The three eventually left the residential district and followed a smooth stone pathway stretching toward a much larger structure standing farther away from the city center. Unlike the elegant homes around Concerto, this building looked immense, circular and entirely enclosed, almost resembling an enormous dome carved from white stone. Strange silver symbols spiraled across its outer walls while soft vibrations lingered faintly in the air around it. Even from outside, Adela could somehow feel activity inside.
Eta XXVI immediately looked excited.
"We're here."
Adela glanced up.
"This place feels busy."
"It is."
The moment they stepped through the entrance, Adela nearly staggered.
Thousands of thoughts slammed into the edge of her awareness at once. Conversations over conversations hit her until it became overwhelming. Countless mental voices kept overlapping so heavily that her thoughts momentarily struggled to separate from the noise. It felt less like entering a building and more like stepping into the center of a storm made entirely of minds.
Adela grimaced immediately.
"What the hell is this?"
Even hearing herself felt difficult. The mental noise almost drowned everything out. Epsilon V made a private telepathic connection amongst the noise.
"This is the Hall of Resonance. There's one in every Regio."
Adela blinked slowly while trying to focus through the mental chaos around them. Nobody inside spoke aloud despite how crowded the place seemed. Hundreds—no, thousands—of Musicia moved throughout the massive hall in total silence while telepathic communication flooded the atmosphere. Because of the daytime taboo, nobody used their lips at all.
Instead, everyone communicates mentally.
The space itself resembled an enormous communal center built around platforms filled with markets, gathering spaces, musicians silently practicing movements, artists working and people exchanging goods. Everything moved with order despite the overwhelming mental noise surrounding it.
"It's public telepathy."
"Public?"
He nodded.
"Private connections still exist but here, communal thought is encouraged."
"This feels awful."
Eta XXVI laughed in her mind.
"You'll adapt."
Honestly, Adela doubted that.
The mental noise slowly became easier to filter as they walked farther inward, though she quickly noticed something else. People kept staring. Some looked curious, others were uncomfortable while several outright frowned the moment their eyes landed on her.
She accidentally caught fragments of thought.
[A Discordant?]
[She looks strange.]
[Why is Epsilon V walking with one?]
[Her rhythm feels wrong.]
[Is she defective?]
[She's not even proper Musicia.]
[Outsider.]
[Unstable.]
[Poor thing.]
[Disgusting.]
Adela stayed completely expressionless. This was nothing new. People whispering about her race had practically defined parts of her life growing up. Being associated with Richinaria already came with enough assumptions, and becoming Aeterium only complicated things further. Compared to the prejudice she already endured, random strangers mentally insulting her barely fazed her anymore.
Eta XXVI looked annoyed though. She crossed her arms immediately.
[Ignore them,] she sent privately.
Epsilon sighed quietly.
[Discordants make people uncomfortable.]
Adela shrugged.
[That sounds like their problem.]
Both of them blinked. Apparently, yhat response surprised them. The deeper they moved into the hall, the larger the crowds became until eventually Adela finally asked the question lingering in her thoughts.
"Why exactly are we here?"
"You need a name ranking."
"Why?"
"If you intend to stay temporarily, the realm needs to recognize you. Otherwise, you remain unofficial."
Adela somehow disliked how bureaucratic that sounded in his words.
"And how exactly does that happen?"
Epsilon faced the center of the massive hall.
"You need access to the Hourglass of Truth."
"Again with the hourglass."
Eta XXVI smiled proudly.
"It's important."
Epsilon continued before she interrupted further.
"To gain access, you first require approval from the Percussion Conductor."
"Conductor?"
"Conductors are central figures within Regnum Musicae. They oversee rhythm, social harmony, and connection to the realm."
Eta XXVI added enthusiastically.
"They're super important. More importantly, Conductors are among the few allowed access to the Hourglass of Truth. If the Conductor accepts you, the realm acknowledges your existence."
Adela folded her arms.
"And if they don't?"
There was a brief pause. Eta XXVI awkwardly looked elsewhere. Epsilon sighed, in his mind of course.
"Then fitting in becomes difficult."
"So basically, I need permission from some important music person so reality itself approves of me."
Epsilon hesitated.
"That is an unfortunately accurate summary."
Adela rubbed her forehead. This realm somehow kept becoming stranger.
Just as Epsilon V finished speaking, something shifted in the atmosphere of the Hall of Resonance. The overwhelming flow of public telepathic communication suddenly intensified around Adela until she physically flinched from the pressure. More thoughts piled into her awareness at once, overlapping chaotically until she instinctively pressed a hand against her forehead. Even after beginning to adapt, moments like this still felt unbearable.
People started moving aside like someone important had entered.
Adela groaned quietly while forcing herself to block out the worst of the mental noise. Her control got stronger just enough for the thoughts to become fragmented instead of overwhelming. That was when she finally saw the reason everyone suddenly cared.
A woman approached them.
Unlike most Musicia Adela had seen so far, the woman possessed striking bright features that naturally drew attention. Long blonde hair flowed neatly behind her while warm brown eyes carried a quiet confidence that somehow bordered on intimidating without effort. She wore elegant white attire with silver jewellery. She was beautiful too.
The mental whispers intensified immediately.
[Alpha II?]
[Why is she here?]
[The genius of this generation.]
[She came personally?]
[I heard she has multiple Musicum Instruments…]
[Is this about the outsider?]
[ Did she come for the Discordant?]
[String Regio sent someone?]
Adela frowned. Apparently this woman mattered.
The woman calmly approached until she stood directly in front of them without hesitation. Only then did the height difference become painfully obvious. Adela was tall by almost every standard imaginable, towering over most people naturally without trying. Even Epsilon V usually had to tilt his head slightly upwards to properly speak to her.
Musicia— apparently— were short, at least comparatively. Most never even crossed two meters. Adela had passed that long ago.
The white dress the maids selected for her yesterday honestly looked shorter than intended because of her height alone. Standing here now only emphasized the difference further as the blonde woman had to tilt her head upward slightly to properly meet Adela's eyes.
She showed absolutely no intimidation or discomfort. Epsilon V almost gasped. Eta XXVI looked startled.
"You're here?" Eta blurted out in the connection
The woman calmly nodded and looked directly at Adela.
"My name is Alpha II, dear outsider. I am considered to be the second greatest genius within Regnum Musicae."
Eta XXVI immediately puffed her cheeks.
"You always say it like that."
Alpha II ignored her completely.
"The Conductors sent me. I was instructed to evaluate you."
"Evaluate me?"
Alpha II nodded.
"Yes. I challenge you to a duel."
Even the public telepathic noise around them seemed to momentarily pause. Epsilon V looked mildly horrified.
"I literally just got here."
Alpha II remained perfectly calm.
"That changes nothing. If you wish to gain recognition, you must prove resonance."
"Through fighting?"
Alpha II tilted her head slightly.
"Music. Though, whether you survive the process depends on you."