As Zhou Ren cast a glance at the ascending 'Long Tian', a faint glimmer of sympathy flickered in his eyes.
“I almost feel bad for him.”
Hou Fei dismissively replied, speaking in a jealous tone.
“Save your sympathy, he has a rich, powerful dad who controls 4 provinces, I am sure he will manage to survive better than us.”
The purple haired Zhou Ren just shook his head, not arguing with Hou fei. Among the faint murmurs and small jeering, ‘Long Tian’ finally reached the middle of the platform. ‘His' face was reflected on the large screen, showcasing 'his' deep brown eyes and prominent cheekbones in front of the entire audience.
“Geez! I would not mind having him as my husband, that face should be kept in museum.”
A noblewoman blushed deep red as she looked at the screen in a daze, causing people around her to stare at her in amusement.
Long Yu looked pensively towards the large screen. She could not help but admit that she was a bit curious. Usually, her small brother was low key, diverting any sort of attention away from himself. This is truly one of the exceptional situations.
'Long Tian' brought 'his' hand forward and channeled the Qi 'he' mustered into the ring, summoning an elegant black silhouette.
“?”
Exquisite curves that rotated and turned like a snake adorned the elegant instrument. In front of ‘Long Tian’, an array of black and white keys stretched like stairs. ‘He' no longer worried about the circumstances. ‘He' was going to do what ‘he' needed to do.
Divert attention.
‘He’ sighed and brought out a jade, inserting it. Although the people around the platform saw the entire thing transpire, they were unaware of how this machine worked, so they could not tell that 'he' was cheating.
‘Long Tian's' face lit up with a smile. Even though 'he' had swindled a lot of people in 'his' life, fooling an emperor was still uncharted territory, even for 'him'. 'He' started pretending according to the script.
Placing 'his' fingers on the corner of the keys, 'he' swept his finger through them. The recording played as intended, releasing an ear splitting noise.
“The fuck is this?”
“His siblings took away all of his talent."
"Why is he being allowed to perform? This is just throwing away your face for no reason.”
“Boo this man.”
A fat middle-aged man sat with busty women on both sides, chuckling at the scene. The performance for the first few seconds sounded jarring, as if an amateur was playing an instrument he knew nothing about.
The fat around the man's face jiggled in happiness. Although he loved the performances, what he loved even more was seeing people fail and embarrass themselves. Like right now.
However, as he was jesting with the beauties beside him, a small wave of melodious sounds soon washed over the hall. The entire hall had gotten silent, leaving behind a soft tune of pure, unfiltered melody.
The fat man looked at the screen, staring at 'Long Tian’s hand that was fluttering over the keys in a soul-stirring pattern. 'His' thin fingers were moving with an otherworldly precision as they ran across black and white keys.
Soon, he felt the atmosphere getting lighter. The air smelled of lime and raspberries, making him feel like he had traveled back to his happiest days.
“I understand Zither fairy Zayn being able to do it. But how is a cripple like him doing it too?”
Faint murmuring reached the middle-aged man, but his ears only focused on the soft melody of the piano, his eyes lost in the screen. Soon, the scene in front of him changed.
----------------------------------------
He found himself standing in front of a white house, sitting on his bike as he prepared to leave for the office.
“Dear, can you bring tea packs on the way to the home?”
A familiar, cheerful voice rang from beside him, tugging at his heartstrings. He hurriedly looked towards the source of the voice.
She looked like an average housewife. She could barely be considered beautiful, not even comparable to one of the women sitting beside him. However, she had carved herself within his very being. She is the only woman he has ever loved, and will ever love.
He deeply stared at the face, as if to carve her face into his memory, once again.
The face he saw in his dream was always blurry, as he had partly forgotten the finer details of her face. Caressing her face gently, he brought her hands up and gently kissed it.
“Oh, how I have missed you.”
The woman arched up her ebony eyebrows, a mischievous smile dancing upon her lips as she pinched his cheek affectionately.
“Honey, stop your excuses, you have to go now. It’s time. ”
“Can I not go? I just want to stay.”
The woman looked a bit annoyed at her husband. He had this habit of refusing to leave for work, causing him to lose many jobs.
She was about to lecture the lazy man. However, a thin, childish voice rang from the white house.
“Daaad, don’t forget to bring ice cream for me.”
Listening to the voice, he seemed to be struck by thunder. He quickly stood up from his bike and hastily ran towards the house. A small kid of about 4–5 sat inside, playing.
The man quickly ran towards him. Yet, the boy avoided him, playfully running inside the house. The man kept searching for him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find him.
----------------------------------------
The melody of the piano slowed down, breaking the middle-aged man out of his trance. He looked around, still in a daze. Everyone seemed to be in a similar state, looking like they had just been woken up from their deepest desire.
They all gazed at the screen.
Watching Long Tian’s hand almost slow down to a standstill, a bit of regret flashed across their eyes. The fat middle-aged man hastily stood up, he knew he was not allowed to disturb the performance, but he still ran forward, pleading with a hoarse voice.
“Please, please, just play that tune again, I will give you everything you want, just play it for one hour. No, ten minutes,, I will give you all I have. Please, just one more minute.”
The man stumbled on the floor, falling down on the black and white tiles. He started sobbing as he begged.
“Please”
None of the noises seemed to reach ‘Long Tian'.
'Long Tian' sat in front of the piano, 'he' was also entranced by it, similar to the audience, causing 'his' eyes to tear up a bit.
Myriad visage did not think she would be affected by the tune. She was above the fifth gate. Logically, a recording by a Long Tian should not effect her, at all.
Emperor Zhi Yan stared at her back, a mysterious smile adorning his young face.
She could not hear the middle aged man pleading, nor could she hear the sighs of regret that echoed across the hall. Now she was no longer pretending, her hands unknowingly ran through the black and white keys of the piano, faster and faster. Even if a master saw her playing now, they would not be able to claim that she was merely pretending.
The tune shifted. A haunting and foreboding melody started playing. Everyone in the hall felt the air turning heavier. Sounds of rough, raspy breath rose from everywhere. They felt a cruel hand tearing away the facade, removing all of their earlier happiness.
As the creepy, bone chilling melody ran through the hall, the fat middle-aged man fell into a trance again.
----------------------------------------
Sitting on his bike, he hummed loudly. A pair of ice-creams stood in the basket in front, alongside a packet of tea bags. As he reached his house, he saw a crowd gathering in front of it.
A faint feeling of foreboding took over him as he looked towards his small house.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Watching the scene, his pupils constricted. He felt his heart stop for a second. His house had been reduced to almost nothing.
A large black hole sat in the middle with only parts on two side remaining.
“AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH”
A loud noise similar to animals escaped his throat. He threw his bike and quickly ran into the crowd, pushing them away.
“Immortal once again?”
“Yeah, one of them threw a fireball at the house”
Pushing the crowd away, he finally saw the gut-wrenching scene in front of him. In a white rectangular bed, a charred body stayed still, while a small leg sat on another. Blood rushed towards his head as the man felt his guts rebel against him.
----------------------------------------
“NO, no, please stop. Please bring back the earlier one”
“Stop the music”
Long Xiang zoomed forward, intending to stop ‘Long Tian', he had already noticed the abnormality, but emperor had stopped him.
“Let him finish.”
A young, energetic voice declared, halting him from taking any action.
“Yes, your imperial majesty.”
The haunting theme slowly changed once again, loosening the oppressive and depressing air around the hall. Everyone seemed to be releasing a breath of foul air, sighing in relief.
If anyone looked through the window now, they would see small white jades rotating around the sky. However, everyone was staring at myriad visage who pretended to be ‘Long Tian’, focusing on 'his' hand that moved across the black instrument.
*************
Above the clock atop Tower of Ballathor.
At first, people below could not see anything due to the black armor hiding the jades. However, the jades soon started glowing and rotating by themselves, no longer under V's control.
V quickly retreated, revealing the glowing, white jades that shone like stars.
Inside one of the buildings, a small girl was staring at the bustling road below, seemingly awaiting someone.
Soon, her face lit up as she noticed a familiar silhouette coming out of the car.
“Mom, father is bac-!”
However, soon she caught a small white light in her peripherals, prompting her to quickly look up. She stared at the single glowing star that suddenly appeared in the sky.
She looked at the sky often, so she knew there was no star there before.
Soon, more and more of these small stars lit up the empty blue sky. She felt a deja vu, but she couldn’t tell where she had seen this before. She was hypnotized as she stared at the draconian diagram slowly reveal itself.
“Don't look.”
A young woman covered her eyes and took her inside.
*thud*
She hurriedly shut all the doors and windows. Similar scenes were being played out in the entirety of Naqueser.
The draconic diagram got faster and faster. Soon, the white whisker of the sleeping face started moving wildly.
Long Tian's shoulder length brown hair fluttered wildly, as he uttered the ballad in Atur.
“The Mythical Beast That Roams Across The Space Time Continuum,
The Sovereign of All Secrets that Permeates Through the Cosmos.
The Master of White, The Keeper of time, The Observer of all,
I beseech you.”
Long Tian's brown eyes reflected the full, round moon as he muttered.
“Awaken”
A pair of large white eyes opened on the blue moon above. It's eyes had a transparent pupil that reflected the soft glow of moonlight.
A large dragon quickly uncoiled itself and descended from the moon. Soon, a dragon that seemed to exist across all of time stood across the sky of Naqueser.
It's ethereal scales glistened under the bright glow of the moon. Its white mane on it's neck shone like stars
It's triangular face stared at Long Tian as it's whiskers flew across the space, lightly distorting the space around it.
********
In the circular round hall. A black haired man stood in the back, wearing a black uniform with the insignia of “Doom patrol”.
He was staring at the emperor.
“Oi, wasn’t your time to watch the Axial shield?”
“Yes Sir, I just came to take a look at the emperor, i never saw him in front of my eyes, after all.”
“Go back!”
The man commanded with a strong tone.
“But Sir commander, you are also supposed to be watching over.”
The man paused, no longer speaking.
Soon, an entrancing melody that defied time and space filled the hall, tranquilizing everyone’s mind. The back of ‘Long Tian' no longer looked as scrawny. 'His' sturdy shoulder and back seemed to arch straight as 'his' hands hovered through the black and white keys, his visage seemingly capable of holding up against the weight of the universe.
Everyone’s eyes regained their luster, their eyes shining with a hopeful gleam.
----------------------------------------
The fat middle-aged man found himself standing up on the side of a grey bridge, watching the bustling scene below. The cars below looked smaller than toys, while the humans moved busily like ants.
He was contemplating weather he should just end his suffering, as he had lost all of his reasons to live. He could not even get justice from the empire. The emperor only paid him remuneration for the house and lost lives.
He stared at rows of mechanical vehicles moving across the street below, the conviction in his eyes slowly solidifying.
He stood up
, preparing to jump.
“Li Hua”
Hearing his name, he turned back. A bald old man was sitting below, looking at the sky in a daze.
“Fate is omnipresent. Fate is everlasting. Fate is relentless and unforgiving. But Fate is also fair. Whatever Fate takes away, it returns in full. Go back, you will regain all that you have lost.”
Li Hua listened to the eccentric chant of the old man, looking back in a daze as the old man slowly walked away. A faint hope burned in his eyes, quickly taking over his being as he climbed down.
----------------------------------------
Back then, he believed in the words of the old man. He thought that he would regain everything. And he had.
Li Hua sat on the floor, reminiscing his life.
He had gained everything in life. Money, power, women and even the title of baron. and he brought justice to the culprits that caused his family to die, with his own hand.
“But, am I as happy as those carefree days?”
The melody got slower and slower, seemingly in its final stretch.
The imperial princess in the red veil peered deeply into Long Tian, the ten beads circling around her hand. The beads vibrated strongly as she looked at him.
“Is it you?”
Her small whisper reached the emperor's ears, who just smiled at her.
“It seems like your divination is not working.”
“What?”
A confused voice rang out.
“Cast
She was confused as she listened to the enigmatic voice of the emperor, but she did as instructed. Soon, the beads in her hand started to move as her Qi took over the entire platform.
A yellow light passed over the entire platform.
People stared at the screen again, slowly standing up to applaud, however, a beautiful face was revealed on the screen. Her soul stirring eyes entranced everyone.
“Wait, that's not Long Tian.”
Everyone in the audience bustled with noises of angry shouts.
“What! He hired someone to perform in his place?!”
“So low, so despicable. I was wondering how a cripple was performing so well. So this was it.”
“He thought he could fool the emperor?!”
“Bah! He never accounted for the emperor when he thought of this brilliant idea. But how dare he try to fool his father as well?”
The entire hall full of people seemed to be angry at being fooled. However, some people recognized the face on the screen, baffled.
“Myriad visage!”
Myriad visage stood up, knowing her facade had been revealed. But she had done her job. She managed to buy almost 2 minutes for Long Tian.
Turning back, she bowed towards the emperor.
“I apologise, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Emperor let out a chuckle as he comfortably rested his face on his left arm.
“The silent pavilion is getting more and more daring these days. Now you are trying to fool me as well. This emperor is certainly entertained.”
Myriad visage stared up, her limpid eyes meeting emperor's playful eyes. Her resolute voice resounded throughout the hall.
“We value our oaths more than our life. I am just repaying a life saving grace, your imperial majesty.”
“Oh?”
Emperor raised his eyebrows, finding no fear of punishment in her eyes. He was about to say something, but a sound of blood splitting stopped him.
*spit*
The red veiled imperial princess spit out a large amount of blood, the beads in her hand disintegrating into small pieces.
“I can not see the future anymore! The future of Raoqen has turned volatile”
She tried to form it again and again, but they would not move, no matter how many times she attempted it.
Even the Emperor could not maintain his calm demeanor after listening to her quivering voice. He stared at the broken bits of the disintegrated beads, faintly noticing a flash of white in his peripherals.
All the people in the hall started rushing out.
“The sky has turned white!”
“That's"
Everyone from the white dragon clan felt their tattoos burn.
“The White Dragon!”
*******
Long Tian's left hand under the armor had turned crimson. The veins on his hands moving like slithering snakes. A white dragon tattoo enveloped his entire forearm, glowing silently.
However, it seemed incomplete, as if it had paused halfway.
In the skies above the church of Bellathor, A man and a dragon stared at each other.
“Fren ren mrien sounrin”
A proud whisper reached his ears. He knew what the mythical beast was awaiting for. It wanted him to prove his worth. It wanted to see what made him worthy of it's blessing.
However, Long Tian knew he couldn’t. He had tried for 10 years, every time failing at the cusp of awakening.
He had been deemed unworthy of an awakening for ten times.
Hence, he wasn’t even going to try this time. He was just biding for time, awaiting the formation of his soul artefact.
As time kept passing, the entire world in front of his eyes diluted. All of his senses intermixed with each other. He felt himself rushing into the air, his five senses enveloping the nearby area.
He tasted the pansy air, smelled the white sky, caressed the old stones of the Church of Ballathor. All sort of nonsensical information was transmitting into his brain as all of his five senses got familiar with the Qi.
"So, this is Qi"
He closed his eyes. It was as if another sense had opened in his body. He could see the red, white, and the kaleidoscope of Qi in the air, intermixing with each other like a nebula of myriad colour.
He felt his entire being combine with the surrounding area, absorbing all it's Qi as a rectangular artefact slowly took shape in his divine space.
His inert cells that was incapable of absorbing Qi started to alter and change, awakening.
*whish*
The air pressure got stronger and stronger, lifting him up.
His soul artefact had finally formed completely. He stared at the surprised draconic face, his lips forming a small smirk of ridicule.
“V”
“V understands"
The pulsating red armor over his left arm shrank and cut off his entire forearm, causing him to groan audibly.
Slash!
The glowing dragon tattoo that had paused midway slowly lost it's gleam as his forearm fell downwards.
“Hmph”
Despite the strong pain, his face was still smiling as he stared at the fading white dragon. Even if he failed now, he had no regrets.
His lips uttered a single sentence.
“How does it feel to get rejected by a mortal?”
He started falling down.
*whish*
However, time seemed to dilute and slow down, slowing his downfall. The white dragon forcefully reconnected with him, enveloping the entire sky. The sky turned completely white, giving off a silvery glow like moon.
Long Tian felt a weakness taking over his being.
In a few seconds, his lustrous brown hair turned white. His pale skin that shone in the pale moonlight had turned old and lost it's elasticity.
“The curse of time. So, it is indeed this.”
Long Tian knew he had failed.
The white dragon was proud, it would not allow him to fool it and awaken so easily. However, he did not expect it to send a curse of this stature.
Soon, he looked like an old man at the doorstep of death. However, his eyes burned with a bright glint that could not be suppressed.
He still had one trump card left.
All four replicas of time-related artifacts started crumbling with his signal.Destroying the replicas created a diversion, giving him a few more seconds.
As he opened his parched lips, his cracking voice resonated in the area.
“WEDNESDAY!”