Golden Melody (Editing)

Chapter 103

Chapter 103

And as their voices carried through the night—

Miexha pressed a hand gently over her heart and whispered, barely audible—

"Wait for me."

Then—

Pain. A pressure, deep in her chest, blooming outward like something breaking open from the inside.

Her breath hitched.

The stage lights beyond the curtain smeared into streaks of gold and white. The music warped, stretching thin—like it was being pulled underwater.

"Mimi...?"

Someone said her name.

Or maybe she imagined it.

Then— Everything snapped.

She was sitting at a grand piano. The keys beneath her fingers were cold.

Her wrists— Chained.

Metal bit into her skin, heavy and unyielding.

Above her, a single spotlight burned down.

But there was no audience.

Only mirrors. Dozens of them. Hundreds.

Endless reflections staring back at her—

Every version of herself is trapped, watching a prisoner.

Flash.

A hospital room bathed in sterile white. Machines hummed softly beside Zatariel, oxygen feeding into his unmoving body.

His hand rested on the sheets—

And beneath it, barely visible—

A photo of her.

Flash.

Asha.

Older and colder. Her hair is longer, tied neatly behind her back.

She stood beneath an official seal:

Department of Intra Regulation and Crisis Control.

Power radiated from her stance—

But her eyes... were tired.

Empty in a way that power couldn't fix.

Flash.

Jayson is standing in the darkness.

His hands were soaked in blood.

And in his arms— A lifeless little girl.

His shoulders shook as he looked up—

And somehow, He saw her.

"I'm sorry..." His voice broke. "Dear."

"Miexha—!" A janitor from backstage called her name.

Reality slammed back.  She jerked upright with a strangled gasp.

Air refused to come.

Her body felt too heavy. Her knees buckled beneath her.

"Dear..." she echoed weakly, the word slipping out before she understood why.

And then— Darkness swallowed everything.

Sphere caught her before she hit the floor.

At that exact moment—

Section 1 hit its final note.

The last harmony rang out—strong, united—

And the crowd erupted into applause.