It was a slightly modified version of “Hey, Soulmate” by Locomotive. A sweet melody filled the air, making those present stare at the enchanted object with wonder.
They had expected Kamila to sing or play an instrument, not to pull off the enhanced version of a Rememberer. They were precious and expensive magical devices capable of storing precious memories in the form of holograms.
They were well known throughout Garlen and even though they come with sounds as well, it was just a matter of adding a narrating voice or the chirping of birds. A full song and all of the instruments necessary to perform it was simply unheard of.
“What is that thing?” Queen Sylpha asked in amazement.
“Just a trinket that Lith, I mean, Archmage Verhen gifted me for my birthday.” Kamila lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
Aside from the magical objects that she used for work and those she saw at Lith’s house, Kamila knew nothing about artifacts. She didn’t expect to raise such a fuss or she wouldn’t have taken the Tuner out in the first place.
Most of those people present inwardly griped at her words.
Judging from the lyrics and from how expensive it was supposed to be, the Tuner had to be a betrothal gift. Which meant that neither the Royals nor any of the noble families had any chance left to arrange a marriage between Archmage Verhen and one of their daughters.
“It’s a wonderful betrothal gift.” Sylpha said, asking the question on everyone’s mind in an indirect way.
“No, it’s not. Also, Lith didn’t pick this song, I did.” Kamila blushed.
She couldn’t tell them that he usually listened to either very sad songs or something that seemed out of epic poems. She had long insisted before he played for her romantic or cheesy songs and Lith had gifted her the Tuner because she loved that melody whereas he couldn’t stand it.
“It’s amazing anyway.” Sylpha said and the others nodded in agreement. “Every time I want to listen to a song I like, I have to call the whole damn orchestra. Lith could make a lot of money with it.”
Only in theory. The Tuner had never been realized before because the Forgemaster would need to be able to play every single instrument and to sing. Producing a melody required more than humming a tune, it needed to make everything flow in harmony.
Lith couldn’t tell a C from a C sharp and neither could Solus, but she could extract the memory from his mind down to the smallest detail, making the impossible possible.
“You’re a lucky woman. My husband never wrote something this romantic for me.” Sylpha glared at the poor Meron who had already too much work as a mage and a King to play music.
“Lith didn’t write it either. He collected several songs during his travels as a Ranger.” Kamila said, regretting her actions more by the second.
“Weird. I’m a music enthusiast and I’ve never heard it before.” Sylpha shrugged. “Don’t worry, child. Such a gift requires a lot of thought. I’m certain that you two have-”
Another report from the amulet cut her short, bringing terrible news that made the song sound like a requiem.
***
City of Belius, right now.
Outside the tall grey walls of the city, Krishna Manohar lay on his right knee as if he was in front of his mother. He kneeled for the Royals only if they really insisted, otherwise he preferred to arrive fashionably late to avoid the hassle of formalities.
The Mad Professor was covered in his own blood, with the special Featherwalker armor that Orion had gifted him damaged almost beyond repair. Lord Ernas had been true to his wife’s word and compensated Manohar for his services with great artifacts.
Yet none of them mattered in front of the Bright Day riding Sunrise, her steed.
The Never Magus had insisted to be the one to face Dawn because they shared the same element whereas the Royals meant to send Vastor against her and Manohar against Night.
‘Me and my beautiful, sexy, big mouth.’ Manohar thought after all the light runes that covered his armor had been consumed to form his best spells.
‘I figured that by fighting one of the most ancient known Light Masters, I could learn something while kicking her ass. What happened, instead, is that I’m no match for that woman. I never expected her to be so much stronger than Night.’
The Mad Professor’s pride had been his downfall. The Bright Day was a genius as well and she had lived long enough to devise spells that Manohar still failed to even imagine. The element was the same, but with a similar level of genius, the gap in experience was unsurmountable.
To make matters worse, after her defeat at Solus’s hands, Dawn had decided to follow her lead and to become one with her host instead of just using Acala as a slave. His bright blue core and her power core beat in unison, generating a power greater than the sums of its parts.
Also, Sunrise acted similarly to Baba Yaga’s hut, absorbing the world energy from its surroundings even in the absence of a mana geyser. The steed used that energy to fuel its own abilities and those of Dawn, working akin to a breathing technique with no side effects.
Manohar’s mana was limited and being non-Awakened, he had no way to replenish it whereas Dawn’s was nigh-infinite. He had managed to compensate the lack of quality with quantity, but fake magic required to chant and use hand signs, something that her army of undead tended to mess up with.
“For being the god of healing, you’re truly disappointing.” Dawn’s laugh sounded like she and Acala, the traitorous ranger, spoke at the same time. “It’s a mystery how you survived meeting my sister. By the way, is the sword on your hip merely decorative or what?”
“Or what.” He replied amid pants.
Manohar was too prideful to admit that even though Orion’s Brightborne was an amazing weapon, he had no idea how to use it aside from its enchantments.
‘I’m not Vastor. I never needed more than my constructs to best all of my opponents. My experiments left me no time for something worthless like learning swordsmanship.’ He thought.
Dawn, on the other hand, owned a masterpiece as well, Twilight, but her mastery of the sword arts had reached the point that even Lith who practiced it relentlessly since the academy days was nothing compared to her.
It was only thanks to the stalwart soldiers of Belius and to its outstanding array system that the god of healing was still alive. The members of the army and of the Association had valiantly fought by his side, protecting him from most undead.
On top of that, Belius’s moving arrays bypassed the Kingdom’s champions and enveloped solely the enemies, nullifying their most powerful spells the moment they conjured them.
Yet none of that had been enough to change what looked like an inevitable outcome. Dawn was more skilled with Light Mastery, too smart to fall for any of Manohar’s tricks, her equipment matched his own, but unlike him, she knew how to use it.
Her fusion with Acala and the presence of her steed would have been enough to allow her to easily dispose of Balkor and Manohar at the same time.
Alone, the Mad Professor had no chance.
