726 Difference Choices in the Great Age (1/2)
Inside the Baron Bechig Square in Samara in Paphos County…
People were still dwelling in the song that seemed to have burst out from their souls. The whole square was quiet. Even the innocent kids were awed by the atmosphere and did not dare make any noises at all. The place seemed to have been caged in time.
They had never experienced the feelings that touched their souls before. For the operas in the past, music and plot were independent of each other and could not build up each other. Therefore, even though many classic arias had appeared in the history of opera, most of the audience found it impossible to resonate with the music when their emotion hadn't been activated. Naturally, it was impossible for them to have a wonderful feeling that their soul was touched.
”Valkyrie” this time was an exception. The plot was built one step after another, and the melody that sounded like a whole orchestra was fully rendered. The effect when they were combined was much better than either of them could've achieved independently. As a result, the audience completely melted into the story and the music, feeling the same as the characters felt.
That was why when ”Charge” was played, they felt that they were following the princess as she charged into the battlefield. That was why they could personally feel the sorrow, regret, and determination when the princess sang ”Heroes' Monument”, to the point that their blood was freezing.
Lucien dare not say that the story of the plot was perfect and better than any playwrights' works, but he could announce proudly that its blast on the audience was unprecedented.
It was not until a long time later that low voices echoed in the square.
”Heroes never die;
”They will only wither in people's memories.”
A girl couldn't prevent herself from singing the aria in the end. Although she did not have the pleasant voice of the singer who played the princess, and her imitation was hardly accurate due to the high difficulties, she sang with such devotion and such love as if she had witnessed her comrades and friends collapsing next to her.
The vague song broke the silence in the square and raised a chain reaction. Banus, Ali, and the other members of the audience all opened their mouths and whistled.
”Bury my bones, but do not set any monument…
”… For this prosperous city is the best monument for us!”
The song echoed in the Baron Bechig Square again and again, as if the heroes' souls were staring at their beloved home, reluctant to leave!
It was not until a long time later that the citizens finally got rid of the atmosphere and discussed passionately with each other about ”Valkyrie”, about Master Evans' changes on the opera, about the classical music pieces such as ”Dawn” and ”Charge”, about the exceptional arias such as ”Heroes' Monument”, about the state-of-the-art actors and actresses and the terrifying dragon, and about the visual and acoustic feast of ”live stream”.
In the middle of their discussion, Ali changed his expression and suddenly turned around.
”Ali, where are you going?” Banus was sharing his feelings tonight with a stranger nearby in excitement when he noticed Ali's action. He was puzzled. Did his friend not like liveliness most? Was there any place more lively than the square at present? Did he not feel any urge to share his feelings after listening to the opera?
Solemnly and somewhat excitedly, Ali replied, ”I'm going home!”
”Going home for what?” Banus abandoned the communication with the stranger and caught up with Ali, before he asked in confusion.
Ali clenched his right hand subconsciously. ”I'll pack up and go to Rentato!”
”Huh? Rentato? Ali, have you lost your mind?” Banus thought that he was hallucinating. Why on earth was his friend going to Rentato? That was the capital of the kingdom, not a small rural town!
Ali shook his head. ”My mind isn't lost. I've given it a lot of thought. I'm going to Rentato instead of spending the rest of my life in such a small city like Samara.”
”But… But what's bad about a small city?” Banus asked in shock.
Taking a deep breath, Ali pointed at the ”curtain” in the square behind them. ”Banus, do you see the alchemical item that can let us see and hear things far away? It allowed us to appreciate an opera that was performed in Rentato.”
”Yes. Why do you want to go to Rentato when we can appreciate it in our town?” Banus was even more confused.
Ali slowly sighed. ”Banus, what does such an alchemical item represent? And what does the fact that a small city has such an alchemical item indicate?”
Then, he answered his own question, ”It indicates that changes that have never been seen in the past hundreds of years are happening to our country and our age. New things are born and thriving every day.”
Banus nodded. He could sense it based on the changes around him even though he was in a small city.
”Such changes are unstoppable, just like a flood. The only thing we can do is adapt to it. However, I would rather not stagnate at such a great age. Banus, think about it. Aren't such great changes full of opportunities? As long as we seize any of them, our life will be entirely different.
”I'm unwilling to live a dead life in the small city, where I will inherit my father's position as the servant to the secretary, marry a girl of the same status as mine, have children, get busy, and grow old. I'm scared of a life that can be foreseen so clearly. Has my life been predestined? So, I'm going to Rentato to follow my dreams and find a place of mine in the great development that would change the world. I'll do my best to move forward.”