"Eden."
"Ah, it's you, Silas."
The man seemed hesitant, his eyes lingering on the sheet music in her hands. "For Elysia?"
She looked at him and let out a soft sigh. "Yes. I've always wanted to compose a piece for Elysia. But only now… do I truly understand everything about her. I want to write this melody for her, yet I feel some of the notes are out of harmony—it can't be her elegy."
"May I take a look?"
"Of course, Silas." She handed him the manuscript. She hoped to hear his opinion, because he was her listener, her dearest friend, and one of the few she still thought of even at the end.
Perhaps… this was also his way of showing he still cared for his friend. She thought so in her heart.
The man studied the sheet carefully before returning it. "The final section's tone is too somber—it doesn't suit her. Her life was without shadow, her soul pure and flawless… Her curtain call, her finale, shouldn't be so somber. She must have told you before: 'An ending is just another beginning.' And here, in the second part—you could raise the whole section's tone by one level."
She paused, then took the sheet back and quietly ran the revised melody through her mind as he described it. She found he was right… but not entirely.
Because in the end, it was him who became her friend's regret.
She frowned slightly. "Silas… so you actually understand music?" Forgive her for never noticing before—while he was a good listener, she had never seen him touch an instrument.
He was silent for a moment before speaking. "No… I know nothing about instruments. Think of it as my intuition."
Her brows knitted tighter. If the third section's suggestion came from knowing his friend well, then the adjustment in the second section meant he at least had a master-level grasp of music.
There was no way he knew nothing.
Seeing her suspicious look, the man could only give a helpless smile. "I truly know nothing about music. That's why I came to you for this."
Her doubt lingered, but she soon asked, "And what is it you came for?"
He said, "This might sound self-indulgent… but I'd like to ask you to compose a piece for me, and for the rest of the Fallen Angel Squad. I don't matter—but I want future generations to remember them. To remember that they once lived with pride, that even while burdened with sin, they still fought for humanity's future."
She was silent for a while, then nodded. "I will, Silas. But before that, please answer me one question—why didn't you keep your appointment?"
The man fell silent.
He didn't answer—perhaps he didn't want to. But she needed to ask, because she wanted to know how he truly felt about her friend.
She looked at him, waiting.
"Do I… have to answer this?"
"Think of it as an exchange."
"…Alright. I've given Aponia the same answer before, and it's still the same now. The relationship between Elysia and I was never that close."
"…Why would you think that?" She almost blurted out the truth—that his confession's recipient, her dearest friend, had wished for nothing more at the world's end than to see him one last time.
"Eden, if you were to compose for the other Thirteen Flame-Chasers, you'd find your fates intertwined—shaping one another. But I… am different from all of you."
"You are one of the Flame-Chasers."
"But I'm also the leader of the Fallen Angels… though, perhaps I'm unworthy of that role."
"Silas…"
"I've answered your question. So… that piece, I leave in your hands." He turned to leave, unwilling to continue the conversation.
At the door, he paused. "Eden, though this might just be my selfish wish… I hope you'll live well in the next era."
No—her dearest friend feared loneliness, feared solitude. She would stay with her until the end. Her time… had already reached its final note.
Without turning back, he continued, "Her story needs to be sung. She so desperately wanted to leave her mark on this world… I hope that in the next era, children will still know her tale and dream of her purity."
"If you think that way, then why did you…"
"I… will leave as a Fallen Angel."
The singer, who in the future would be bestowed the title of [Gold] by her dearest friend, awoke from a brief rest.
"So that's what that memory was… so that's what you meant back then, Silas…" She let out a faint sigh, her gaze falling upon the manuscript that had never once left her side since its completion.
She picked up the manuscript, recalling the time when she had written this ballad. Back then, time was short, and even when the Finality descended, she had yet to finish it.
But now, after her rebirth, she had finally completed it.
From the records she had gathered, from the stories she had come to know and experience, she realized that—just like Elysia—if the tale of the Fourteen Flame-Chasers began and ended with Elysia, then the tale of the Thirteen Fallen Angels began and ended with Silas.
Every Fallen Angel's first step onto the stage had been guided by him; every Fallen Angel's story existed because of him.
So this song, while it could be said to belong solely to him, was also the lingering echo the Fallen Angels had left in the world—a reflection of their entire lives.
Perhaps that was why he could never fully accept the Fourteen Flame-Chasers. But he had never realized that he, too, had long since been entwined with those thirteen others.
Perhaps that was why he chose to sacrifice himself and leave alone back then. But he had never realized that he had already become their irreplaceable friend.
"I hope this time you and Elysia can have a proper talk…" she murmured to herself. And this time, she also wished to witness all of his stories—and carry them forward in song.
MOTH Branch Headquarters,
After another round of training that left them utterly exhausted, Kevin, Silas, and the others were chatting with Elysia about the final battle against the Finality. Naturally, it was Elysia who had brought up the topic.
"The Finality really was strong. Even when I used the 0th Power of Divine Key: Divine Prayer, I could only restrain her for a short while," Silas recalled. He even wondered if it was because the Eleventh Divine Key had been wrecked in his hands during that fight that it was later remodeled into Oath of Judah.
"But that short moment was invaluable," Kevin said, still slumped over as he reminisced. "I remember you said something then… what was it again?"
Silas: "!"
He quickly cut in, "Just some irrelevant words. They had nothing to do with the fight itself, really."
Kevin, please don't say it.
Kevin frowned. How could he have forgotten? He could only recall that Silas's words had sounded incredibly imposing at the time. But since his entire attention had been on the Finality, the details were hazy.
"I remember, I remember!" Pardofelis raised her hand excitedly. "When Silas said that, he looked so cool!"
"Ahem, Pardofelis, really… that's nothing worth bringing up…" Silas said awkwardly.
Vill-V first looked puzzled, then as if something had dawned on her, the corners of her mouth curled into a subtle, knowing smile.
"Ah? But I thought it sounded pretty cool," Pardofelis said, still not understanding.
Elysia was even more curious. "Silas, what exactly did you say back then?" She really wanted to know—especially with that expression on his face, it made her even more eager to hear it!
"I have witnessed my friend's departure twice. First as my enemy, then as my weapon… Michael, as the apostle of God, you ultimately surpassed God's will, if only for a brief moment. Even the Herrscher of the Finality could not move an inch. It was but an instant, but… how bitter it must taste, oh Finality, to find your step shackled by mortal chains." Kosma suddenly spoke up.
Silas: "…"
All the caution in the world, and yet he hadn't guarded against Kosma.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and crawl into it. At that time, his mind had wandered to a certain golden archer and and his "friend" from ancient myth. Without thinking, he'd shamelessly plagiarized the line with minor tweaks.
It couldn't be helped—Divine Prayer's binding chains were designed specifically to suppress Honkai energy. They always reminded him of the legendary "Chains of Heaven."
And besides, he'd been convinced he wouldn't survive that battle. A man's heart stays young until the end—so even in death, he had to put on a bit of flair… How was he supposed to know he'd end up being reborn?
"Wow, that's a great line," Elysia said, looking at Silas. His current expression, however, looked as though he was seriously considering silencing witnesses.
Her tone turned teasing. "I never expected you to have this side to you, Silas~"
Silas: "…Please, just… don't bring it up."
He felt like swallowing his own sword…
Kosma looked at him with some confusion.
"Speaking of which, when Divine Prayer's 0th Power was released, Silas even gave it a name," Sakura recalled. "If I remember right, Silas said—"
Kosma immediately jumped in: "O child of man, let us bind the gods!"
Silas: "…"
May a certain golden bastard stay buried for 50,000 more years. Also… where was the nearest shovel?
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