After the candles were blown out and the cheers finally settled, Aster and Astra helped their mother sit in the front row, right before the stage. Arlienne was still wiping tears from her cheeks, overwhelmed by the sight of hundreds gathered for her birthday.
She sat down gently, still trembling.
"My children… you've already done more than enough," she whispered.
Aster smiled. "Mama, we're not done yet."
Astra giggled, taking her mother's hand. "We prepared a lot!"
The crowd erupted in excited murmurs.
Everyone expected one song.
No one expected ten.
***
Food was arranged for the people—not luxurious palace dishes, but warm, simple, home-style food served in paper plates. The vendors who knew Aster volunteered stalls, and countless townsfolk helped pass plates around.
Most people ate standing, chatting excitedly about the mysterious performance from earlier.
But soon, something unexpected happened.
Because of the amplification stones, one-fourth of the royal capital had heard the twins singing earlier. And as word spread…
More people arrived.
And more.
And more.
The plaza swelled beyond anything they had planned. The food began running out.
Arlienne stood up in worry.
Their maids: "Aster, we didn't account for this many people—"
But a familiar merchant lady stepped forward—a close friend whom Arlienne often bought simple dresses from.
"Lady Arlienne, sit down. Let us handle it," she said warmly.
"W-Why are you doing this?" Arlienne asked.
The woman winked. "Call it… a future investment."
Before Arlienne could question that, the woman shouted orders.
"Everyone! Open the backup supplies! Bring more bread! More stew! Quickly!"
Within minutes, the shortage was handled.
Aster bowed to the woman gratefully. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," she whispered, patting his head. "When you become someone great, remember we supported you."
Aster blinked, startled by the unexpected foreshadowing.
***
With the crowd fed and settled, Aster stepped onto the stage again.
The entire plaza fell silent at once.
"Mama," he said through the amplifiers, voice warm and steady. "We're going to sing ten songs. For you."
Astra took her place beside him and waved happily.
The music began.
Song after song filled the air—melodies and music from Aster's old world, reborn through their voices. He rewrote the lyrics to fit this world, this moment, this love they carried.
The skies darkened gently into twilight, but the plaza only grew brighter with lantern light.
People cried.
Laughed.
Held hands.
Swayed with the twins' harmony.
Aster's voice carried the soul of two lifetimes.
Astra's voice carried the purity of a child who loved without limits.
Together, they created something the world had forgotten—
a night of pure, unfiltered music.
"Again! Sing again!" the crowd cheered.
Aster smiled.
"We have one last song."
***
The tenth song was something no one expected—not even Astra.
Rap.
Aster took a deep breath.
The rhythm began.
A fast, strong beat—unlike anything this world had ever heard.
People leaned forward in confusion.
"What kind of rhythm is this?"
"Is he… talking fast?"
"No, he's doing something else"
Aster channeled the iconic energy of "Lose Yourself," reshaping the structure and flow to fit his young voice and mana limitations. He wrote new lyrics—clean, powerful, meaningful—about chasing a dream, falling, rising, and never giving up.
This world had never heard rap before.
Not in any form.
Even people with Sound Magic stared in shock—this wasn't singing.
This was rhythm.
Emotion.
Speed.
Precision.
A voice turned into a weapon of expression.
Aster's words hit like arrows.
Astra widened her eyes at first, completely stunned—then she grinned wide and jumped in during the chorus, making the performance explode with even more energy.
The crowd lost their minds.
"This is insane!"
"What kind of magic is this?!"
"It's like the words themselves are dancing!"
"He's bending sound in ways we've never seen—this child is a genius!"
Aster wasn't using fancy spells.
He was using art.
His past life's passion and his new life's magic fused into something no one could have predicted.
By the final verse, Aster was breathless.
Astra held his hand as they delivered the final harmony together.
And when the last beat faded—
Silence for one heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
Then—
The entire plaza erupted.
Screams, cheers, applause shaking the ground.
People climbing onto walls just to see better.
Children shouting Aster and Astra's names.
Merchants crying openly.
Guards unable to hide their smiles.
Aster and Astra stood on the stage, panting, overwhelmed, glowing under lantern light.
Arlienne covered her mouth with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably again.
"My children… you two are… you are…"
She couldn't finish.
Words failed her.
But her tears said everything.
***
Later, as the celebration flowed deep into the night, Aster and Astra sat quietly backstage, catching their breath.
"We… actually did it," Astra whispered.
Aster nodded slowly, staring at the sky. "Yeah."
They looked at the thousands still gathered, singing fragments of the melodies they had heard, trying to imitate rap poorly but enthusiastically.
Aster exhaled a shaky laugh.
"We changed something today."
Astra leaned her head on his shoulder. "We did."
But neither of them realized—
Music, once forgotten in this world, had just awakened.
The ancient balance of magic was shifting.
The queen had already heard whispers.
The king would hear by morning.
And forces far beyond the kingdom had felt the ripple of Sound Magic reawakening through the land.
Aster and Astra would soon learn:
Even beautiful things…
Have consequences.
******************************
The Price Of a Miracle:
While Aster and Astra were singing under the lantern-lit sky, a strange thing happened across the capital.
Even inside the royal palace—inside the glittering ballroom where the queen's birthday celebration was still underway—people heard something.
A faint hum.
A soft vibration.
A drifting melody carried by mana through the air.
At first, guests thought it was some magical illusion.
But as the song grew clearer, nobles stopped eating. Stopped talking.
They listened.
"…What is this?"
"This isn't part of the queen's performance."
"Is that… singing?"
"Whoever it is… they are extraordinary…"
Some nobles left the ballroom early, following the faint sound.
One by one, they slipped out through side corridors, curiosity overwhelming etiquette.
The queen noticed immediately.
Her smile cracked.
"Where are my guests going?" she snapped.
No one answered.
Until someone whispered:
"Your Majesty… the sound is coming from the city. It seems… a celebration is happening."
The queen's eyebrow twitched.
"A celebration? During *my* birthday?"
Her anger rose like a storm.
But before she could explode, the king raised a hand.
"Enough," he said calmly. "Let the people enjoy themselves."
The queen glared at him. "You would let another event overshadow me?"
The king's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
Meanwhile, unknown to the queen, one of her own daughters—Princess Seraphine—had already escaped the ballroom with a group of ladies.
She ran through the palace gates, breathless.
"I won't miss this," she murmured. "Not if it's Aster and Astra."
She arrived at the plaza just in time to hear the final rap verse.
Her jaw dropped.
Her little siblings were performing for a crowd of thousands, their mother crying in the front row.
She had never seen something so heartfelt… or so powerful.
And in that moment, Seraphine understood something the queen never would:
This was not just music. This was love.
***
The next few days shook the nation.
Newspapers, crystal broadcasters, gossip scrolls, tavern stories—every channel imaginable exploded with reports:
"Royal Twins Perform for the People!"
"A Birthday Surprise That Moved the Capital to Tears."
"A New Era of Sound Magic?"
"The Twins Who Sang for Their Mother Become National Icons."
Even villages far from the capital heard about the event.
Children mimicked rap clumsily.
Vendors sang the lullaby melody while working.
Travelers arrived wanting to see "the singing prince and princess."
Aster had unintentionally become the heart of the nation.
And the queen knew it.
She also hated it.
***
Two days after the celebration, Aster and Astra were summoned to the palace.
The king sat alone in his private chamber when they arrived. He dismissed the guards and gestured for them to approach.
Aster stood tall. Astra hid slightly behind him.
"Aster," the king began, "why didn't you ask me for help?"
Aster did not answer.
He couldn't.
Because he knew the truth:
If he had asked… the queen would have forbidden everything.
The king exhaled deeply, pinching his brow.
"You are my children. You could have told me."
Still, Aster said nothing.
He wasn't being disrespectful.
He simply… couldn't lie.
And he couldn't tell the truth either.
The king's expression softened slightly.
"…Your mother deserves happiness," he finally said. "I knew this much when I chose her."
Aster looked up in surprise.
"But this celebration… it has angered the queen. You know that, don't you?"
Aster nodded.
Astra squeezed his hand.
The king sighed.
"Go home. And… be careful."
It was the only warning he could give without deepening the conflict.
***
A few days later, the consequences arrived.
The Wynfall Mansion's monthly budget—allocated by the palace—had been cut.
Not slightly.
Drastically.
The steward delivered the notice with shaking hands.
"My lady… I'm so sorry. The funds allocated to the concubine residence have been reduced by half."
Arlienne froze.
Her face remained calm, but Aster saw her hands tremble.
He knew who was behind this.
Arlienne knew too.
But she said nothing.
She didn't complain.
She didn't protest.
She simply thanked the steward and continued with her day.
Aster hated that.
He hated the quiet acceptance.
The queen may have had power—but his mother had dignity.
Still…
The mansion could no longer afford the same food supplies.
Some maids were dismissed.
Training materials would become scarce.
Magic stones for practice would be limited.
Astra panicked. "Aster, what do we do? We can't— we don't have enough—"
Aster placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's fine."
"But—"
"It's fine," he repeated firmly.
Astra stared at him.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't scared.
He was determined.
Aster turned and looked at the capital from his window.
The people who supported him.
The merchants who helped him.
The thousands who gathered for his music.
He didn't want to rely on the palace anymore.
And he wouldn't.
"From now on," Aster whispered, "we won't use the royal family's money."
Astra blinked. "But… how?"
Aster smiled slowly.
Because he already had a plan.
A bold one.
A dangerous one.
And one only he could pull off.
"Mama raised me with love," he said softly. "The people supported us without asking anything in return. So…"
He clenched his fists.
"…I'll earn our own money."
Astra gasped. "How?! You're seven!"
Aster's eyes glimmered.
"With Sound Magic."
He turned toward the window, his reflection merging with the bustling city below.
"Astra," he said with quiet excitement, "we're going to do something no one in this world has ever done."
Astra leaned closer. "What?"
Aster smiled.
"A concert, and one more thing, that nobody would have expected in this world"
And with that one word—
He changed the history of music in that world forever.