The Lonely Voice

Intermission of Darkness

The following is recorded in the Video Archive

 "Intermission of Darkness"

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Video Summary: Bullets fly by, but Astra is more concerned about sound effects and stage design.

Story Description: Meanwhile, the stage goes dark for the intermission. Astra notices the abnormal communications and checks her device. When the lights come back on, she discovers unexpected intruders. Thinking quickly, she seamlessly incorporates the battle into her performance, keeping the show going while cleverly stalling for time until Evelyn can arrive.

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Meanwhile, on the stage,
all the lights went out during the intermission, leaving Astra alone in the darkness, frantically trying to reach everyone...

Astra Yao: Huff... huff... Director? Backstage? Control room? ...Eve? Can you hear me?

Astra Yao: A malfunction? This is bad. The next song is about to start. Ahhh, wearing a 40-meter-long gown doesn't exactly make it easy to dance...

Astra Yao: I've got no other option!

Zzzrrrt—rustle rustle—whoosh! In the second before the lights came back on, the costume change was a success!

Astra Yao: Luckily, I hid my outfit on the stage ahead of time. Otherwise, the next song would've been a disaster — the style just doesn't match that gown at all.

Whoosh, whoosh whoosh—bang!

Astra Yao: Hm? What's that sound? Bullets? This song wasn't supposed to have bullet sound effects.

Astra Yao: But wow, that's so cool! Why didn't I think of this before?

Astra Yao: Huh, why are these weird old guys rushing onto the stage? Ugh, my comms were cut off too. This is bad.

Astra Yao: Eve! She must be on her way right now. I just need to hold out until she gets here.

Astra Yao: A few troublemaking old guys aren't enough to cancel my show. Hm? Wait a minute, the tempo of this song is fast... What if I incorporate the fighting into the choreography...?

Astra Yao: Heh, perfect timing! This song's choreography is all yours now!

(Enter combat)

Fugue Enforcer: Astra Yao, do you really think you belong here with that pretty face of yours?

Fugue Enforcer: You're nothing but a puppet controlled by Dennies.

Fugue Enforcer: You don't deserve to carry on Joran's legacy!

Fugue Enforcer: Hah... Do you even know what real music is?

Fugue Enforcer: You're nothing but glitz and glamor. No substance!

Fugue Enforcer: Today, we're gonna show everyone!

Fugue Enforcer: How the false idol's halo got torn apart!

Astra Yao: ...

(Defeat the first wave of enemies)

Astra Yao: (This is just too much... I don't know how much longer I can take this...)

Astra Yao: (Do they hate me this much? So many people actually hate me?)

Astra Yao: (Those words... They really hurt.)

Astra Yao: (It's impossible for me to remain unfazed.)

Astra Yao: (The glory of the stage... Is that the true essence of a singer's dreams?)

Astra Yao: (Or am I the hypocrite they accuse me of being?)

Wanting it All

The following is recorded in the Video Archive

 "Wanting it All"

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Video Summary: Evelyn will make it in time!

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(A cinematic plays)

(Astra is surrounded by Fugue's men)

Astra Yao: Am I being...

Astra Yao: Too greedy?

Astra Yao: My desire to reach every lonely heart...

Astra Yao: Maybe it was always an impossible dream

(Before one can strike, Evelyn stops him)

Evelyn: Miss Yao!

Evelyn: Sorry I'm late!

Astra Yao: But...

Astra Yao: That won't stop me!

Astra Yao: Little by little

Astra Yao: Using the purest melodies...

Astra Yao: I'll captivate the world!

(Cinematic ends)

(Enter combat)

Astra Yao: Eve!

Evelyn: Miss Yao, please come to my side!

Evelyn: Miss Yao, the people from Fugue have breached our security measures.

Evelyn: It seems like this isn't just about causing trouble.

Evelyn: Who knows what other plans they might have.

Evelyn: We must cancel the show immediately. Please come with me.

Astra Yao: Wait a moment, Eve. Don't forget about my audience!

Perish Together?!

The following is recorded in the Video Archive

 "Perish Together?!"

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Video Summary: What's the motive of the people who planted the explosives?!

Story Description: The countdown is indeed from explosives. Starloop is now in the air. If it explodes, no one can escape...

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Bangboo (Belle): Evelyn, Astra! Can you hear me? The communications are completely down, I can only talk you through Eous now.

Bangboo (Belle): The timer is connected to the explosives!

Astra Yao: Explosives...?

Evelyn: Has Fugue completely lost it? Starloop Tower is cruising right now. If it explodes, even their own people won't make it out alive.

Evelyn: Wait — ugh! Fugue is just the scapegoat... The real mastermind must be someone else!

Astra Yao: Their target isn't just me. It's all the audience here as well!

Evelyn: The thrusters! The explosive device must be connected to Starloop's thrusters!

Bangboo (Belle): Wise is already working on disarming the detonation device.

Astra Yao: Is it doable, Belle?

Bangboo (Belle): Yeah! As long as it's software, there's always a way to crack it. The control room has the blueprints for all the thrusters and pipelines — we can do it!

Bangboo (Belle): But I don't know if we have enough time. The countdown is less than ten minutes...

One Who Lives in the Past

The following is recorded in the Video Archive

 "One Who Lives in the Past"

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Video Summary: For those who are trapped in the past, hatred is their only link to reality.

Story Description: The one who planned it all is none other than Lady de Winter! Lady de Winter expresses her hatred and contempt, believing that her beloved husband Joran did not commit suicide, but was killed by Odeum, Fugue, and the spectators, who all had ulterior motives.

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Lady de Winter: Heh heh heh...

Lady de Winter: Having the desire to live is such an enviable thing.

Astra Yao: Lady de Winter... why are you here?

Lady de Winter: You already know the answer, why bother asking? I'm here because it's my duty as Joran's widow.

Lady de Winter: As the family of the deceased, I must hear the screams of the murderers with my own ears and see their repentance with my own eyes before I can go, wouldn't you agree?

Astra Yao: Murderers? I don't understand. Joran... wasn't his death his own decision?

Lady de Winter: Hehehe, hahaha. Suicide, what a convenient excuse.

Lady de Winter: All they have to say is "He committed suicide!" and the murderers walk free and carry on with their own lives without a shred of guilt.

Lady de Winter: And then they dump all the grief and pain onto the victim.

Lady de Winter: If Odeum and Fugue hadn't dragged Joran into endless contract disputes over their so-called profits...

Lady de Winter: Would he have been forced to leave the stage he loved so dearly in his final years?

Lady de Winter: He watched helplessly as music drifted further and further away from him, as if sealed in a silent vacuum, slowly suffocating and losing all his brilliance...

Lady de Winter: But, I must "thank" Odeum and Fugue. If not for their endless conflict and unwavering resolve to destroy each other, I could never have pulled this off.

Lady de Winter: After all, what could someone like me, abandoned and left alone in this world, possibly achieve?

Lady de Winter: I must also "thank" the audience who once adored Joran de Winter.

Lady de Winter: If you hadn't cast him aside so easily, if you hadn't scrutinized Joran's every move with such harsh and critical eyes, if you hadn't hurt him with baseless speculation and cold, detached remarks—

Lady de Winter: How would he have fallen, slowly into that endless, dark abyss of pain, until he completely lost the courage to live?

Lady de Winter: I must "thank" you too, Astra Yao. There is genuine beauty in your voice.

Lady de Winter: But do you realize? You're nothing more than a money-making nightingale to Odeum or Fugue.

Lady de Winter: When the next nightingale hatches, you'll lose all your value, and everything you have today will eventually be taken away.

Lady de Winter: Just like Joran, whose worth was stolen by your voice.

Lady de Winter: You, all of you, you are murderers. It was you, all of you, who drove Joran de Winter to his death.

Lady de Winter: My most beautiful dream, my most precious resonance, my true love.

Lady de Winter: It's almost time. Oh, how rude of me, I haven't even given you all a proper welcome.