The Music Speaks

***Somewhere far, far beyond reach***

When I open my eyes, three entities stand in what appears to be a room made of pure white. There is no furniture, no windows, or doors in that room. Although it appears to be an enclosed space, upon closer look it seems to stretch on indefinitely. If one were to search for an exit following their entry into the room, it is unlikely their quest would ever end. Confused, I look around, trying to understand this this predicament. More than once, my gaze lingers on the three entities standing within the confines of this strange place.

‘W-what is this place… who are they?’

Although there is not a speck of darkness within the four walls, the entities can only be seen through silhouettes vaguely resembling a human body. This makes it impossible to discern their appearances, beyond perhaps their height or corpulence. All that is made clearly visible is the contour of their eyes and the contour of their mouths, allowing one to read their expression.

I try to speak, hoping they could help me grasp this situation, but no sound comes out. I then try to scream, only to be met with the same result. Since my voice seems non-functional, I decide to walk towards them, but the distance does not shorten no matter how many steps I think I’ve taken. Perplexed, I shift my gaze downward, looking for clues, but I find nothing. In the literal sense of the term, there is nothing when I look down, I cannot see my body. This is quickly followed by my realization that I cannot feel my body either, or anything for that matter. It’s as if my consciousness was ripped from its shell and dropped into this room without it. I fear that all I can do is stare at the three entities inhabiting this place.

On the left, an entity which seems to don long spiky hair and possess eyes of an unnatural golden hue wears a smirk on its face. With its hands clasped behind its back. it speaks, a soft chuckle preceding its words.

“Hey, it seems he’s finally starting to get the hang of it. Are you happy your protégé is improving, [█████]?”

I was not sure before, but from the shape of its silhouette and from the depth of its voice, I imagine the entity must be a man, a young one. The one he appears to be talking to, the entity in the center, turns to him, a large smile decorating its face. It strokes its long beard as it speaks to him.

“Haha! Are you really expanding your power to peek before the time? How wasteful!” The entity in the middle responds.

The one on the left rolls its eyes. “It’s not like there’s much to do around here this time of year! I don’t know how you two deal with the boredom, seriously.”

With those words, the entity on the far right appears unable to contain its discontentment. Even through its obscured silhouette, I notice that it is wearing an extremely heavy set of armor, the type which seems to make it difficult to even move properly. A large helmet covers its head, and every time it moves, the sound of metal scraping against metal resonates. In a stern, but higher-pitched voice, the entity answers with a grumble. “I grow tired of your incessant rambling. We are here to fulfill our duty, not to fool around.”

‘A young man, an older man, and this one… a woman?’

This is quickly followed by a mocking grin from the entity in the center. “You don’t have to be so shy [█████], we know you’re interested, you both do share the same blood after all.”

She clenches her fist before throwing a glare to the entity in the middle. “... I’ve cut all ties with that place eons ago.”

She snaps her head the other way, signaling that she no longer wishes to speak, and the conversation ends. The entities go back to what they had been doing. Once more, I try to move, I try to scream, I try to do something, anything. As I struggle, what seems to be an eternity passes, until the entity on the left speaks again.

“I must say though, at this rate we might really be able to-”

“Watch what you say” the one on the right says.

The leftmost entity turns to her, shocked and offended. “Hey… is it a fight that you want, because I’m not scared of-”

She clicks her tongue, raises her left arm covered in thick and noisy armor, then points to me. “He’s been using your path to gaze back. Should he hear what you plan to say, we’ll have no choice but to start over.”

Both of the men slowly turn in my direction, a frown forming on their face.

“Well… would you look at that…” The younger one says.

“Ohoh…?” The older one mutters

My heart rate increases tremendously. I’m not sure why, but I feel as though I should not be here, that I should never have come. I feel every inch of my being entering a state of agony as their gaze lands upon me. My eyes shift back and forth between the three of them. When we lock eyes, I feel that the gaze of the entity with the golden pupils is especially crushing, making it hard for me to even think. In some sense, it is similar to the fear Soulweaver instilled in me during our encounter, but in reality the two can not even be compared.

While I felt that my life and freedom was threatened in Soulweaver’s presence, when I look at these beings, I know that my very existence is at risk. I do not doubt that with a wave of a hand, either one of them could put an end to me permanently. The helplessness I feel is palpable. The fear they inflict upon me is the kind to make one lose all reason. If I could scream, I would have at this point.

‘These guys, they’re powerful… powerful beyond reason…!!’

As my mind reaches a breaking point, threatening to never be whole again, a strange instrument manifests itself in the hands of the entity in the center. Because of the visual obstruction, I am unable to discern what kind of instrument it is, but I can at least say that it is some kind of string instrument. The old man plays a singular note and the pressure immediately vanishes. “There’s no need to bully our friend here, is there?”

The young man closes his golden eyes. “Hmph! I feel a bit insulted at being taken advantage of! I had to teach him a lesson.”

“His presence is compromising our task, send him back old man.” The armored woman says.

The old man strokes his beard and dispels the instrument which he had been holding a moment ago. “Haha! You both are so hostile. It’s not his fault he’s here and you know it. He just does not understand how to use his gift.”

“...Nonetheless, he must go now.” the woman tells him.

“I rarely say this, but I agree with [█████]. Make him leave” The young man replies.

“To think this is the only instance when you both can reach common ground… Well then, my hands are tied aren’t they?”

He lets out a long sigh and looks straight at me. One moment, the old man is far from reach, the next, he is right in front of me. Strangely, despite me not having a body, the old man softly pats my head and offers a warm smile. I get a glimpse of his eyes, before they begin shining with a brilliant radiance.

‘Those eyes… they’re…’

“Off you go little one, I’d like to have you deliver a message for me, but you won’t remember this encounter.”

He places the tip of his index finger in the space between my eyebrows and a soothing sensation envelops me.

‘N-no, wait!’

***Somewhere far, far beyond reach***