729 New Testamen (1/2)
In a dark room in the Caucasus, it was quiet.
All the musicians sat silently in their chairs, and the priest in the cassock seized the remaining time to maintain the alchemy array on the ground.
In the silence, only the sound of Charles yawning could be heard.
A stream of light flew into Paganini's hand.
He opened his eyes and looked at Charles. ”The Redemption Corps has landed in Port Norman and started engaging in battle with the Asgardians. The ones above have sent a letter to ask you to hurry.”
”No rush, wait...” Charles glanced in Anglo's direction. ”Yezi has yet to take action. I don't believe he has the heart to do nothing... Keep waiting for a bit more.”
Paganini smiled bitterly, shook his head resignedly, wrote a reply, and threw the stream of light out.
Silence returned.
…
In the thunder, Shi Dong boarded the Mountain of Nomadism that was done with repair works. He looked up at the flashes of lightning that continued falling from the sky.
”We can't delay it any longer.” He sighed softly. ”It's time to go.”
”Is it okay?” Watson, who was sending him off, asked, ”Setting off without waiting for the order of His Royal Highness, isn't taking unauthorized action already considered treason in the Religious Court of Inquiry?”
”The biggest advantage of living long is that you can flaunt your seniority and act on your own.” Shi Dong cackled. ”Plus, it's all laid out in the plan, it's just that the timeline has been shifted forward. Shifting it forward has its benefits as well, the longer it drags on, the higher the chance of changes taking place and messing things up. Fortunately, he gave me the stuff in advance.” As he said so, he shook the case in his hand. ”I'm just running an errand in his place.”
Watson did not pursue the argument any further, and simply bid him farewell, ”Bon Voyage.”
Shi Dong thought for a moment and stopped in his tracks. ”I'm afraid I won't be able to come back in time later, I'll leave the overall coordination of the Religious Court of Inquiry to you.” He took off the coat of arms badge on his collar and pinned it on Watson, then patted him on the shoulder. ”All this while, I have taught you everything I can. You are better than I was.”
Watson nodded calmly. ”The next generation is always better than the previous generation, it is only right and proper.”
”Hahahahaha!” Shi Dong laughed and pointed at Watson's calm face. ”You have countless merits, but your arrogance is the only thing I like most.” The old man took a final look at him and turned to board the Mountain of Nomadism. Soon, the Mountain of Nomadism disappeared into the deep sea and vanished.
Only Watson was left smoking silently at the quiet harbor.
After a long time, he sighed softly.
”Letting go so casually, the old men nowadays are really bold and carefree...” Watson looked down at the coat of arms badge on his chest and smiled bitterly. ”Only when I'm actually sitting in the position that I realize that the pressure is so big.”
…
In the core of the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan held the Staff of Fate and the Scepter of Messiah, one in each hand, took a deep breath, then hit the two staffs together.
Bang! Like the magnificent music of Huang Zhong and Da Lü [1], a low rumble sounded from the slender staffs. The two staffs trembled with a buzz, and they impacted each other because of the knock. Hot alchemy circuits lit up from their cores.
Unsuppressible shocks were transmitted along the staffs and along the sea of aether, and they even extended into the realm of aether.
At the moment, even the Holy Cauldron responded in resonance.
In the Sacred City, the King of Red abruptly looked back, his brows wrinkled, an inconcealable gloominess and rage in his eyes.
Just in front of Ye Qingxuan, from the Scepter of Messiah, a bright brilliance slowly emerged and rose. In the pure shaking, it was stripped from the movement of Messiah.
It was the holy legacy of Saint Hendel!
In the deepest part of the Net of Aether, sensing the music theory that originated from the same source, the musical movement of Genesis responded with a rumble.
Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, but still did not accept the legacy of Hendel in the end. Instead, he waved and slowly pushed it into the Net of Aether, letting the music theory grow and extend freely, combining as one with the music theory of the Heaven Ladder.
From then onward, Hendel's legacy would become a part of the Net of Aether, just like Haydn's.
As Hendel's legacy was integrated into it, a violent quake also erupted from the Net of Aether, and a change sprouted from its depths. In addition to the music theory of the school of abstinence at its core, the music theory of the schools of modifications and chorale, which were originally its weaknesses also began to increase rapidly.
In the huge crystal polygon, the countless modules forming it rotating rapidly, moving up and down. Propelled by the increasing music theory, they collided with each other and resulted in booms of thunder sounding and lightning erupting.
The spirituality of the movement of Messiah operated within. The movement that symbolized the shepherding of the people in place of God also shepherded the spirituality of various music theory. As the power spewed into the Net of Aether, like the mystery of obtaining spirituality from evolved metals at the moment alchemy was applied, the Net of Aether gained an incorporeal soul.
At the moment, Ye Qingxuan felt the connection between him and the Net pulsing deeply. It was so deft and smooth, with no trace of choppiness and rigidity anymore, just like a loyal and quiet servant listening to Ye Qingxuan's orders, sworn to fulfill all his wants.
Genesis, which opened up the world, and Messiah, which shepherded souls, were combined into one at the moment, and the combination actually produced such an amazing transformation, making Ye Qingxuan unable to suppress his laughter.
With the help of the spirituality, Ye Qingxuan grew much more confident of what he was about to.
He held the two staffs that represented supreme power, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and once again hit them together.
Bang! A sharp, forlorn whine spread from the two staffs. Unlike the previous attempt which only scratched the surface of the consequences, this time around, under Ye Qingxuan's control, two completely different types of music theory collided together, causing a quake that was almost like mutual destruction.
Outside the crystal polygon, even the domain of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was torn apart, revealing the grotesque and gaudy rainbow-colored lights in the realm of aether.
Innumerable phantoms emerged from the crack, quietly gazing at Ye Qingxuan's back, as if they had come from the past and the future. Under the guidance of the music theory of the two staffs, the afterimages left by the forebears in the realm of aether came as summoned.
On Ye Qingxuan's left, the Hendels of previous generations were expressionless. On his right, the Grand Inquisitors of each generation of the Religious Court of Inquiry, which represented the righteousness of God, stood solemnly.
The history of the Religious Court of Inquiry and the Silence Governance overlapped here, and all their elements were in Ye Qingxuan's hands.
At the moment, as the two staffs knocked on each other, the cold gaze from the Sacred City looked at Ye Qingxuan, undisguised.
Ye Qingxuan smiled, and the two staffs collided again.
Bang! Innumerable afterimages shook and dissipated, losing the foundation of their existence in the turmoil and collapse of music theory.
”Rebel!”
”Arrogant!”
”Maybe, it's not bad.”
”Madness shall lead you to your end!”
”So be it...”
”What for!”
Some of the projections smiled open-mindedly, some wore dark expressions, some glared at Ye Qingxuan, while others looked at him with approval. The overlapping voices constantly sounded and disappeared again.
Ye Qingxuan snickered. In the rumble, he suddenly slammed the two staffs down. ”Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, the ones that should leave, stay no more.”