"Second Movement: Scales and Constancy — A Hymn of Praise!"
Harmony could be said to have been born from the corpse of Order. It was precisely by absorbing Order that Harmony had been able to manifest as it did today.
"With the music of Harmony, command the power of Order! Reenact the deeds of the ancient Choir and sing a hymn to Order!"
"THEY proclaimed: Those who come bearing malice shall not leave unscathed."
"The thousand-faced performance shall never cease, and the eternal theaters shall forever remain connected."
The Family's Tuner chose to accept the influence of Order, whose origins remained unknown, incorporating its discordant notes into the composition and making them part of Constantina's power.
But when the united chorus of Harmony transformed into a hymn to Order, the discordant notes that had previously disturbed the melody finally blended into the song.
And for the first time, an even deeper dissonance, buried beneath the noise of Order, revealed itself.
A faint, intermittent screech.
There was something very wrong with this incarnation of the Theater of Myriad Sounds.
The Family's envoy was beginning to realize that something was seriously—perhaps even nine-tenths—wrong.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Amid a shrill screech that seemed capable of tearing through eardrums, the "audience members" who formed the foundation of the Theater of Myriad Sounds began losing consciousness one after another.
A performance without an audience was destined to fail.
Before the Family's envoy's disbelieving eyes, Constantina began to lose control.
The second act, originally intended to trap the Antimatter Legion and annihilate its forces, had barely begun before it was forcibly interrupted. The disruption dealt a devastating blow to the Theater of Myriad Sounds, and one corner of the magnificent hall began to crumble and collapse.
Then, under the influence of an unknown force, the third act began unfolding on its own.
"Third Act — The Screech of Insects, the Final Chapter of Ages Past."
"Listen! Oh, listen to that piercing screech! When the fallen god of old opens THEIR eyes once more, an invisible will shall unleash THEIR wrath. Innocents shall suffer calamity, repaying the karmic debts of their god!"
"Where shall we turn? Where shall we turn? Where shall we turn? All things must have their final chapter—"
"Hiss... Haaaaaah!"
Constantina began showing signs of transforming into an insect.
The towering giants that supported the great hall were the first to develop enormous mandibles.
The remaining audience members descended into panic, shattering the last vestiges of Harmony's ability to suppress the transformation.
The space above the theater began closing in. The once-magnificent Theater of Myriad Sounds now looked more like an enormous insect nest.
"Third Movement: Wildness, Instinct, and the Symphony of Life — A Lament!"
Bzzzzzz!
The so-called third movement was nothing more than the beating of insect wings.
The ground split open once again. The same fissures that had previously swallowed the Doomsday Beasts now disgorged swarms of insects that surged into the sky.
Harmony's power protected this land from the ravages of war, promising an end to all conflict.
Unfortunately, the power of these insects came from Harmony itself.
Harmony was the most inclusive of all Paths, yet that very inclusiveness also made it the most vulnerable.
After absorbing Order, Harmony had retained traces of Order's discordant influence. And when it tore the concept of the Collective away from Propagation, it had inadvertently dragged along a portion of Propagation itself.
How ironic.
The incarnation of Harmony that should have protected the Family had now, under the influence of an unknown power, become its greatest enemy.
The second act had originally been intended to imprison the Antimatter Legion. Instead, it had forced the Legion to remain on the planet, leaving its soldiers and the local inhabitants in exactly the same predicament.
People who had been trying to kill one another just moments ago would now have to put aside their differences and work together against the insect swarm.
And wasn't that, in its own peculiar way, another form of Harmony? ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
...
Blade stood with both hands resting on his sword, his voice low.
"Kafka?"
Kafka pursed her lips.
"I'm here~"
"The script... changed again?"
Blade glanced toward the unfolding disaster.
"This scene... wasn't in the previous script."
"That's right~ According to Elio's new script, we need to be here to begin tearing apart the concept of the Collective that Xipe obtained from the Swarm."
"Elio said that if we don't create at least a small crack in the Collective ahead of time, the future will be missing three entire Aeons when the final moment of the End arrives."
"Elio told you that much this time?" Blade asked. "Did he happen to mention when I'll finally be able to die?"
The advantages granted by Elio's perspective of Finality were beyond anything ordinary people could imagine.
Elio had seen the Emanator of Propagation imprisoned within the Garden of Recollection.
He had seen Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony who embraced all things, being torn apart like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Shattered into a thousand fragments and scattered throughout the world.
He had witnessed the opening of several new Paths in the future. Before the arrival of the End, many new Aeons would be born.
Across the long passage of time, he had experimented again and again.
He changed his choices, observed the future anew, and revised it, repeating the process countless times.
Behind those seemingly effortless scripts lay the tireless labor of countless days and nights.
Come on, give the kitty a hug.
In truth, the so-called tearing apart of the Collective was merely an internal conflict arising spontaneously within Harmony. The Stellaron Hunters had simply deposited an appropriate quantity of the divine remains of Propagation at the right place and the right time.
There certainly seemed to be plenty of Propagation's remains lying around~
The Skaracabaz that Ruan Mei had created and that was now imprisoned within the Garden of Recollection had fused with a portion of the divine remains of Tayzzyronth, the Swarm King.
Over the long period of their fusion, those remains had continuously reshaped Skaracabaz.
In a sense, the Aeon of Propagation could potentially return through Skaracabaz at any moment.
Of course, it would only be a temporary resurrection. The Path of Propagation itself had already been shattered into countless pieces.
The most effective way to tear apart the Collective was to bring about the rebirth of Propagation. Once Propagation was reborn, the concept of the Collective would naturally return to its rightful owner.
The Swarm King, Tayzzyronth, could never truly return as THEY once were. But these repeated disturbances were enough to awaken the remnants of THEIR will lingering within the broken Path.
The obsession that had once driven THEM to ensure the reproduction and survival of THEIR species.
Reproduction had never been the ultimate goal. It was merely the means to an end.
When Tayzzyronth realized that THEY were the last remaining True Sting in existence, an overwhelming loneliness had engulfed THEM.
That desperate desire for THEIR species to survive and reproduce had ultimately driven THEM to ascend to godhood and open the Path of Propagation.
From that moment onward, THEY would never be alone again.
Reproduction for its own sake was meaningless. What mattered was the deeper significance it represented.
As THEIR immense will awakened alongside that ancient obsession, Tayzzyronth didn't even need to take action. The mere act of awakening was enough to create an invisible fissure between Xipe and the concept of the Collective that Harmony had torn away and absorbed from Propagation.
In the brief time since awakening, that vast will had already grasped the situation.
Tayzzyronth understood that this would be THEIR final awakening.
Once it ended, THEIR obsession would dissipate, and THEY would no longer be THEMSELVES.
Even if the shattered Path of Propagation were gathered together once more, would the god born from it truly be Tayzzyronth?
Or would it merely be an empty conceptual incarnation, a being that knew nothing beyond reproduction?
THEIR clouded, fragmented consciousness could no longer arrive at an answer.
But THEY knew what needed to be done now.
Tayzzyronth bestowed the entirety of THEIR remaining, incomplete Path upon THEIR sole surviving offspring—a child THEY had personally brought into existence.
The Skaracabaz that had inherited THEIR insect jaws and mandibles.
Then, Tayzzyronth willingly lowered THEIR own divine status, extinguishing any possibility of a future resurrection.
It was THEIR final offering to the True Sting.
THEIR final gift to Propagation.
Welcome the birth of a new god!
Even if that god was nothing more than a false one.