Chapter 21

The marble hall outside the Universal Guard’s meeting chamber hums faintly with tension. The door bursts open with a gust of harmonic wind as a tall, silver-haired woman with crystal-blue eyes and elaborate conductor’s attire floats in, riding on a floating bar of symphonic notation.

Celeste Diminuendo (She/Her)
(casually, arms crossed, levitating midair)
You know…
It’s like you all forget that I’m one of you.

Shizuku
(grinning)
We didn’t forget. We just—
…don’t know how to contact you when you’re busy performing for seventy-five celestial choirs.

Celeste
(winks)
Seventy-six, actually. You’re welcome.

Asche
(clearly tense)
So… you got the message?

Celeste
Please.
Alto sent me a nine-line haiku and Shizuku followed up with a bass clef emoji.
Took me exactly two notes of dramatic silence to realize it was serious.

Berwick
(arms folded)
Then let’s skip to the part where we deploy you.
We don’t have time for concert metaphors—

Celeste
(smiles sweetly, then floats down and lightly taps his shoulder)
Oops.

Berwick immediately blasts backward down the hallway like a ragdoll hit by a jetstream.

Celeste
(humming a little melody)
Note to self… I forget how fragile you all are when I’m warmed up.

She flicks her wrist, a glowing Sound Affinity Bubble snapping into existence. With a harmonic clap, it opens a portal, and Berwick is immediately teleported back into the center of the chamber… upside down.

Berwick
(muffled from the floor)
Was that necessary?

Celeste
(sweetly)
Was doubting me necessary?

Shizuku
(coughs to hide his laughter)
Okay, enough chaos.
Celeste—Raureif’s under mind-control level influence.
We need someone who can reverse massive-scale auditory arcana.
You’re our top pick.

Celeste
(turns serious)
Then I’ll do what I do best.
Break the chorus. Rewrite the melody.
And if Givre’s composing fear into every citizen’s heartbeat…
Then I’ll just have to drown him out with something louder.

Alto
(sighs, finally relaxing)
She’s in.

Astera (smiling for the first time in hours) 

Let’s write him off the score.