"Orvest!" Listelle cried, her voice sharp as one of the beasts swooped towards them. "Do we fight?"
Ten of the creatures had descended upon Symphona, spreading themselves across the city, prepared to deliver death and chaos to its people.
Musicians rose with their Divine Instruments, as they always had. It was their duty to shield the capital like a knight's shield.
Though Orvest's ambitions reached beyond the simple salvation of the capital, he still bore his responsibilities as an awakened musician.
"We fight," he said.
Before he drew his Divine Instrument, a surge of information flooded his mind. His Musical Status was laid bare in an instant.
---
Orvest Heartsong
Divine Instrument: Genesis
Affinity: Melody
> Class Masteries:
— Melodist: Performer (65%)
— Harmonist: Listener (89%)
— Vocalist: Listener (20%)
— Drummer: Listener (19%)
> Class Descriptions:
Melodist — Masters of magical weapons and combat. Specialists in offence and battlefield domination.
Harmonist — Manipulators of perception. Twist enemy senses and reality through illusions.
Vocalist — Destructive magicians. Alter the world through the divine voice.
Drummer — Battlefield stabilisers. Create barriers, strengthen and heal allies.
---
With the information seared into him, Orvest tapped into the dark magic woven into his heart. Tugging at the threads like a master Puppeteer, he drew forth a luminous essence that coalesced around his hands.
Moments later, two tangible objects materialised and settled neatly into his grasp.
A violin and its bow.
Genesis. His Divine Instrument.
THUD.
A four-winged grey beast crashed onto the rooftop, landing only metres away.
To Orvest's left, Listelle had already summoned her divine flute, lifting it to her lips and blowing a swift melody.
The tune rang out into the night sky, but this time, she needed only a few beats. After that, she released the flute, letting it hover mid-air, still playing.
Such was the nature of a Divine Instrument. It could play itself, allowing the musician to keep fighting.
Listelle reached beneath her long skirt, drawing a slender blade strapped to her thigh.
The beast twisted its grotesque head, confusion clouding its bloodshot eyes. It was a result of Listelle's song.
Mind of the Heedless.
A basic Harmonist song that, for a few heartbeats, caused the enemy to forget its purpose.
She would need to strike before that precious opening closed.
But Orvest was there to ensure the outcome remained in their favour.
He tucked the violin beneath his chin, raised the bow, and began to play.
The first song was vicious. It utilised sharp spiccato strokes, a savage blend of low and high notes. A Melodist's battle song, a class he had specially awakened to.
A Listener, a first-tier musician, could command their instrument to play on its own.
But Orvest was a Performer. Tier 2.
This allowed him not only to wield second-tier songs with ease but also granted a rare ability:
The power to play two songs at once.
As Listelle moved to strike, Orvest shifted into a second melody.
This new tune was calm. A silent lake against the chaos of the first.
By all reason, the overlapping sounds, combined with Listelle's flute and the distant music spilling through Symphona, should have created a dreadful cacophony.
Yet Divine Instruments did not clash.
Every note, every melody, fell into perfect resonance.
Orvest released the violin, and it floated in the air, the bow moving on its own across the strings.
Both songs activated at once.
First, a sword formed in his hand.
The blade was slender, almost like a fencing foil, forged from black metal. At its tip glowed a sharp white star, pulsing with a quiet but ominous light. The hilt fit his grip as though it had always belonged there.
---
Song Name: Dissonance of the Stars
Song Class: Melodist
Song Tier: Intermediate
Song Mastery: 100%
> "A solemn melody that threads the sky's emptiness with silent resolve.
At its start, a black-bladed fencing sword manifests in the performer's hand — its tip crowned with a single, cold star.
When the star pierces flesh, it does not wound in blood but in brilliance, filling the victim with searing energy too vast to contain until their form withers into dust, as if burned away by a false sun.
It is a song reserved for the purest executions, where mercy is delivered through overwhelming light rather than blade."
---
Almost simultaneously, the second song manifested.
---
Song Name: Two Is Better
Song Class: Melodist
Song Tier: Intermediate
Song Mastery: 100%
> "By plucking the hidden strings of reality, the Melodist conjures a perfect duplicate of the weapon held in their right hand.
The replica, woven from pure harmonic essence, mirrors the original's form and balance, though it lacks a true soul of its own.
While the twin endures, the wielder may strike with both hands as though each weapon were born of the same breath, their melodies colliding to craft a symphony of violence."
---
A duplicate of the star-forged sword shimmered into existence in Orvest's left hand.
It would endure as long as he kept his grip on the original.
Dual blades. His chosen style.
Orvest had written his character this way: Two swords are always better than one.
Orvest's gaze flicked upwards.
Listelle closed in, ready to plunge her blade into the beast's heart.
But at the last second, the creature's senses snapped back into place.
One of its great wings curled defensively, and Listelle's knife sank into the thick flesh instead. A spray of golden blood spattered across her black clothes.
The beast screeched a hideous, disharmonic sound that hurt the senses.
Listelle stood frozen, her blade lodged deep, as the creature reared back for another strike that would surely hurl her across the rooftop.
Orvest dashed in.
Twirling the twin swords in swift arcs, he sprinted across the distance in seconds.
He was Athletic. Trained. Relentless.
The beast swung a massive wing towards Listelle.
But it met two piercing stars instead.
Both blades thrust deep, the stars sinking into the creature's grey flesh.
The beast shrieked louder than ever, a sound that seemed to tear at the very air.
Orvest held firm, gripping the swords tightly despite the violent thrashing of the creature.
The magic activated almost immediately.
Brilliant light erupted inside the beast's body, searing through it. Its veins pulsed with radiant energy, swelling grotesquely.
A heartbeat later, the beast exploded.
Shards of golden flesh and guts splattered the rooftop, coating both Orvest and Listelle in sticky, lukewarm blood.
It was a wretched, revolting sensation.
But necessary for battle.
And more importantly, they had slain one of the creatures.
Listelle turned, her skin caked with blood, and offered him a smile.
"That," she said, her voice dry, "is disgusting."