The large metal garage door lifted open, revealing a concrete road and a massive wall ahead. Outdoor bars and restaurants were set up near the wall, with vibrant holographic signs illuminating the street. The atmosphere was lively, and the simple lifestyle of the people was evident as they gathered each night to drink, socialize, and enjoy music. Although the establishments were low quality, the people were laid back. However, this was not the type of lifestyle I desired; I had come here with a specific goal in mind.
The flying Van slowly hovered above the ground and moved towards the front of the garage. Once the Van exited, the large metal door automatically descended to seal the entrance completely. Gradually, the flying Van levitated and took off into the sky, revealing a breathtaking view of numerous floating islands illuminated by various colored lights.
Our performance was located at the tower near the north cliff of this floating island known as the Laid-back sky park. As the vehicle approached the edge of the tower rooftop, I was greeted by bustling sky bars and outdoor restaurants filled with people. The rooftop was expansive, stretching along the perimeter of the tower, and offering a panoramic view of the entire island.
The tower was adorned with ornate railings and featured a holographic barrier lining its perimeter in every direction, ensuring the safety of those inside by preventing any accidental falls. Additionally, vibrant flowers, trees, and plants were carefully scattered throughout the tower, creating a picturesque scene and bringing a touch of natural beauty to the surroundings.
Holographic advertisements were also noticeable about numerous products and one advertisement even featured Stella with her long blue hair singing on a stage filled with thousands of people in the hall.
The rooftop of this tower was a lively gathering place, with locals and tourists from other sectors and continents alike coming together to enjoy the breathtaking sights. People of all ages can be seen strolling along the edge, chatting with friends, and taking in the mesmerizing views of the floating island and the park below.
The park near the edge of the tower enhances the charm of the rooftop. It features lush greenery, well-manicured lawns, and colorful flower beds, creating a serene oasis amidst the bustling atmosphere. The sound of laughter and children playing in the park fills the air, adding a sense of joy and liveliness to the surroundings.
On the rooftop, I could spot families having picnics on the grass, couples enjoying romantic walks, and friends gathering for a leisurely afternoon. Some individuals sit on the benches, engrossed in their tablet displays or simply soaking in the peaceful atmosphere.
As the flying Van landed on the parking station of the rooftop, we left the vehicle and opened the back of the van to unload our instruments and equipment.
Then we carried it to the very edge of the rooftop that had a view of other floating islands from far away filled with vibrant light, it was the location where we would perform our gigs.
As I walked with my friends toward the edge of the rooftop that had a holographic barrier with the same technology as the dome shield, along the street paved road made from brick I also encountered street performers showcasing their talents, adding an artistic touch to the vibrant scene.
Musicians playing melodious tunes, painters capturing the beauty around them, and magicians entertaining the crowds with their tricks all contribute to the lively ambiance.
This was why this place became a popular place for an artist to showcase their skills, due to the laid-back atmosphere and people truly enjoying their performance.
Once we arrived at a warehouse tent near the holographic barrier that encircled this rooftop, many people were already there. One man with a fat belly and short green hair could be seen walking toward Bridget, despite this age people could easily change their body shape, and this fat man must not care much about his appearance.
"Bridget, today your band can only perform three songs, and if you are doing great, you can do a fourth one as well depending on whether the viewer likes your performance or not," The chairman said.
Bridget had the look of someone who had just experienced an unfair trial in court, his expression said it all that today we were meant to perform more than three songs.
"But we have an agreement that today my band will perform five songs in total," Bridget replied with a reactive tone.
The fat man replied with an annoying face "Just be thankful that your kid has a place to perform, it is not about money. It is about supply and demand, you have talent but it is not enough."
Bridget was about to lash out at him but Stella raised her hand to pull him back.
She said, "It is not worth causing a fight, we are used to it."
Understood her words, Bridget calmed down and nodded to her words. Now, we decided to play three songs and that was enough for us to showcase our ability.
We had only performed a third time in this place, so we were confident that this fourth time would bring us the attention we wanted.
As soon as we step in, the crowd begins to cheer. This crowd, some of them I noticed had always been supporting my band since we were performing on other streets and parks.
Once we arrived on the small stage, big enough for ten people as this was a tiny stage, we took our time to set up our equipment such as Setsuna's drum and Stella's piano.
Bridget took the backstage to set up his audio control equipment while Ginevra was tuning her bass.
After we had set up our equipment, Stella placed the microphone stand before her keyboard.
Subsequently, she looked behind, gazing at everyone, and signaling us to be ready, we nodded to reassure her.
Except Setsuna who was checking her drum equipment after she took a seat and seemed to not care about Stella at all.
The surroundings of the stage suddenly became dark and the only source of light was all pointed at the small stage with a big holographic screen as background.
A holographic display began to light up throughout the area with blue and red particles giving an enchanted feeling to the audience.
I told everyone on the stage "Put on our earbuds."
Everyone put on their earbuds so they could hear communication from each other and synchronize better.
When I put on the earbuds, I could hear Bridget say the audio was all set and clear. Now we could continue with our performance, I replied with a thank you.
At the same time, I saw a familiar man standing in one corner of the room, he was the security guard of my cathedral. So he asked for a day off just to come to this gig? I was very grateful for his support.
Unexpectedly I also noticed a white hair man with a white shirt and sunglasses on, crossing his arms, and leaning against one of the street lambs that had no light on. Despite the fact that the area didn't have much light since the street lamp was turned off, I could tell it was the same white hair man who I encountered in front of the Skyport this morning.
-What is he doing here?- I pondered.
Nonetheless, I didn't let his presence bother me. With a calm tone, I said to everyone through the earbuds that picked up my voice.
"Let go wild!"
There was no need for an introduction, immediately I could hear a powerful yet beautiful voice coming from her stomach to her throat and pushing to the audience making them quiet, and stood frozen, amazed by her voice.
This song begins with A Capella.
[ 🎶 Rebel against your fate, the soul of a renegade. Revolution!🎵]
Although she was wearing a mask, her powerful voice could make people feel the raw emotion she sang without an instrument.
After the first verse, I immediately played a solo and Shan strummed his guitar to make a combination of melody and power chords.
Meanwhile, Setsuna lightly played her drum following the rhyme, I was glad she followed everyone's rhyme instead of playing at her own pace like before. Right now I could tell everyone was in the zone! Even Ginevra's bass was out of this world and perfectly matched the time signature of the song.
Meanwhile, Stella continued her singing as she played chords on her keyboard, She used growls to inject a gravelly angst into her voice, but she could also belt a soft and clear falsetto on a dime. – She has a versatile voice and can add power to it.
There were nearly two hundred people here but the crowd kept cheering like there were thousands of the audience as the song became more powerful Setsuna's drum began to increase the volume and consistently got louder as she followed the rhythm of the song.
After she finished her singing holding a long note at the end, the crowd cheering grew even louder. Now it was time for us to play the second time, the second song was pop-like with the combination of hip hop so Setsuna came to the front stage.
As I play the melody and Bridget uses a pre-loop sample and beat, Setsuna showcases her rapping skills to be incredible. Then once it reached the second verse, it was time for Setsuna to sing with her powerful and melody voice, In the third voice both of them sang and rapped in style blending harmoniously with each other.
Despite their conflict, it seems like they put it aside once they were on stage.
Some people also recorded our playing, the atmosphere was so crazy that I couldn't help but smile. So this might be the life I wanted to have, to be able to do what I love while traveling with my friend!
We were playing two more songs, the third song was a blend of jazz and pop, the fourth was a post-rock but suddenly I could feel a heavy atmosphere in the room, it got heavier and heavier as Stella gave a heartful thanks to everyone who presence here to supporting our band.
At first, it was only approximately fifty people but it quickly rose to around two hundred people as my eyes now paid more attention to the audience after the end of the performance, I still felt nervous but somehow I got through it.
Out of nowhere, my body lost balance.
My hand was shaking tremendously, and I needed to calm myself down. My legs also became sore, and strength began to lose my body for unknown reasons. All around me, everything gradually became black and the sound of the audience clapping also faded into the background like a TV with no signal.
Perhaps, everything happened to me at such a fast pace in just one day. Now my body had probably reached its limits, as I fell onto the ground, the guitar made a loud buzzing noise as it was still connected to the stereo.
A loud noise caught everyone's attention, instantly I heard footsteps rushing toward me. My vision became blurry when I heard Shan calling out to me his voice became like a lullaby, I felt so sleepy and tired right now.
Meanwhile, before I completely lost my vision, I caught a glimpse of the white hair man smiling at me from afar and purple particles floating on his palm glowing, when he pointed at me, the purple particles dashed forward at incredible speed toward me.
My eyes were completely shut, and my consciousness faded away as I fell into a deep sleep.
*
[3RD POV INNITIALIZE]
Gaining the attention of the crowd, a teenager with blonde hair on the stage that enveloped completely by a blue carpet. His guitar lay beside him, the once boy who seemed invincible with his guitar now passed out even without a warning.
The girl with blue hair and a mask that concealed half of her face rushed toward the boy lay faced the floor of the stage and quickly put his head resting on her arms, there was already one brown hair boy whose name was Shan who tried to wake up Einsamer as he kneeled beside the laying unconsciousness Einsamer.
When Stella arrived next to Einsamer, she immediately pushed Shan aside and pushed Einsamer to expose his belly, she then listened to his heart and checked his pulse on the wrist.
She found out his pulse was weak, and his heartbeat was slower than usual. Nonetheless, there was no abnormal condition, she concluded that he might just be too tired that his body had finally reached the limit for the day.
Despite this, Einsamer has gone through a traumatic experience mentally in TWOD, surviving the encounter with the Orc demon lord. Preparing for his mid-term exam, added on with intense physical training with his kickboxing trainer, Geralt.
Additionally, he had to put all of his mind and body into playing the guitar with three strong straight without missing even notes, it was expected for his body to reach a limit yet he wasn't aware of this fact.
Einsamer prided himself in terms of physical endurance, nonetheless, he was still just a human.
Shan said, "I will call the ambulance."
Stella looked at him with a not-so-concerned face and said "There is no need, he is just too tired."
Shan knew that Stella was always worried about Einsamer, so when he saw her face it didn't have a hint of tension. He immediately understands her words and retreats from his thoughts on calling the ambulance.
Another black hair girl stood up and shouted from a distance with a concerned tone "He is passing out, why won't you call the ambulance?"
The crowd also got confused, they must have the same idea as Setsuna.
Stella sighed and whispered something into Einsamer's ears, like an ancient lullaby. It was soothing, like a mermaid song calling for her past lover.
In that instant, Einsamer's lid opened revealing a glimpse of his consciousness, and the light in his eyes rekindled. As if hearing a song that awoken something deep within his subconsciousness, Einsamer murmured the first words upon his awoken.
The first word he murmured was "Lumina!"
Stella's eyes widened upon hearing this name, yet she stayed quiet and observed.
With his right hand rubbing his head, Einsamer continued "Didn't I just have a conversation with the white hair man? where is he?"
Now he could get up on his own as he fully regained his consciousness, the audience's confusion also died down.