(T/N: It is recommended to listen to this chap's title song while reading this chapter, 惑星ループ (Cover))
(T/N: The lyrics directly from the song, are mixed with that of the og fanfic, and even that I feel like I have to correct somewhat, so.. it's a lil adjusted)
The moment the accompaniment started, the single spotlight instantly scattered, transforming into swirling circular dots of light that danced across the stage.
The brilliant lights that bloomed at the same time not only illuminated the entire stage and venue but also traced a galaxy-like image on the floor with the rotating dots of light.
This stunning, unannounced opening threw the entire venue into a frenzy.
Even Mutsumi, who had seen all kinds of stages and live performances under her parents' influence, couldn't help but be deeply shaken—
"[RiNG]'s lighting system... can actually create an effect like this..."
She subconsciously looked up at the lights overhead, but she immediately understood that this seemingly complex and advanced visual effect was actually composed of just two parts.
One was the colored headlights that served as the starry background, and the other was the spotlight that could systematically converge and disperse.
This wasn't some high-end control system, but a basic function that many stages possessed.
However, to combine and utilize them so masterfully, without any sense of abruptness in the visual effect, was something that required a great deal of professional skill and stage experience.
In just the opening moment... [Summer Zodiac] had already surpassed all the previous bands in terms of stage effects.
And under this breathtaking opening light show, the live officially began—
...
[In a corner of the milky way, the planets turn, going round and round]
[A radio wave recording, only an echo returned]
[how many times does this make it...?]
Generally, if a lighter, more upbeat song is chosen for the first number of a live, it's easy for the singer's mood and condition to not be fully warmed up, creating an awkward disconnect. However, with Uika's incredibly stable breath control and vocal skill, the quality was like that of a studio recording.
Her long, starry-sky-themed dress, under the illumination of the lights, emitted a faint, mysterious fluorescence, as deep as the night sky itself.
Compared to Ai's dazzling brilliance, Uika's presence was more like a black hole that, once you looked at it, was difficult to look away from.
And then, when the song reached Ai's part, the fervent atmosphere of the venue instantly hit its peak—
[In the distant cosmos, I fell in love with you]
[Even though I understand that I won't reach you...]
["Ah ah," this feeling of wanting to see you, it just keeps looping over and over]
[I feel like I'm gonna lose it, there's no room for anything else in my mind.]
Although to the rest of the audience, the two on stage were just performing their parts normally, Tetsuya, standing below the stage, knew very well that ever since Ai had picked up the microphone, her gaze had been locked on him.
["Ah ah, I want to see you right now"]
[the coming days loop too, they loop with these thoughts]
[Even on this day, you're not on this orbit.]
...
"...She's singing this completely for Chihaya-nii."
Sakiko, standing next to Tetsuya, could of course also feel Ai's gaze.
Combined with the lyrics, she was one hundred percent certain that Ai had chosen this song for the sole purpose of singing it to Tetsuya.
But...
"Is it because her emotions are too strong... Her stage presence is just too good."
Staring at Ai in the center of the stage, Sakiko spoke as if in a daze.
"Even though it's a song dedicated to just one person, it still has an aura powerful enough to captivate the entire crowd..."
It was a performance state that had nothing to do with physical beauty.
Her gaze, her movements, and the intense emotion woven into her voice drew every single audience member into her performance.
In addition to that, Uika's perfect harmonies and the thematic, visually stunning lighting all worked together to create a flawless live effect.
Even though it was just a live house stage, it presented a quality that was in no way inferior to a professional concert.
This was the hottest new idol group on the internet right now—[Summer Zodiac].
"...Even by just insisting on her own self-expression, she can create an effect that infects the whole crowd?"
In her amazement, Sakiko's entire perception of the stage and live performances was completely overturned and changed.
And at the end of her line of sight, the golden starlight on Ai shone even more brilliantly.
...
Like a planet moving on its orbit, even though she could see him, she still couldn't reach him.
This frustrating, anxious feeling, mixed with the joy of being watched by him, sent Ai's spirits soaring to an unprecedented high.
She had been on stage many times before, but only this time... could she feel with such clarity that she had completely merged with the stage and the song.
But the more she immersed herself, the more her eyes couldn't leave him.
Because the person she was looking at was the one and only reason she was standing on this stage.
This first-magnitude star, shining for only one person, was now uncontrollably blooming with an unprecedented, dazzling, stellar radiance—
[Even though I can't reach you, I can see you. What could I do?]
[After getting closer to the distant you, I finally understand]
Towards that person who was so close, yet so far away, Ai reached out her hand—
[Ah ah, even so, this feeling of not being able to touch you, it just keeps looping over and over]
[My heart beats because of you, only this is certain]
[There, is only this love…]
...
"..."
From the moment Ai's voice rang out, Tetsuya hadn't moved an inch.
For him, who already knew of Ai's feelings, he naturally wouldn't be oblivious to the emotion in her song.
Even after seven years, the way she looked at him from the stage was exactly the same as it was seven years ago.
So it turned out that even back then, that little girl had already fallen deeply in love.
[Aa, just as the stars turn, we keep on looping forever]
[My feelings are drawing an orbit, only chasing after you]
["Ah ah, I want to be with you right now"]
[My life loops around, it loops.]
[On this spinning orbit, you're still not by my side]
[I can't think of anything else-]
"So that's how it was..."
He couldn't help but murmur aloud.
"I really... never noticed all this time..."
As the song gradually drew to a close, the "planetary rings" on stage began to accelerate and expand.
And when the light expanded to its maximum range, he, standing in the back row, was positioned perfectly on the outermost "orbit."
It was at that moment that Ai's gaze landed directly on him. With the anticipation of their meeting soon to come, she softly sang the final lyric—
[Here, there is only love in 'Ai'...]
...
The singing and accompaniment gradually faded, and the lights returned to how they were before the two had appeared on stage.
However, the aftershock of the live performance transformed into an incredibly enthusiastic response that lingered in the venue long after.
Just like at the beginning, Ai still said nothing after the performance ended.
After bowing silently with Uika to the roaring crowd, she turned her gaze back to Tetsuya and bloomed into an incredibly brilliant smile.
In the next second, amidst cheers that nearly threatened to blow the roof off [RiNG], [Summer Zodiac]'s live came to an end.