For the past few nights, Eillya had been racking her brains in front of her computer. She meticulously composed every drum beat, every layer of rhythm guitar, and the atmospheric keyboard and synth melodies. She arranged them specifically to leave space for Eva's bass to stand out and for her own voice to lead. It was emotionally draining work, a composition built from the fragments of her own soul.
As they stepped toward the wings of the stage, the roar of the crowd and the thumping music of the previous performer sounded muffled behind the heavy black curtains. Streaks of stage light leaking through the gaps illuminated their faces.
Eva gripped Eillya's hand for a moment, giving it a meaningful squeeze that said, "Reach out once more for the world you once saw."
Eillya took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs. Her focus was now on only one thing: the microphone standing in the center of that stage. She was ready to release every bit of suffocation, frustration, and restored determination before 450 pairs of eyes.
The curtains began to move. The stage lights dimmed for a second, granting a harrowing silence before the storm began.
"Next up, please welcome... Nameless!"
The announcer's voice echoed through the large speakers, triggering sporadic applause from the curious audience. Eillya stepped forward.
This time, there was no hesitation in her stride. Her steps were firm, her chin slightly lifted, as if she were walking toward a long-overdue destiny. Behind her, Eva followed with a calm smile, bringing an aura that was contrasting yet complementary.
As they emerged from behind the curtain, the sharp glare of the stage lights hit them instantly. The bluish-white light was blinding, making the faces of the 450 spectators below look like mere silhouettes, though there were faint, dismissive whispers at the sight of just two ordinary girls standing on stage. To Eillya, however, those gazes didn't feel intimidating. She felt... home.
Eillya stood directly in front of the microphone, while Eva walked to the side where her Crimson Bass stood gallantly. Eva looped her strap, plugged in the cable, and gave a small thumbs-up to the sound technician. Before starting, Eva stepped to the front of the stage, holding an extra mic.
"Hello everyone, good evening," Eva greeted in a tone that was incredibly fluid and friendly. Her communication skills instantly thawed the previously stiff atmosphere. "We are Nameless. This is our first stage, and to be honest, it's still just the two of us. We are currently looking for other members to complete our lineup. Nameless is just a temporary name... until we truly find our name later."
A few audience members chuckled, entertained by Eva's honesty and playful nature. The atmosphere inside Live House Horizon suddenly felt warmer. Eva nodded toward Eillya, and the performance began.
The first two songs were popular Pop covers. Eillya performed them beautifully. Though she only used a standard level of emotional depth, the clarity of her voice and her pitch control were enough to make the audience stop chatting and start paying attention. She sang with precision, but it was merely a warm-up.
As the second song ended, Eva took back the spotlight. Her smile now looked a bit more mysterious and challenging.
"Those two songs were just an introduction," Eva said while plucking a bass string slowly, creating a provocative low thrum. "The next three songs are our original works. Enjoy them... because this is going to be very different from before. The title of this song is: Oath."
Eva turned to Eillya and gave a firm nod. Eillya returned it with a sharp, focused gaze. She stepped on her floor pedal.
THUMP! THUMP-TAK!
The song exploded. Eva immediately jumped in with an aggressive slap technique, providing a rhythmic foundation that was powerful and "naughty." A second later, Eillya's voice entered with the intro lyrics.
"This voice is yours, My Oath Eternally..."
Her vocals began with soft low notes, almost like a whisper, before the violin playback and orchestral instruments she had arranged herself kicked in, turning the atmosphere grand. Unconsciously, Eillya's right hand began to move with the rhythm, an elegant stage act, not overdone, yet deeply expressive.
"I found you where the aloneness grew too deep,"
"A soul that smiled so warm, though longing couldn't sleep,"
By the Verse, Eillya's emotions began to pour out. This was no longer just singing; it was a release.
"If I could shape the sky with only breath,"
"I'd give you stars with every step,"
The audience grew silent, transfixed by the transition from the melancholic Pre-Chorus to the explosive Chorus.
"So hear me now—my voice, my oath!"
"A song to paint~ the world somehow~!"
In this section, Eillya unleashed her full power. Her voice soared toward the middle and high notes with incredible stability. She played with dynamics, powerful in one line, then falling into softness the next, creating a sensation of Symphonic Rock blended with intense Alternate Heavy Metal elements.
Her usually flat face was completely transformed. Her brows furrowed with deep feeling, her eyes radiating a light that had long been dimmed. Until the final note of the song vanished into the room's echo, Eillya stood frozen before the mic.
Inside her chest, something felt like it had burst. That warm feeling she had as a child, the relief of being able to soar through notes without holding anything back, enveloped her again. Without her realizing it, a soft smile carved itself onto her face. It wasn't the forced smile of the "Icy Maiden," but the genuine expression of a little girl who had finally found her voice again.
Eva, standing beside her, smirked with satisfaction. She saw the change. She saw the real Eillya beginning to wake from her long slumber.
"Yes, just like that..." Eva thought while staring at Eillya's back, "...you've found it again, haven't you?"
The stage lights dimmed for a moment, leaving a silence filled with the admiration of an audience that had just witnessed a burning promise.
Silence blanketed the room after the explosive energy of Oath faded. Eillya still stood before the microphone, her breathing somewhat regulated, but her eyes reflecting a different depth. She adjusted the mic stand height for a moment, then brought her lips close to the mesh.
"This fourth song..." Eillya began, her voice sounding much softer yet vibrating with raw sincerity. "...is a song written by someone very important to me. The title is Vow."
She didn't look back at Eva, but Eillya stepped on her pedal once more.
The stage lights shifted to a dim blue with a white spotlight focused on them. The intro began with a searing, melancholic guitar riff, followed by clear keyboard notes and a subtle cymbal beat. A few seconds later, Eva's bass thrum entered with a flowing groove, not as aggressive as before, but providing a steady heartbeat for the song.
Eillya began very softly.
"I wrote down a memory of how I found you..."
In that Verse, she sang as if whispering an old secret. Her body movements flowed naturally, her left hand slightly raised as if trying to reach for a shadow of the past in the air.
"The name I held in hush'd reverie,"
"Though fate once tore the pages away,"
The intensity began to rise as she hit the Pre-Chorus; her voice thickened alongside lyrics promising loyalty. As it entered the Chorus, the emotion exploded in a different form. If Oath was a consuming fire, then Vow was a deep, unshakeable ocean.
"So hear me now, across the gray of years~"
"I wait, unshaken, through every fear~..."
Eillya's vocals were incredibly dynamic. In one part, she used a thin, fragile falsetto, then a second later, she delivered an intimate whisper before finally returning to a powerful full voice.
Even though the tempo was slower than the previous song, the emotional intensity she radiated felt even more suffocating for the heart.
The audience members who had looked down on the performance of these two girls at the start were now rendered speechless. There were no more cynical whispers or clinking glasses. Every pair of eyes was glued to the stage, dragged into the narrative of devotion delivered by Nameless.
In the back corner of the dimly lit room, hidden behind the shadow of a pillar, a girl in a Westeria uniform covered by a jacket stood frozen. Alia Adelaide.
Her eyes didn't blink. She felt her chest pulse with every vibration of Eva's bass and every breath of Eillya's. Her hand, hidden in her jacket pocket, was clenched tight. She finally understood what her fingers had been searching for all this time on the strings of her 7-string guitar.
"This..." Alia murmured barely audibly, her voice almost lost in the grand melody of the breakdown. "...is truly alive."
She didn't just hear notes; she heard a soul. She saw how a song could be proof of someone's existence.
The song ended with an intensely emotional closing line:
"My vow's to stay… until you do."
Eillya's voice faded into a long silence. She closed her eyes, feeling the remnants of Eva's energy still lingering in the air. For her, singing this song was the best way to reply to the letter Eva had left on her desk. An Oath and a Vow that had now been spoken aloud to the world.
The atmosphere inside Live House Horizon had now completely transformed. The room, once filled with skepticism and bar noise, now felt like a solemn cathedral, hypnotized by the presence of the two girls on stage.
Eva, realizing the momentum was at its peak, stepped to the front of the stage. She wiped a bit of sweat from her temple, her smile wide and full of the glow of victory.
"How was that?" Eva asked, pointing the mic toward the audience in a provocative manner. "Do you still want to hear our final song?"
"MORE!"
"KEEP GOING!"
The cheers erupted simultaneously. The audience in the front row began to jump slightly, while those in the back stood on their toes to get a better view. The energy in the room exploded, demanding more of the frequency that "Nameless" had just created.
"Alright, alright~ the last song~!" Eva laughed softly, her tone turning playful as usual. She glanced at Eillya for a moment before looking back at the crowd with a mischievous gaze. "And as a warning... make sure none of you try to hit on this vocalist afterward, okay~? Word is, she already has someone 'important' waiting for her."
That sentence immediately triggered teasing cheers from the crowd. Laughter and whistles filled the room, melting the emotional tension that had been so heavy during Vow. Eillya could only turn her head slightly, a faint blush appearing on her face as she tried to remain expressionless, but she didn't deny it.
"Our final song..." Eva continued, her voice turning serious yet firm.
Eillya took a deep breath, staring at the microphone in front of her as if it were the only gateway to her deepest soul. "Seele's Aria."