Why Play in a Band If Not Forever

The dream should end now.

And so, the dream ended.

Shiko saw Marina open her eyes. She slowly sat up. She smiled in relief.

Look, Miss Marina is fine after all.

Shiko helped Marina's cold body up. Kita found a letter beneath the body.

There were four in total.

She unfolded the first letter with trembling hands. The four gathered together and began to read.

Shiko brought her ear close to Marina's lips, listening carefully.

Marina spoke:

"To Kessoku Band and Shiko-san: I'm very sorry, but I won't be able to continue the journey with you. Roselia is the strongest band in the Girls Band Party, so they can be your new partners. I can also sense another band, Poppin'Party, in this world. They are a band that can represent CiRCLE, so you can look for them if you have the chance. Don't be sad for me. CiRCLE is my ability, and it's also where I've dedicated my life. I accept both its strengths and its flaws."

"After the band failed back then, I realized my own limits. I might not have the talent for performing, but I didn't want to give up on music. So I became the manager of CiRCLE. The bands that came and went at the livehouse carried my failed dreams, and the people chasing their dreams are my light."

"Thank you for letting me protect such a light."

Tears fell on the writing, soaking into the paper. To avoid staining Marina's last words, Kita carefully folded the letter and solemnly put it back into the envelope.

The second and third letters were for Roselia and Poppin'Party.

The last one was a hastily written note.

"I've finally understood something. Look in the underground. I've left a final gift for you, Roselia, and Poppin'Party. It should be hard to find."

Marina stood up and moved aside a few stone bricks, revealing a passage just large enough for one person to pass through, supported by collapsed pillars. Shiko walked in, and after a while, the four saw her carry out fifteen golden orbs the size of eggs.

Marina and Arata's funerals began three days later.

A clearing was made in the ruins of the original CiRCLE, and two simple tombstones were erected. The tombstones looked rough because they weren't made directly by Shiko; instead, the five of them found suitable rocks and carved them out themselves, chisel by chisel. Marina's urn was also handmade. Arata had no body, so only her belongings were gathered to create a cenotaph.

Buried with Marina were her guitar and the stone sculpture Kessoku Band had given her. Shiko emerged from the underground passage again. Without wiping the plaster from her face, she placed a stack of photos next to the guitar and the sculpture. These were photos of Marina with other band girls, including one taken with them.

She stepped back and produced two artificial flowers, placing them in front of the two tombstones.

"There are no real flowers here, so these will have to do." She approached Arata's grave. "Originally, I wanted to do it the way we do in my hometown, using firecrackers as a substitute for the explosions and burning some joss paper, but I decided to do it the way you were familiar with. However, I think you wouldn't mind a bit of noise. If you like firecrackers, remember to send me a dream, and I'll make up for it."

She moved closer to Marina's grave. "I will get revenge. I definitely will. No matter what I become, even if my mind goes crazy, even if I lose an arm or a leg, even if I die."

Her pupils were pitch black. "I will get revenge."

She stepped back. Ryo stepped forward next. She placed down two sets of clothes, which she had cut herself from fabric she got from Shiko.

Next was Kita. Kita presented several boxes of paper cosmetics.

"Miss Marina said she liked these brands before. I don't know what Miss Arata liked, so I got the same ones."

They lit the paper, and the ashes flew into the sky.

Nijika brought more items. She set down a cardboard box filled with easily preserved and delicious snacks like cookies.

"I dug out a few generators from the warehouse, and the oven in the kitchen still works, so I baked quite a bit. We probably won't have a chance to come back, so let's bring plenty of snacks this time."

Finally. Ichiri stepped forward.

"I don't have anything to give." She raised her guitar, intending to play a song, entirely written and composed by herself. This was not something that would typically appear at a funeral, and she had no prior experience in composing. But this was the only thing she could do.

The two tombstones stood before her. Ichiri seemed to see the two of them standing in front of her, just like at their first live performance. As if something was welling up in her eyes again, Ichiri raised her hand and began!

A sorrowful song began. Ichiri poured all her skill into it, and then she opened her mouth and started to sing. At first, her nervousness was clearly audible, but she kept singing, trying her best to perform well. Her grief permeated from the strings and her singing, mingling with tears, all falling before the two rough tombstones.

With the final strum, a string broke. Ichiri remained silent, a blur of motion in her hand restoring the string. She stepped back and joined the five people already in position. Shiko sat by the keyboard, Nijika by the drums, Ryo slung her bass, Ichiri her guitar, and Kita her guitar. They adjusted the microphones.

Kita took a breath, then exhaled, the pause slightly longer than before.

"This song was recreated by Wu-san, our 'original' song."

"##Yesterday Once More##!"

The memories of CiRCLE had always surrounded the five of them, accompanying their growth.

And so--

"This song was written and composed by Wu-san, and performed by all five of us."

"Please listen, ##Light of Aether##!"

Marina and Arata had both sacrificed themselves to protect. They were like the dark expanse of space. The night sky was brilliant with stars, but it was precisely because of the deep darkness as a backdrop that the starlight appeared so magnificent!

Therefore, they would become stars! The most brilliant stars! The five of them, tears streaming, played and sang. They would become stars and send this news to where they were!

As the world fell silent again, the sun was also beginning to set. Half of the sky was already crimson, and the first star had appeared.

Everyone took out a light orb. The four members of Kessoku Band absorbed them into their bodies. Without any flashy special effects, they saw a change on their status panels: the [Shine] stat permanently increased by 20, which was the most precious of all the CiRCLE buffs they had received before.

Shiko examined the light orb in her hand. Like the other CiRCLE buffs, it would only reach its full potential when one officially became a band girl.

The first night Miss Arata arrived, she had said to Shiko: "Even if I don't know what troubles you have, joining a band is something you'll never regret."

Looking at the paper in her hand, Shiko confirmed everything was in order one last time and walked into Starry's lounge. Everyone greeted her. Ichiri happened to discover her keyboard skills and recommended she join Kessoku Band. Of course, she had no objections. As a die-hard fan of Kessoku Band, she had dreamed of this. To make it official, she had even written an application letter.

She handed the application letter she held out. The letter emitted a faint glow.

"Please... accept me as a new member of Kessoku Band!"

(End of Volume 1)

End-of-Volume 1 Thoughts and Summary

First, I want to thank all the readers who have made it this far, as well as my beloved supporters who voted: Shuke 37877538688, цветной霞, ?爱莉希雅~, Shuke 17569241181, Daily Slacking, Walking with You, Sky Oil Fish, Shuke 790703, and Single-Minded cdd is also d. Special thanks to Buharin Molecule, who cast the only monthly ticket I've received so far. I'm truly grateful that you're willing to click on this newcomer's work and even vote. Even if many of you may no longer be reading this book, thank you very much! (Actually, it would be even better if you could leave more comments qwq)

Regarding this book, I initially wanted to write it like "Daoist Strange Immortal," with two worlds developing in parallel. However, considering I don't have the capability for that yet, I revised it many times until it became what it is now (in fact, Volume 1 still isn't written well...). But the characters appearing in each volume and the final grand finale have already been decided. When I'm publishing this volume, my saved manuscript has already reached nearly 330,000 characters, and Volume 3 is already nearing completion. I can write 4,000 characters a day, which is about the same as my update speed, so you can rest assured and follow along; I won't abandon it.

And it will definitely be a happy ending, HE, rest assured.

Also, I won't casually inflict pain on the original characters anymore, rest assured.

While publishing, I noticed that many readers seem concerned about whether this is a pure yuri or a gender-bender yuri. To be honest, my initial intention was to deliberately blur Shiko's past gender to broaden the audience, but it seems that's not feasible now. So, after reconsidering, I've decided that Shiko's past life was also female, making it pure yuri. That's why the pronoun "she" was used when referring to Shiko's past life in Chapter 27.

Shiko's official CP is clearly Ichiri, but how can an idol otaku like cdd not ship anyone else? Shiko will have some ambiguous relationships with others later on, and the relationships between others will be a chaotic mix similar to BanG Dream!. However, there are a few pairings that are very firmly locked in.

Regarding the naming of Wu Shiko, "Wu" is a play on Bocchi-chan's "Wu-san" meme, and "Shiko" might be guessed by some after reading Chapter 27. It's derived from the character "奈" in "Nana Ohba," with the addition of "子."

The references in this volume are naturally not limited to this. For example, Kita's nickname "pico" comes from the game Kirakira Stage, and Shiko's ability name comes from the song Close Your Eyes and I Touch the Boundary of Fantasy. (No one commented on it at all, it's so sad qwq)

The title of Volume 1 comes from the lyrics of the song To the Light, "A fleeting brilliance," referring to the beautiful time in the early plot when Shiko and Kessoku Band were under the protection of adults. After this, they would have to struggle to survive on their own.

The plot structure of the entire volume... Looking back, it's indeed full of childishness, haphazardly thrown together. However, the main objective has been set, the plot direction of surviving in the wilderness while forming a band is also set, and it has also kicked off the future twisted yuri plot. From this perspective, Volume 1 has at least completed its basic tasks, right...?

The slice-of-life scenes in the early part are relatively light and cheerful, forming a stark contrast with the heavy tone that suddenly shifts at the end. I also deleted a slice-of-life chapter and a setting chapter to make the plot smoother and more readable.

In many aspects of this volume, I've learned from many excellent works of the past. For example, the sudden developments in Chapter 3, I learned from "A World Worth Protecting" and "Revue Starlight." But it seems to have been a bit of a failure. The success of both of those works was built on the high quality of content after the sudden developments. When I was writing Volume 1, although I wanted to do it, I didn't immediately follow up with a sufficiently exciting chapter after the sudden development. Instead, I wrote a slice-of-life scene, then an ordinary battle, and only after a long period of buildup did I start to detonate the plot. Although I personally like this slow-burn writing style, it doesn't seem to be very popular. I wonder what you all think?

In the following chapters, I will continue to use this writing style, imitating those excellent works, which might be anime, galgames, or web novels. However, in the process of imitation, I will also hone my abilities step by step and eventually find my own writing style.

I've currently planned for about six volumes for this book, with the possibility of adding more. The title of each volume will be lyrics, derived from newly appearing bands, and will try to fit the theme of that volume.

Volume 2, "Singing While Bearing Scars," my own feeling for this volume is "getting into the groove." Both the twisted plot and the plot arrangement will be far superior to Volume 1. I'll start publishing tomorrow with three updates on the first day, so please look forward to it.

Finally, since the system maintenance will likely take a few more days, but I want to see everyone's evaluation of Volume 1, why don't you express it with recommendation tickets? If you're satisfied with Volume 1, cast two; if not, cast one... Never mind, I know I'm being a bit too calculating...

However, when the system maintenance is done, can you come here and share your overall evaluation of Volume 1? Arigato~

Also, a quick rant about my luck: I chose to publish the book on 5/19, Saya's birthday, but it was a Sunday, and the review department wasn't working. It only got approved on 5/20. I originally wanted to align the end of Volume 1 with the release of the Bocchi the Rock! movie, but it was off by a few chapters that were deleted. Then, it just happened to coincide with system maintenance at the end of the volume, making comments impossible... Oh well...

End-of-Volume 1 Character Stat Table

Nijika Ijichi Physical Body: 100 Reaction: 100 Intelligence: 100 Shine: 170 Mental Strength: 100 Ability: [Starlight]: Emits healing starlight Additional: [The Later Ones]: Movement within [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] is unaffected by special environments Skills: Jazz Drum Technique Lv7, Baking Technique Lv7, [Stardust] Lv2, [Star's Blessing] Lv2

Ikuyo Kita Physical Body: 100 Reaction: 100 Intelligence: 100 Shine: 170 Mental Strength: 100 Ability: [Kita~]: Manipulates sun-like flames Additional: [The Later Ones]: Movement within [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] is unaffected by special environments Skills: SNS Account Operation Lv10, Electric Guitar Technique Lv2, Vocal Technique Lv6, [Dawn of Atonement] Lv10, [Miracle Manifestation: Prayer of the Burning] Lv2

Wu Shiko Physical Body: 100 Reaction: 100 Intelligence: 100 Shine: 170 Mental Strength: 100 Ability: [Fantasy Boundary]: Materializes imagined things Additional: [The Later Ones]: Movement within [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] is unaffected by special environments Skills: Music Production Lv6, Keyboard Technique Lv6, Performance Technique Lv7, [Tianhe Tongxuan Fumo Baolu] Lv10

Hitori Goto

Physical Body: 100

Reaction: 100

Intelligence: 100

Shine: 170

Mental Strength: 100

Ability: [Guitar Hero!] Can be as gentle as water and as strong as ice!

Additional: [The Later Ones] operating within [Changyang Earth · Xingtian] are unaffected by special environmental conditions.

Skills: Electric Guitar Technique Lv10, [Yomi Ferry] Lv3

Ryo Yamada

Physical Body: 100

Reaction: 100

Intelligence: 100

Shine: 170