In the hours after Cael'Tharion's name burned into Rei's soul, silence lingered not as peace, but as tension.
Across the realms, fragments of the past began to ripple through the seams of existence.
And at the center of this new storm stood The Azure Choir—a dominion of light and law once bound to Heaven, now uncertain in its allegiance.
---
Location: Skyvale Rift — Threshold of the Azure Choir
The wind here was not air—it was memory turned into vibration. As Rei and his companions stepped through the veil, the sky above fractured into harmonic waves.
Eirenne flinched, gripping her halberd.
"This place sings with truth. It hurts."
Mireille shielded her eyes. "It's not truth. It's judgment. This entire domain is woven from intentions."
Noira's eyes narrowed. "Then they'll hate us. We have too many."
Karasu cawed. "Too late. They've already begun to sing."
Above them, glowing forms appeared—six-winged entities made of glass and light, each one bearing a different resonance.
From the center descended an archangel whose wings shimmered like mirrored silver.
"Kazenari Rei," he declared. "You've invoked names meant to be buried. The Choir calls for your evaluation."
Rei stepped forward, his flame steady.
"Then evaluate me. But understand—your Choir isn't the only one singing anymore."
---
Trial of Resonant Harmonics — Initiated
The Choir's trial was not of battle, but of harmony.
Each companion was pulled into an illusion of their deepest divergence:
Eirenne relived the moment she chose duty over family.
Mireille stood before the ruins of a kingdom she failed to save.
Noira faced her mirror-self, still innocent, asking why she turned away from peace.
And Rei… Rei stood in an infinite library, surrounded by alternate versions of himself.
Some conquerors. Some saviors. Some monsters.
One approached.
"You will become one of us. That is inevitable."
Rei answered, "Then let me choose which."
He grasped the Soul Codex—and rewrote the outcome.
> [Codex Echo Triggered — Divergent Path Denied. Flame Identity Confirmed. Trial Outcome: Unresolvable. Choir Protocol Interrupted.]
---
Collapse of the Azure Trial
Light shattered. The Choir's harmony fractured.
The archangel clutched his chest, a sigil searing into him—the mark of Cael'Tharion.
"You carry his name," he gasped. "You should not."
Rei approached calmly.
"But I do. And I remember why he was erased. It wasn't betrayal—it was mercy."
From his palm, Rei conjured a flame shaped like a broken musical note.
"Time to change your song."
The flame expanded, gently consuming the Choir's sanctum—not with destruction, but with transformation.
The harmony didn't end.
It adapted.
> [System Notification: Azure Choir Domain — Status Changed. Alignment Shift: Neutral. Echo Harmonics Unlocked. Trait Gained: Choirbreaker Flame. Allies gain enhanced emotional resilience in divine domains.]
---
Aftermath — Return to Earth
Back at the Shrine of the North Wind, the stars pulsed in a new rhythm.
Mireille looked up. "They sing in a different key now."
Noira grinned. "You really broke Heaven's stereo system."
Eirenne remained quiet. Then finally, she said, "They didn't break. They bent. That's more dangerous."
Rei sat by the hearth, flame resting in his palm like a heartbeat.
"I don't want to be worshipped," he murmured. "I want to be remembered. Fully. Flaws and all."
Velis, watching from a nearby archway, whispered, "And that… is what Sovereigns truly fear."