Do you hear the music? It is the resonance of countless individuals' emotions—we would be distinctly ourselves, yet as one. What a magnificent possibility.

The Tower of Revelations, the Notarial Hall, the Sunset Chapel, and finally, the chapel square—the halos over our heads are extinguished, yet the city remains illuminated as always. Please hold here, Sankta. And tell me, is Laterano not more connected to the rest of this great land, and less dissimilar?

The Sarkaz are singing, and the Sankta play the accompaniment—who is this funérailles for, you ask? The nomadic monastery guides everyone it receives back to their homes, irrespective of life or death, irrespective of race or identity. Join in the chorus, and speak no more of this meaningless question.

What is that vast, deep-blue expanse? The ocean, or the distant cosmos? Is it your origin, or your destination? Is it 'evolution', or the sum of all perfection and imperfection that you've carved throughout this process? You Many, is this your true voice? Life deserves a voice.

I am listening... Fear and trauma persist nevertheless, but the strong will overcome them, while the weak find their own ways to fight them without the need of a Pope or a Lord of Fiends. In the face of calamity, all will play their own song.

Is this a possibility inherent within 'empathy'? It has no personality, but it has the ability to suppress and manipulate human emotion, so why did it ultimately choose to construct a mechanism as unique as 'empathy' for the Sankta...? The music. Why did the music stop?

Yulia, the Witch King, Cora, Emmanuel... The audience will forever remember the sound of this instrument. Do you still recall what your mother told you when your father gave you this instrument and taught you to play for the first time? 'Arturia, I hope you sleep soundly, every night.'

'Calamity', and the people standing side-by-side, are both distant. In a deserted monastery, the Sankta sound the strings—is it my demise...? Arturia, turn back to that cemetery in the rain. Would you be willing to admit that life has meaning, even when it is transient?

Doctor, would you believe that Fede still isn't up? I have cello in hand, and you're right here in front of me; and so, there's no reason for you to miss out on the totality of what I just experienced. Give me your hand—yes, precisely this string. Let us be played in unison.

How beautiful... Humans are both the afterglow, and the sky that harbors it.

I'm connected... This is the Movement that does not yet exist.

Not a single note shall fade.

The future I envisioned has been set in stone, Doctor. It simply has not been elucidated yet, which is why I shall move towards it.

In that future, we are each other's audience.

If music never existed in the first place, then why are we so strict about how it is to be performed?

A single cloud among countless others, dances with the wind and descends with the rain.

We advance to every last corner of Terra.

Are your hearts still so unwilling to be opened?

Let us lift our instruments.

Let us hearken.

Behold, the symphony of countless voices.

Behold, the consonance of countless souls.

Play towards the setting sun.

Sing with the cosmos.

If you have regrets, embrace them.

Feel each other, to your hearts' content.

We won't be forgotten.

We stand side by side. No calamity or unknown shall shake us.

Joy, fortune, or mourning? We accept it all, so long as it is sincere.

Doctor, I have awoken.

Listen to the wind blowing through the corridor. This vessel also has its own true voice. What about you?

Doctor? You have a pretty good sense of rhythm. 'Calamity' will not strike so soon, meaning you still have time to pick up a percussion instrument.

What are you trying to do? Even if I am not allowed to play, I can still make music resound within your mindscape.

Arknights.

Happy New Year, Doctor. To think you can create a moment of shared emotion simply by circling a date on the calendar—look, people have always had the potential for 'empathy'. Though it is a far cry from the grandeur of the Movement, I am still convinced that it exists.

Since music cannot supersede language, Doctor, there's still a lot for the two of us to talk about.

Doctor, the possibilities that Fede and I perceive differ from one another, but the one constant is that you are here at Rhodes Island. 'Calamity' is not far away. If you are the single leitmotif that does not change across countless variations... I would be remiss in straying too far from you.