I wanted to be perfect in everyone's eyes, so I tried to hide the part of me that wasn't perfect…"

"Huh… Misha?" Lyner said.

"Hm? Oh, no, never mind!" Misha said. "Let's just say I'm just super-talented, okay? Come to think of it, Lyner, what did you think of that card centre?"

"Hm, yeah, I did look at them," Lyner said. "They had a lot of cards so I was a little curious…"

"You better watch out for those cards," Misha said. "I've never actually bought one, but those cards are popular among everyone regardless of age or sex."

"Wow, they're really popular, huh?" Lyner said.

"They say once you buy one, you gotta get them all," Misha said. "Some people even spend all their money on them."

"That's extreme popularity," Lyner said.

"If you're going to buy one, I won't stop you," Misha said. "But don't go overboard and buy too many. I wouldn't want to see you lose all your money and go homeless or anything."

"It has a worse characteristic than a virus in some ways," Lyner said. "So y'know, I was thinking... it's amazing, right? The lower world has so many interesting things."

"Really?" Misha said. "Well you were in the upper world the whole time, so it figures you'd think that. When I first came down here, I felt the same way."

"It seems like this world is more energetic," Lyner said. "Or just more fun."

"Yeah, Firefly Alley is especially energetic," Misha said. "If we get the time later, I'll show you around properly. But you know, these terraced fields are hell. Climbing them wears me out so fast."

"Really?" Lyner said. "I didn't think they were so bad."

"Well, it is kind of my fault," Misha admitted. "Maybe it's because I lived in Firefly Alley for so long. I had to use my head a lot more often than my body. Ahh… guess I should've worked out a little, like Eumelia…"

"Well, at least you learned how to pick locks, and met a lot of strange people," Lyner said.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Misha complained.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Lyner said.

Misha giggled. "Well, you know, I never thought I'd be able to go on a journey with you," she said.

"Isn't it a little boring?" Lyner asked. "We're just walking around and stuff, most of the time…"

"Nope," Misha said. "It's not that bad. It's my first time, so it's really fun. And you know, I want to go to a lot of other places with you, too."

"When you were with Tenba, were you always in Firefly Alley?" Lyner asked.

"Yeah, most of the time," Misha said. "But, that was the best. At least in Firefly Alley, I was able to walk around freely. Before that… it was just a dark room…"

"A dark room?" Lyner said. "Were you imprisoned or something?"

"Um… I'll tell you about it someday," Misha said. "It's not something I really want to remember…"

Then she let out a little sigh.

"Hey Lyner, will you promise not to get mad if I tell you something?" she asked.

"I'll try not to, I guess," Lyner said.

"You see, well… I actually really hate, how should I put this… doing things for other people?" Misha said. "I always thought it should be more important to take care of myself before doing things for other people…"

"So… why were you so nice to me from the very beginning?" Lyner asked.

"You're different," Misha said. "You're Lyner."

"I don't quite see how that works but, well, I'm still grateful," he said.

Misha giggled. "But I think I've changed a little, lately. I used to hate doing things for other people, but now, I'm starting to like it a bit…"

"Oh, well, good for you, I guess?" Lyner said.

"Hey, Lyner, I accept and understand your tastes and fetishes," she said. "But it's a little embarrassing when you make me wear Magical Shower. I may look like this, but I'm nearly twenty years old…"

"I'm sorry, but what did you say about my tastes and fetishes?" Lyner said.

"I feel like I'll be in danger if I wear it in a public place," Misha said. "In fact, even just in these fields, I caught one old guy staring. It scared me so much… what if he started stalking me?"

"W-what!?" Lyner gasped. "Are you sure you're not letting your imagination run away with you!?"

"No, I'm not!" Misha said. "Those sorts of things really happen! And it's a fact that he was scaring, so… you gotta pay more attention or I'll be too scared to wear it!"

"A-alright," Lyner said. "I can't say I fully get it, but I get the part about needing to pay more attention."

"Alright… I'm really getting tired now," she said. "So what do you say we get some sleep now?"

"I think that's a good idea," Lyner said. "Good night, Misha."

"Good night, Lyner."

And with that, she climbed back into the tent and lay down.

---

They woke up early the next morning and headed north until they reached the wall of the tower itself. It wasn't just a wall, though – there was a huge door there.

"Huh… what's this?" Lyner wondered.

"They say these doors lead into the tower," Krusche said. "But, no-one's ever gone inside before. None of our bombs can bust it open."

"This door looks like…" Lyner mused.

He stepped forward and extended his right hand towards the golden panel on the door. The image of a woman in a white blouse and long red skirt was projected out. For some reason, it made Eumelia think of a shrine maiden, though she wasn't quite sure where that came from. Perhaps it was from one of those visions. There were quite a few things in the visions that had no bearing on the future of Ar Ciel, after all.

"This is the B1 Dividing Gate #3," she said. "Please present your authorization code."

"I'll be damned!" Krusche gasped.

"FFT Spectrum authorization confirmed, Lyner Barsett," the apparition continued. "Awaiting commands."

"Open B1 Dividing Gate #3," Lyner said. "Ma paks ga exec guol B-nnoi i-i-i ar noes."

"Your code has been verified," the apparition said. "In two seconds, the Dividing Gate will open. You are authorized to proceed."

With that, the apparition vanished, and the door slid open from the centre.

"It's still working," Lyner said. "That's a great sign."

"This door… it opened," Krusche said. "Nobody's opened this door in years… Lyner… who are you?"

"Well… I'm…"

"Lyner is an Apostle of Elemia!" Misha boasted. "He can open doors all day!"

"Misha!" Lyner protested. "Don't go around telling everyone who I am!"

"Why not?" Misha said. "What's the big deal? It's not like anyone will hunt you down and capture you…"

"How do you think he ended up in a cell in the first place?" Eumelia pointed out.

"An Apostle of Elemia," Krusche said.

"Okay!" Lyner said. "How about we go inside? I'll tell you what's going on later."

They headed inside, walking for a few minutes before breaking the silence again. Krusche took the lead, looking around in wonder.

"We're inside the tower," Krusche said softly, sounding awed.

Krusche knocked on one of the wall panels, producing a slight echo.

"I've… never seen this material before," she said. "Lyner, what do you call this?"

"Um… let me see," Lyner said.

"It's called yuteria," Misha said. "It's commonly used for constructing walls."

"I think it's also used for the armour on some of the tower guardians," Eumelia said.

"What about this one?" Krusche asked, touching one of the metal struts placed at regular intervals.

"That's airmetal," Misha said. "It's a rare and important material."

Krusche stared at her for a moment, and Misha tilted her head.

"What?"

"I wasn't asking you," Krusche said.

"So that's how it is," Misha said. "Sorry for trying to be helpful!"

"Anyhow… you guys sure know a lot about stuff I've never seen before," Krusche said. "Can you teach me about it when we get the chance?"

"Sure, but it'll cost you… a lot," Misha said.

"That's nice," Krusche. "But I'll just have Lyner teach me, then. You'll teach me for free, won't you?"

"Huh!?" Lyner said. "Well… sure, I guess."

"Though that's assuming it's something Lyner knows," Eumelia pointed out.

"Hmph!" Misha said. "Be careful, Lyner. She thinks she can get whatever she wants."

Suddenly Lyner gasped, shushing them.

"Quiet!" he said. "Everyone, watch out! I hear something!"

Just as he said it, a pair of flying drones swooped around a nearby corner and approached them. They were roughly triangular, with wings and aerodynamic bodies – essentially a miniature airplane.

"It's the tower guardians," Lyner said. "But… they aren't supposed to attack people. Something's wrong!"

"Wondering about it won't really help us now," Misha said. "Eumelia, what are you going to do this time? You mentioned some synchronity something that I'd never heard of before…"

"Ah, right," Eumelia said. "I'm sorry… I was hopeful, since we've known each other for three years, but… I think we need to get to know each other even better before we can pull that off. Though we can try it again if you want – I guess we've both learned more about each other on this journey – but it's also been barely a day since the last time…"

"Nah, I don't really mind either way, as long as I can help Lyner out," Misha said.

"Then, maybe next time," Eumelia said. "For now, I'll use my whip… is that okay?"

"Fine with me!" Misha said.

With three of them attacking, they kept the drones busy until Misha had built up her song magic to an appropriate level, at which point she unleashed it upon them, smashing them open into little more than a pile of parts. Krusche knelt down to rummage through the pile.

"Could this be caused by those new viruses?" Lyner wondered.

"Viruses?" Krusche said. "Like a disease?"

"No," Misha said. "They're evil programs that come from the tower's binary field. They take control of normal programs and rewrite them."

"Huh? I don't get it," Krusche said.

"Simply put, they're bad guys who live in the tower," Lyner said. "It looks like they brainwashed the tower guardians. That's the only reason they would attack people."

"Oh… okay," Krusche said. "That's a much better explanation."

"Sure, it's much better for people who can't understand what's really going on," Misha retorted.

"So today, we learned that you suck at explaining things," Krusche countered.

"And we also learned that you have a foul mouth," Misha said.

"Look, my mission is to defeat the viruses," Lyner said.

"See, I understood that," Krusche said.

Misha sighed. "Let's just go," she said. "The guardians could return at any time… we never know."

"I agree," Eumelia said. "We should get through here as quickly as we can."

They hurried down the corridor and soon came across some kind of elevator shaft. Lyner ran over to it, and the others followed him.

"Hey, it's a shuttle!" he said. "We're in luck!"

"A shuttle?" Krusche said.

"There are many of them in the tower," Misha said. "We can use it to easily get to the top."

"Oh… so the Apostles of Elemia don't need airships," Krusche said.

"Well, not always," Lyner said. "Let's check it out."

He stepped forward and extended his arm like at the dividing gate, but there was no response this time. He turned to face the others.

"It's not running," he said.

"Oh no," Misha said.

"There might be a control room nearby," Lyner said. "Let's look around."

They found another corridor leaving the shuttle area, so they headed down it, but before long they came to a fork.

"Oh no… which way should we go now?" Misha asked.

Eumelia considered what her visions said about the current situation. There were several visions of Misha, Lyner, and Krusche navigating these corridors, just enough that she could piece together an approximate map by combining them.

"Um… I think we should go straight ahead here," Eumelia said.

"Well, it's as good a choice as any," Lyner said. "Any objections?"

"No objections," Krusche said.

"That sounds fine," Misha said. "If it's wrong, we just have to come back, right?"

"Right," Eumelia said.

So they continued down the corridor. After a bit, it sloped downwards, though not steeply enough to require stairs. They continued on, passing another fork, where Eumelia this time suggested they take the right-hand path, reaching yet another fork where she suggested they go straight. The path then sloped up again, and they came to still another fork, where Eumelia suggested they take a right turn. Finally, they arrived at a door. Lyner blinked at it.

"This door… I think there should be a controller on the other side of it," he said.

"Wow, Eumelia… you guessed right every single time!" Misha gasped. "That's so amazing!"

"Ah, um… it's nothing…?" Eumelia said.

"So… how do you know about it?" Krusche asked.

"Well, I've seen doors like this in my hometown," Lyner said. "It's a few thousand stons above us…"

"Wow, you're from way up there," Krusche said. "So, do you live above the Blast Line? I thought that was as high as anyone could go."

"No, not that high up," Lyner said. "I guess it's just below the blastline…"

"Wow… Apostles of Elemia sure live high up there," Krusche said. "I've heard people lived up there, but I just couldn't imagine it was true."

"So Lyner, can you open this door?" Misha asked.

"Here, let me try," Lyner said.

He stepped forward and extended his arm like before, but as with the shuttle there was no response.

"Hmm… I guess not," he said.

"Hmm… can I try something then?" Misha said. "It may take awhile, so you guys should get some rest."

"Alright," Lyner said.

"We've been walking a lot, after all," Eumelia said. "I'm not that tired, but it's more than I'm used to…"

Krusche settled down, taking out a box and some ingredients and starting what looked to be a grathmeld. After a few minutes, Misha sighed.

"This is gonna be tough," she said.

"Hey, Krusche," Lyner said. "What are you working on?"

"Grathmeld," Krusche said.

"You're a melder too!?" Lyner gasped.

"Yup," Krusche said.

"Ohhh, I'd never have guessed," Misha said. "You sure don't look like one…"

"You really shouldn't talk about not being what you look like," Krusche said.

Having completed whatever she was making, she stowed way the box and got to her feet.

"Hey, Krusche," Misha said. "Can you help me unlock this?"

"Me? But I don't know anything about this stuff," Krusche said.

"Don't worry!" Misha said. "If you can grathmeld, analyzing the tower should be a piece of cake. Don't worry! I'll teach you everything you need to know!"

She stepped forward to grab both of Krusche's hands.

"I don't know," Krusche said. "You're a pretty bad teacher…"

"How can you blame me!?" Misha protested. "It's your fault you didn't understand."

"Well… I guess I'll give it a try," Krusche said.

So the two of them got to work on the lock. Before long, they were talking about things that Eumelia didn't really understand, and it was obvious that Lyner was just as lost as she was, if not more so. She leaned against the wall with a sigh, waiting for them to finish.

"I miss Falc," she muttered. "I wanna see her…"

"You mentioned Falc before," Lyner said. "Who is that?"

"Ah… she's a grand vulture I made friends with," Eumelia said. "She's really pretty, for a vulture."

"I see," Lyner said. "I didn't know you could make friends with monsters…"

"I think it's normally impossible," Eumelia said. "But for a reyvateil… we can make it possible."

"Huh? I've never heard of a reyvateil befriending monsters though," Lyner said.

"Maybe it's not very common up in Platina," Eumelia said. "But in remote places like Falcon's Claw, it's pretty typical. Usually we're limited to specific types of monsters – for example, Elen and I can control birds, Nicky can control beasts, Nessa can control wyrms. There are even some who can control the tower guardians, like Muriel or Cali."

"Huh… I had no idea," Lyner said. "So you know a lot of people with that kind of power, Eumelia?"

"Hmm," Eumelia said. "I'd say I personally know at least… ten… no, twelve? That's excluding myself. Though I'm only close with about half of them."

"That's not so many," Lyner said.

"It's quite a few in a place as small as Falcon's Claw," Eumelia retorted.

Lyner turned to where Krusche and Misha were bickering and making bets on how the lock would need to be opened.

"You know, I'm a little surprised, but they're actually sort of getting along, aren't they?" he said.

"They sure are," Eumelia said. "But why does it surprise you?"

"Well, because they seemed like they didn't like each other very much," Lyner said. "I thought they'd be, oh, I dunno, pulling each others' hair out by now? But I guess they might be okay after all."

"Is that how you saw it?" Eumelia said. "I think you're missing part of the picture… they're both very proud people. And given their accomplishments, they have every right to be…"

"That's right, you mentioned something earlier," Lyner said. "Something like a carry-along organ?"

"Carillon Organito," Eumelia said.

"So what is that, exactly?"

"Hmm, well… to put it simply, it's a device that allows an ordinary human to sing song magic," Eumelia said. "And if a reyvateil used it, it would greatly strengthen her magic."

"Oh… that's amazing!" Lyner said. "But I'm surprised I haven't heard of such an incredible invention before…?"

"Well, I mean, Ar Tonelico itself must have something like that inside it," Eumelia pointed out.

"Well, sure, but you can't pick up the tower and carry it along with you," Lyner said. "It didn't look like Misha recognized the name either…"

"I'm not sure what happened to it," Eumelia said. "I heard it was given to a Tenba reyvateil, but I have no idea where it ended up after that… as for why no-one else has made one, maybe the materials are too rare, or it's just too difficult to mass-produce. Plus, as Krusche said, it seems it was a prototype that didn't even work properly. I roughly described what it did, but that wasn't quite the intended functionality – it was supposed to read a song from a grathnode crystal, but instead it just absorbed songs like a song stone…"

At that moment, Misha let out an exclamation.

"It's open!"

Not even a second passed before the door actually slid open, proving her statement.

"That took quite awhile," Lyner said. "Are you tired?"

"No, I'm okay," Misha said. "I knew this door was gonna be a lot harder to open than those Tenba doors."

"And I learned something new," Krusche said. "Thanks, Misha."

"You're welcome!" Misha said.

"Well, it seems like you two are getting along much better now!" Lyner said. "I guess working on projects together can build lasting friendships."

"Well, yeah," Misha said. "But don't forget – next time we're in Firefly Alley, you have to buy me fifty-eight Huff-Puff Sets, one hundred and eighteen kitty candies, and twenty-one megamilks! Thanks!"

"Of course, I won't forget," Krusche said. "But don't you forget you need to buy me eighty-seven Huff-Puff Sets, fifty-nine shaved ice, nine dried fish, and two megamilks. Thank you very much."

Lyner blinked several times, and Eumelia giggled.

"Huh…?" Lyner said.

"Okay!" Misha said. "But if you can't finish them all, you have to buy me ten more Huff-Puff Sets!"

"And the same goes for you," Krusche said.

Misha giggled, and Krusche chuckled.

"I don't get it," Lyner muttered. "I just hope they can really get along…"

"I wouldn't worry about them," Eumelia said. "I think they're getting along just fine in their own way."

"If you say so…"

"Anyway, let's hurry," Eumelia said. "My family's probably worried about me by now… I'd like to at least let them know I'm okay."

"Oh, why do you think they'd be worried?" Misha asked.

"I said I'd be back in a few days," Eumelia said. "That was about three days ago, and it seems like we'll take at least one more day, so they miiight be getting a touch worried by now. Especially since the tower guardians are attacking airships… they could be wondering if I got shot down too…"

"Huh? You have an airship?" Lyner said.

"No, but I can ride on Falc," Eumelia said.

"Oh, the grand vulture," Lyner said.

"Huh… you're a bird user, Eumelia?" Krusche said. "That's amazing… I've heard about them but never met one before."

"Well… now you have!" Eumelia said cheerfully. "But come on, let's go inside."

They headed inside and found a control device there, but it was completely dark, as if it lacked power.

"Hmm… looks like it stopped…?" Lyner said uncertainly.

"I bet it just needs more symphonic power," Krusche said.

"Symphonic power…?" Lyner said.

"Hey, why don't we use the green magic I learned yesterday?" Misha suggested.

"Sure, go ahead and try it," Lyner agreed.

Misha opened her mouth to sing the key chant of her Thunder Shot.

"Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

As before, an arc of lightning connected her to the control device for several seconds, and the device powered up with a soft vwoomph.

"Great!" Lyner said. "It's moving!"

"We're doing pretty good for not having a plan," Misha said. "Eumelia's almost oracular guidance was especially helpful."

"Hey, it was just a coincidence!" Eumelia protested. "I really was just guessing… mostly…"

"Yeah… maybe we can activate the other terminals just like this," Lyner said. "C'mon, let's go back to the shuttle."

Returning to the shuttle was considerably simpler than the journey out, as they mostly just had to follow the right wall, skipping over the two right forks along the way. Thus they did exactly that until they reached the shuttle again. They ran into a few more brainwashed guardians along the way too, but they took care of those without any trouble. When they finally arrived back at the shuttle, they found that the doors opened the moment Lyner stuck his hand out, so they all piled inside and waited as it ascended through the tower.

"This is so convenient," Krusche mused. "Wish we had a few of these in Firefly Alley… or even in Nemo, come to think of it… parts of the city are up on a precipice, and it takes so long to get up there…"

"It really is quite quite convenient," Misha mused. "And nice and smooth… I think I could ride in these all day…"

"They aren't for amusement!" Lyner protested.

Eumelia giggled. "But I do see what Misha means," she said. "Compared to the rickety trams in Firefly Alley, or even the trolley system in Nemo… here I can hardly tell we're even moving."

Finally it came to a stop, and the door opened again. They all piled out and quickly located the entrance, following the corridor until they came to another dividing door that led back outside.

"We made it!" Krusche said. "The Floating Wharf is just a bit further over there!"

She pointed to the left of the door they'd come out of. They hurried in the indicated direction and soon arrived at the wharf in question. It was even smaller than a village – there was a single shop there, and a pile of goods awaiting shipment, and that was it.

"Huh… this is the Floating Wharf?" Lyner said.

"Yup, this is it," Krusche said. "But I never expected to get here so quickly."

"Thanks to us, that is," Misha said.

"Hey, I worked hard too," Krusche retorted.

"We all worked hard," Eumelia said.

Misha sighed and stepped forward to gaze out into the vast expanse before them. Both Firefly Alley and Falcon's Claw were visible even from this height. What's more, there was an airship visible, and it was rapidly approaching the wharf.

"Lyner!" Misha said.

"Yeah?" Lyner said.

She gestured towards the airship, and Lyner and Krusche both stepped forward to see better. It was being chased by several guardian drones similar to the ones they'd fought inside the tower.

"That airship…!?" Krusche gasped.

"What… is something wrong with it?" Lyner asked.

But before Krusche could answer, the ship had pulled alongside the wharf and thrown down a gangplank. A bunch of church knights and reyvateils piled off.

"Wait, what is it?" Lyner gasped. "What happened?"

Radolf disembarked at that moment, calling after the knights who had just disembarked.

"Get to the tower! Hurry!" he said.

"Radolf!" Lyner said.

"Lyner!" Radolf gasped. "What are you doing here!?"

"I was gonna ask you the same question!" Lyner said. "What's going on?"

"Tower guardians attacked us on our mission," Radolf explained.

"What?" Lyner said.

At that moment, they heard the sound of gunfire – one of the guardian drones was firing upon the docked airship.

"Lyner, you have to leave too," Radolf said.

"No, I'll fight!" Lyner said.

"Are you out of your mind?" Radolf said. "Those things can fly!"

"We'll be fine!" Misha said. "With my song magic, we can take them out in one shot!"

"You're a… reyvateil!?" Radolf gasped.

"I'll help out too," Krusche said.

"I won't be of much help, but I can't let you fight without me," Radolf said.

"It'd be crowded with four of us fighting," Eumelia said. "So I guess I'll sing with Misha this time."

"What? Are you a reyvateil too?" Radolf asked.

"I sure am!" Eumelia said. "Eumelia Nestmile… nice to meet you!"

"Oh yeah, I'm Misha Arsellec Lune," Misha said.

"Huh?" Radolf said. "Nestmile…? Ah, never mind, we don't have much time! The guardians are attacking from the other side of the airship."

"Alright!" Lyner said. "Let's go!"

They climbed the gangplank and worked their way up to the an observation deck on the top of the ship, where Lyner gasped. It wasn't the same guardians they'd been fighting inside the tower, but an even bigger model.

"W-whoa, it's huge!" he said.

"That's a fortress-class guardian," Misha said. "If we don't finish it off quickly, it'll call for backup!"

"So, we gotta defeat them before more guardians show up?" Lyner said. "Okay, let's go! Misha, use Thunder Guard!"

"You got it!" Misha said. "Wee apea ra chs genom oz hymmne."

After chanting to activate Magical Shower, Misha opened her mouth to sing, and Eumelia joined in with the same song.

"Was granme ra crushue gigeadeth cecet en tarfe quesa!"

A strange construct that appeared to be formed out of yellow rocks appeared before them, and just in time – the fortress guardian unleashed a huge wave of lightning, but thanks to Misha's song, nearly all the lightning was drawn into her construct instead of striking the fighters. Thanks to that, Radolf, Krusche, and Lyner were able to fight without worrying about the lightning.

Eumelia focused on the song, doing her best to match Misha's rhythm to the maximum extent possible. She did get a sense that they were managing to synchronize better than the last time they sang together, but she suspected they still weren't close enough to attain a synchronity chain unless the battle really dragged on. On the other hand, it gave her hope that they'd eventually be able to do it, even if it took some time.

Lyner handed over tranquility a few times during the battle, allowing them to keep the magic going almost indefinitely… and then, before they knew it, the fortress guardian was smashed to pieces, and all that was left were a few drones it had summoned. These ones were the same model they'd fought inside the tower, but there were more of them this time

"Misha! Take a short break and switch to Glacial Ball!" Lyner called.

Misha stopped singing for a moment, and Eumelia also stopped, gasping for breath a little.

"You got it!" Misha said.

They took a few seconds to catch their breath, and then Misha began to sing again, this time summoning a ball of ice above her head that slowly grew in size. Eumelia joined in on the song just like before.

"Was paks ra jass rre coltilsye genom dha en sash."

Fortunately, these drones were far weaker. Radolf and Lyner managed to take down almost a third of them while Misha and Eumelia were charging the magic, and then Misha let loose that ball of ice, smashing all the remaining drones to smithereens. Misha deactivated her spiritual shroud, and then they all disembarked from the airship once more, exhausted from the battle.

"Thank you," Radolf said. "I don't know what we would've done without you. So Lyner… what are you doing here?"

"Well, you see… Tenba kidnapped me, and I escaped…"

He proceeded to explain what happened in a bit more detail, and Radolf nodded along.

"I see, so Tenba was behind it all," Radolf said once the story was finished.

"Yeah… and they closed the airport, so we had to walk," Lyner said.

"That must've been rough," Radolf said. "I was really worried the other day, when you didn't stop by the church. But, now I know why you couldn't make it. We're on our way back to Nemo now. Would you like to catch a ride with us?"

"Are you sure it's okay?" Lyner asked.

"Yes, of course," Radolf said. "It didn't work out last time, but I still want you to meet Bishop Falss."

"I'd… really rather not meet him," Eumelia said. "Plus, I need to contact my family to make sure they're not worrying…"

"Still, taking an airship will be safer and faster than any other way," Misha said. "You could still come with us as far as Nemo, Eumelia… you don't have to go all the way to the church."

"That's true, but…" Eumelia began.

"Great, it's settled!" Radolf said. "Welcome aboard!"

"But I just said…!" Eumelia protested.

Much as she wanted to see Aurica again, she really thought allaying Vivian's worries was more important.

"Well, I need to get going," Krusche said.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Lyner said. "You're here to pick some stuff up."

"Yup," Krusche said. "It was nice meeting you. Thanks."

"How are you gonna get back?" Lyner asked. "I could ask them to wait for you."

"No, it's okay," Krusche said. "I can use my own airship."

"Your own airship!?" Lyner gasped.

"Yeah," Krusche said. "Didn't I tell you? I'm a melder who specializes in airships. But, I'm still just a beginner. I've only finished three airships so far."

"Three airships!?" Lyner gasped.

"And you're still a beginner?" Misha said.

"Hey, Krusche… do you think you can fix my airship?" Lyner asked.

"Your airship?" Krusche said.

"Yeah," Lyner said. "I was attacked by a monster on my way down, and had to make an emergency landing."

"Sure, it sounds like fun," Krusche said. "Besides, I'm curious to see what it looks like."

"Really?" Lyner said. "Thanks! Alright, this means a lot to me!"

"Well, I only meant I'd take a look at it," Krusche said. "It might be expensive to actually fix it."

"Oh, I see," Lyner said.

"But, it all depends on how badly it's damaged, and what kinds of parts you'll need," Krusche said. "I won't know until I see it. Are you going to Nemo? I can take my ship and meet you there later."

"Great!" Lyner said. "I'll be waiting!"

"Okay, I'll see you later," Krusche said.

"Could I ask you to take me partway?" Eumelia asked.

"Partway… to Falcon's Claw, you mean?" Krusche said. "It's a little out of the way, but… I suppose I could do a small detour…"

"Thank you very much!" Eumelia said.

"Come on then," Krusche said.

She turned and walked off.

"Then, I'll see you later, Eumelia!" Misha said.

"I hope so!" Eumelia said.

She dug out the grathnode crystal she'd obtained from the trading card back in Firefly Alley and pressed it into Misha's hand.

"I do want to go to Nemo after this," Eumelia said. "So… we'll see! Say hi to my sister for me, will you?"

Then Eumelia turned to chase after Krusche without waiting for further response.

"Your sister…?" Lyner asked.

But at this point Krusche had almost disappeared from sight, so she had no time to give a proper response. Instead, Eumelia ignored the question and hurried after Krusche, who led the way past the door and around the tower for several hundred stons before emerging into a clearing where she'd parked her airship. It was quite a bit smaller than the church one, but still impressive.

"Well, here she is," Krusche said. "Will you be fine if I just fly you about halfway to Falcon's Claw?"

"Yes, I think so," Eumelia said.

"Then, if you just wait here for a few minutes, I'll be right back," Krusche said.

She disappeared amongst the trees, and true to her words, she was back a few minutes later, now carrying a sack filled with something or other. She opened the cockpit of her airship and tossed the sack in, then hopped in herself.

"Come on!" she said.

"Right!" Eumelia said.

She climbed in as well, buckling herself in behind Krusche. The airship then took off, and they swooped towards Falcon's Claw.

"Alright, this close enough?" Krusche asked after a minute or two.

"Yes, thank you!" Eumelia said.

Krusche opened the cockpit, and Eumelia undid her buckle and stood up, singing.

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here."

She kept up the song until Falc swooped down from the sky, at which point she raised her hands and grabbed hold of the bird's legs, still continuing to sing the whole time.

"Well, ain't that something," Krusche said, sounding amazed.

That was the last Eumelia heard from her, as she swooped through the air towards the Falcon's Claw, or more precisely the tiny island there that she now called home. As she landed next to the garden with a loud thump, Vivian burst out from within and suddenly hugged her. Falc landed a short distance away, folding its wings and letting out a curious squawk.

"Eumelia! You're okay!" she said. "When you didn't come back, and I heard the guardians were attacking people, I feared the worst…"

"Don't worry, Vivian," Eumelia said. "I just couldn't fly because of those guardians… but they've been defeated now, so here I am!"

"Yes… here you are," Vivian said. "But that look in your eye tells me you're not planning to stay long… is that true?"

"Well… I was thinking of going to Nemo," Eumelia said. "But… I could stay a few days, if you'd like."

"Well, it's up to you, really," Vivian said. "You're fifteen now, old enough to make your own decisions. So while I'd like you to stay, I won't try to force you to."

"Well… I'll stay the night to rest, at least," Eumelia said. "After that… we'll see. That said… there was one thing I had in mind before Nemo. I'd like to do it with all of you, if possible."

"That would depend on what it is," Vivian said.

"You know about the ruin on the far side of Falcon's Claw, right?" Eumelia said.

"Yes, it's an old ruined temple or something, right?" Vivian said. "We did venture in there one time, but there wasn't anything useful. It's just a dead end – an impressive dead end, maybe, but still. And since there are wyverns on that side of the island, we decided to just leave it alone."

"Well… I heard a rumour that there might be a secret door in there," Eumelia said. "Or at least, I'm pretty sure it's the place the rumour was referring to. So I wanted to go check it out."

"Well… let's talk about it again in the morning," Vivian said. "It's been a long day, what with all the guardians going berserk, so I think it's better to get some sleep before deciding."

"Alright," Eumelia said.

"Then for tonight, I guess I'll make your favourite for dinner," Vivian said.

"Ooh! I'll look forward to it!" Eumelia said.

Eumelia got to her feet and turned towards the waiting Falc, while Vivian headed back inside.

"Falc, go back to Aurica," she said. "Do you understand me? She's on that huge white airship that just left from the Floating Wharf. I want you to keep an eye on her. If she falls off, please save her, okay? You can come back when the black airship leaves."

The grand vulture raised its head and screeched, then leaned down to nuzzle Eumelia.

"Ah, you're waiting for your reward, right?" Eumelia said.

She pulled out a piece of dried meat, and Falc gulped it down, then swooped off back towards the church airship in the distance. Eumelia couldn't really see what was going on from this distance, but she was confident that, with Falc there, Aurica should be fine even if Bourd made a move.

---

Hymmnos Corner

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

"Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_THUNDER/.
Singer: Misha Arsellec Lune
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A green magic that generates a continuous arc of lightning.
Meaning: "I'm very excited to turn song into thunder."
Credit: Original

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

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_SNEAKY=UNICORN/.
Singer: Eumelia Nestmile
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: This is only the opening line of the song magic.
Meaning: "I shall nervously cover up my secrets with a transparent shroud as I wait for this to end."
Credit: Original

"Wee apea ra chs genom oz hymmne."

Hymn Name: EXEC_FUSYA_MAGICAL=SHOWER/.
Speaker: Misha Arsellec Lune
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A chant to activate Misha's spiritual shroud, Magical Shower.
Meaning: "Immersed in happiness, I'll become a song fairy for as long as I can."
Credit: Original

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge!"

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME/.
Singer: Misha Arsellec Lune
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

"Ma paks ga exec guol B-nnoi i-i-i ar noes."

Speaker: Lyner Barsett
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A Hymmnos spell to open the Dividing Wall.
Meaning: "Slightly nervously, I'll open the B1-III dividing gate to escape this situation."
Credit: Translated by myself

"Was granme ra crushue gigeadeth cecet en tarfe quesa!"

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_THUNDER=GUARD/.
Singer: Misha Arsellec Lune
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first line of Misha's Thunder Guard song.
Meaning: "With great and lasting courage, I shall craft a shield of steel and halt the lightning."
Credit: Original

"Was paks ra jass rre coltilsye genom dha en sash."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_SNOW=FAIRY/.
Singer: Misha Arsellec Lune
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The opening line of Misha's Glacial Ball song magic.
Meaning: "Very excited and hoping it lasts, I ask the snow fairies to descend and scatter."
Credit: Original

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_BIRD=CALLING/.
Singer: Eumelia Nestmile
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first line (and refrain) of Eumelia's bird calling magic.
Meaning: "Here I wish for a companion and will accept what comes."
Credit: Original

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In this chapter I've introduced a concept that isn't really directly mentioned in the game, though the characters do talk about the specific ones that Aurica and Misha use – a "spiritual shroud". The designers of the game may have felt that gameplay trumped over lore, but I prefer to have a lore that is at least not contradicted by the gameplay, which dictates that the costume system seen in the game must have some genuine existence in the world. Making them activated by a chant may just be an excuse for me to compose more Hymmnos sentences, mind you – in fact, I think I recall reading some supplementary material where one of the game's developers said that the costumes are summoned simply by thinking about them. But I'm sticking with them using a chant, kind of like a Hymmnos spell. I've even invented a new tower subroutine to handle them, the EXEC_FUSYA/. system. Like the ubiquitous EXEC_HYMME/. system used by standard Song magic, and also the unique EXEC_FLIP/. system supported by the Third Tower, I've named this system using a verb, "fusya", which means "to cover". Just like EXEC_HYMME/. and EXEC_FLIP/., it is a socket-type extensible system that a reyvateil can extend via diving and crafting.