(Ragnarok: Pandora) Side chapter 4: A beautiful day

Beethoven wanders slowly through the halls of Valhalla arena. It is a beautiful day. He steps into the empty arena. There is currently a small intermission before the seventh round will get underway. He looks down at his bandages. “...” He gently raises his arms in his conducting stance, flinching slightly at the pain but bears it, closing his eyes. One might say he ‘listens’ however Beethoven is still deafened from his battle. He feels it. The bloodshed. The dark actions he took in this arena to ensure victory and to save those he cares about. “... …” He exhales sharply, gripping at his chest as doing so pained him a little. He steps away, striding down the halls of Valhalla arena. It is a beautiful day.

He enters his room. Feeling the air in here he walks down the steps towards the stage. As he enters the stage, he looks out at the empty audience. Running a hand along his jet black piano. Pristine and shining. He stares at his own reflection in the surface for a few seconds. “...” Beethoven sits down on his stool, gently inhaling as he runs his fingers across the fallboard of the grand piano. He lifts it up slowly, softly tapping a key with a familiar pling. Sad. He looks up at the ceiling. It is a beautiful day. He closes his eyes. He raises his arms and slams them down on the keys sending a wave of sound echoing through the room. As he immerses himself in his playing, each stroke of the key vibrating through his body. His mind. His soul.

Beethoven opens his eyes, as he feels a splash around him. His body is growing heavy as he sinks into a deep, dark ocean. A familiar feeling, though an unwelcome one. Darkness surrounding him. He can barely breathe. His throat is tight. His skin is crawling. He is freezing. A truly familiar feeling. He steadies himself in the dark sludge, feeling a swoosh next to him. Then another. He feels his feet touching the ground. Suddenly a voice echoes through the dark ocean. “Do BETTER!” It screams out as a grotesque being appears in front of him. Claws, teeth, a body larger than Beethoven himself, eyes that angrily glow in the darkness, all focused on him, mouths appearing on countless places on its body. Each one echoing the same words the largest voice is saying. The being moves around the muscian. “What is this!? WORTHLESS NOISE!” It screams at him, over and over.

Beethoven feels sweat beginning to form on his forehead as his fingers move across the keys of his piano. Slowly people have begun piling into his room from the guest entrances, sitting down, watching him enraptured in his playing. “It’s like he doesn’t even see us.” “Wow…” They mutter as they sit down.

“Who do you think you are!? Your father paid US so much! And yet you! YOU refuse our teachings!” The voice continues as Beethoven steps forward in the dark void, walking forward with a look of determination, wading through the inky darkness. The being in front of him swings a grotesque claw at him, but he doesn’t flinch, the monster missing him by a hair’s breadth. His eyes are looking straight forward. His body feels heavy, the pressure from the ocean around him feeling like it will cave his chest. The monster’s eyes dart towards where Beethoven is looking. There is a tiny, almost undetectable flicker of light. The only thing illuminating this otherwise dark ocean. “HA! You will NEVER reach that place!” The monster yells as Beethoven takes another step forward. As he does he feels a long bone-thin hand reaching up from the darkness, latching onto his leg, pinning him to the intangible ground he’s standing on.

However he forces his leg free to take another step. Once again another hand grabs his leg. Then another. And another. Another voice cooing from behind, a distorted dark echo of a woman’s voice. “I am sorry, Ludwig! I couldn’t do anything! Please stay! Please forgive me!” It screams, holding him down with its innumerable hands. Beethoven continues to move forward, through gritted teeth, the hands slowing his progress immensely.

The people in the auditorium sit silently, enraptured by Beethoven’s playing, his fingers gliding over the keys, his body swaying wildly, his face filled with a deep painful expression, not only from the physical injuries he is ignoring to play. The audience feel their eyes filling with tears, none of them understanding why, as they silently sob along to the echoing tune. It is truly beautiful to listen to. What memories he must be drawing upon for inspiration of this caliber.

“I’m so sorry, Ludwig! Please don’t hate me!” The echoing voice calls, Beethoven managing to pull himself off the hands, taking a single strong step, the hands reaching out once more, however suddenly something rushes past him, knocking him off balance for a moment, and a loud screech from the unseen body of the hand monster reverberates through the darkness. Beethoven lowers his gaze with a solemn sigh. As he raises his gaze again he is met with another being. A horrid hunched over wolf-like monster with gigantic piercing yellow eyes, barred fangs and matted fur, drooling dark crimson blood in front of Beethoven. It is shaking and jittering with what can only be described as a monstrous grin on its face, laughing as it exhales.

“Murderer,” It growls lowly, beginning to circle him. “Haha! Murderer! MURDERER!” Beethoven continues walking, his eyes set solely on the distant light. “You DARE attempt to go there after what you did!? You cannot ESCAPE what you did! MURDERER! KYAAAAHAHAHA!” The monster roars, dripping the blood onto Beethoven’s hands, the musician looking down at his bloodied gloves, beginning to tremble, but he clenches his fists and continues walking. The wolf circles him angrily, leaving a trail of red behind it which is swiftly absorbed into the shadowy ocean. “KILLER! You don’t deserve happiness! YOU WILL SUFFER! HAHA! AS I DID!” It screeches at him a low childish chuckle echoing after each malice-dripping word.

Beethoven shakes his body as he plays, clenching every muscle as he slams down on the keys, the audience is gasping and smiling amongst themselves. “He’s really getting into his playing today,” One mutters. Another chiming in with their own whisper. “It is a beautiful day after all. Perfect for playing.”

Beethoven continues moving, the wolf screaming at him in anger. The dim light in the distance does not appear to have gotten closer even in the slightest. Beethoven trots forward regardless. “A killer like you has no place in the world! KYAHAHAH-” It is suddenly cut off as something IMMENSE blasts past, swallowing the monster whole.

Beethoven, however, does not flinch. This being circling him completes a full rotation around him, before an eye opens in front of him. Dwarfing Beethoven. Even its pupil is bigger than he is. The eyes jitters and jerks around erratically before locking itself on to Beethoven and then shooting off, its long body following along… longer and longer. Until it reaches a significant distance from him, glaring down at him. Despite the immense distance Beethoven can still feel the rest of the body slithering around behind him. This monstrous eel remains silent, Beethoven refusing to meet its gaze. “DON’T IGNORE ME! You ungrateful ignorant failure!” He continues walking, the monstrous eel beginning to slowly swim circles around him. “You ruined not only my life! You ruined your mother’s life!” It yells, Beethoven trotting forward, the thick black ooze seeming to get thicker.

“... …” He feels his heart starting to beat faster. However he does not react.

“Give me back the money I wasted on you, Ludwig! SHOW ME SOME FUCKING RESPECT!” The eel howls, barring a giant mouth of endless rows of razorsharp teeth. “You should have never been born! You worthless waste of space! YOU MAKE ME SICK!”

“... …………” Beethoven begins to slow his walking pace down.

“You refused to learn! You refused to meet my eye! YOU BETRAYED me to be trained by that IDIOTIC composer! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT! Instead he TAINTED you with his ideal!”

“!?!?!” Beethoven’s eyes widen as he looks up at the eel. In the same moment the eel BURSTS forward in a sudden and explosive movement, shaking the entire ocean around it its jaw agape crashing over Beethoven as the man hits the final key on his piano, his eyes opening, panting and gasping air, sweating as he lets go of the piano. His pupils dilated and eyes darting back and forth between his hands. “!!!” He pants before hearing the vibrations in the crowd. He looks over seeing his auditorium has filled in such a short time as always. He suddenly takes a deep breath, standing from his piano, holding out his arms, bowing deeply. “...” What a beautiful day. 

As he looks up he sees Christian sitting in the audience, the only one not clapping, instead simply having a melancholic smile on his face, looking at Beethoven. As the two lock eyes it’s as if everything around them disappears, Christian’s face melding into a familiar dim light. “What a beautiful day. I hope to experience a day like this with you someday.”