Lament of Justice

Location: Outskirts of New Vienna – Former Sound Cathedral Ruins

Sylvia stood amidst the broken pillars of what was once the Cathedral of Resonantia—a monument that once housed Gaia's earliest Sound Knights. The air was heavy, not with dust, but with silence. Deafening, grieving silence.

Her steps echoed softly, the only sound within the ruins. Orisha pulsed faintly at her ears, reacting to something ancient, something embedded in the ether here.

"This is where she died," Sylvia whispered. "Calistea."

Behind her, Gram and Mia approached quietly, both wearing serious expressions.

"This place was marked off limits for a reason," Gram muttered. "High Abyssal activity was recorded here months ago."

"And yet… the silence screams," Mia added softly, looking around.

Sylvia approached the shattered altar at the center, where ancient sonic relics still lay embedded in fractured stone.

"I can hear it," she said. "Her final note. The Lament."

Flashback – 7 Years Ago

In the final moments of the Abyssal incursion at this cathedral, Calistea stood alone, surrounded by Abyss-Bound creatures, her body trembling, voice shaking.

"If this is how I die, let it be not in fear... but in resonance."

She activated Orisha's ancestral mode: Lament of Justice—a power that tore through the invaders but cost her everything.

Present – Ruins

As Sylvia placed her hand on the broken crystal at the altar's center, a surge of ether engulfed her. She fell to her knees, gasping, as a vision consumed her.

"Will you inherit my final cry?""Will you mourn and rise, not as a shadow, but as a beacon?""Then sing, Sylvia. Sing not to grieve. Sing to remember."

Her eyes snapped open.

Ether rippled violently around her. From her throat came a sound no Knight had heard before—a lament, mournful yet powerful.

The sound resonated like a spell, rousing the earth beneath them. Gram stepped back in shock.

"Sylvia... You're awakening it... her legacy."

Location: Abyssal Rift Site – Simultaneous

Dozens of Abyssal creatures suddenly screeched and scattered, fleeing as a harmonic shockwave reached them.

Coyote N'Kari, observing from Orion's hidden relay post, tilted his head, smirking.

"Looks like the Songbird has found her fangs."

Location: Gaia HQ – Strategy Room

Cyg stared at the readings of sudden sonic surges erupting across the field from Sylvia's location.

"It's... identical to Calistea's Lament," Sophia noted, tapping her digital interface.

"No," Cyg corrected, standing slowly. "It's Sylvia's Lament now."

Back in the Ruins

Sylvia collapsed as the echo faded. Gram caught her.

"That power—are you okay?"

"I heard her... and now, she's part of me," Sylvia whispered. "Calistea didn't die screaming. She sang until the end. That won't be in vain."

Mia smiled gently.

"Your voice might be what saves more than just lives... it may save hope."

As the trio exited the ruins, Sylvia looked over her shoulder once more.

"Justice doesn't need to be loud," she said. "But when it sings... it must be heard."