Chapter 27 – The Cost of Stardom

The envelope lay untouched on the common table, its obsidian surface still gleaming with promise — a dream polished to perfection. But it no longer held power over Kai. Not after what he'd said.

"I didn't come here to repeat my past mistakes."

The words lingered, like the final echo of a song that refused to fade. Lyra had replayed them all night, curled up in her top bunk, eyes open against the darkness. She didn't sleep — none of them really did. The decision hadn't just affected Kai. It had cracked something open between them. Something that had been building under the surface since their names first appeared on the Showcase scoreboard.

They were ranked sixth.

Out of hundreds.

It wasn't a dream anymore. Soul Sync was rising, and fast. People noticed them. They received messages from fans, from talent scouts, even from other bands who now saw them not as underdogs, but as competition.

It changed the way people looked at them. And it began to change how they looked at each other.

That morning, breakfast was quiet.

Rin was the first to break the silence. She spun a spoon on the table like it was a drumstick and muttered, "So, are we gonna talk about it, or are we pretending we're fine and silently combusting like a respectable band?"

No one answered. The spoon clattered.

"Seriously," she groaned. "Kai turns down a golden ticket to stardom, we all pretend that doesn't mess with our heads? Come on."

Lyra set down her teacup. "It does mess with us. And it's okay to admit that."

Kai leaned forward, his expression unreadable. "You think I made a mistake?"

"No," she said, and her voice was calm. "But I think you made a choice that not everyone would've made. And that makes the rest of us ask: would we?"

Rin nodded. "I mean… I love you guys, seriously, but if a sponsor dropped a five-year record deal on my doorstep and said I could tour alternate dimensions with a pyrotechnic drum set, I'd be tempted."

Yuu, from his corner, nodded slowly. Then tapped on his wristpad.

[So would I.]

The silence that followed wasn't hostile. It wasn't betrayal. It was something quieter. Realer. A tension born not of anger, but of uncertainty.

Kai exhaled. "I'm not judging anyone. I get it. We've all got reasons for being here. Maybe some of us want fame. Some want redemption. I just know I've been the guy who chose solo success over connection. It didn't end well. I lost people. I lost… something I still don't know how to name."

Lyra's gaze softened. "So you're staying because you want something different this time."

He nodded.

Rin leaned back, crossing her arms. "But different doesn't mean easy."

"Nothing worth keeping ever is," Kai said.

It was Yuu who tapped out the next message.

[What if one of us does leave one day? What happens to the band then?]

The question dropped like a chord struck too hard.

Lyra didn't answer at first. Her fingers curled around the edge of her teacup. Then she stood, slowly, and walked over to the center of the room. The dorm lights dimmed around her — VIVA adjusting instinctively, sensing the weight of the moment.

She turned to face them.

"When I first arrived," she said softly, "I had nothing. I was broken. I didn't think anyone would want me here. But you… you played with me. You laughed with me. You stayed when I broke down. I've never had anything like this before."

She paused, breath catching.

"I can't promise we'll stay together forever. I don't know what the world will throw at us. But I do know that right now, this band is real. And if we're going to chase success, let's do it as us — flawed, chaotic, ridiculous Soul Sync."

Kai gave a half-smile. Rin wiped her eye like it was just an itch. Yuu blinked slower than usual — his version of emotion overload.

"Also," Lyra added with a shaky grin, "we still owe VIVA an improved Harmony Score or she'll sulk for a week."

"I do not sulk," VIVA's voice chimed, insulted.

"You glitched sad puppy filters onto the mirror last time we scored below 40," Rin pointed out.

"That was a thematic motivation technique."

Kai stood up. "You're right. All of you. This isn't about one offer. It's about what kind of future we want to build. Together."

Yuu tapped again.

[Then let's build it. Let's rise together.]

And somehow, that settled it.

They didn't sign any blood pacts. They didn't promise not to falter. But in that moment, they re-committed — not just to the music, but to each other.

Success would come. Temptations would return. But Lyra knew now that they wouldn't break apart easily.

Because this band wasn't built on talent alone.

It was built on choice.

And every day they chose to stay — that was a louder, stronger song than anything they could ever perform.

END OF CHAPTER 27