(POV: Ren / Ema)
Ren returned to his dorm that night with Airi's sheet music clutched in his hands. The crimson aura around his violin felt hotter than ever, pulsing like a heartbeat. He placed the violin on the bed and stared at it.
I can't play this. I can't.
But he had to. The music called him, whispering in fragments of memory only he could hear.
Ema appeared in the doorway, silver hair spilling over her shoulders. "You found it," she said softly. "The final measure… it's not just missing. It's dangerous."
Ren shook his head. "I can't let it vanish, Ema. I can't let her vanish. I have to finish it."
Ema stepped closer. "If you play it, something will change. You… you might not come back the same. Or… not at all."
Ren lifted the bow. Crimson light shimmered along the strings. He pressed it gently, drawing a single note. The sound was perfect.
And then the strings snapped.
Pain shot through his arm, crimson droplets staining the sheet music. But the final measure… had begun to write itself. Notes etched themselves in the air, glowing faintly like fireflies.
Ema's hands hovered over the piano keys. "Ren… the academy is responding. It knows. It's alive. And it's waiting."
Ren's vision blurred. The room trembled. Somewhere below, the walls hummed—a deep, resonant vibration.
This is just the beginning.
Outside, the wind howled through the stone corridors of Kanezono Academy, carrying the faint, haunting echo of a violin—the first note of a song that refused to die.
And somewhere in the shadows, a thread of crimson wrapped itself tighter around Ren's heart, binding him to a melody older than life itself.