The sound that pierces into the bone!
The unending flow of piano music stripped the audience of their flesh and blood, leaving only their clothes and skeletons behind. Yet, the listeners were not dead. Their skeletal figures rushed for the exits, fleeing in panic.
The opened doors emitted a blinding white light, and one by one, the audience members dashed out, disappearing into the light.
Law watched silently as the crowd fled, aware that this was a scene reconstructed from the memory fragments of the [Sonata of Darkness]. Once the performance ended, he would return to reality.
Click, clack.
As the piano music faded, Law heard the sound of teeth chattering. Turning his head, he saw that the man playing the piano had also turned into a skeleton, his jawbone moving as if laughing maniacally.
'Is this the effect of the piano solo version?"'
Law looked at the skeletal man who stood up from the chair and thought silently in his heart.
The skeletal man rose from his seat, still laughing wildly, and walked toward Law's position… where the seven-colored light shone down.
"Eternal... life... take it... take it!"
Amidst the clattering of bones, Law faintly caught these fragmented words. Before he could fully comprehend them, the skeletal man stepped into the light and instantly crumbled into dust, vanishing before Law's eyes.
In an instant, the once-packed concert hall was empty, leaving only Law standing on the stage in complete silence, as if the entire scene had been a mime show.
"It's over."
Law waited, but even after several minutes, he remained trapped within the illusion constructed by the memory fragments.
'What's going on?'
A trace of unease crept into Law's heart. The surroundings were utterly silent.
Based on past experiences, he couldn't interfere with the scenes played out in these illusions. Once the 'performance' concluded, his consciousness would return to reality. But this time was different… he hadn't left.
Frowning, Law jumped off the stage, walked through the audience seats, and headed toward the white light emanating from the exit.
When he reached the door and tried to step through, an invisible wall blocked him, forcing him back.
'What's happening?'
His frown deepened as he pressed a hand against the light. The surface was solid. He struck it with his palm, but the force rebounded without a sound.
"Sigh."
Law exhaled sharply and attempted to summon Shin, only to find that the flame tattoo on the back of his hand, the mark of Kuro's manifestation, was missing.
This unusual situation sent a ripple of alarm through him.
Unable to summon Shin, Law instead gathered Nen in his palm and struck the invisible wall with full force. Again, the impact rebounded silently.
'This is bad.'
Rubbing his temples, Law began testing the barrier repeatedly, striking different points along the wall, but to no avail.
After a full circle, he realized he was trapped in this confined mental space.
"Kuro! If you can hear me, get your ass out here!"
Uncertain of what else to do, Law tried calling out to Kuro.
But after several shouts, the hall remained deathly silent. He was completely alone.
…
Inside the museum, Law stood motionless, holding the musical score in his hands. His eyes were open, but their usual sharpness was gone… his gaze dull and lifeless.
The Post-Mortem Nen that once clung to the score had been completely absorbed by Law, leaving the parchment looking like nothing more than ordinary animal hide.
At that moment, Kuro emerged from the flame tattoo on the back of Law's hand, landing on the ground. He circled Law once, his tail flicking in unease.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
Kuro leaped onto the display case, peering into Law's vacant eyes. A bad feeling settled over him.
'Don't tell me something's happened...'
His fur bristled at the thought. If Law was in trouble, Kuro would be doomed as well. Panic began to set in.
Tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed from below.
Reacting quickly, Kuro dissolved into a wisp of black smoke, retreating into an empty cabinet in the corner.
A young maid in a uniform carried a drink up the stairs. Seeing Law standing motionless in front of the display case, she softly said, "Mr. Law, this is freshly brewed tea."
At that moment, Law was trapped in his mental space, completely unaware of the maid's words, his body frozen in place.
The maid, noticing his stillness, gave him a strange look. She set the tea down on a nearby table and called his name several times, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea… there was no response at all.
Puzzled, she slowly walked behind Law. While calling his name, she cautiously reached out toward his back.
Her hand recoiled as if shocked halfway, then after a moment, she carefully placed it on Law's right shoulder instead.
A few seconds later, the maid's hand lightly rested on Law's right shoulder as she whispered, "Mr. Law?"
Sizzle.
In the next instant, the maid's eyes widened in sheer terror, her expression twisting into extreme horror.
She saw… her hand, the one touching Law's shoulder, turning into bone amidst a wisp of white smoke.
The smoke, like a lit fuse, suddenly accelerated, spreading from her palm to her arm, then her body, neck, and finally her head.
The maid's mouth opened in a silent scream, but all that escaped was a hollow click-clack sound.
Kuro, who was hiding in the cabinet, watched in astonishment. In less than two seconds, a living woman was reduced to a skeleton… though her clothes remained intact.
"Dead?"
Kuro muttered under his breath.
The next moment, he stared in disbelief as the skeleton, still making click-clack noises, dashed down the stairs.
"Strange!"
He grumbled before dissolving into black smoke and following.
Once he reached the ground floor, he materialized again just in time to see the maid's skeleton rush outside… only to crumble into dust the moment sunlight touched it, leaving nothing but a maid's outfit sprawled on the grass.
Seeing this, Kuro's heart skipped a beat. He quickly returned to the top floor and looked at the motionless Law, muttering irritably, "Always messing with these creepy things. If you get yourself killed, I'm going down with you!"
Inside the mental space, Law remained oblivious to what had happened outside. He paced back and forth on the stage, utterly clueless about how to escape.
'Here, I could still use Nen, but Kuro wasn't present, and the White Smoke Font wouldn't appear. Yet, the sheet music for Sonata of Darkness was etched into my mind.'
Suddenly, his gaze landed on the black piano on stage, and a thought flashed through his mind.
'Maybe…'
He stood still, deep in thought, 'This is just a mental space. Would it really hurt to play the piano solo version here?'
With that in mind, he approached the piano and slowly took a seat.
Before encountering the sheet music, he had been completely ignorant of the piano. Now, however, he couldn't play any other piece… but he knew exactly how to perform the Sonata of Darkness's piano version.
"Let's give it a try."
Law held his breath and placed his hands gently on the keys. A profound familiarity, as if embedded in his soul, traveled through his nerves to his fingertips.
Slowly, he closed his eyes and pressed the piano keys.
The piano sounded again, the same opening as the man before him had played.
The sound of steel beads falling on ice started softly, then grew rapid… turning into flowing water, then a howling wind, then a low, mournful wail-
The melody rippled outward, and the stage's curtains silently disintegrated into dust.
Law felt his Nen being violently drained, as if siphoned away in large bursts… one after another, relentlessly.
Sizzle… sizzle… sizzle…!
The stage, the seats, the floor, the walls… everything crumbled into powder under the music's influence.
Though his eyes were closed, Law somehow saw it all happening.
'This might actually work.'
He thought so in his heart and played faster.
Soon, the piece neared its end. Nearly everything had turned to dust, and finally, even the piano began to dissolve like sand.
At that moment, for some inexplicable reason, Law felt an overwhelming emptiness in his heart.
Before he could dwell on it, the scene before him abruptly shifted… and Kuro appeared in his line of sight.
"You're back?"
Law lowered his gaze to the sheet music in his hands.
'Two pieces.'