One Man Band System

A week went by, and inside the venue located in Eric’s basement, "Clang!" the music that had been going for three minutes straight finally came to an end, followed by absolute silence. The Empress stood on stage panting heavily, their faces flushed with expressions of deep satisfaction.

Eric checked the recording on his laptop and hit replay. Their new melody echoed through the venue once again, churning out a sound so piercing it made the heart ache, while simultaneously setting the heart racing, fully packed with a buried passion forced out into the open.

Once the track finished playing, "Whoaaah," Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura instantly gasped in awe. They hadn’t expected the final cut to be this phenomenal at all; it was visibly a massive step up from their previous song.

After the audio faded, the venue fell dead silent, save for the low hum of the speakers and amplifiers that hadn’t been turned off yet.

"Wow... I don’t even know how to put it... this is absolutely incredible," Emma said in awe.

"Yeah... this track is too wild, it’s completely messing with my head," Priya added, stunned.

"Insane, seriously. I never would’ve thought the five of us were the ones singing it," Monica added, amazed.

Then Emma, Priya, and Monica turned to look at Chloe, Heidi, and Laura, who were acting incredibly unusual. The three of them were biting their lips with bright red cheeks, casting nonstop glances at Eric while gripping their own hands as if holding themselves back from jumping him.

"What is up with you guys?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, hahaha," Heidi answered, forcing out a smile.

"Sorry, I’m heading upstairs for a second," Chloe added, turning around and immediately bolting toward the exit to head up via the elevator.

"Um... me too, I need to pee... sorry," Laura added, turning to run off as well.

"Hey... wait up, me three," Heidi added, instantly turning around to chase after Laura.

Watching the three of them bolt, Emma, Monica, and Priya felt something was off and grew deeply suspicious, while Eric tried his absolute best not to look back.

"Alright... I’m uploading it now," Eric said, diverting the girls’ attention back to him.

"Oh... okay, did you edit it?" Emma asked.

"Doesn’t even need an edit, it’s already perfect," Eric answered.

"Awesome then, this is going to be huge," Priya replied.

"Yeah... just upload it already," Monica said.

Eric immediately uploaded the video to both of his accounts, then shut his laptop and turned around to face the three girls in front of him.

"Done. Let’s head upstairs and get some rest," Eric said as he stood up and tucked the laptop under his arm.

"Okay, let’s go," Emma, Priya, and Monica said with a smile.

"I’ll tidy up first, you guys go ahead," Eric said.

"Got it, no problem," the three replied.

Emma, Priya, and Monica headed straight for the exit, while Eric stepped onto the stage to shut down the amplifiers, pack away the guitar, bass, and keyboard, drape the cover back over the drum set, and unplug the speaker cables. Once he finished, he hopped down from the stage and walked toward the hallway door, but before he could step through,

"Eric,"

Eric froze in his tracks. He heard a voice he knew all too well behind him. He turned around to find Ruby standing there. Then he noticed the light spilling in from the basement entrance and immediately realized she must have come down the stairs straight from the street, since Heidi had gone out to grab drinks and forgot to lock the door behind her.

"Sigh,"

He let out a sigh and looked at Ruby in front of him. His expression was completely neutral now, neither cold nor warm. He was a bit taken aback to see Ruby wearing the uniform of the fast-food restaurant down the street, not far from his grandfather’s building. But he refused to let his surprise show.

"What’s up? If you want to come in, use the upper entrance... that walkway isn’t open to the public unless this venue officially reopens," Eric said calmly.

"I’m... I’m sorry. I happened to be passing by and heard the music from your building... I figured you and the others were playing, so I came in," Ruby said, keeping her head down, both of her hands balled into fists by her side.

"Alright, it’s fine. I’m going to lock the door first," Eric said, walking past her.

Ruby turned around and watched Eric walk toward the venue entrance and head up the stairs. "Clang," the sound of the metal security shutter closing echoed all the way down into the venue.

Then Ruby heard footsteps approaching until Eric walked casually back toward her. He brushed past Ruby to grab his laptop from the side of the stage. Ruby didn’t move an inch; she just stood there silently, watching Eric walk inside.

But as Eric reached the doorway, he turned back to see Ruby still standing frozen next to the stage.

"Hey... what are you doing standing there? Come on in," Eric called out.

Hearing that, Ruby snapped her head up and nodded instantly. She ran over to Eric and they both went inside, walking down the hallway toward the freight elevator to go straight upstairs. When they reached the top, Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura were shocked to see Eric stepping out of the elevator alongside Ruby, who was wearing a fast-food uniform like she was working a part-time job and keeping her head down.

"Wait... Ruby?" Emma asked.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked.

"How did you get in? The shop is locked," Priya asked.

"Oh... I think I forgot to close the security shutter downstairs," Heidi said, tracing back her thoughts as she remembered something.

"You’re hopeless. What if someone else had snuck in like last time, and out of nowhere people started clapping and crowding the place, then what?" Monica asked, giving Heidi a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Seriously, and I even reminded you about it," Laura added, annoyed.

"Sorry, sorry," Heidi replied with a bitter smile.

"Um... is it really okay for me to be here?" Ruby asked in a quiet voice.

Hearing Ruby’s words, Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura naturally turned their eyes toward her, but they didn’t move an inch. Instead, they kept looking at Eric, as if waiting for his signal before stepping forward.

"It’s fine. Go ahead and take a seat. I’m heading up to the third floor real quick to drop off my laptop," Eric said.

"Oh, okay... thanks, Eric... I just finished my shift and was heading home," Ruby said politely.

"Cool, got it. Hold on a second," Eric replied. Then he turned to look back at the girls. "Please keep her company for a bit, alright?" Eric said with a smile.

"Got it," the six girls replied cheerfully.

With that, Eric walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out. He immediately headed down the stairs to the third floor.

Suddenly, "vwoooong," a holographic screen materialized right next to his face.

[Quest: Compose three songs for The Empress (2/3), Compose a solo track (0/1).]

Eric smiled. With the numbers ticking up on his quest, he knew without even opening his social accounts that their song had already gone viral and blown up instantly. He then kept walking down to the third floor.

***

Meanwhile, at a convenience store back in the city where Eric used to live, Vivian was working her part-time shift behind the counter, scanning items for the two customers in front of her. Suddenly, one of the female customers turned her phone sideways to show her friend next to her, and the space was instantly filled with a beautiful, intensely passionate melody. Hearing it made Vivian freeze for a second, her hands slowing down as she scanned the girls’ groceries. Once the music ended,

"So cool, right? A brand new track from The Empress," the first girl said.

"Yeah... what’s it called?" the second girl asked.

"Passionate Resonance... and it really is pure passion," the first girl replied.

"Share it with me, I want to listen to it again when I get home," the second girl said.

"Sure, sending it now," the first girl replied, looking down at her phone.

The two girls then glanced up at Vivian behind the register, who was completely stunned. Her hands were suspended in midair, one holding a beverage can and the other gripping the scanner.

"Hey... what’s taking so long?"

A man who was only buying a single can of soda was getting impatient waiting behind the two girls, who had piled up a mountain of snacks and drinks. Hearing him snap at her, Vivian instantly snapped out of it.

"Oh... sorry about that, sir," she said, quickly getting back to work.

Vivian swiftly scanned the rest of the girls’ items, processed their digital payment, and printed out the receipt. She then immediately helped the next customer in line, scanning his drink, but her mind was completely elsewhere.

"Eric... you’re making music like that now... you’re late... you’re so incredibly late. If you had been like this a year ago... I never would have been tempted... ah... I’m a complete mess. I just need to work, save up, and then go find Eric in his city," Vivian thought to herself.