DOLL'S

project AMBIVALENCE / $.odÅ's 5th Rikka-featured release, "DOLL'S"

This song was written as the ending theme for "Margarete"in the dark fantasy visual novel Knight Case Files.

Set within the Phoenix Kingdom, Knight Case Files is a dark fantasy visual novel centered around Wilhelm, an imperial knight feared as the "Corpse Slayer."As beings such as the Phoenix Tribe, necromancers, and the serpent-descended Yamai race become entangled with one another, the story unfolds around themes of death, immortality, and resurrection.

The character portrayed in this song, "Margarete,"is a duke's daughter believed to have died. Abandoning her frail human body, she is resurrected as a living ball-jointed doll through alchemy and magic. Harboring deep sympathy and obsession toward the person who revived her, she ultimately joins in their revenge, leaving an overwhelming presence within the story as a cruel villainess who embodies both elegance and madness.

From the very beginning, the track overwhelms the listener with an inorganic electronic soundscape built around release-cut piano textures and glitch noise. Delicate yet aggressive melodies intertwine throughout the composition, creating an atmosphere of decadent beauty across the entire piece.

Rikka's vocal performance is equally striking, effortlessly shifting from piercing ultra-high notes to rapid-fire melodic phrasing. Her expressive delivery captures both innocence and insanity simultaneously, projecting an almost unnerving sense of life from the character of Margarete herself.

The song was produced under the supervision of Knight Case Files producer and scenario writer Shierin, while the jacket illustration was created by illustrator Hikari Kazenagi. Margarete's fantastical yet unsettling visual design also serves as a defining symbol of the work's world and atmosphere.

Music, story, and visual art - project AMBIVALENCE / $.odÅ reconstructs them all into a singular, unified world. Woven together through decadent aesthetics and razor-sharp emotional expression, that artistic universe will continue to captivate listeners in a deep and hauntingly quiet way.