Prologue

The enigmatic box hovers above the ancient Yggdrasil, the World Tree. It defies gravity, devoid of wings or propellers, relying solely on the arcane. A young girl, draped in an immaculate white kimono with hair as pure as snow, fixates her aquamarine gaze upon the box. Her duty is to safeguard it until the destined hour arrives.

Her aquamarine eyes close, and from her lips emerges a haunting melody that echoes with the essence of ages past. As her voice fills the air, her body defies earthly constraints, ascending gracefully as the frills of her kimono flutter in the ethereal breeze.

"Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur,

Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur,

Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur.

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.

Ad mortem festinamus:

peccare desistamus.

Peccare desistamus.

Ni conversus fueris et sicut puer factus

Et vitam mutaveris in meliores actus,

Intrare non poteris regnum Dei beatus.

Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus."

Though her words resonate with solemn clarity, the world around her trembles. The clocktower, frozen eternally at midnight, defies its own nature, its hands spinning counterclockwise, ever faster, never halting.

With an anticipatory gleam in her eyes, she reopens them.

"It's time to fulfill the prophecy," she murmurs as she continues to hover in the boundless expanse.

The mysterious box quivers, bathed in a radiant light before returning to its inscrutable form. Its true purpose remains a mystery known only to the girl in the white kimono.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Footnotes:

1. These verses are excerpted from a medieval song, "Ad Mortem Festinamus." It is a monodic composition from the 1399 Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, one of the oldest surviving medieval manuscripts featuring music. The lyrics speak of the inevitability of death and the imperative to cease sinning. Over the years, various artists, including the electronic neo-medieval group Qntal, have given these lyrics new musical life, transforming them into a club hit in 1992.