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Chapter 9 - Chapter 9 - Choir of Shadows

The city was a cathedral of rain. Neon lights fractured in puddles, streets disappeared beneath floodwaters, and every shadow seemed alive, stretching, whispering. The Choir had made their move.

Ren, Aira, and the Refrains stood atop a crumbling skyscraper, watching the chaos below. Ethereals flickered violently, some uncontrolled, others manipulated by invisible hands.

> "They've brought the city to its knees," Aira said, voice tight, gripping her gun.

"And they're using us to do it."

> "Not exactly," Shouma replied, calm as always.

"They want to collapse the sorrow into one massive echo. A singular, unstoppable Ethereal… and they think you're the key."

Ren clenched his fists, violet light faintly shimmering around his palms. Every memory he had absorbed surged like a river, threatening to break its banks.

> "I… I won't let them use me," he said.

"I'll… I'll stop them."

Shouma nodded.

> "Then we do this together. But remember, the Choir isn't just after your power. They manipulate fear, grief… even trust. They will try to turn us against each other."

---

The first wave of Choir agents descended from the rooftops. Shadows stretched unnaturally, merging with the rain. Ren felt them probing his mind, attempting to corrupt him, to force the memories to break into chaos.

> "Focus, Ren!" Aira shouted.

"Don't let them get inside your head!"

Ren took a deep breath. He reached out with his Reverie powers, not to absorb, but to channel, shaping the echoes of the city's grief into a shield, forming luminous fragments of memories around him.

The Choir agents recoiled as violet light collided with their dark tendrils. Ethereals above paused, sensing a force stronger than manipulation.

> "Yes…" Shouma murmured.

"Feel the full weight, but control it. This is the test."

---

From the shadows emerged the Choir's leader, a figure in flowing black robes, face obscured, radiating cold authority.

> "Ren Kurozawa," the voice echoed, deep and resonant.

"You think you can resist what you were made for? All of Kagura City's sorrow… all of its echoes… belong to us. Join us, and you may control it. Refuse… and everything you love will drown."

Ren's heart pounded. Violet light flared uncontrollably as thousands of memories collided inside him. Faces of the lost, the Ethereals he had touched, his parents, the Black Rain — all screamed in unison.

> "I… won't!" Ren shouted.

"This city… its sorrow… its people… they are not yours to use!"

Energy exploded outward. Rain vaporized into steam where his power collided with the Choir's tendrils. Ethereals began to calm, responding to his voice, his intention.

Aira, Shouma, and the Refrains joined, striking in unison. Shards of violet light cut through the city, purifying the manipulated Ethereals without destroying them.

> "Keep pushing!" Shouma shouted.

"Control your grief, Ren. Let it be your weapon!"

The Choir recoiled, but even as their shadows writhed, Ren felt something stir deeper, a singular, massive echo forming at the city's heart, drawn by the manipulation and pain of the masses.

> "This is it," Shouma said grimly.

"The heart of their plan… the final Ethereal."

Ren's violet eyes glowed brighter. He realized he would have to enter the collective memory, touch every echo, every soul, or risk losing the city entirely.

> "I… I can do this," he whispered.

"I have to."

The rain intensified to a torrential roar, a living entity responding to Ren's resolve. The city itself waited for him, the boy who could hear all sorrow, who could make it understood, and who now would face the Choir's ultimate manipulation.

---

End of Chapter 9

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