act29side

Come at me.

Gesatzswächter...!

The melody has begun. Not even you can stop its flow!

Perhaps not.

Your sword is... reverberating?

It's useless, Gesatzswächter. You may be able to chain down a single man's mind, but a hundred? A thousand? Your melody will be drowned in chaos.

Much like how the Gesatzswächter were unable to stop the melee at the foot of the Witch King's Spire twenty-three years ago...

If so, I will kill chaos itself.

His longsword pierces not his enemy's chest, but instead the ground beneath them.

A golden radiance surges from the blade, drowning out even the Gesatzswächter's armor, then dashes toward the sky to form a webbing the color of the setting sun, enveloping Sonata Spire within it.

All sounds within reach of his Arts are drowned out, leaving nothing but the solemn melody reverberating in the air.

A golden curtain?

Those Arts should take at least ten Gesatzswächter to cast! How did you manage it all on your own?!

I... ugh!

The harmony of the Güldenesgesatz is inviolable.

Today, no one outside Ludwigs-Universität will hear a single discordant note.

I swear by my flesh, blood, and soul—

Not a single remnant of the Witch King will leave this spire alive. You and your Arts must be extinguished here.

The melody's changed again.

Gerhard.

Took you long enough, Professor.

I'm sure killing us Leithanian casters would be a simple matter for you.

But as always, you're unwilling to dirty your own hands.

How many times do I have to tell you? Us Liches are just the keepers of the palace of knowledge.

We bring our wisdom to the different races to advance the development of Arts, but we never interfere with a country's own affairs. That was the Court of the Lich King's contract with your ancestors, and it is the Liches' creed.

I understand all too well. A group of Sarkaz living in Leithanien's most ancient spire, the seat of her power—No Leithanian would willingly accept that truth.

I'm quite jealous of you, you know. Even against Herkunftshorn, all you did was provide the enchantment that molded those twins.

You didn't need to bear the responsibility of changing history, nor did you stain your hands with... the blood of your closest friend.

I don't get what you're thinking at all. Years ago, <i>you're</i> the one tried to convince me to stop Herkunftshorn, but now you're mingling with these third-rate wannabes!

Ja, because I changed. And you're the one who changed me.

You had me research the Güldenesgesatz and think on Leithanien's history. And I did exactly as you asked.

But the deeper I got into my research, the more I... despaired.

Herkunftshorn's accomplishments were simply too dazzling.

He resolved the Siracusan problem and saved Leithanien when it was on the verge of breaking apart. He crushed Corsica I and prevented us from becoming a Gaulish vassal state.

Only through his presence have we thwarted every existential threat to the country, again and again.

We had such a great man on the throne, and... we killed him.

When did I ever tell you to read up on how great Herkunftshorn was?

Besides, what does his 'greatness' have to do with him killing so many Sarkaz and Leithanians alike, turning the country into a smoking hot mess, and plugging his ears to anyone else's opinions?

I had you study the Güldenesgesatz because I wanted you to have a more open-minded outlook. Not to pour over every trivial growing pain every nation goes through. Hardships happen, then everyone goes back to their lives.

But somehow you ended up caught up in <i>this</i> nonsense. How can you even consider this when so many have died?

...Because I can't see them, Professor.

I'm not like you, a Sarkaz with control over even death itself. When we die, that's it. We become a speck of dust on this land forever. The dead can never feel my hatred.

All those years ago, I was the one who persuaded them to fight. I sent them to their deaths in the Witch King's spire. If that battle had never happened, he wouldn't have died, and neither would they.

You idiot. And that's why you want to resurrect him?

You can't possibly think that, when you do see him, he's going to praise you for this? Or even comfort you? He wasn't some kindly old grandfather who sang nursery rhymes to dumb kids!

He wouldn't even spare you a glance. He'd treat you as a speck of dust dirtying his floor.

Ha... Haha... You still don't understand a thing.

A selfish and cowardly man like me...

Everything I do... I do to seek my own forgiveness.

That thing you're holding... The missing Güldenesgesatz?!

More precisely, it's the lingering trace of Herkunftshorn's power he left in the Güldenesgesatz.

You want to use his Arts by force? Don't be stupid, Gerhard! You can't do it!

I've come too far not to.

I don't want... to regret this a second time.

A flame rises, so black and so red that it seems drenched in blood.

The walls of the chamber tremble violently. Originium crystals sprout and grow from every crevice between the brick and tile, even piercing the ground's foundation.

Ugh... Argh...

Ebenholz!

Hurry, Gerhard's going to destroy this whole school!

Witch... King...

The Voice of Mundane... It's boiling in my head. It... It'll be free soon...

That's not the Voice of Mundane reacting.

It's... not?

I don't know who first got it wrong. Or maybe Gerhard has given up on summoning him through you entirely.

But Herkunftshorn's power isn't originating from your mind. You aren't the key melody here!

Arturia.

You're a little later than expected.

Is it because you were helping the Gendarmerie? You've grown soft. What happened to the executor who would stop at nothing to fulfill his mission?

The fourth sculpture.

You aren't playing.

You must be shocked, aren't you?

Like I've told you, you don't need to rush to find me. Until my real audience arrives, I'm just a listener myself.

You aren't the source of the illusions the men below are experiencing.

I'm a little hurt. We've been competing against each other for how long now? But you still confuse the 'truth' my music draws out with the 'illusions' a conman would use.

Besides, haven't you noticed? The people trapped in this spire have always hated each other. They've never stopped fighting.

Isn't laying the blame for this chaos entirely on mind-affecting Arts also a form of running away?

Leithanien's affairs are not within the purview of the Notarial Hall. My primary targets are limited to you and your accomplices.

Who is manipulating the sculptures to protect you?

An avid listener of mine.

You arrived a bit too late. Just a little earlier and you could also have had a front row seat to <i>Der Tod des Hexenkönigs</i>.

The fifth.

Arturia, I'm well acquainted with every crime you have committed. Your Arts have affected a variety of regions and social classes, but you have never actively participated in political conflict.

Do you remember my mother's funeral?

How I freed the emotions everyone had kept hidden in their hearts. It was the first time I realized how easily others fell into my melodies.

But that brought me no joy. Quite the opposite. I was disappointed.

Powerful emotions should give rise to more than just chaos. Emotions are meant to bolster our souls, to allow us to overcome any obstacle... even our predestined extinction.

Which is why I came here in my search.

The sixth.

If you're looking to perform for the Witch King, then you will never succeed. He perished long ago. Your melody has no effect on the dead.

It would seem you're a little mistaken about this performance.

The shadow over the throne was dispersed, and the twin heroes walked out of the spire to the adoration of the masses... While those who stayed put are still waist deep in the emotions they felt when they witnessed the mountain crumble before them.

<i>Der Tod des Hexenkönigs</i> isn't about the Witch King. He was never the main character of this piece.

What happened... Why are we here? Ugh, my hand hurts! Why am I bleeding?

The stairs are shaking! Is the spire coming down? What's with the black fire burning from the ground... Help! Help!

These are Herkunftshorn's enchantments. You've all come to your senses... We need to get out of the spire, now!

Ngh... guh...

You're awake too?

Candlelight... Candle... Can...

Candlelight?

Here, this way.