A Luminescence had one primary function.

It was to provide positive conditions to allies, like how music could inspire people to act. Invulnerability was the strongest power that a Luminescence could bestow upon a person.

This of course required a tremendous number of Instruments as well as a capable Maestro. The Towers of the Bellum Empire could have easily allowed them to bypass the first condition, and Ara for the second.

In truth, Ara’s awakening as the second coming of the Green Composer would have easily satisfied both conditions alone.

Ara was not an ordinary musician.

She could conjure not one, two or five types of instruments. No, Ara was greater than that. As a blood relative of the Green Composer, she could summon every kind of instrument imaginable.

A symphony created by an empowered Ara would be like having Heart of their own – a living Luminescence… no, a Star that could permanently empower the Maestros of Flesh and the Impuritas.

At least this was what the Brightest Star told them.

* * *

Mae could only fulfil a small portion of what Ara was supposed to, but it was better than no compromises at all. Her song would – at the minimum – allow the northern forces to survive the ordeal as well greatly sway the tides of war in the favor of the Librarians.

The Lesser Luminescence was located within the Capital, and it had just enough reach to influence them. An Atelier like the Golden Index would crumble immediately under an evolving force like the Librarians.

Pair that with Invulnerability, and they would be unstoppable.

“Reach out towards the strands of light.”

Mozheart guided Mae, his omnipresent voice now louder as she was brought to the source. She stood on the largest gear located at the very top of the clock tower. The ceilingless sky revealed the supermoon that devoured the stars and all light, save for the red wings atop Mount Saris.

Strands of light dangled from the green orb high above. She reached out towards them as she balanced atop the revolving platform. Surrounding her and standing on the teeth of the gears were the Virtosos, each holding a uniquely shaped note.

When she groaned, the weapons that came forward matched the pitch and duration of her sounds. Everything was accounted for. Her teeth grinded, and the musical notes denoting its sound mimicked it.

“Yes. Hold them. They will be your reins soon… your shackles to the Luminescence. The lights are on you now, Mae. Perform to your heart’s content. Use the Virtuosos as you need fit. You should know how to.”

“I do. They’re my Instruments.” Mae said, greatly pleasing Mozheart.

“Perfect. Instruments are the only way for us to make music.”

Mae did not respond to this claim.

She fell into deep thought instead as the tentacles of light wrapped around her wrists. The Lesser Luminescence appeared like a giant, glowing jellyfish. Its tentacles swayed in the wind like vines before returning to Mae as though they had a will of their own.

… I used to believe that. But Ara showed me that there was another way… maybe that’s why Ara couldn’t be turned into one of…

The breeze that swept by was so powerful that had she not held onto the strands, then she would have been thrown off the clock tower. Surprisingly, the Virtuosos were immovable statues.

… us? No. Not anymore. It’s not us. I still remember the pain when I fell down those stairs. I still remember how I couldn’t think when they took out my ribs… How can we call that music?

“Return to us Mae. Be reborn anew, so that the Brightest Star can grant our wish.”

She inhaled deeply as she linked with the Luminescence. It was her first time using one, and the sensation was shocking painful. The light dug into her wrists, attaching themselves to her veins.

A visceral connection was required to use them, though this could only be seen by the Maestros of Flesh.

In Mae’s case, this ability was carried over.

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“The Brightest Star…” Mae muttered beneath her breath.

She began trembling as the connection to the Lesser Luminescence grew.

“… Hah…”

“Ah…”

“Is there something wrong?” Finally, Mozheart’s voice disappeared from the Luminescence.

“Aha… Haha…”

“Ahaha…”

His was no longer in control

“AHAHAHAHA!”

Hysterical laughter broke out as the Lesser Luminescence glowed with a vibrant, white glow instead of green. It was proof that it was now under new ownership. But not only that, the Invulnerability Mozheart possessed had now transferred to Mae.

“… Have you lost your mind? It’s rare for the Luminescence to psychologically attack–!”

“Ahhhh… I gave you a chance to listen. I warned you, Mozheart.”

Various weapons were thrust upon her body, only for them to be deflected by an impenetrable barrier.

Her flesh had become untouchable.

“But despite my love for the Maestro of Flesh… you all saw me as a tool. I became an outsider all because of the Brightest Star! I only had the Maestros! I am a Maestro! I believed that you were everything I needed!”

Mae lamented with a melodic voice. Phantom notes bursting with light emanated from the Luminescence. They took upon the roles of the Virtuosos who tried to kill Mae in vain, shouting at the top of her lungs at her betrayal.

Mae never betrayed them. Even now, she didn’t do this to hurt them. She stared back into their eyes tearfully, seeing nothing but bloodlust in their eyes.

“… and even now you don’t understand why I’m doing this. You coldly tried to send me away. But the Amalgam…”

“AIM FOR THE STRANDS!” Mozheart ordered.

“But… the Luminescence will fall!” A Virtuoso argued.

“IT WILL BE BETTER THAN ALLOWING HER TO MEDDLE WITH OUR PLANS! REMOVE HER AT ONCE!”

Both Mozheart and Mae were filled with anguish, but only Mae’s voice was spoken with such beauty that few of the Virtuosos could not help but stand in stupor.

“The Amalgam was able to accept me with open arms despite who I used to be!”

“Preposterous! The Amalgam is a devourer! She saw your abilities! You’re nothing but a meal to that thing!”

“… and I wasn’t to Iscario? For all I know… Iscario might be the one who wanted to take my ability!”

The light above Mae intensified as the edges of her hair glowed with a slight tinge of gold. She did not experience a Corruption Event, nor did she hear the voice of Frost or Elysia. It was merely an illusion created by the light.

But even so, it was as if she was blessed by the light of the Amalgam.

“What can the Amalgam give that the Brightest Star can’t!? Our wishes are just beyond the horizon!”

“I SAW THE AMALGAM GRANT PEOPLE’S WISHES ALREADY!”

Mae cried out at the peak of her song. It shifted from a lament to an inspiration cry. She was no longer allied with the Impuritas anymore, and as a result –

“MAE!”

“THAT’S YOUR VOICE, RIGHT!?”

– Deiman and Autumn, who had arrived at the heart of the clock tower, were empowered by her song.

Indeed, Mae’s song targeted allies of the Nexus.

Hearing their voices caused her to tear up. Their voices of concern were everything she wanted to hear, and her proof that she was loved the way she was now.

“If I can just be a bit more helpful… then she’ll definitely… definitely help me make my wish come true too! The Amalgam has already accomplished things that Iscario still hasn’t! We made an enemy of her without knowing why! She… She can Corrupt people and give people powers! She doesn’t just take them!”

“It was all written in that book. That the Amalgam would bring the world to an end. That could not have been a lie.”

Mozheart sounded uncertain all of a sudden.

“… It couldn’t have…”

He turned towards the scarlet light of the Red Wing, seeking assurance.

But all he saw was the apocalyptic downpour of blood and monsters.

“… Mae, don’t make me start doubting them now. My Virtuoso. Kill the intruders!”

“How can someone we hated for so long… someone we ruined for our selfish wish… still let me walk away? What would’ve Iscario done to us if we did that to him!? How can you forget what it’s like to feel when you were once a normal person!? I… never knew that our Instruments were suffering. I never knew how much it hurt… If that’s the kind of world you want…”

Mae gushed with all her heart. Tears streamed down her face she reluctantly turned to Mozheart one last time, knowing well that she could no longer look at someone who knowing allowed others to suffer.

“Mozheart… let me show you why I can’t go back to the Maestros of Flesh, and why you’ll never have Ara! Ara taught me that the soul is the greatest instrument!”

“The stars of the Epiderma must be poisoning you… This is why we stay underground. If they knew that there are other stars out there than just us…” Mozheart looked over his shoulder, watching a colossal cube devour the distant stars. “Then we’d lose our influence. Very well then. My requiem to you, Mae, will result in the deaths of your friends!”

“Oh? Do you really think so?” A voice suddenly spoke from behind Mozheart.

He swiftly turned around, spotting the violet eyes of a short girl in a black dress. Before he could open his mouth, the girl swirled her fingers in the air, forming a broken shard of light and uttered:

“[Relinquished Star – Shatter]”

The sound of glass shattering permeated throughout the world before all sound was muted for several seconds.

The Virtuoso who had followed Mozheart’s order fractured as though they were made of glass. Pieces of their bodies peeled off, revealing nothing within as they simply shattered.

“I wanted to hear this song so badly. It’s been…” The girl placed a finger on her chin as she childishly thought out loud. “… one, two… maybe three hundred years since I last enjoyed a live performance.”

Mozheart did not recognize this person.

But he knew instinctively that she was incomprehensibly powerful.

He stood stiffly in place like how an animal would play dead before a predator. The girl simply walked past him with divine grace.

“Beautiful. Redemption tales are so sweet. Too bad not many civilizations know how to redeem themselves after they’re banished. Oh well. At least I get to see this.”

She reached into a tear in space. Mozheart expected her to draw a blade and behead him.

However, she pulled out something unexpected.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just here to observe. Quite the view, no?”

She bit into a candy bar and made a delightful expression.

“Strange, how people tend to become silent whenever I’m around.” She said to Mozheart before adding: “Go on. Sing. Perform for the light of the Nexus.”

She urged Mae with a bubbly voice.

“Cleanse your bitter bygones with a sweet beginning. Fear not, for I approve as an Iron Star.”

Finally, Mozheart realized the peril he was in. The Virtosos could not even move an inch. Despite her bright, near innocent appearance – their instincts told them that even death would save them from this person.

Deiman and Autumn had not yet ascended to meet their benefactor, although, they would have survived even without her help.

The girl quietly hummed in tune with Mae’s song before her eyes went wide, revealing tiny stars within her deep purple irises.

“Perfect. By my namesake – Moses – you have the right to assist the endeavors of the Nexus.”