Disclosure

[November 16th, 08:59 JST]

Tokyo Prefecture – Harmonia Foundation Tama Facility, Lecture Hall Zero One

Reina paused outside the door. From within came the lively chatter of high school-aged recruits, girls who had resonated with a D-Mic for the first time but had yet to learn what that truly meant. Most of them still believed the Aria Corps to be an elite idol program. None knew what Divas really fought against.

Emi stood behind her, steadying her wheelchair. Reina flexed her leg, feeling slowly returning to it, though still unreliable.

Inside, the rest of Tempesta Unit waited in full uniform along the walls, prepared to assist her.

Reina adjusted her coat, exhaling quietly. Emi leaned forward with a reassuring smile; Reina nodded back.

The door opened.

The lecture hall stretched upward in a neat, ascending row, more academy than battlefield. Conversations died instantly as dozens of recruits turned toward her, their eyes widening in unison. They saw their supposed idol captain in a wheelchair, her entire unit already stationed inside, and their excitement faltered into uncertain silence.

Reina wheeled herself to the podium while Emi connected the laptop to the projector.

“Good morning,” Reina began, her tone calm but firm. “Before we start, let me introduce myself. I am Tachibana Reina, Captain of Aria Corps Team 02 — Tempesta Unit.”

A ripple of whispers stirred across the room, a mix of surprise, confusion, and questions they didn’t dare voice.

Reina let the murmurs fade before continuing.

“Today… I will tell you something you were never told, yet something you must know.” Her gaze swept slowly across the wide-eyed rows. “You will have a choice to make. And that choice will change you — your future, your world, and everything you thought you understood. Once you step onto this side… there is no going back.”

A few recruits shifted uncomfortably at Reina’s words. Whispered panic rippled through the front rows, some of them clutching their D-Mics as if they were suddenly unsure they wanted to be holding them.

Nana let out a small laugh.

“Relax, relax. Being a Diva isn’t that bad — you get a huge allowance and wear cool costumes while singing around the world.”

Misaki clicked her tongue.

“That’s partially correct, unless you want to end up like Nana-chan over there, blowing her entire allowance on Blu-rays of boxing matches.”

Uneasy laughter flickered across the room, thin and nervous but enough to soften the tension.

Reina allowed herself a small, hidden smile as she tapped the laptop.

The first slide appeared:

A faded photograph of an ancient stone mural showed five figures carved in sweeping lines, each singing toward a central ring of runes.

The hall quieted instantly.

“This,” Reina said, “is where everything began. Aria Corps is not a new program. The name existed within the Foundation from the very beginning, about ten years ago.”

Confused looks spread across the room.

One recruit raised her hand timidly.

“Um… Tachibana-senpai? Is that from a… lost advanced civilization? Like the ones in documentaries?”

Reina nodded.

“Correct. But not advanced in the modern sense. Their strength came from resonance, mana shaped through song, a form of magic that guided everything they built.”

She raised her D-Mic slightly.

“They called it songcraft. Today, we call it Ars Aria.”

A ripple of disbelief spread across the room.

Reina nodded at Emi.

Emi stepped forward, lifted her D-Mic, and sang a soft, wordless note.

A small sphere of water gathered out of thin air above her palm, clear and trembling in a impossible suspension.

Nana tuned into Emi’s resonance, sparks crackling before blooming into a tiny flame dancing above her fist.

Momoko followed with a gentle flick of her wrist; a miniature tornado spiraled into existence on her open palm.

The recruits recoiled or leaned forward, fascination written across their faces.

“Is that real—?”

“They didn’t use props?”

“I thought the special effects on TV were just… effects…”

Reina let them react before continuing.

“The murals hinted at something else too,” she said, switching slides.

The next image appeared: a cracked stone panel depicting a falling star. Beneath it, swirling mist-like creatures crawling up from the ground.

“Outsiders invaded,” Reina said quietly. “More accurately, something fell from the sky. Fragments of rock that resonated with their songs.”

She tapped the screen.

The carving shifted to silhouettes of mist-like beasts with sharp, red-etched eyes.

“Creatures emerged from where those fragments landed, magical, shapeless beings formed from resonance and frequency.”

She took a breath.

“We call them Cataclysmic Organism of Deviant Aria. In short—” The projector showed highlighted letters: C.O.D.A.

A collective shiver rippled through the hall.

A recruit finally whispered the question trembling on all their faces:

“… Senpai… are those things real?”

Reina met her eyes. “Yes”

Another raised her hand, voice cracking.

“D-Did those creatures… wipe out the civilization?”

Reina switched the slides again.

A mural depicted ancient people singing, with water, fire, wind, earth and lightning swirling around them as they faced a colossal monster of black mist.

She exhaled slowly.

“In the end, they fought back. This mural shows one of their last battles… but the price for victory was steep. Their cities vanished. Their culture vanished. Only these ruins remain.”

A girl abruptly stood up, trembling.

“W-Why are we learning this? Why us?”

“Because…” Reina’s voice softened. “… we were warned of their inevitable return.”

The projector displayed the final slide:

A carving of falling stars was shown next, and at the bottom, were a series of slanted lines and dots. Even at a glance, anyone could read what it indicated.

November 8th.

“That’s why the Harmonia Foundation exists. That is why Aria Corps was created in secret. And that is why each of you — girls who resonated with a D-Mic — were brought here.”

The hall fell completely still.

Reina looked over them, her voice steady but trembling at the edges.

“We are the only ones who can fight them. Without Diva, humanity will fall, just as that ancient civilization did. The songs we sing are the blessing that this world needs.”

She paused for half a breath, too brief for the room to notice but long enough for a shadow to cross her eyes.

“…or a curse that will bind you forever.”

The whisper never reached anyone’s ears but her own.

“From this point on, you are not simply deciding whether to become idols. You are deciding which oath you will take: become Diva… or walk away entirely.”

She hesitated for a moment, then let the words she never intended to say slip out.

“Before you choose, think about your life. Think of someone — or something — you must protect. Because if you walk away now… and one day, the CODA could take it away from you…”

Her breath tightened for a moment, barely noticeable to anyone except her team.

“…you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

A hush fell over the room, deeper than before.

Reina continued, quieter:

“Every girl in Aria Corps has something they need to protect, something they refuse to lose. And that is what gives a Diva strength.”

Heavy silence lingered in the hall.

Some recruits stared at their D-Mics as if the devices had become foreign objects. Others kept their eyes fixed on the floor, knuckles white, their earlier excitement replaced with a fear they were still trying to swallow.

Reina allowed the stillness to settle. They needed a moment to breathe... to absorb.

Then she straightened in her wheelchair, voice firm but steady.

“It’s okay. This one week of experience will be the best time for you to decide,” she said. “The world you believed in changed in the last twenty minutes. It’s natural to be shocked. It’s natural to hesitate.”

A few recruits looked up at her, their faces showing they were deep in thought.

“Fear is normal,” Reina continued. “But running because you’re afraid when you have the power to make the changes… that’s different. That’s a decision that stays with you forever.”

Nana crossed her arms, nodding. “Senpai’s right. We were scared too. Even me.” She paused, then added with a grin. “Especially me.”

Uneasy laughter rolled through the hall, the mood real enough to breathe again.

Misaki stepped forward slightly, speaking with uncharacteristic seriousness.

“Ars Aria isn’t about being fearless. It’s about singing even when you’re terrified.”

Momoko clasped her hands behind her back, smiling gently.

“And it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. Everyone here started the same way.”

Emiko hugged her D-Mic to her chest. “I… I was scared on my first day too. But being a Diva means supporting each other. You won’t be alone.”

Emi continued softly humming into her D-Mic, letting small bubbles drift through the hall.

Mika, who had been quiet until now, stepped closer to Reina and rested a steady hand on the back of the wheelchair.

The tension softened. Shoulders loosened. Breathing steadied.

Reina felt a quiet warmth in her chest, a small surge of pride for her team.

“Tomorrow morning at nine sharp, we will do a demonstration on how Ars Aria works and what it truly is. My team will be fighting against a simulated CODA scenario.” Reina smiled gently. “We will meet again at Virtual Simulation Room, Alpha-01, the largest in this facility.”

Emi stopped singing, “We can use that room?”

Nana puffed her chest proudly. “Guess it’s time for you girls to watch how we fight.”

Misaki retorted, “The last time we were in that room, you triggered the fire alarm.”

“Hey!” Nana barked back.

The class giggled. The mood in the room finally began to return to something normal.

Reina let them settle before speaking once more.

“One last thing.”

The room stilled again.

“Everything you learned today is classified. You must not speak of it outside these walls — not to friends, not to family. The world is not prepared for this truth. Not yet.”

Her voice softened before she continued.

“The D-Mic you hold is yours to keep. Even if you choose to walk away after this week… take it with you. It can no longer become anyone else’s possession. One day, if you decide to return, the doors of Aria Corps will always be open.”

Class was over as Emi powered down the projector.

“… I hope you choose to stay.” Reina whispered to no one but herself as the room emptied, leaving only her and her team.