The night air outside the theater felt thicker now, heavy with the kind of quiet that comes right before everything explodes. Tony stumbled through the broken doors, broken trombone pieces clutched in his shaking hands like some weird trophy from a cosmic prank. His head buzzed with leftover energy, every heartbeat sounding louder in his ears, as if his own pulse had decided to join the new soundtrack playing inside him. Beasts growled somewhere in the dark—low, hungry rumbles that used to make his stomach twist with fear. Tonight they sounded different. Almost... curious.
Lila burst around the corner of a crashed truck, water already swirling around her fists like angry blue snakes. Her eyes found him instantly, wide with panic that melted into pure relief the second she saw he was standing. "Tony! What the hell happened? The whole building shook, and then these things started howling like they heard dinner being served!" She sprinted the last few steps, grabbing his shoulders, checking him for blood or broken bones with quick, worried hands.
Tony opened his mouth to answer, but a laugh bubbled out instead—shaky, wild, the kind you make when reality just pulled the rug out from under you and then handed you rocket boots. "I... I think I just became a god," he said, voice cracking on the last word. He held up the mangled trombone bell. "Through this. Seriously. The universe has the worst sense of humor."
Lila stared at the twisted metal, then at his face, searching for the joke. When she saw he wasn't kidding, her mouth dropped open. "Show me," she whispered, half command, half plea.
Tony swallowed hard. The golden words still floated in the corner of his vision, waiting patiently like they had all the time in the world. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and let out a single, careful note—not a hum this time, but something clearer, smoother, like the first clean breath after crying. The sound rolled out soft and golden, and the world listened.
Puddles on the cracked pavement rippled in perfect circles. Loose gravel lifted an inch off the ground and spun lazily. Even the distant beast growls softened, turning into confused whines before fading away completely. The air itself felt warmer, lighter, like someone had turned up the brightness on existence.
Lila's water snakes froze mid-twirl, then danced to the note, twisting into little spirals that matched the rhythm perfectly. Her eyes went huge. "Tony..." she breathed, voice full of wonder and a tiny bit of fear. "That's... that's not normal power. That's something else."
He opened his eyes, grinning so wide it hurt. "Yeah. X-Class. God of Songs and Music. The prompt said reality hums my melody. I think it meant it literally." He laughed again, a little manic. "I can't even sing Happy Birthday without butchering it, and now I'm supposed to conduct the apocalypse?"
Lila grabbed his arm tighter, pulling him behind the truck as another low growl echoed from the shadows. "We need to move. If the wrong people find out you've got something this big, they'll come for you. Raiders, other title-holders, maybe even the cult everyone whispers about." Her face hardened, protective fire lighting her eyes. "But first, you need to tell me everything. Every word the prompt said. No holding back this time."
They started jogging back toward the settlement, keeping low, Tony's backpack bouncing against his spine. Every few steps he couldn't help testing it—little hums under his breath that made vines shift aside, broken glass crunch softly into powder, even the wind change direction to push them faster. It felt ridiculous. It felt amazing. It felt terrifying.
Halfway down the highway, a pack of mutants finally caught their scent—six hulking things with too many teeth and eyes that glowed like dying embers. They charged from the overgrowth, claws scraping asphalt, snarls ripping the night apart.
Lila raised her hands, water surging up in a massive wall. "Stay behind me!"
But Tony stepped forward instead, heart hammering with a wild mix of fear and excitement. "Wait," he said, voice steadier than he felt. He lifted the broken trombone bell like a makeshift microphone, took a deep breath, and let out a long, low note—deeper than he'd ever managed before.
The sound rolled out like warm honey, slow and heavy. The charging beasts faltered mid-stride. Their snarls turned into confused huffs. One by one, they slowed, heads tilting, eyes glazing over as if listening to the most beautiful lullaby they'd ever heard. Then, impossibly, they sat down. All six of them, right there on the cracked road, tails thumping like sleepy dogs.
Lila's water wall dropped in slow, stunned drips. She stared at the peaceful pack, then at her brother, mouth open so wide Tony could have parked a truck in it.
Tony lowered the trombone bell, cheeks burning. "Okay... so that happened."
Lila blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing—loud, bright, the kind of laugh that said she was equal parts proud and completely terrified. "You just sang a monster gang to sleep. With a broken trombone. Tony, you absolute disaster of a god."
He shrugged, trying to look cool even though his knees were shaking. "Hey, at least I'm useful now."
They kept moving, faster this time, the settlement lights twinkling in the distance like a promise. Behind them, the sleeping beasts stayed down, breathing in slow, peaceful rhythm to the fading echo of Tony's note.
Whatever came next—raiders, cults, other title-holders who might want to test the new kid on the block—Tony knew one thing for sure.
The world had changed again tonight.
And this time, it had a beat.