Sylviette's smell permeates the environment, even covering the sulfur nearby. It is its particles that break away, revealing significant irregularities in the textures of the ground.

We are on the rock islands in the newborn lava lake, among the ruins of the cathedral.

Sylviette casts the spell, waits, and then moves around looking for clues. She bends down, moves rocks, and smells the air. When she ends up on one islet, we move on to the next.

The operation is long and the suggestive volcanic environment makes the examination more complicated. The fear that the trials may have sunk into the abyss for eternity gives me no peace.

“Nothing here either.” Sylviette waves at me.

[Dungeon path] and we get to the point where she saved herself. In the ruins of the nave that did not collapse.

“I have a few ap left I think.”

Control with [Scan].

“Yes, about sixty.”

She bends over a piece of rock and stands up, weighs it in her hand, and then throws it into the lava. It boils at the point of impact and emits smoke and some splashes.

“Then this is the last attempt. I don't feel tired, but I'll have to recover later.”

I nod and move to let her concentrate as she places her hands on her forehead.

I look around. Nothing. Nothing new. As with the desert at the top of the dungeon, things are no different here.

Who could have had the interest in building a place like this? Has it always been a desert? What kind of dead rest on this floor?

These questions swirl in my head, I can't give myself an answer.

With [Necromancy] I could try to call someone back, but using it blindly is difficult and I might lose control of the thrall.

Ah! I would like a table of contents, a guide, a complete diary of a wise ancestor of mine!

“Hey, N!”

I turn and watch Sylvie pick up a tube of dissolved gold.

“What is it?”

“A pipe, a piece at least.”

She hands it to me and I come closer to take a good look at it. It is precisely what remains of a golden organ pipe.

“So, we know that the organ was there.”

Sylviette nods and then points to a gem, a ruby, set towards the air hole. “I think it's more than a joint.”

“Hm, wait. Scan.”

[Wisdom Organ Pipe] when combined in a magical composition in a wisdom organ, allows the teleportation of those who have heard the entire composition to a different [Wisdom Organ Pipe] area.

Ci-cin!

“AH! OH, NO!”

“There is something wrong?”

“Sylv, this is a magical object! Now I understand how he managed to get there in such a short time!”

Sylviette makes a face of surprise. “Are you talking about the one you were hunting during my first visit?”

“Wait, you'll see.”

Ci-cin.

[Necromancy]

[Necromancy: Failed]

“Nothing is happening.”

I lower my ears. I forgot that Kirlh'iau was [obliterated] at the Arena. I can't call it up with [Necromancy] to ask it about the organ.

I tell Sylviette and she lets out a laugh.

“Come on, that's not funny!”

“Sorry, sorry! Haha, it's kind of funny.”

I pretend to pout and turn back to the organ pipe. To work, [Scan] revealed us that we need a complete organ which, as the endpoint, needs a different organ zone.

Now this has been destroyed, so it is unusable. Not that I know the full tune. I couldn't use it anyway.

I am increasingly convinced that the Underwasteland was once inhabited. What would be the point of tools of this type otherwise?

“At that time?”

“I don't know, we would need an organ. Also, someone should play the whole melody.”

Sylviette smiles and places the pipe on the ground. “We know the melody.”

“Really?”

“Yes, an eight-bar theme, with a three-voice canon and a countertheme of another eight bars. A minor key and typical form of—”

Ci-cin.

I wave my hands in the air and twist my tails. “Do you know how to reconstruct the theme!?”

“Well, we can try. The musical theory of my empire explains how to complete isolated themes and wandering harmonies. Worth a try.”

I blush and want to hug Sylviette! Incredible, as a self-taught musician I have no idea what she's talking about and I feel nothing but gratitude for her resourcefulness but—

“We don't have a magic organ…” I sag and look at my sweaty toes and hands.

“Huh? Sometimes I wonder if you're pretending to be naive or not.”

I raise my head and frown. “What do you mean?”

“Isn't there an organ in the orchestra room?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Oh, that's right! There is an organ and no one has ever used it. Not me, not my father, not my guests.

“From your face, I comprehend that you understand. Well, wasting time here is quite useless.”

♦

Back at the orchestra hall, I use [Will-o'-the-wisp] to light the path. Behind the stage, climbing a wooden staircase which then joins a stone staircase, we arrive at a raised first floor.

I walk slowly and try to pay attention to any side streets. I have never seen the organ and only know that it is somewhere on the upper floors.

We arrive at the first lodge. Purple armchairs and dusty damask carpet, illuminated by my magic and inlaid wood and gold dominate the scene. The carpet tickles me but it's soft like in the isolated cave.

“It must be very luxurious. I didn't pay attention to it last time.” Sylviette seems interested and with her hands, she touches the walls, the armchairs, and the doorknobs.

I'm not sure what you mean by luxurious, as I don't know of any other similar rooms. Compared to the tales of the dead, everything in the Underwasteland is monumental and majestic, so I'm not sure how to respond.

“The other time we stayed on the side staircase.”

I open a door into the lodge. It allows access to a new staircase but Sylviette stops perplexed.

“There is something wrong?”

“No, no, really. It's just hmm, so to speak. There is a staircase in the lodge.”

“Should not?”

Sylviette shakes her head and waves me on. “Let it be.”

We walk, we turn, we climb stairs, we open doors, and we pass in front of gargoyles that delimit access to other areas. I no longer know where we are and I rely on the grimoire to make sure I don't retrace the paths already taken.

“Can't you use your hounds?”

“Eh, maybe. They cannot smell the organ. The objects have no odor.”

“Tse.”

That exchange makes me think back to Gron. The time it tried to escape me. It got screwed precisely because of its smell.

Gron, who knows where you are now?

I hope it hasn't met the [Devil]… in fact, if Gron did meet it I bet it would call on me. I would know where they are, hmm… maybe it wouldn't be bad if they crossed paths.

Ahh, I'm daydreaming, better concentrate.

I consult the grimoire. Nothing to be done, this road has not been traveled either. We have climbed so many floors that we can no longer see the audience or the stage.

Only the very long stage curtains are visible if I lean over the balcony's parapet.

“Are you sure there is an organ?”

“Sylv, it was your idea, don't give up first. Hehe.”

Sooner or later, we will arrive. Sooner or later. It's a question of patience, as with the cleanup of the second extinction event. It took years, but I finally succeeded.

Ci-cin, Ci-cin!

“N, what's wrong?”

“AH, oh, nothing, nothing. It's just that we have to be patient. It could still be a long time.”

“You say we have time?”

“No matter what happens, there's always a backup plan!” I wink at Sylviette, expressionless as usual.

But it's true, there is always a backup plan. I feel better and every trace of discomfort has disappeared. I must not give up.

I must not.

♦

Ci-cin.

I open my eyes. I realize I'm slouched in an armchair. From the balcony I see nothing of interest and [Will-o'-the-wisp] lights up the room. Maybe I threw it without realizing it, out of habit.

Scin, Scin, Sciin, Sciin…

Sylviette is in a corner sharpening the blades and then testing them with her finger.

“Well woken up.” She places the blades back in their sheaths and turns to look at me.

“Huh?” Sleepily I move my fingers and toes and sit composedly. “Awhaa, how long did I sleep?”

“I don't know, but enough to make me jaded.”

She shakes her ears and rubs her eyes. I yawn again. I feel broken.

“Sorry, I suddenly collapsed…”

“It doesn't matter, I'm dead. I wouldn't have been able to stay as awake as you when I was alive. You are impressive.”

“Hehe, thanks.” I stand up and shake myself to loosen my numb muscles. I see the snakehead’s tail yawning.

Ci-cin, Ci-cin.

“While you were sleeping I walked around here.”

“Weren't you afraid of getting lost?”

“I checked the lodges around here and a staircase, I didn't go beyond corridors or rooms within rooms.”

I turn over the railing. The light of [Will-o'-the-wisp] casts my shadow on the red drape of the stage.

“Have you found anything?”

“Yes, I found the organ room. It's an hour's walk from here.”

Ah! But didn't she just move around? And how does she know how long it takes if she doesn't know how much I slept?

“Don't make that face, haha. I just moved around. The organ room is at the top of the stairs.”

“Hm, okay, so should we go up?”

“Can't you use Dungeon path?” Sylviette gets up from the corner and heads towards the door.

I shake my head and run my hand over the soft carpet of the balustrade. “I can try, but having never been there we could go to the wrong room and get lost. When I don't know the destination, I proceed by trial and error.”

Sylviette nods and leaves the room. I hear her ticking footsteps muffled by her soft carpet. I listen for a moment and then I decide to follow her.

The ladder is made of iron and has rungs and creaks as we pass. It passes through dusty scaffolding and stage mechanisms and allows access to areas I didn't even imagine.

As admitted by Sylviette herself, however, we continue straight. Further and further up the ladder that seems to have no end. She leads the way a few rungs ahead.

“Sylv.”

“Hm?” She doesn't turn to look at me.

“Don't you miss something in life?”

“What?” Sylviette stops to walk and I stop too. Then she leaves again.

“I don't know, like your brother, friends, your job—I don't know.”

“After what I told you about the corruption of my nation, about what happened to me… let's leave it alone.”

“You didn't tell me about your brother, though.”

“N, let's leave it alone please.”

Ci-cin.

Once we reach the top of the climb, Sylviette points out some lanterns to me.

[Will-o'-the-wisp]

The blue light reveals an area with a mosaic floor. Intersecting geometric figures and arcane symbols. I don't know their meaning if they have any meaning at all.

Sylviette guides me to a bench in front of which I glimpse sixteen rows of keyboards. They are arranged one on top of the other and even if I wanted to, I couldn't reach the higher ones.

At the foot of the bench there are pedals and underneath an empty hole. I throw a [Will-o'-the-wisp] in mid-air and manage to glimpse an infestation of monstrous golden reeds.

They are carved to have heads of fish, well-known and lesser-known animals. Even elves and orcs, I recognize a head with ogre-like features.

The flying flame goes out and we are left with the torch. [Will-o'-the-wisp] must burn a target, otherwise it dissipates after a few seconds.

“Oh wow! So, this is an organ.” I run my fingers over the keys of the lowest keyboard. It's so similar to that of a piano. Under the layer of dust, the keys are revealed in silver and with symbols in bas-relief.

Whether it's the notes or whatever, I have no way of defining it.

Sylviette gently pushes me aside and takes a seat on the bench. She doesn't seem particularly excited, at least not like me.

“While you were sleeping, I didn't rehearse, but I still imagined the full version of the song.”

“You must be very good.”

“At university, I had excellent grades. In any case, I have developed three versions.”

Ci-cin.

“Wow, do they work!?”

“Now let's try. If none of the three works—It means that the complete piece follows different rules than those on my planet.”

“Indeed, I doubt that an old sonic spell is the basis of your music.”

Syllviette tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She stares at me. “But I think so.”

“Hm?” I prick up my ears.

“If the System gave the rules to the universe—I'll make it simple for us: given the music rules, it's likely that my people have rediscovered them, rather than invented them.”

I nod but I don't know what to say to her. It's a reasonable assumption, but nothing more.

A conjecture.

In any case, it will be enough to try!

Ci-cin, Ci-cin, Ci-cin!

“N, stop it. I have to stay focused.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry.” I take two steps back and sit down. The tails want to wag, I can feel them, but I'm concentrating on keeping them in check.

Works. And I remain doubtful about their wishes.

Puuu…

A low note pushes in the air. I feel my breath stop and my mind go blank. It's just the first note. It's just the first note in a series.

Sylviette plays.

I turned off the lights and sat silently on the floor.

I recognize the notes and chords that I have already heard in the cathedral and I also recognize certain progressions and sequences. One day I'll have to get more explanations about the music, maybe from Sylviette or Gron.

The song continues and then stops. For the first time, I hear Sylviette blurt out.

“Sylv…!” I am interrupted by the music that starts again. So, I remain silent, waiting.

Sylviette also gets angry, therefore. She too feels the pressure of the situation. She is reassuring. At least I'm not alone and I can be a comfort to her.

She is different from me. As a species, as experiences, as culture, and as character. But I like her like I do Gron, and I'm happy to have her by my side in a moment of difficulty.

I listen to the music without saying a word and wait. Now and then she hits a note, snorts, curses, and then starts again. We spend more than an hour like this. But…

…in the end…

…the final chord arrives and the power of the organ gives way to silence. A familiar but oppressive silence in this circumstance.

I look at my hands which are lighting up. The legs too. I look up at Sylviette. I distinguish her silhouette. She is turned towards me and I don't recognize her features or her clothes.

It's white. Welcoming, it invades everything.

Light.