Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Page 138

"Wow...that's amazing..."

Chihaya Aine stared intently, sighing softly, and her body even swayed involuntarily to the rhythm.

Nagasaki Suyo didn't say anything.

She looked at the five masked figures and saw how they worked together in perfect harmony.

Even though she couldn't see the faces clearly, even though those names... were completely unfamiliar to her.

but...

Her eyes involuntarily drifted again and again to the figure playing the keyboard - Oblivionis.

That sense of alienation, that elegance, that... even hidden behind the mask and the lights, one can still vaguely feel the familiar outline and temperament...

And there was the quiet figure playing the other guitar—Mortis. That long light green hair...

Just at this moment, the lights on the stage suddenly changed.

The music that was as violent and intense as a storm just now suddenly stopped, and was replaced by a low, strange organ melody that seemed to come from the depths of an ancient theater.

The lights on the main stage were completely turned off, leaving only a pale and cold spotlight that accurately hit the figure surrounded by the drum set at the back of the stage - Amoris.

The other four members stood still in the dark shadows like puppets with their souls taken away. Only Amoris, under this solitary beam of light, became the focus of the entire audience.

The organ melody became more and more rapid and distorted, as if telling an ancient story about love, desire, betrayal and destruction.

The smoke swirled around Amoris as if it had a life of its own, isolating her from the other members and creating a nightmarish atmosphere.

Suddenly, Amoris stood up suddenly!

She had put down the drumsticks in her hand at some point, and in their place was a small and gorgeous handheld mirror inlaid with gems.

The mirror surface is smooth, reflecting the cold light of the spotlight.

She slowly raised the mirror, as if looking at herself in the mirror, and as if questioning something.

She moved with a neurotic grace and fragility, her hair flowing like molten gold in the light.

"What is love...?"

An ethereal and broken female voice echoed throughout the venue through a pre-recorded track.

That voice did not belong to the lead singer Doloris, it carried a dreamlike kind of confusion and pain.

Amoris's face, wearing a mask with a butterfly orchid pattern, was slightly tilted, as if listening to the voice, or as if talking to the reflection in the mirror.

"Is it a moth-to-flame obsession?"

"Is it possession? Is it control? Is it an inescapable shackle?"

"Or...an elaborate hoax?"

With each question, the organ music grew sharper and shriller, and the lights began to flicker uneasily.

Amoris' body trembled slightly, as if he was in great pain and struggle.

The mirror in her hand began to slowly turn towards the audience.

The cold mirror, like an eye of judgment, swept across countless blurry faces in the darkness.

"Do you...long for love?"

The voice sounded again, with a hint of temptation and a hint of mockery.

"Are you longing to be noticed? To be admired? To be surrounded by thousands of eyes?"

Amoris's movements became faster and more excited. She seemed to be dancing a crazy solo on the stage, sometimes looking at her own reflection in the mirror, and sometimes looking as if she wanted to smash the mirror to pieces!

She seemed to swing wildly between love and hate, desire and despair.

"To love...to be loved..."

"What price are you willing to pay?"

"Is it my true self? Or...a false mask?"

When he said the word "mask", Amoris's movements suddenly stopped!

She had her back to the audience, breathing slightly, her purple hair a little messy from the action just now.

She held the mirror tightly in her hand, with the mirror facing inward, facing the Phalaenopsis mask on her face.

The melody of the organ also reached its climax at this moment, and then stopped suddenly!

The entire venue fell into a dead silence! You could hear a pin drop!

Only the pale spotlight still stubbornly shone on her, outlining her figure like a statue about to break.

Everyone's eyes were focused on her, holding their breath, waiting for the next scene.

Time seems to have frozen.

Then...

Under everyone's gaze, Amoris's hand slowly and with an almost ritualistic determination reached out to the mask on his face.

Her fingertips touched the cold and gorgeous Phalaenopsis orchid pattern.

pause.

It seemed as long as a century.

next second!

She exerted force suddenly and pulled off the mask that symbolized "love" and "hypocrisy" from her face!

"Shh-!"

The mask was thrown violently into the air, drew an arc under the light, and then fell silently into the darkness behind the stage.

What was revealed was an extremely delicate and beautiful face, but with obvious traces of tears and an expression of fragility that looked almost broken!

Her short purple hair was slightly messy and stuck to her sweaty cheeks.

Under the spotlight, her skin was so white that it was almost transparent, and her cheeks still had a blush from the excitement, mixed with the traces of tears that had not yet dried, forming a very impactful, beautiful and fragile picture.

"what..."

There was an uncontrollable burst of exclamations and gasps in the audience!

"Meow Dream?!"

Chihaya Aine even screamed out loud.

Although she had expected it, she was still shocked at this moment, along with the unveiling of the performance.

Although Nagasaki Suyo didn't scream out like Aine, her pupils also contracted suddenly, and the knuckles of her fingers that were holding the hem of her skirt turned white due to the force.

really...

Her previous guess was confirmed.

On the stage, after a brief silence.

A wave of applause and cheers like a surging tide erupted from all directions of the audience!

“Amoris——!!”

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"

The fans' long-accumulated emotions completely erupted at this moment!

They were crazy about this sudden "unveiling", excited to see the idol's true face, and shocked by the extremely tense performance just now!

However, facing the thunderous cheers and shouts from the audience, "Meow Dream" on the stage did not immediately smile or make any response.

She just stood there, breathing slightly, her eyes still somewhat empty as she looked at the crowded crowd and flashing lights below the stage, as if she had not yet completely recovered from the intense emotional struggle just now.

There were traces of tears on her face, and her expression was as fragile as a glass doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.

At this moment, the other four members, who had been standing still in the darkness, moved.

The low bass sounded again, as if announcing the continuation of some ritual.

Keyboardist Oblivionis played a sad and melodious melody from his fingertips, like the prelude to a requiem.

The two guitarists also re-plucked the strings.

The music started again, but it was no longer as violent as before. Instead, it had a somber tone, as if licking a wound.

Lead singer Doloris slowly walked to the center of the stage, approaching the still dazed "Miao Meng." She didn't look at the audience, but slightly turned sideways, casting her gaze at her companion beside her.

Although she was wearing a mask and her expression could not be seen clearly, from her slightly lowered head, one could seem to sense a hint of...compassion?

Or perhaps, a sympathetic resonance?

As Doloris sang sadly, the huge crimson velvet curtains on both sides of the stage, like those in a classical theater, began to slowly and silently close towards the center of the stage.

They are like two giant hands, about to lock the heartbreaking scene, along with all the secrets and struggles on the stage, back into the gorgeous cage called Ave Mujica.

The light was gradually swallowed up, and the area in the center of the stage became narrower and narrower.

Seeing this scene, Nagasaki Suyo, who had been immersed in complicated thoughts, suddenly came back to her senses!

The curtain is closing!

This is the perfect time to observe! Especially Amoris, who just took off her mask. Her current state may be the most vulnerable to revealing information!

“Aine!”

Su Shi quickly turned around and grabbed the arm of Chihaya Aine, who was still staring blankly at the stage. Her voice was low but filled with undeniable urgency:

"Quick! Look at the labels on their heads! Now!"

When Su Shi grabbed her and shouted, Chihaya Aine woke up from her dream and reacted immediately!

Yes! Tags!

She quickly concentrated, tried to open her eyes wide, and looked at the five figures on the stage that were about to be completely obscured by the curtain!

However, what she saw made her somewhat disappointed.

The four members who were still wearing masks had nothing on their heads and no labels at all!

Just like before with ordinary people, her ability seemed to have no effect on them, or rather, was interfered with by something.

Is it the mask? Or something else?

Aine's heart sank, but she didn't give up.

She held her breath and focused all her attention on the top of Amoris' head.

Just as the curtain was about to close completely, leaving only the last crack—

An extremely clear label, which even carried some meaning, finally appeared above Amoris's head.

——[Kujo Renji's Pet]

"Eh...?"

A completely different label than expected emerged.

Kujo Renji...'s, pet?!