"You mean this person can change the relationship between our two cities?"
Jayce looked at the letter, then at Linwin, then back at the letter, furrowing his brow and loudly saying, "Why do I find it so hard to believe?"
"This girl, Jayce, don't underestimate her; she's quite special."
"Huh? A family running a sound system, Linwin. I don't see anything particularly unique about that. There are over a dozen such audio shops in Piltover. How do you think they can solve the issues between the two cities?"
"Idiot, we shouldn't focus on her family's shop but on her as an individual."
Linwin continued, "It's about her voice, her music."
Well, forget it; Jayce wouldn't understand.
After all, even Linwin himself found it somewhat unbelievable. In the original universe, the relationship between Zaun and Piltover was much worse. There was no background story of Linwin mediating for Zaunites, and Jayce and Mel helping Piltover. Nor was there Noxus invading Piltover, with Zaun aiding them.
Therefore, in the present universe, there is a distance between the two cities, not blood-soaked animosity or class issues, but a layer of membrane that needs time to dissolve.
So, in the original universe, with the conditions being much worse, Seraphine could still use her singing to soothe the conflicts between the two cities. Her singing made Zaun and Piltover residents forget their hatred, even standing side by side to watch Seraphine on stage.
But this was a bit too naive, too much like a fairy tale!
Using music to influence people? This is just a fairy tale, right?
Therefore, this naive background story, coupled with the bizarre "flying disc" under Sarephina's feet after her appearance, made the originally anticipated and loved little Sera suddenly be criticized.
Especially with Seraphine's background story being out of place in the original universe.
But, in the end, from this naive fairy tale, it could be seen that Seraphine is indeed a very kind girl.
She once doubted herself because of her abilities and even doubted the world due to those noisy voices.
Still, she eventually came out of it and devoted herself to reconciling the relationship between the two cities. So, she is also a strong girl.
Hmm. In the end, it's also the power of magic.
But is Seraphine's musical magic a form of soul magic or mental magic?
That's a question.
"So I'm asking you, how is she going to solve this problem?"
Jayce suddenly interrupted Linwin's speculation, questioning him.
"The Starry-Eyed Songstress."
"What's that?"
"Seraphine. She's a magic user, specializing in musical magic."
Jayce still didn't quite grasp the concept. Magic? Sure, he knew about magic, but musical magic?
"What is musical magic? Does such a thing exist in this world?"
Looking at Jace, Linwin pursed his lips and explained, "You know what a songstress is, right?"
Upon hearing Linwin's words, Jace suddenly stared, then subconsciously took a deep breath and grumbled, "No, Linwin, I was just asking you...."
Linwin: "?"
---
Inside a music store in Piltover, a shop that sold instruments and also repaired them.
The owner of the store was named Sain, a Zaunite.
A Zaunite who had left Zaun and come to Piltover.
Sain and his wife had worked hard to move from Zaun to Piltover. It wasn't for a better life for themselves but for their daughter, for her to live in a safer, more peaceful, and cleaner city.
And now, Sain was having some regrets.
"Sera, don't hide in the house; come out, we need to talk."
"Dad, I don't want to go out! It's too noisy out there. I can hear their complaints, and I don't want to hear those voices!"
"Sera, there's no other way. We... they have been invaded by Noxus, lost loved ones and homes. You can understand the grief of losing family and home. You're a good kid."
"No, Dad, they may have grief, but now they're more about resentment and complaints. They complain about the strength of Zaun, complain about Zaun's rise. Dad, you won't understand! You can't hear those voices!"
Seraphine raised her voice.
She didn't like her ability.
She had heard both good and bad voices over the years.
And during these years, the voices of Piltover residents were mostly negative.
Constantly hearing complaints, curses, and roars, they vented their dissatisfaction and grievances to Seraphine.
Listening to these negative emotions so frequently, Seraphine would break down!
She was slowly breaking down.
Upon hearing his daughter's words, Sain paused.
"Sera, you always say you want to go back to Zaun to see. You want to see where Dad and Mom used to live. But me and your mom have been stopping you because the old Zaun was... very chaotic. Sera, you wouldn't like the old Zaun."
Sain stood in front of the door and softly said, "I don't want you to hear the voices of Zaun—those violent, chaotic, and angry voices."
"Dad, it's not like you said." A girl's voice came from behind the door, timidly saying, "The sounds of Zaun are chaotic and painful, but in that pain, I hear their freedom, resilience, tolerance, and aspirations. It's a different sound from Piltover."
"Dad, maybe Zaun isn't as bad as you think."
Sain fell silent.
It had been half a month since his daughter had come out. Since that day at the end of last year, Seraphine had locked herself in the room, tightly closing the door and huddling in a corner, covering her ears.
But as her daughter said, he was too biased against Zaun. In these years, he hadn't been to Zaun, hadn't been to the place where he was born and raised.
Zaun had changed a lot.
"Sera, let's go see Zaun."
Sain lowered his head and said softly.
His wife nodded from behind and also whispered, "I agree with your father's decision, Sera, come out."
Sain and his wife's call succeeded.
After a moment, the door gently opened.
A tall girl stood by the door, looking somewhat aggrieved.
She had heard too many unpleasant sounds these days.
Biting her lip, Seraphine raised her head and looked at her father, saying softly, "Really? Can I go to Zaun now?"
Sain nodded seriously and said to Seraphine, "Yes, let's go to Zaun."
---
Half an hour later, under the puzzled gaze of Zaunites, Sain took Seraphine on the elevator.
When they boarded the elevator, Sain eyes changed.
This wasn't the clinking elevator from before.
This was a stable hextech elevator, capable of accommodating more people at once, and it was faster too.
Sain held his daughter tightly, and there were a few Zaunites talking beside him.
"Wanna go for a drink after work?"
"No, I've been self-studying lately. I'm planning to take the enforcer exam."
"Really? How difficult is that to pass?"
"Even if it's tough, I'm going. I've decided. I won't drift through life anymore. So from today, you guys have to cheer me on."
"Of course, we're brothers!"
"Buck, let me tell you, I've actually been hoping that one day you would try it. Since you're the strongest out of all of us." The words of a Zaunite youth with a head of yellow hair made Sain's pupils suddenly contract.
The reason he held Seraphine tightly on the elevator was because he was afraid these people were Zaun's thugs, gang members, who might harass and harm Seraphine because of her appearance.
But they didn't seem to be the people Sain had imagined?
And in her father's arms, Seraphine was excitedly watching the yellow-haired youth.
This person, who looked fierce and like a troublemaker, had a voice... a soul.
It delighted Seraphine.
"You know, I don't like riding my bike to your place every day, shouting for you in front of your house, and waiting for you to come out and fool around, wasting time with us. Buck, I've always hoped that one day, you could let go of us and pursue your own life. And then... one day, when I come to call you, your neighbor will tell me you're not at home."
Seraphine buried her head in her father's chest, twisted a bit, and repeatedly hammered her father's chest with her little fists.
When she raised her head, her face was full of joy.
Different from the complaints, unrest, anger, and dissatisfaction of Piltoverians.
These Zaunites, whom her father considered hopeless.
Their voices.
Relieved the tension in Seraphine's nerves that had lasted for a long time.
That color...
It was yellow, a warm color.
That was the feeling of friendship.
Leaning against her father, Seraphine whispered softly.
"Dad, the sounds of Zaun, they're really pleasant to listen to."
"This place is actually very clean, Dad."
"You used to say that Zaun's streets were filled with gangsters and thugs, right, Dad? Zaun doesn't seem to be as bad as you said."
Taking the lift, Seraphine and her father arrived at the Undercity of Zaun.
Looking at the somewhat dark and oppressive Zaun due to the architecture and lighting, Seraphine did not feel repelled by it.
On the contrary, although Zaunites lived in the underground, in an environment with adverse conditions and scarce resources, it was vibrant here!
Seraphine could hear, and even see, clusters of vibrant green light.
These harsh survival factors didn't make the Zaunites bow their heads and succumb but, just like their voices, the Zaunites resiliently resisted the adverse conditions brought by the environment.
"Sera, I wasn't lying; the Zaun from before isn't what you see now."
Even in Sain's eyes, there was a trace of disbelief.
It had been more than twenty years since he last visited Zaun, and indeed, Zaun wasn't the same as he remembered.
Accompanied by Seraphine, the two planned to stroll around this lively Undercity.
"Dad, I want to see the place where you used to live."
After walking through many places in the Undercity, including some areas Sain once considered dangerous, he became convinced.
Zaun had truly changed.
The once-dangerous restricted areas were now extremely safe.
The chem barons were gone, and the designated restricted areas were open. There were no longer small chaotic communities but large communities where hundreds of people lived together.
Now, Zaun was no longer fragmented but had become a unified family.
The streets were also clean, and there were no more mischievous kids rummaging through trash cans and running around the streets.
Moreover, in the Undercity, every kilometer or so, you could see enforcers in white uniforms patrolling.
"Go to where I used to live?"
"Yes, you always tell me how dangerous Zaun is and how chaotic the place you used to live was. But, Dad, maybe you don't even know it yourself."
Seraphine raised her head, her pink hair slightly curled, covering half of her face. Her big eyes were full of excitement as she spoke, "Every time you talk about Zaun, you make a sound. It's the sound of reminiscing and cherishing the past. Dad, you don't actually resist Zaun; you've always remembered Zaun."
"I like Zaun?" Hearing his daughter's words, Sain paused.
"No way, impossible, Sera, your dad doesn't have any good memories of the old Zaun. You must have heard it wrong," Sain shook his head, denying Seraphine's words.
The old Zaun was truly chaotic.
After all, Sain grew up in an orphanage from a very young age. He had been exposed to the street rules of Zaun at a young age. The children in Zaun's Undercity had to deal with criminal activities if they wanted to survive. Sain had assisted local gangs in things like keeping watch, collecting rent, and passing on small messages.
Not to mention that people in the community were constantly exploited by the chem barons.
So, Sain's childhood was full of darkness. Either he was getting beaten, or he was beating others. Either stealing things or robbing.
The only joy was probably the days of singing and dancing with the people in the community, listening to a granny hitting a rubber bucket with a stick, and listening to an uncle playing beautiful music with two pieces of iron.
It was because of this that, after having a wife, Sain decided to go to Piltover, using the music he learned in the community as a stepping stone to knock on Piltover's door.
He didn't want his children to live in Zaun.
He wanted to give Seraphine a beautiful childhood, let her live in a safe and peaceful place.
But Sain never expected that Seraphine, from the moment of her birth, had the ability to hear the thoughts and feelings of others, and as she grew older, this ability became stronger.
Just like now, even though she was wearing a special device made by Sain, Seraphine still heard various voices.
This meant that Seraphine's ability was getting stronger.
She looked at her father and shook her head, "Dad, the soul deep inside cannot lie. You do like this place; your heart is communicating with me, Dad. It keeps telling me that you want to go back."
"Let's go, Dad."
Seraphine flicked a strand of hair behind her ear with her finger, smiling like a flower, "Let's go see your old home."
"..."
"Sure."
Sain didn't refuse.
---
More than thirty minutes later, riding Zaun's transportation, the Hextech Railcar, Sain and Seraphine arrived at a place.
As for what a Hextech Railcar is, Sain couldn't explain. He could only say it was a magical and useful invention.
A Hextech Railcar could accommodate twenty passengers, and there would be fixed exit points on this car. This space-saving and not overly complicated railcar brought Zaunites a bit closer.
After all, not every Zaunite could ride a personal vehicle, and the hextech hoverboard was not for sale yet. Only Zaun's enforcers had one each.
"It has changed a lot here."
Sain looked ahead and sighed.
Seraphine, beside him, hugged Sain's arm and blinked.
"Are you feeling sentimental now?"
Seraphine asked her father.
"A bit, Sera. This place is different from what I remember." Sain led Seraphine to the entrance of the community.
It was an enclosed area with the name of the community written on the side.
The name was the same as Sain remembered—32nd Flower Street Community.
It just seemed to have gotten bigger.
And warmer.
Sain looked at the tall buildings, the large houses made of gray-white bricks. Although they couldn't compare to Piltover's skyscrapers, they were much better than the tin houses in his memory.
"Stop right there!"
Just as Sain was about to take Seraphine inside, a voice rang out.
On the balcony of the building closest to Flower Street Community, on the second floor, the owner of the voice stood there.
She looked Sain and Seraphine up and down, then touched her chin and said, "You two look very unfamiliar, and your attire... hmph, are you Piltover people?"
Seraphine raised her head, and in the next moment, she was very surprised.
Seraphine had beautiful pink and purple curly hair with gradient colors, like dimmed starlight.
But looking at the person in front of her who was watching herself and Sain from the second floor, Seraphine found that if her hair color was the dimmed starlight, then the hair of this person in front of her was a dazzling fireworks display.
"Speak up, are you peoples from Piltover?"
"We came down from Piltover, but we are Zaunites. I'm Sain, once a resident here."
"Uh...really?" The person used both hands to pull the railing, supporting her body to look down, with a skeptical look on her face. "I don't believe it. I grew up here since I was a child, but I have never seen you."
"That was more than twenty years ago."
"Ugh...I'm only sixteen..."
Saan continued gently, "I know someone named Kaya; he can play beautiful music with iron pieces. Does he still live here?"
"Kaya?"
The girl with hair like fireworks clapped her hands, "You know Grandpa Kaya? Oh, then I believe you."
"Wait a moment, I'll take you in!"
Sain looked at Seraphine, and he saw his daughter blinking at him.
"What's wrong, Sera?"
Seraphine pursed her lips and shook her head.
Is she going to tell her father that she lost to someone..?
After all, Seraphine has always been proud of her pink curled hair.
The pink-purple curled hair, with colors gradually descending, resembles falling starlight. This is something Seraphine has always been proud of.
But facing the bright, firework-like hair of the other person.
Seraphine,
She felt a sense of defeat!!!
Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen
Kommentar absatzweise anzeigen
Die Absatzkommentarfunktion ist jetzt im Web! Bewegen Sie den Mauszeiger über einen beliebigen Absatz und klicken Sie auf das Symbol, um Ihren Kommentar hinzuzufügen.
Außerdem können Sie es jederzeit in den Einstellungen aus- und einschalten.
ICH HAB ES