Outside the stage set, beneath the theater dome that resembled a starry sky.
"..."
Antanas gazed at the curtain, her face illuminated by the dim light from the stage, now bright and now dark.
The heartbeat of the Demon Lord Governor and the voice of the Half-Demoness echoed through the space over the surround-sound system.
From the final act onward, Antanas had stopped whispering with Sinora beside her. She had focused entirely on the story, as though cut off from the world, staring at the silhouettes of the Demon Lord man and woman.
She knew that what frightened the Governor about this farewell was neither death nor life, but a parting that meant they could never meet again.
Suddenly, the theater lights seemed to wake her, bringing Antanas back to her senses.
At that moment, gorgeous lights scattered like stars, illuminating the entire music hall and adorning it as a dreamlike universe.
The theater's dozens-of-meters-high chandeliers hung overhead. Countless crystal shards refracted a hazy glow beneath the lights' kiss, spilling a gentle yet bright lattice of radiance across the wine-red carpet and weaving a riotous scene.
Looking once more at the enormous, empty performance hall, Antanas leaned back in her chair and relaxed as she tilted her head toward the sky. She almost forgot that today was merely a rehearsal.
The fantasy opera had been altered into something slightly "horrifying," but it was actually a sheep in wolf's clothing—curses and gloom, only for the belief that one was no longer the person the other loved most to end as a conflict between nothingness and reality.
All the terrifying atmosphere, suspense, and foreshadowing had existed to serve the warm ending in the end.
The two lonely souls had both received their answers at last.
The piece ended with a tranquil, ethereal