Click, click. Click, click.
Some kind of sound came from the darkness.
Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle.
The faint, chaotic noises never ceased.
Larkspur stood in a spacious, empty hall, looking around in confusion.
Why was she here?
Her memories felt hazy, and her mind was not fully clear, as though she were trapped in an illusion. Yet everything felt so real.
She stepped forward, the crisp clack of her heel striking the floor spreading in all directions. Invisible sound waves became echoes, scattering the chaotic noises.
After a brief silence, they were replaced by whispers.
Larkspur could not tell where the voices came from. There seemed to be men and women, old and young among them, but they all had one thing in common: they were laughing.
The snickering mixed with the echoes of her footsteps, layer upon layer, repeating over and over. The sound gradually sharpened until it became a piercing noise.
The noise kept spiraling upward, battering her ears as if it were about to rupture Larkspur's eardrums, bringing an intense headache with it.
The very real pain made Larkspur frown. Instinctively, she used a Spell Formula, trying to block out the sound. Yet as soon as she moved, the piercing noise vanished as well.
The echoes, voices, and laughter all disappeared, as if they had never existed. Everything returned to how it had been at the beginning, leaving only the faint, chaotic sounds in the darkness.
What exactly was that sound?
Larkspur did not understand.
Just as she wanted to continue forward and investigate, light suddenly appeared in her vision.
A blinding light shone from behind her, casting her shadow onto the ground before her and stretching it long, long. She could see the swaying hem of her dress in the shadow, as well as her bonnet,