This Life Is Beautiful

None of the Revolution fighters could speak. Their wounded had been gathered during Sayane’s broadcast to The Silence, and now they were laid at her feet beside those whom they had just wounded and been wounded by. Above them, at the edge of the ledge, the songstress stood surrounded by her sacred instruments.

Her eyes were nervous, fretting, and empty with exhaustion. She’d already done deeds that would have broken many, and now she was already being forced to do it again. Dried blood anointed nearly every inch of her clothing and much of her own skin, telling the tale of hurt etched across her, her friends, and all the world. Yet she didn’t wipe any of it away. All she did was press one hand to her stomach and another to her throat as she tried to find her voice once more.

Behind her, Attis and Erosc approached. When she turned to face them, both were surprised to see a fearful look pulling her face into a visage of uncertainty.

“Please don’t hate me,” she whispered to them, then to the fighters.

Sayane knew that she was committing something akin to heresy for so many. The Silence had erased song from the world and been a scourge of terror for so many, but she was now pulling them close and letting them hear her soul. Inasmuch as it could calm The Silence and bring many to her, it could also drive away so many of The Revolution and the oppressed.

But she had to try.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t keep fighting like this. Please, forgive me for doing this,” she pleaded as she struggled to calm herself.

Attis’s ears tucked back in understanding.

“Oh, Sayane, my poor girl,” he said as more notes began to build in the air.

A hint of breaking pulled her eyes closed, and she held out her hands for comfort. Attis leapt to her embrace without hesitation and placed his hand on her chest. That was the fracture point, and a new kind of sob shattered Sayane’s facade.

“Oh gods, oh gods, please no,” she sobbed.

In everything, from the very beginning, Azag had been there. Though he was at first neutral and taciturn, he’d only ever been nurturing and safe. Now, she was facing the very real possibility of a world without him, and it was swiftly careening towards more conflict if she made the wrong decision.

“There is nothing to forgive,” Attis whispered.

Pulses sounded out from the instruments, and the Violated Shard shone out in intimidatingly raw blue light to match each broken pluck of the harplike sounds. The crowd began to whisper in fearful reverence as the ancient being radiated more and more energy.

“You are our songstress, always. I will be with you no matter what you decide. You can save him. You can heal him and all of them, I know it,” Attis said as he nuzzled his head against her chest. Sayane pulled him close and felt his fur on her skin one more time before releasing him.

When he reached the ground, he trotted to return to Erosc, who was still passively waiting. Sayane’s brows raised as she began to speak, but Erosc shook his head.

“Please, Sayane, do not waste an apology on someone like me. I will support you. I will… I will do my best to sing with you,” Erosc exhaled as he closed his eyes in preparation.

Sayane breathed in and accepted his words, knowing he was going to support her even though he disagreed.

“But I am no singer or orator of note, so please let me know if my sound is not helping. I will follow your order,” Erosc said with a nervous bow.

“Your voice will be welcome. Thank you,” Sayane said as she blinked her eyes clear.

Anahita and Saxum stood nearby in waiting. Sayane looked back at Can-Mo and Azag one more time. The Shard’s beam of light was still pulsing into Azag, and Sayane could see the glow of her own energy still drifting along his body. For now, he was still with her.

With that, Sayane closed her eyes.

“This life is beautiful,” she said to herself.

Strings rose as the piano-like sounds drifted into somber minor notes. Distant crashes thundered out as the last airship collapsed to the ground in an inferno.

“This life is beautiful…” she sniffed.

Light drifted from The Shard, filling the still partially hazy air with ambient purple. Groans of strained suffering echoed from all around her.

“This life is beautiful…” she sobbed.

Pings of bittersweet keynotes built in speed and clarity, calling from above like a beckoning to an unknown realm just beyond their knowledge.

“This life is beautiful,” Attis repeated.

Voices harmonized from the ether, floating around them like currents as soft taps of metallic rapture sounded out, then faded. Then they sounded again.

“This life is beautiful,” Anahita and Saxum said.

Sayane’s throat began to glow. The sparks on her hands turned to flecks of light that gathered in rings around her wrists.

“This life is beautiful,” Erosc said along with the other Revolutionary fighters.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Cymbals banged. Electric notes rose to meet the piano’s intensity. It was all culminating in a rushing, impactful, tragically toned, yet quietly hopeful sound that built and built until Sayane could feel her strength fully returning.

“...This life is beautiful…” Xentros muttered in wonder as hundreds of other Silencers echoed his words.

Sayane wiped her eyes and inhaled a final breath of preparation.

“This… life… is… beautiful…” Azag whispered, barely loud enough for Sayane to hear.

Clouds parted briefly, and the sun struck the realm once again. With that, the music swelled and Sayane threw her hands to the heavens as the sounds of wonder erupted across the land.