The lights slowly dimmed over a crowd containing well over 100 people. A clicking noise sounded as a new light shone down, exposing a figure walking up onto the stage.
The dull chatter of the hundreds of people packed into the room quieted as they all stopped and listened.
"Hello, everyone. I am told that Angeline was originally scheduled for this slot, and I was only requested to come here yesterday. That said, I hope that my performance will be something memorable. I will present a new song to you today."
The young woman on the stage bowed, her flowing golden hair falling gently over her shoulders. As she turned around, her gold-engraved white dress swayed with smooth motions.
"Who… who is this girl? I've never seen her before… she's really pretty, though."
A small wave of whispers traveled through the crowd as the girl walked over to a microphone in the center of the stage. A trio of men gathered behind her, their hands busily fiddling with the instruments they carried.
After nodding to confirm that they were ready, she picked up the microphone, and the lead guitarist began to play.
The first few notes were low and slow, a prologue for what was to come.
To the side of the stage, a young man rubbed his hands together nervously. This was it. An impromptu huge opportunity that arrived out of nowhere. A rush to prepare, but something that could definitely pay off.
Ember's voice joined the song softly, accompanied by a steady drum beat and support from the bass.
~
In the land of lighting,
The walls of the last city hold us dear,
Shielding us from the darkness and fear,
Yet surely not without ending.
~
Ember's voice sounded a bit hollow, almost complacent. It didn't entirely fit with the chords of the guitar, like something was out of place. Like something needed to happen to change it.
With just the first verses, the crowd felt themselves thrown into a familiar yet uneasy world, surrounded by darkness yet at home.
The crowd unconsciously got a bit closer to each other as she continued singing, her voice only starting to gain a bit more strength at the end of the next lines.
~
Is it hopeless to try to leave this confined life?
We're already the lucky ones, a final bastion.
The crazy ones dream there is more out there, beyond darkness' knife.
I join their expedition, I've dreamt beyond them.
I'll glimpse the sun.
~
Ember's singing faded away as Hans's guitar took over, and the girl hummed to augment his skillful picking. As the next verses approached she took a deep breath, preparing for the chorus.
The drums and base steadily grew louder, building up for her to rejoin the song.
As she opened her mouth, the instruments went silent for just a moment, and in that half-second, the clang of a pin's drop could've been heard across the concert hall.
~
Outside, lightning crackles overhead- it's the same.
This sinister picture smiles creepily again, it refuses to change.
No one has noticed, we're all about to die.
There are monsters in their dreams… in their dreams…
~
Ember repeated the last line, her voice fading behind the supporting instruments. The entire venue was shrouded in the looming aura of fear, the same as the terror in the singer's voice. Still, the drums beat steadily, forcing the bass to keep pace, and forcing the listeners forward.
They all nodded their heads with the drum's dull, repeated thumping, everyone's actions repeating similarly.
Elric clenched his fist as Ember's voice strengthened once more, still repeating that same line.
~
In their dreams, in my dreams…
In my dreams, there are things too.
~
Ember's voice turned rough and furious as her vocals opened up.
~
There are no chains,
No monsters to stop me, no sinister painting.
In my dreams, I won't halt-
Not until I glimpse the sun!
~
The symphony of the drums clashed against Hans's raging guitar, while the bass stayed with Ember's singing. Over her head, the spotlights shining down brightened, causing her gold-embroidered dress the shine like a mystic sun.
A few screaming cheers from the awakened crowd tried to join the chaotic fray of music, but the musicians' momentum was too great.
Ember didn't have a chance to stop to take a breath, but her face was still gleaming with passion as the chorus returned.
~
Swords clash with lightning
Blood and flesh fly away,
Their dreams move to flee-
Ah. The painting smiles again.
~
The previously raging guitar quieted in just a moment, and the voracious drum beat faded into the background.
In an instant, Ember's confident and furious voice fell back to the depression at the start of the song.
~
Was I wrong all along?
Clearly, they weren't crazy.
Those dreams they saw,
They are here, with the painting-
They are real.
And the darkness is hazy.
~
Ember's voice sounded like that of someone about to lose hope.
Someone who was faced with proof of their defeat.
The spotlights shining above Ember dimmed as the singer knelt down.
~
And in the dimming light,
I fall down low,
This… is this my blight?
Maybe… I'll never glimpse the sun.
~
Ember's voice faded away as the bridge finished, leaving just the bass playing.
The deep instrument played a descending string of chords, walking the song down to a lul. Just as the walking bass reached an end, Han's guitar joined in weakly, a tiny bit of tension left, an unwillingness to entirely admit defeat.
Ember slowly climbed to her feet, her head still slightly bowed, but a defiant expression on her face.
The drum tapped three times, and in an instant, all of the spotlights beamed down as Ember's voice exploded back in full force, accompanied by the other instruments.
~
Maybe their dreams are real,
But who cares anyway?
~
A cruel smile formed on Ember's face.
~
Who cares about their dream monsters?
And what grinning painting?
What are they…
~
All of the stage lights lit Ember up, causing her golden dress to sparkle brighter than the greatest of stars.
~
In the face of the sun!
~
Ember's heart-wrenching, desperate, and endlessly confident scream tore over the crowd, rooting everyone where they stood as Hans's guitar took over to finish the song with a solo.
She heaved for breath after her last verse trailed off, and small beads of sweat ran down her face.
There wasn't a sliver of nervousness in her gaze.
She'd crushed it, and she knew it.
The perfect performance, one that far surpassed what anyone could've ever expected.
There were still a number of songs left to sing, but there was nothing to worry about.
Tonight was her chance to shine as brightly as the sun, and she wasn't going to let the excitement in the room die.
When Hans's solo ended, the whole room over well over a hundred people stayed silent for a moment.
In the next, it exploded into the loudest applause the venue had ever received.