Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part Two]

CHAPTER 248: Turning Point

Fay watched as Zephyr's oceanic eyes narrowed, now churning with a storm barely held back. The pup took one last sniff, then began following the trail out of the ruins.

And this time, he would not stop until it ended in blood.

***

The ballroom, once a glittering cage of empty chatter and shallow smiles, fell into a hush.

Lumielle walked towards the stage with quiet grace, her heels tapping softly against the marble floor. One by one, heads turned—lords and ladies pausing mid-sentence, their eyes narrowing with curiosity.

From the shadows near the side of the room, Lyndoria clenched her fists. "You can do it," she whispered under her breath.

Daisuke, watching from beside her, frowned. "This is the moment of truth. Go get 'em, Princess."

Lumielle materialized a crystal microphone in her hand. The band, sensing her cue, let the current tune fade into silence before seamlessly breathing life into something new—something softer, deeper, woven with melancholy and hope.

The mana crystal chandeliers dimmed.

A luminous white aura unfurled from Lumielle's skin like starlight. Her dress began to transform, threads of mana stitching the fabric tighter around her bodice and loosening into a flowing slit that revealed her thigh.

Her glow shimmered like moonlight on water. Wisps of iridescent light bloomed from her body, weaving through the air, brushing past nobles who reached out in awe.

And then she sang.

Where does the sky go, when the night takes hold?

Where do the dreams flee, when the heart grows cold?

Mama once told me, with a voice so kind—

Child, chase the stars, though the world be blind...

What is a woman, but a whisper unheard?

Still she walks forward, with no spoken word

Taking the blows, the silence, the shame—

And still, I rise, again and again.

Over the silence, over the flame,

Over the fear, and all of the blame—

There lies a lullaby, soft and true,

Promising freedom, waiting for you.

Can't you hear it? The hope in the pain?

Even the fallen, can rise again.

This is our moment, this is our time—

To dare to dream, and cross the line.

What is a life, if not lived whole?

If not to rise, to fight for your soul?

The chains may bind, but dreams still fly—