"I'm the Head of the Music Department!" Professor Arienna roared. "I will not be defeated by a student whose voice sounds like nails scratching a chalkboard!"
But Alex couldn't hear her at all.
He had ascended.
His arms were spread wide. His shirt fluttered with the breeze. His eyes were glowing—not with power but with pure, unchecked delusion.
"Let the dream begin, let the darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night!
You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!"
Several members of the audience were now clinging to each other as they cried softly.
The teaching assistant, Heather, had gone into the fetal position and was humming a lullaby to herself.
When Alex sang the final verse, a ripple of death energy—it's every bit as soul-sucking as "death energy" could be—blasted across the arena.
Magical barriers cracked.
The orchestra disintegrated.
