act29side

Things will get better.

They won't have suffered for nothing. This place will be completely different tomorrow.

I'll make sure you get to see that for yourself, Viviana.

I promise.

What a beautiful sunrise.

(Humming)

Barrier.

Mm... Mmm? Hm...

We know a thing or two about your Arts, Meine Dame.

Now, neither you nor your cello are capable of making a sound.

(Silent humming)

You made up your mind.

The Voice of Mundane... I've been dying to have someone take it away. If you've no plans to use it as a bomb, then be my guest.

So you finally believe me?

I... admit I owe you an apology. And a word of thanks. If it wasn't for you, then I might not be Ebenholz right now, but some other <i>thing</i>.

But please, spare me all this nonsense about 'trust' or what have you. I'd rather not see you pounce on me and knock me out with your sword the moment I spit out the words 'I trust you.'

I wasn't planning to. For now.

...Well, that's nice.

Someone's playing the cello.

They're mourning the victims with music.

It was just like this when I first met Gerhard.

He told me that... through music, the wills of the dead are carried on through us.

He was so quiet and gentle. I really thought he was...

I'm an idiot, aren't I?

I couldn't even see through their masks. I couldn't even see... who was controlling my life.

How I wish I could be more like... No matter how many obstacles he encountered, he never lost hope. He even smiled as he...

This piece...

What's wrong?

Who's playing the cello up there?!

The dormitory isn't far. Maybe a student?

That's impossible.

Calm down. We can't expose ourselves yet.

It's exactly the same... How could it be exactly the same?!

The Sky is blue and fine,

The Breeze lilts by in Song;

The River murmurs clear,

My Heart is filled with...

...Hope...

Where did you learn to play like that?

Huh? I'm nothing special, really.

Not your technique, you fool, your emotions! Where did you learn to play this cello piece almost exactly like he did?!

I...

No one else played like him. I checked over and over. After he died, I've been to so many places and listened to even more musicians play that same piece!

Who was your teacher?!

Um... Arturia. My teacher's name is Arturia.

Is she a Sankta? A Sankta with very long hair, who dresses plainly?

Do you know her too? I saw her just today. She told me to keep practicing here, without worrying about the sounds outside.

...Without worrying about the sounds?

That Sankta... Is she a remnant of the Witch King too?!

N-No, that's impossible. She's very kind.

Where is she? I need to see her. I need to question her myself! I...

Ugh!

Another headache?

Did you know, Lessing? He and I... Everything in our lives was given to us by others. Our pain, our joy... our despair.

So if even our hope...

Even our hope...

I don't know if I actually want that answer.

Have you thought it through?

Hohoh, what is there to think about? The school was burnt down by Herkunftshorn's embers. I could miss it all I want, but that wouldn't bring it back.

I've forgotten... How long have I been in Leithanien? Five hundred years? Longer?

When I first got here, there was nothing. No nomadic cities, no spires, no nobles. Hah, back then, everyone lived in the forests by the lakes. They lit fires to eat, and used rocks to shelter from the wind.

To us, a few decades are more than though for a city to rise and fall, a man to go from young to old, or a pair of close companions to have a falling out and go their separate ways.

That's right. It's been but an instant since this place went from Vedunien to Zwillingstürme. I wonder what the city will be called next.

And when that lamb with the rotten luck and a brain full of nothing but melodies is taken care of, I'll fulfill my promise to you. After that, I think I'll take a stroll around town.

And once that's done...

We'll leave.

Tell the nobles they can have a good night's sleep, for once.

I've already explained it to them, long ago.

Explained what? That Liches aren't like Vampires and don't get involved with Military Commission business, so they can rest easy that this place won't be the next Londinium?

Do you really believe they simply don't understand, Grimmacht?

And are you really so whimsically unaware of who stands behind those nobles that want to chase the Liches out?

You two can deal with the fallout afterwards.

The Liches have indeed stayed here for far too long. Knowledge should never have taken the side of any one nation or race.

Do you even know how many Leithanian terms our brats use in their writing these days? It's absolutely outrageous!

We should've left when Herkunftshorn bought the farm.

This... is just a belated farewell.

The white-haired Lich lifts his hand.

As though having been granted permission, a large number of slender silhouettes appear beneath the setting sun.

Perhaps they'd been standing there the whole time. They were simply masquerading as ordinary students and faculty. However, from this moment onwards, they are no longer concerned with how different they are from other Leithanians.

The Liches all raise their hands.

Countless paper-thin strands of silk extend from their bodies and into the dark clouds up above.

Then, a radiance like starlight comes falling down. Looking up, many of the students see the sunset, the night, and the sunrise all at once.

Within that brimming radiance, the dark flames on the earth are extinguished without a sound. Not long after, the silk-threaded shadows also disappear into the dream-like rain.

Ever since, no more trace of the Liches could be found in Leithanien's spires.