Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 133

Author: LyraDhani

As I’ve mentioned once before… there are times while practicing, or during a rehearsal, or in the middle of a performance, when you feel that today is just different.

The air before you begin, the faint scent lingering at the tip of your nose, even the texture of the clothes clinging to your skin—everything feels distinct.

Yes, though I didn’t know the proper words for it, there’s a sensation that the performance you’re about to start, the one currently unfolding, the one you are about to finish, will inevitably hit its absolute peak. You feel as though not only your own movements but also the harmony of the group dance, the ad-libs, the facial expressions, and even external factors like the lighting are all conspiring to help you.

I’d bet everyone has experienced something similar.

Our members were no different. There were times when, after finishing a truly satisfying cycle, we would look at each other, clench our fists, and talk about how good it was and how we should keep this exact energy. There were moments of joy when we felt that this time was different, this time was right.

It was likely the same for any group. Even if you practice a hundred times, you can’t produce a performance in the exact same condition a hundred times over. Sometimes everyone was satisfied; other times, everyone finished practice with a scowl.

Seeing a team hit its high point like this was by no means easy.

It felt like something that might happen once every hundred cycles—no, maybe once every two hundred. In fact, it was common to go two hundred rounds without ever seeing it. Even if the team’s harmony was perfect, I might be dissatisfied with my individual part; even if my part was flawless, the teamwork might be off.

Concentration being broken by external factors was also a common occurrence. Sometimes sweat gets in your eyes; sometimes the floor feels unusually slippery. Just when you think everything is perfect, a tiny noise can shatter your focus.

It felt like all sorts of things could happen in a short performance of less than four minutes and thirty seconds.

Furthermore, there were seven of us.

It was incredibly rare for all seven of us—every single member of <Fantasia>—to be unaffected by external factors, to pull out 120 percent of our individual abilities, and to have everything click into place like a perfect puzzle.

In fact, it was practically impossible. To enter such a state during an actual live show rather than practice was, strictly speaking, unheard of.

That was why we practiced until we were coughing up blood in the first place. To reproduce our practice performances as faithfully as possible in the real thing, on the actual stage. To remember the single best run among countless repetitions, replay it over and over in our minds, and visualize that perfect performance on stage.

‘But… right now, right here….’

At this very timing….

I felt as though <Fantasia> was drawing out the entirety of its hidden potential. I was beginning to think that the high point we sensed and judged during practice wasn’t actually the peak at all.

Absurdly,

Each member was showcasing the absolute maximum of their stats in a real-life situation rather than rehearsal.

As I said, they were showing 120 percent.

It was as if everyone took an awakening potion and entered a state of transcendence.

To exaggerate a little more, it felt like we were communicating through telepathy. Like invisible strings—just like during the Dark Mage stage—were controlling all of us.

‘This is insane. Seriously, f*ck, this is insane.’

It seemed I was the only one who realized this.

No one else had the luxury of thinking about anything else.

They were clearly overwhelmed just by keeping up the current stage.

— This paradise is a dream that can never be reality. A sharp whisper, a dark temptation.

‘What is up with Jegal Hwi?’

— Follow us, there is no end here.

‘Seriously, Jegal hyung, what the hell!’

I couldn’t help but be stunned.

To borrow Kim Taeyeol’s expression, this stage was already ‘torn up’ before Jegal Hwi’s part even began.

To be precise, it was torn the moment I started the intro and Joo Wooyoung stepped in. From the moment I, Lee Unha, stood in the center for the intro and locked eyes with the audience using the Succubus’ Eye, and Joo Wooyoung swapped places with me to flaunt his insane visuals, I knew we had already slayed.

Then, in the very next part, Kim Haejun’s rap tore apart the already-ripped canvas into shreds. Without giving the stage a moment to mend, Kim Haejun finished his verse with razor-sharp diction.

And immediately after, Jegal Hwi’s thick voice hammered into my ears.

For a moment I wondered if I was only unable to judge objectively because I was a member of <Fantasia>, but the audience’s reaction told me my instincts were right.

‘Right. We’re doing great, guys. It’s not just us feeling it.’

— Follow us, there is no end here.

‘Why’s everyone like this today? Seriously, what got into all of you?‘

His voice didn’t waver, following the pitch perfectly as if resonating in a deep cave. Uncharacteristic of the usual Jegal Hwi, there wasn’t a single hint of disarray. There were no ad-libs, but if there were, it would have felt out of place.

‘How can he sing like that while dancing? People are going to think this isn’t live. Jegal hyung, seriously!’

It wouldn’t be strange to say his lung capacity was on par with Joo Wooyoung’s. It was as if his voice was erupting straight from his core.

Positioned behind the formation, I couldn’t see Jegal Hwi’s face, but even a side glance while following the choreography told me his concentration was on a different level than usual. Before I even realized it, I’d been swept up by his concentration and found myself singing the opening line of the second verse.

Baek Suhyeon, who took over the next part, was similarly drawn into the level of focus Jegal Hwi had created and delivered his own part. I had been worried whether Baek Suhyeon could properly handle the part that had belonged to Joo Wooyoung in the first verse, but…

‘I… I underestimated your stats, didn’t I?’

Baek Suhyeon had apparently taken an Awakening Potion too.

Baek Suhyeon, who had been evaluated as having well-balanced stats but nothing particularly outstanding… now looked like the perfect idol in every aspect.

His expressions, in particular, were almost frightening. He wasn’t crushing the atmosphere with overwhelming visuals like Joo Wooyoung…

‘He could make an expression like that?’

He was dancing and singing as if he was the one equipped with the Succubus’ Eye. He threw eye-smiles at the audience one moment and wore a deadly serious expression the next. Since he had always been expressive, his facial expressions shifted constantly even while he was singing.

Meanwhile, every member’s synchronization was flawless. That indescribable exhilaration I’d felt before surged through my mind once again. It was as if seven people were moving as one. No, to be precise, it felt as though six people had become one.

While dopamine and adrenaline were pumping endlessly through my brain, one member caught my eye—the only one who couldn’t keep up with everyone else.

It was Kim Taeyeol, who was about to take the next part.

He was in charge of the second verse rap part.

‘Taeyeol. You can do this.’

No….

‘You have to.’

You have to tear up the stage like you did during the Dark Mage performance. You have to ride this current.

As if responding to my expectations, Kim Taeyeol was focused. Like the other members, he seemed to have entered an awakened state. He appeared to be radiating an aura just like during the Dark Mage stage, but….

He looked like he was being swallowed by the other members. It was not that Taeyeol was lacking. I was simply that Kim Taeyeol’s peak was different from everyone else’s peak. Right now, he was showing the very best performance he was capable of. It felt as though he was running parallel to the others, but on an entirely different level. And judging by his expression, he seemed to realize that himself.

However, there was no need to blame him. No need for disappointment. In fact, this was very much like him. Frustrated, struggling, and striving—that was his essence.

Though we hadn’t agreed on it beforehand, I layered the rap section with <Siren’s Voice: D Rank>.

It was for Kim Taeyeol, but it was also for <Fantasia>’s main vocal, Jung Tahee. The moment Kim Taeyeol bit down on his lip and stepped back, Jung Taehee’s voice rang out.

Naturally.

As always.

Our Mad Chihuahua….

Never disappointed the members or the audience.

‘Seriously… bringing him into the team was the right call.’

A clear, unwavering high note settled over the stage. True to Jung Taehee’s role, it was as though an enormous holy spell had descended upon us. Even the members looked startled by how much clearer his voice was than usual. A voice that didn’t fit his personality at all continued to spread.

And then….

A single thought suddenly filled my head.

‘We….’

“…….”

‘We can still go higher.’

“…….”

‘This isn’t the peak. We can still climb further.’

We could step up one level—no, several levels more.

The peak we were displaying on stage right now was simply the maximum our members could achieve with our current abilities. If each member continued to improve, then the place we once believed was our ceiling might one day become our floor.

It was fun.

It was a strange way to put it, but it really was fun.

Joo Wooyoung….

‘Did you feel like this too?’

Did the entire series of processes, adventuring in another world and syncing with his party members, feel like this?

I felt so joyful performing with the members right now that I felt like a fool for having worried so much about battles, wars, and various other things.

An indescribable rush swept through my mind. It was the kind of pleasure only a human could feel. The kind of pleasure you would feel instinctively when everything fell perfectly into place.

Of course….

‘Fun is fun, but war is war.’

I had no intention of letting up on the Succubus’ Eye.

Throughout Jung Taehee’s resounding vocals, I locked eyes with the [Kingdom] fans one by one.

I could see audience members flinching.

I had consumed so much mana that I felt like a stone had been placed in my chest, but I didn’t stop using the Succubus’ Eye to its limit.

Smiling broadly, sending out a pleasant grin, I slowly made eye contact with each person.

I saw audience members starting to cheer.

<Aether> was already sending out crazed roars.

They were cheering so loudly that the fan chant we’d distributed beforehand had completely fallen apart.

I didn’t know if they were under a semi-hypnotic trance or if they were simply applauding <Fantasia> for pouring everything out, but today, for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t merely the effect of the Succubus’ Eye.

“…….”

And, when the relatively short four-and-a-half-minute performance finally came to an end…

The [Kingdom] fandom, looking at our members and <Fantasia> with dazed expressions, entered my vision.

‘It’s different, isn’t it?’

“Huff… gasp… gasp… huff….”

‘The original is different from the copy-paste, right?’

“Huff… phew….”

‘To your eyes too… it’s different, right?’

“Huff… phew… gasp….”

‘Ah. I have to do the ending. I have to show them the ending too.’

As I smiled brightly and stared straight into the camera, I saw fans sending their applause.

“…….”