When Andrew stepped inside the portal, his entire reality warped, and the world spun around him. Up, down? All of that ceased to exist for Andrew at that moment. Andrew had no idea where the ground was; gravity had vanished.
Responding to this thought, and almost as if gravity sensed the unease Andrew felt without it, it returned. Andrew felt solid ground beneath his feet and opened his eyes, dazzled.
They were here, the Nadira.
I'm back. What do you have in store for me this time, huh?
The sky was completely cloudy, as if it had been painted entirely gray. It added even more sadness to this place.
In front of Andrew and the squadron stood a huge castle, and around it, a great wall rose up over the entire domain, hundreds of houses and immense camps completely filling the place.
The domain of song.
This was the only domain that humanity had established in Nadira. All the others were destroyed days after being formed. The creatures of melody showed no mercy, and tens of thousands died...
More than 40 years had passed since Nadira was discovered, and humanity had only managed to form this tiny domain. Nadira tested humanity's ability to adapt to the limit. The best musicians of humanity perished creating this small domain in these dead lands.
When Nadira was revealed to the world, some theorists spread a story that beings had come to the world through cursed portals. Apparently, the government hid this information from the world so as not to drive the masses crazy.
This theory only fueled Andrew's theories; he was a very conspiracy-minded person.
It's definitely all the aliens' fault...
Cutting his ramblings short, his squad descended the steps of the Arch of Harmony. Andrew followed them instantly, not wanting to be left behind. This place was a disaster; it was extremely easy to get lost here.
As they descended, several medics were passing through the area carrying injured people, and among them, some corpses. Andrew tried to remain indifferent. He had seen corpses many times, but no matter how often he witnessed these tragedies, he felt he could never get used to them.
Rest in peace, brave man, receive the mercy of the world...
This was how experienced musicians referred to death, "The mercy of the world," so called because for the vast majority, death was much better than continuing to struggle and survive in this cursed place.
Weirdos...
It was a bit contradictory, as Andrew used this term a lot, but even so, this was unheard of. Who would prefer death over continuing to live?
In part, Andrew understood this; this place is hell, but continuing to live at least gives you the chance to achieve something. One percent will always be better than zero percent. Andrew was the kind of person who would do anything to stay alive.
Why the hell would I leave behind the life I've worked so hard to maintain?
"Where are you going?"
asked one of the young men in his squad, the one carrying the big guitar.
Andrew looked up and saw the confused looks on his squad's faces.
Andrew almost turned down one of the many wrong alleys because he was too absorbed in his thoughts.
Andrew quickly returned to his squad.
God, I have to break that bad habit.
Andrew had a bad habit of getting too lost in his thoughts, which had gotten him into trouble several times.
Andrew watched the domain as he followed his squad from behind. The domain of the song remained the same as always.
This place sucks.
Andrew never liked this place, the smell of sour sweat, that disgusting smell coming from the boots. It was just disgusting. Andrew hated this place, and yet he had a certain fondness for it. This was the place where the most powerful friendships anyone could ever imagine were born and forged.
Sharing battle wounds, sharing enemies, sharing your rations.
This place created the best camaraderie.
And after walking for a while among the faded buildings and the damp, dark, smelly alleys, they arrived at the immense gate of the domain. Made of double cladding, the forged steel gave it strength and the wood inside cushioned the blows of the melody creatures. It was a marvel; just thinking about the effort this must have taken was exhausting for Andrew.
Maybe my job isn't so bad after all... Forget it, what am I thinking? My job is worse than this.
But this was not the main defense of the song's domain. At the top of the main castle, two rings rose up, rotating on their own axis; in a way, they were similar to the ring that protected Maderiu, the difference being that these were even more gigantic.
Andrew thought he had heard a rumor from some tuners that these were made by the same engineers who made the Maderiu curve.
The ones in Barsical are still superior, definitely...
These large rings created a melody that managed to ward off low-ranking melody creatures. The melody was not enough to ward off disaster-level and higher melody creatures. These creatures were divided into eight classes from lowest to highest power, the last two of which were created hypothetically, as humanity had never witnessed them. They were classified as: Out of Tune, Dissonant, Disaster, Devil, Calamity, Ruin, Catastrophe, and finally Cataclysm.
Facing a disaster-class creature is like being dead to most musicians.
For the voiceless like Andrew, the situation only got worse. For Andrew, facing a creature of out-of-tune melody, without his squad mates, was certain death.
A voiceless person had no chance of surviving in Nadira without a musician by their side.
Focus, idiot!
Andrew slapped his cheeks, forcing himself out of his immersed state. The doors of the Nadira began to open, the sound filling the entire place. It was a really annoying sound. The huge hinges collided, causing this noise.
Andrew frowned. Breaking free from the song's spell was a challenge; you had to be alert every second. Only the smartest survived out here.
And Andrew knew it well: to survive here, you had to leave all your kindness behind.
If Andrew was in danger and had to leave his squad behind, he would do so. He had no doubts.
When the large doors opened, the first thing Andrew saw was a large melody creature.
It was huge, at least 5 meters tall, with antennae like an insect and three tails. It was completely disgusting. Andrew paid no further attention to it.
All the voiceless who had never witnessed a melody creature alive screamed.
Andrew acted quickly and ran behind one of the large doors, taking refuge.
Andrew didn't even pay attention to anything else; he was totally focused on his survival.
His squad, made up of Chords, ran when they sensed the creature's range. It was at least a third-class creature, a disaster melody creature.
"We're dead."
That was the only thing Andrew could think. To kill a creature like that, it would take at least 10 Chords or a Harmonic to be here.
And at the same time Andrew thought this, as if Andrew had summoned it, a person stood in front of the creature. The space where the man stood seemed to tremble.
His presence affected the world. This was a third-class musician.
A Harmonic, considered to be natural disasters incarnate. The Harmonic and this creature shared the same rank.
The man did not hesitate and took out his instrument, a long, elegant flute.
The man played a truly aggressive melody that pushed the creature away from the entrance to the Domain.
At the same time, around the man, a golden aura began to flow from his body, this aura singing an epic melody. Suddenly Andrew felt like he was watching an action movie.
Musical aura...
Andrew was stunned. By global standards, if you can wield musical aura, you can consider yourself one of the 100 most powerful humans in existence.
The man took a leap that, from Andrew's perspective, was like seeing lightning.
He could see the man's body disappear; a second later, he heard the roar of his jump.
A gust of wind followed the roar, and the hair of everyone watching the fight was completely messed up.
Andrew looked at his companions, all of whom remained indifferent to the situation.
Why do they have to look so impressed?
Then everything returned to normal, everyone went back to their jobs, and his squad regrouped. As if nothing had happened.
This was a key aspect of musicians: the ability to adapt to any situation and carry on.
The five of them walked out through the enormous doors. As they left, the doors closed almost instantly. The headquarters did not want unwanted guests.
Now they were alone in the vast expanse of Nadira. Anyone else would have been terrified, but the five had plenty of experience dealing with all kinds of things out here.
It was time to begin the work that Andrew's squad had been called in for in the first place.
Andrew looked down and read the report.
-
SQUAD: FLUTE N4
MISSION: EXPLORE NEST OF MELODY CREATURES.
Objective: Find and gather as much information as possible about how they survive, their interactions with other creatures, and possible weaknesses.
-
Andrew grabbed his head and thought for a moment.
What rank would these creatures be? Logically, they couldn't be higher than second rank, since his squad was made up of Chords, second-rank humans.
Why would they send them on a suicide mission?
The five of them walked through a swampy area. The smell was truly disgusting, and Andrew could barely see through the fog. He was guided mainly by the sound of his companions' boots splashing through the annoying mud.
For Andrew, walking in this mud was much more annoying and tiring than walking in ordinary mud.
There was a reason he was called "Pringalga." His boots would have been completely ruined if they hadn't been made for heavy-duty use.
On the other hand, Andrew was falling behind. His companions seemed to be shining, while Andrew was filthy and very tired.
Andrew opened his backpack and rummaged through it until he found a canteen. He drank greedily and sighed as he saw that his canteen was almost empty. Meanwhile, his companions' canteens hung in their backpacks, still completely full. They hadn't drunk any water along the way.
Unfortunately, this was the huge difference between a musician and someone who couldn't sing.
Being blessed with musical energy was truly a great advantage.
As they walked, one of the boys, the one who seemed a little cocky, slowed down and approached Andrew.
"You're pretty tough for someone who can't sing, you know?"
said the boy. His shrill voice would normally annoy Andrew, but this time, he was so tired that he chose to ignore him.
"If you say so."
Andrew said, trying to end the conversation right there. But the boy insisted.
"Why do you do this? You could work at something that doesn't put your life at risk like this, you know? Are you an idiot or something?"
Ugh, this stupid kid...
What did he know about Andrew?
Andrew preferred to remain discreet and kept quiet. He wasn't going to bother arguing with this kid.
"Your name is Andrew, right? I heard your name when Adele scolded you. By the way, my name is Alexander.
Alexander, Andrew wasn't going to forget this idiot.
Andrew was almost certain that this boy was behaving this way on purpose; it was obvious that this kid wasn't as innocent as he was trying to appear.
"Could you shut up for a while, Alexander?"
"You dare to silence a chord, you stupid mute? Do you want to die, Andrew?"
Andrew trembled and left his fictional stage. He clearly wasn't going to shut this kid up. He may have looked small and defenseless, but he was still a chord.
So he chose to continue ignoring Alexander.
"Aren't you going to answer?"
Alexander said, causing Andrew a little fear, but the tall, gloomy man interrupted.
"Alexander. Stop bothering the hoarse one."
Alexander looked at the somber man and sighed, accepting the order.
"Fine, I'll leave you alone because Ariel asked me to..."
Alexander snorted and quickened his pace until he was with the others, leaving Andrew behind again. The other boy, who seemed a little shy, and Adele looked at Andrew with disappointment, Adele's expression more obvious. Were they expecting Andrew to do something against Alexander?
Try silencing a chord by being a stupid hoarse person before looking at me like that, idiots...
Shortly after this altercation, after walking for so long, they were finally out of the swamp, and now they were in a mountainous area. According to the headquarters' directions, they were finally close to the nest. They had walked for at least five hours. Quite a feat for Andrew, but a leisurely stroll for his squad.
Andrew raised his arms and stretched; he was very tired. Adele and the gloomy Ariel began to discuss the strategy they would use to enter the nest. From what Andrew had managed to hear, the idea was simple. Get in and get out.
The strategy was easy; there was no need to complicate things. The complicated part was the execution. Getting in and out sounded easier than it was. Anyway, what else could they do?
The five of them formed a circle, and Ariel, taking the lead, began to explain the strategy.
They would go in, investigate as much as possible, and flee.
They had to do it in less than three minutes; spending more time than necessary was too dangerous.
Andrew analyzed the strategy and looked at them. This would probably be the most difficult and dangerous mission Andrew had ever been on.
But even so, he was somewhat excited.
"I like the plan, let's do it!"
"What the heck, let's try it."
"For my sake, it'll be easy."
Andrew was a little surprised at how everyone accepted the plan. He couldn't be the only stupid one who didn't agree.
"Okay, let's do it then."