The cold air of Lyris stirred with subtle vibrations, the stone beneath BTS humming faintly with echoes of long-forgotten voices. The moon's twilight never changed, locked in a perpetual dusk that painted the ruins in ghostly silver. Somewhere beyond the crumbling temples, a silent figure moved. Lyra kept to the shadows, her cloak drawn tight around her frame, eyes tracking BTS from a safe distance. Her grip tightened on the hilt of her plasma bow, but her fingers trembled.
She had followed them here alone, defying protocol. Her mission was simple: eliminate the threat. Yet watching them move through the ruins, hearing the faint harmonies they accidentally triggered with their steps and voices, she hesitated. It wasn't hesitation out of fear. It was the unspoken something—something ancient, echoing in her circuits.
Namjoon paused in the plaza's centre, looking around with narrowed eyes. He turned slowly, his gaze locked with the shadows where Lyra hid. "We're not alone," he said softly.
Jungkook glanced up from inspecting a broken pillar. "Lyra?"
Taehyung's voice followed, calm but edged with caution. "She's here. I can feel her presence again. Same as before."
Lyra emerged slowly from the shadowed archway, weapon still lowered but not discarded. Her eyes glowed faintly, flickering like static. "You weren't supposed to make it this far," she said, her voice quiet, almost regretful.
Namjoon stepped forward. He raised no weapon. Only his voice. "Then maybe the universe is full of surprises. Or maybe you're not supposed to follow this path either."
She frowned. "I don't take advice from fugitives."
"You're not here to kill us," Namjoon said, tone steady. "You've had chances. You're here because something's shifting in you. Isn't that right?"
For a moment, she didn't answer. Her fingers twitched around the bow's grip. Then her face contorted as a low buzz rippled through her—an involuntary tremor. A glitch.
"I…" Her voice cracked, eyes squeezing shut as digital noise shimmered around her. "I remember… a melody. Not a command."
Hoseok took a cautious step forward. "A memory?"
She staggered back, gripping her head. "They told me those memories were corrupted. Dreams from my old shell. But it's growing louder. Whenever I hear your voices, it comes back… and hurts."
"Then let it hurt," Jimin said gently. "Pain means it's real. You're not a machine following code. You're becoming human again."
She blinked rapidly. "I was never… human."
"But you were more than metal," Seokjin said, voice calm. "Something inside you chose music. That means something."
Her breathing quickened, although she didn't need air. Her body rippled with electric distortions, flickers of blue and static swimming across her suit. "You don't understand. If I turn my back now, they'll shut me down. I've seen it happen to others."
"Then let us help you," Namjoon said. "Tell us what the Federation is planning. We can stop this together."
Her jaw clenched. Sparks danced from her fingertips as the bow hummed to life.
But she didn't raise it.
"I… I can't betray them. But I can leave you a warning."
She tossed something at his feet. A data shard. It pulsed faintly with encoded sound.
"Decode it," she said. "They're building Harmony Eater Drones. Machines that consume all frequencies. No song, no speech, no vibration left. Just silence. That's what they want."
Jungkook stepped closer, his voice urgent. "Why?"
"Because they fear what music can awaken. In people. In me." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "In all of us."
Before anyone could respond, her body flared in a burst of light and she vanished—teleported through a flash gate encoded in her suit. The ruins fell silent once more, save for the faint wailing wind and the soft hum of the Resonance Stone still cradled in Yoongi's pack.
Namjoon bent to pick up the shard, eyes narrowed with resolve. "They want silence. But we have voices."
Taehyung exhaled slowly. "Then it's war."
Yoongi looked up from where he'd been scanning the ruins. "It was always going to be. The second we chose to sing again."
Seokjin crossed his arms. "But now we know what we're up against. We're not just fighting for freedom. We're fighting for the right to make sound."
Jimin shivered despite the warmth of the stone's pulse. "And if they silence the galaxy… what happens to songs that haven't been written yet?"
"We make sure they still happen," Jungkook said. "Even if we have to scream them into the void."
The team gathered around the stone platform where they first landed, the ancient symbols glowing again. The moon responded to their harmony, even in this moment of tension. The architecture around them pulsed softly, almost like it was listening.
Namjoon clenched the shard in his hand. "Get ready. If Lyra's right, we have limited time. We need to warn the Echoes and unite the rebellious planets."
Hoseok looked at the darkening sky. "And if she comes back?"
Namjoon didn't look away from the sky. "Then I hope she chooses the right side. But we won't stop. Not for her. Not for the Federation. Not for fear."
The stone beneath them vibrated again, carrying the hum of resistance.
Silence was the Federation's weapon.
But BTS had already chosen their sound.