Guidance

Eden reached out to accept the sheet music, opened it, and lowered her eyes to examine it closely.

Her other hand kept time, her slender fingers tracing through the air and stirring up a few gentle breezes.

Within Lemnian Hollow, a voice as clear and mellifluous as an aria lingered around everyone's ears. Even the drifting Ether dust seemed to slow its descent, not daring to disturb this moment.

Sunna, Nangong, and Aria held their breath, not daring to interrupt Eden.

Only Griseo waved her paintbrush, constantly painting something—or perhaps collecting something.

Layers of color spread and blended together. Some hues came from the faint Ether glow at the Hollow's edges, while others came from the lingering resonance of Eden's melody.

After all, no one was more familiar with [True Self] than [Gold]...

There was a widely circulated saying—"Love? Don't make Sister Eden laugh."

Meanwhile, in the HDD room of the video store on Sixth Street.

"Bro, Griseo's detection curve is fluctuating. That means she's inside a Hollow!"

Belle stared at the data on the screen, her brows furrowing. "Wasn't she supposed to be playing in Weifei Land with Teacher Cecilia? How did she end up in a Hollow?"

"Where? Let me see."

Wise paused the commission he was working on and leaned closer to the screen.

Lei's status line was indeed fluctuating, but the changes were minor, staying within a range of ten percent.

At the same time, Fairy's voice sounded. "[Master, the route to Ballet Tower has been mapped...]"

"It's fine, Belle." Wise comforted her.

"Lei's condition is still very good. She probably only entered the edge of a Hollow briefly. Let's finish the commission we have first."

That was right. During the time Griseo had gone to Weifei Land, the two siblings of Phaethon had been working to complete Koleda's commission.

They had first set out to rescue the hacker Rain, then had "happened" to run into Victoria Housekeeping and joined a rescue operation.

Of course, that was a story for later...

Back to Lemnian Hollow.

About three minutes later, Eden raised her eyes, a faintly approving curve on her lips.

"The overall structure is already quite good." Eden first reassured Sunna, then began her guidance.

"However, there are a few places that I think could be polished further."

Eden flipped the score to the first page and pointed at the introduction.

"The I-V-vi-IV pop chord progression here is very stable. You could change the second chord to a iii chord and add a little of the muted quality of the 'feather mode.' It would give the emotions more atmosphere."

Sunna's eyes lit up. She silently repeated the advice to herself as she wrote it down.

Eden continued flipping through the score before stopping at the second phrase of the verse.

She softly hummed the melody Sunna had written, then shook her head slightly. "The range jumps too much in this line. This song should be a soothing ballad."

Eden drew a small circle around a spot on the staff.

"Try lowering the pitch here and climbing up gradually by stepwise motion, like this..."

"Music shouldn't be in such a hurry to express emotion. A pleasing melody needs to learn how to hold back, leaving space for the listener."

"Add eighth-note rests here, here, and here..."

Happy times always passed quickly.

Once Eden had finished her guidance, she handed the score back to Sunna and gently ruffled the top of her head.

That gesture made her seem less like an untouchable singer and more like a friendly big sister next door.

"Keep it up, little Sunna. You've improved a lot." Seeing Eden's gesture, Sunna could not have been happier.

"Yes, Teacher Eden, thank you." Sunna accepted the score and sincerely thanked her. "If I get the chance next time, I'll definitely sing it for you."

"Yes, I'm very much looking forward to it..."

As the light of the imprint began to flicker faintly and the Ether energy slowly receded, Eden's figure gradually became transparent, though her smile remained clear.

"Sigh, it always feels like time passes so quickly..."

Watching Eden disappear, Sunna felt a little disappointed.

But she also knew that Griseo could not maintain this state for too long, or the two shop owners at the video store would notice something was wrong.

Though perhaps they had already noticed.

On the other side, Nangong and Aria leaned in as well, looking at the additions and revisions on the score as they spoke up one after another.

"As expected of Teacher Eden! These changes are amazing!"

"We still have the whole afternoon to practice. Tonight, we'll give Teacher Cecilia a surprise!"

Sunna hugged the score to her chest, took a deep breath, and said, "Of course!!"

"Big Sister Sunna, Big Sister Aria, Big Sister Nangong, let's go back!"

Lei put away her paintbrush. She had gently collected the final trace of color—a wisp of pale golden light, like piano strings washed clean by sunlight.

The setting sun sank below the horizon, and the last trace of afterglow was swallowed by the night.

On the resort beach, the bonfire had already been lit. Orange-red flames danced, casting a warm halo over the sand and bathing every face nearby in a cozy glow.

The sea breeze drifted by, bringing a salty, humid scent along with the mouthwatering aroma of barbecue sizzling on the grills.

Resort staff, tourists, and nearby residents all turned their attention toward the bonfire, where an open patch of sand had been temporarily turned into a stage.

Cecilia and the shop owner, Theresa, sat in the front row of beach chairs, watching the well-prepared members of Angels of Delusion.

"Do you think tonight's performance will be worth looking forward to?"

Theresa whispered to Cecilia, "They've been acting all mysterious all day. They were nowhere to be seen this morning, then spent the whole afternoon holed up in their room."

Cecilia smiled. "All I know is that the little darlings have been preparing a surprise."

"What kind of surprise?"

"Just listen."

Yuzuha and Mato were also seated among the crowd. Cauldron lay sprawled across Yuzuha's lap, raising his head expectantly just like his owner.

Onstage, Aria, the lead vocalist, stood in the center. Sunna and Nangong each held a guitar, lightly plucking at the strings to test a few notes.

This time, Griseo did not take the stage. She had an even more important task.

There were no special effects for this performance, and since Aria, who could create projections, was also the lead singer, they needed Griseo's drawings to provide something like three-dimensional projections.

The sea breeze lifted their skirts, while firelight danced across their faces, making them look like spirits born from the bonfire.

Sunna raised the microphone and clearly said, "Everyone... Angels of Delusion has a new song tonight, and we want you to be the first to hear it."

Cheers immediately erupted from the crowd. Naturally, Yuzuha was the one stirring up the atmosphere, and she even dragged Mato into cheering along with her...

But Chenghui Plateau was hospitable by nature. Yuzuha did not need to incite them at all; the surrounding audience applauded and shouted encouragement.

Sunna exchanged a glance with Nangong, then took a deep breath and lowered her fingers onto the strings.

She played the first note.

Author's note—

The book was temporarily taken down because the Tomato backend had crashed. A lot of authors had the same problem as me, but it's fixed now and updates can continue. Also, thank you all for your gifts and support.