After speaking, Glaimo returned to the study.
This time, he did not play. He simply held the score for "Black Sheep Confession Song" and studied it in silence.
To him, it was no longer a sheet of paper crowded with notes... He saw countless scenes emerging from them.
They were the same scenes he had seen while playing.
He saw religion run rampant and heard the people weep.
He smelled blood beneath holy robes and felt flames sear his skin.
When the Heavenly Cathedral collapsed in flames, "Black Sheep Confession Song" came to an abrupt end. But the scenes in Glaimo's mind did not stop. More came flooding in.
These lingering images had nothing to do with "Black Sheep Confession Song." Every one of them was about his sister and Uriel.
Glaimo saw himself stopping his sister from running to Uriel.
He saw himself hidden among the audience, watching his sister and Uriel shine onstage.
He saw a cleric of the Radiant Church berating his sister.
And in the final scene, Uriel knelt before him, weeping...
"Ah..."
Glaimo sighed deeply. All his strength seemed to leave him. He slumped against the back of his chair and stared out the window.
It was as though he could see his sister smiling amid the brilliant night sky.
Until...
The wall clock struck the half hour with a cuckoo call, jolting Glaimo from his reverie.
He looked up. Thick clouds had covered the once star-filled sky, and his sister's image had vanished completely.
It had all been a fleeting illusion of his own making.
"Half past eight," Glaimo murmured. "Time to rest..."
He slowly rose and headed for the bedroom.
The light was on. Little Treasure lay fast asleep on the bed, holding a pure-white kitten.
A smile touched Glaimo's lips as he