Preamble

"Space, vast and boundless. Amidst the enormous cloud of stardust, shimmering with a multitude of colors, seven round flat platforms drifted. Together, they formed a circle. On each platform, symbols were engraved - musical notes from 'C' to 'B'.

From these symbols, silhouettes slowly emerged. Out of the seven platforms, only three remained unchanged while images of girls appeared on the others. One was tall, another small, the third had very long hair, and the fourth had five flying masks behind her. Their skin, faces, and clothing details were impossible to discern - their silhouettes were as black as pitch.

"I didn't expect us to gather this early. 'C,' do you know something?" The second girl manifested an umbrella in her hands, identical in black to her silhouette.

"Yes, we have important news," the first, tallest girl began speaking.

"Really..." the girl with masks behind her opened a fan and covered her face.

"I'm not sure what you're thinking, 'E,' but it's more important than you might imagine," 'C' pointed towards the girl with long hair.

"I found the key!" the girl declared abruptly.

"And why are we hearing about this only now?!" the girl with the umbrella muttered angrily.

"Don't be upset, 'D,' it's just a gathering," the girl with long hair replied affectionately.

"Sorry," the short girl quickly relented under the other girl's kind words.

"So where is it?" 'C' asked 'A' gazing at her.

"Data from this Eden Crystal tells me..." a black crystal began hovering above her hand. "The second 'key' is aboard the Treon battleship!"

"Didn't people from this order start appearing in the expanses of space now? I can barely keep up with destroying these growths; they could bring a lot of trouble," the fan-carrying girl said.

"Hasn't the battleship appeared? I haven't seen it; I thought it was still 'on the other side'..." said 'D'.

"Surprisingly, for the first time in all our existence together, the system when one person crosses 'to this side' has been violated. We've already killed hundreds of people, and some of them had power equal to ours! And most importantly, all of them were from the Treon order!" 'C' pronounced.

"Does that even happen?" asked 'E'.

"It shouldn't, it never has, especially since 'B' contacted us, which contradicts the 'scripture' left by my mother," 'C' glanced at the others.

"He got in touch with us, it's not good news!" 'D' said seriously.

"Yes, there was only one unknown in the 'scripture,' the location of the last two 'keys,' but their arrival disrupts the 'lines' - it's a problem," 'C' added.

"But there's a plus, 'B' informed us about the battleship's location, and thus the key!" 'A's' voice was soft.

"But there's a downside," 'C' said.

"What is it?" 'D' asked.

"There are two senior officers there, none of us can handle both at once, especially since, according to 'B,' there are hundreds of titans there," 'A' said.

"That's why I've gathered you all together for the first time in the last seven cycles; together, we will go there!"

"But why? There are only two of them; my infiltration skills and your powers are more than enough, even with 'Sol' in the team, I could handle it!" 'D' lowered her umbrella.

"Yes, one of them is useless, but the other. In the 'scripture,' she's called 'Lucy Violl: Mother of All Titans' - the second most powerful on the battleship!" 'C' stated.

"So we need 'G' and 'F' to make everything go smoothly," said 'E'.

"Unfortunately, 'F' is currently with 'B' in 'their places.' And 'G' hasn't been in contact for a long time; he's off the grid - experimenting," 'A' looked at 'C.'

"He's at it again?"

"Yes, 'C'. His and our views have always differed..." but before she finished, 'C' interrupted 'A.'

"Even so, the 'scripture' states that we need him, and your hints won't interfere with us!" 'C' replied sternly.

"You're crossing the line, 'C'," 'D' said, directing the umbrella towards the other girl.

"No, it's you who just raised your voice, 'D'!"

"Regardless of what you say, mind your words, 'C'! Only my allegiance won't let me ignore rude remarks towards my sister!" The cosmos remained unchanged, as did the silhouettes, but 'C' began looking at 'D' differently, her hands finally emerged from behind her back.

"'D,' don't be so harsh on her; she's just doing her job and speaking straightforwardly," said 'A,' as if filtering others' words.

"Yes, sorry, sister," this response from 'D' only elicited a smile from the long-haired girl, who didn't want to notice such things among the Notes.

Abruptly, one of the drifting plates gleamed, and from the note 'G,' a silhouette of a man appeared.

"We have trouble!" he shouted abruptly, not greeting the others.

"What is it?" 'E' asked, folding her fan.

"You all know where I am?" He looked at 'C.'

"Yes, in..."

"On the planet where the last 'Eden Center' remains in the 'dead part of space'!"

These words came as a surprise to some, but they continued listening to the man's hurried speech.

"The 'Lord of the Forgotten Sea' has awakened here, and he's about to reach something that has never been here before!" His silhouette flickered in places and reappeared.

"What was never in the 'Eden Center'? You were supposed to explore it," 'C' looked at 'G.'

"The 'Prison of the Firmament' appeared there!" He ignored 'C.'

"What?!" Three of them exclaimed, but 'D' remained unperturbed.

"How did it get there?! Are you sure you've understood everything correctly?"

"There can't be a mistake; I see everything with 'my' eyes, and this 'Prison' is significantly different from the one we saw!"

"How is it different?" 'C' asked sharply.

"It's built far earlier than the Alliance structures, it's..." he paused, his silhouette looked up. "It's a structure from a significantly older civilization!"

"How's that possible?! The Alliance is the only human authority that expanded beyond Earth and settled! The 'scripture' says there's nothing older than the people of the Alliance!"

"I can even tell you more; what I see contradicts 'his' words!"

"We need to get to you immediately!"

"No! The Lord is there, and unlike the others, he doesn't seem greatly injured; it could be too dangerous!"

"Fine, destroy the place yourself; we mustn't hand it over to the Alliance. If they manage to understand everything, it will lead to enormous problems!"

"If destroying it were as easy as you said, I wouldn't be so worried!"

"Is there something else you haven't told us?" 'A' looked towards 'G'.

"Let me put it in a way you'll understand..." His flesh began changing but then reverted to a human appearance. "The room won't let me in, and I can't rampage. The Lord will kill me as soon as I cross paths with him!"

"The room won't let you?" I would've never thought, you're 'his' shard and couldn't break the barrier."

"It would be a simple barrier, but this is something greater and older than imaginable. For this, I suggest a plan to you..."

"I, 'D,' and 'E,' will go for the key; 'A' and 'G,' you'll execute 'G's' plan together. Let our performance begin, let the world hear the music of our lives again!"

One by one, the silhouettes disappeared, leaving only the drifting platforms in the boundless cosmos. Somewhere out there, in the void, shapeless clocks began moving, tick by tick, a non-existent hand started its motion. The preamble had concluded.