Chapter 30 – A Way to Say Thank You
Razan looks at Loona, Charlie, Joe, Jon, and Carla and breaks into a huge, heartfelt smile.
"Thank you so much for the surprise, guys. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart."
Loona slowly steps closer, leans in until her lips are almost brushing his ear, and whispers in a tone that makes his heart skip a beat:
"Your real present… I'll only give it to you when I turn sixteen."
Then she casually walks away to grab some cake, as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb on his brain.
Razan freezes. His eyes go wide. He opens his mouth to blurt out "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!", but before a single word comes out, Charlie grabs his arm and drags him off.
"Come on! You have to see the decorations I made!"
From across the room, Loona glances back and catches the utterly bewildered look on Razan's face. A sly little smirk curls on her lips as she thinks:
You're so smart about everything… except relationships. You're an absolute idiot. Fine, right now you only see me as a kid, but just wait until I'm sixteen. Let's see you keep thinking that way then. You'll find out I'm a thousand times better than that old hag Carmilla Carmine.
The mere memory of him calling Carmilla beautiful makes her blood boil.
Carla watches the whole scene and thinks with a pitying sigh:
The young miss has already gone on the offensive… Too bad the lord only likes older women. She's still got a long way to grow before this blockhead notices her.
Joe shows up carrying a literal mountain of gifts.
"These are from everyone who couldn't make it, boss! You know how it is—if you invite one, you gotta invite them all, so they just sent presents instead."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, outside the hospital, Martha is leaving with her daughter Sara when she overhears the nurses gossiping.
"They say the Dragon Lord's birthday party is happening right now!"
"I'd kill to get an invite… If we caught the eye of someone that powerful, we'd be set for life."
Sara tugs excitedly on her mom's hand.
"Mom, can we go to the Dragon Lord's party?"
"We can't, sweetie. Only very close friends were invited."
"Then I'm gonna become his friend and get invited next time!"
Martha laughs softly and ruffles her daughter's hair.
"Alright, I believe in you."
Back at the mansion, Razan eyes the karaoke machine suspiciously.
"What exactly is that thing?"
"Music! You can't have a birthday without music!" Charlie chirps, already plugging everything in.
Razan looks at her excited smile and thinks:
As expected from the protagonist of a cartoon where the characters burst into song every single minute.
Razan is about to protest, but then he feels it: thousands of people across the city wishing they could be here to thank him for everything he's done. He lets out a deep sigh.
"…Fine. I'll use this power so everyone can feel like they're part of the party."
He turns to Charlie.
"You win, princess."
In his head: I only ate I have this power. because this world is one giant walking musical. I never thought I'd actually use it…
Razan takes a deep breath, cranks the Uta Song Fruit power to maximum, and his voice echoes across the entire city:
"Who's up for singing with me, everybody?!"
A blinding flash of light erupts. When everyone opens their eyes again, they're standing on a colossal stage floating in the middle of a star-filled universe.
Little Sara grips her mom's hand, staring in awe at the endless starry sky.
Razan appears center stage in his half-dragon form: wings spread wide, scales gleaming, voice booming through the cosmos:
"I heard a lot of you wanted to come to my party, but I can't invite the whole city. So this… this is my way of thanking every single one of you here tonight."
And then he starts, pouring his soul into it:
"I wanna follow where she goes
I think about her and she knows it
I wanna let her take control
'Cause every time that she gets close, yeah
She pulls me in enough to keep me guessing
And maybe I should stop and start confessing
Confessing, yeah
Oh, I've been shaking
I love it when you go crazy
You take all my inhibitions
Baby, there's nothing holdin' me back
You take me places that tear up my reputation
Manipulate my decisions
Baby, there's nothing holdin' me back
There's nothing holdin' me back
There's nothing holdin' me back
…
I feel so free when you're with me, baby
Baby, there's nothing holdin' me back
There's nothing holdin' me back
There's nothing holdin' me back"
Explosions of stars burst across the sky with every beat. Loona in the front row is completely stunned. Charlie jumps and screams the chorus beside her.
When the song ends, Razan tosses the mic to Charlie. She catches it mid-air and immediately launches into:
"If you want it, take it
I should've said it before
Tried to hide it, fake it
I can't pretend anymore
I only wanna die alive
Never by the hands of a broken heart
…
This is the part when I say I don't want ya
I'm stronger than I've been before
This is the part when I break free
'Cause I can't resist it no more
…
No, I can't resist it no more"
As Charlie's song nears its end, Razan uses his power to conjure a sleek red-and-black electric guitar and tosses it to Loona.
Loona catches it, eyes wide. He just waves her up: Come on.
Charlie gives her a gentle shove forward with a huge grin.
Loona steps onto the stage, takes a deep breath, and unleashes everything, voice strong, fingers flying across the strings:
"I followed my heart into the fire
Got burned, got broken down and tired
I've been looking for the peace in me
But the world just keeps on knocking me
Knocking me down
I'm ready to scream, ready to run
Ready to fall, ready to love
I've been holding it back for too long
Now I'm ready to let it all go
So I'm gonna set it all free
Set it all free
Set it all free tonight
…
Yeah, I'm setting it all free tonight
I'm setting it all free tonight
I'm setting it all free tonight"
The entire universe seems to shake. The crowd loses their minds.
Razan stands beside her, arms crossed, watching Loona own the stage with a proud smile he doesn't even try to hide.
And without meaning to, he thinks:
So this is what this power is really for…