The first song was a hit of pure adrenaline and terror, Elara's voice soaring into the rafters. The acoustics were impossible; the sound didn't bounce off the walls, it seemed to be swallowed by them. Every note she sang felt like it was being pulled out of her chest by an invisible, grasping hand. In the center of the room, the dancing began—a slow, spiraling motion that defied human kinetics. The guests didn't move their feet so much as slide across the floor like magnets on a board. Elara watched a couple spin; their heads remained perfectly still while their bodies rotated. "Stay focused", she hissed to the band, but Jax was staring at his bass strings in horror. The metal strings were turning translucent, vibrating so fast they were becoming a blur of light. "I can't feel my fingers, Elara!", Jax shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the room's hum.
The palace was a giant tuning fork, and Elara was the striker, hitting it with every lyric. She looked at the food being served on long, silver tables by silent, grey-skinned servants. The guests were "eating" by hovering their hands over the plates, absorbing the steam. The steam wasn't from food; it was a swirling, colorful vapor that looked like burning magnesium. The "Bride" stood in the center of the room, her veil rippling as if caught in a wind that wasn't there. She began to hum along with Elara, a sound that was a perfect octave below the human range.
The floor began to pulse with a rhythmic thudding—thump-crack, thump-crack—as the dancing grew faster. Elara's voice felt stronger than it ever had, but it was a strength that felt hollow and borrowed. She hit a high soprano note, and a mirror across the room didn't shatter; it turned into liquid. The silver glass poured onto the floor, creeping toward the dancers like a living, metallic tide. "Something is wrong with the gravity," Sarah cried out, her sheet music floating into the air. The papers circled the piano like white birds, caught in a localized vortex created by the music.
Elara tried to stop, to catch her breath, but the music wouldn't let her go; it was a cycle. The guests were now moving with a violent, jerky energy, their limbs snapping into place. She saw a guest's arm bend backward to reach for a drink, the bone making a loud, wet pop. The guest didn't flinch; they simply continued to stare at Elara with wide, unblinking eyes. "Just one more song", Silas whispered, his voice appearing directly inside Elara's skull. "The union is almost complete. Sing for the new couples". Elara looked at the Groom, who was now standing directly in front of the dais, his eyes glowing. He reached out a hand, and the air between them rippled with a heat that smelled of sulfur. She realized then that they weren't just listeners; they were being powered by her. Her voice was the fuel for a super power she couldn't see.