Bab 60: Marionette of Dream
Ru entered the studio apartment with Vaelan.
"Dude, have a coffee first."
He ignored Vaelan's suggestion, the first thing he did was grab a beer from the fridge. He went to the bathroom right after.
Ru closed the door, opened the beer bottle, took a few sips, and retrieved the pill box, cigarette pack, and lighter from his jacket pocket before picking up the envelope.
"Let's open this first," Ru whispered. "Maybe there's some priceless jewelry inside, huh?"
Not long after, he rebuked himself, "Such a simple hope! So my soul is cheap."
He found tweezers in the bathroom cabinet, which was just what he was looking for.
He placed the tweezers under the sticky part of the envelope and slowly lifted it. A pleasant smell hit his nose as he lifted it. The envelope inside smelled like a dream, light, vague and beautiful.
"I like this," Ru couldn't stop sniffing the envelope. "A lot!"
He didn't get any closer because he was worried about breathing in something poisonous. He placed the envelope on the coffee table and washed his hands. He took a surgical mask from the first aid kit and put it over his face. He also put on the sunglasses Vaelan had left by the sink.
"I'm ready."
Finally, he opened the envelope and took a look inside. There was a card inside.
Ru pulled it out with tweezers. At first glance, the card looked like it belonged in a deck of tarot cards. On one side, it displayed 'Marionette of Dream' in an elegant font.
The back of the card had drawings and vague statistics. In this respect, it was similar to a tabletop role-playing game.
"Hmmm..."
Exactly! This was a character card from a game. The character's name was 'Fanfar'. There was a representative picture, a beautiful manhua-style drawing with vintage simplicity and pastel colors.
Ru wondered as he studied the drawing, "Fanfar, huh? Is he a fool or something?"
Yes, Fanfar seemed to be a jester, a flute-playing jester.
Just thinking about it was enough to update the writing on the card.
Character Name: Fanfar
Class: Jester
Subclass: Musician
Profession: Thief
Age: 18
Habits: Attending parties, shopping, stealing, practicing acrobatics, flirting and dating, dancing, taking selfies, creating videos, listening to and playing rock music, and doing household chores and tasks.
Bad habits: Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively, indulging in sweet treats.
Hobbies: Composing music, dancing with grace, stealing with skill, escaping from demons.
Phobias: Forest fires, captivity, genies, and "The Gray Shadow".
Strengths: Exceptional agility, quick reflexes, and an attractive appearance.
Weaknesses: Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.
"Seven sins in one? No way! I'm no slacker," Ru growled.
Vaelan knocked on the door, "Dude, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just holding a magic card or something," Ru replied.
"You opened the envelope without us knowing, didn't you, Liru?" Clockmaker asked.
"Yes, my little lady. Come in, the door is open and I'm not naked," Ru said mysteriously.
"Like I've never seen you naked, bastard," Vaelan said as he came in. "Why are you going behind our backs?"
"Oh, it's nothing, don't make a big deal out of it," Ru said, falling silent when he heard the voice coming from Vaelan's nose.
Sniff! Sniff!
"Smells great, man," Vaelan said.
"Oh, it's like flowers in the rain," Clockmaker said.
"Just touch it, I wonder if something will happen," Ru said, grinning from behind the mask.
"You bloody witch! You tested on me again," Vaelan said, picking up the envelope.
"He tested everything on us, you bloody bitch," the Clockmaker corrected Vaelan.
"No, I'm a jester. Look," Ru said, showing the card and grinning.
Vaelan looked at it and Clockmaker froze.
The symbolic image on the card changed and became clearer before co-thinkers'eyes.
Character Name: Fanfar
Player: Lirui Xiaolian
Class: Jester
Subclass: Musician
Profession: Thief
Age: 18
"Dude, either you became Fanfar or Fanfar became you," Vaelan said with a grin.
"What?" Ru pulled the card to himself and turned it over.
"You have obtained Marionette of Dream," Clockmaker said.
"So? What good will Marionette of Dream do to me?" Ru asked.
"This part will be a surprise for me," Clockmaker replied.
Vaelan took another card out of the envelope. "Ta-dam! They put a character for us too!"
"Yay, we join the game," Clockmaker said happily.
Ru took off his sunglasses and mask. The back of the card in Vaelan's hand read 'Marionette of Destiny'.
"Our character's name is Chrono and he is a rider," Vaelan said.
The moment Vaelan said "Our character", the image became clearer and reflected a stylized version of Vaelan. Moreover, Vaelan's name was written in the player name section.
"Oh, no! They only accepted you, Vaelan," Clockmaker said sadly.
"Let's drink beer," Ru said, not wanting to think about what will happen next momentarily.
"Take your pill first, then take a shower and I'll make you some coffee," Vaelan said and took the beer bottle Ru was reaching for.
Ru nodded, grinned, and said, " Alright, sugar daddy."
"Fucking clown," Vaelan said and left the bathroom.
As Ru undressed, he looked at the Jester card on the coffee table.
"Does it have a chip or something? What kind of bizarre thing is that?"
Then he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. He returned to the coffee table and took a pill.
"Bullshit!"
He went under the water and surrendered to the cleansing.
Ru listened to the soft sound of the water as he took a shower. Every time the drops of water touched his skin, he felt a sense of reality. This took him out of the circle of uncertainty and partially relaxed him. On the other hand, he tried to concentrate on the performance planned for the evening.
Despite the pain in his neck, he tried not to think about the kidnapping and its consequences. After all, he was alive and maybe it was the aliens who had done this to him.
"Fuck the aliens!" he said as the sadness was wiped from his face and replaced by euphoria.
As he shampooed his hair, he thought of the purple hair, and with it, the ethereal beauty of the girl sitting on the pedestal. He remembered her as 'beautiful'...
"Oh, my obsessive enemy is a beautiful girl," he muttered, his voice filled with confusion.
"But that girl also said one name. Why don't I remember? It was just something like a philosopher's name, after all."
He racked his brain, trying to recall the elusive name. It was on the tip of his tongue, yet just out of reach.
"I'm curious if the person with this name locked that girl somewhere. Or did they leave her alone somewhere and walk away," Ru mused, his eyes fixed on the steam rising from the shower.
"It felt like she was speaking straight to my heart." He couldn't stop thinking about the girl, and it bothered him. "Meh!"
Something came to mind that reminded him of that name. Something like, "This name must belong to a Roman philosopher."
He kept at it, working on the name, "Se... Sene... Senec..."
All of a sudden, it felt like a spear had pierced his heart.
The pain was intense, so he grabbed his chest and leaned against the wall.
"Aaugh!" he moaned, and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
That name had a power over him, a hold he couldn't quite explain.
"I'm sure fucking Great Ru will have something to say about this," he murmured.
Perhaps he should speak with Clockmaker about the girl and her calls. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that he needed to share his discovery.
"How lovely she was," Ru said, his voice filled with longing. He ran a hand through his wet hair, the droplets cascading down his face.
A pang of sadness washed over him as he thought of the girl, the mystery surrounding her, and the power she seemed to hold over him.
"But why do I feel this way?"
As he could not explain to himself his emotions rose and flew a few melancholy notes on his lips.
"Lost in the void, in the realm of despair,
Silent echoes of hope, Lady Purple..."
"Who is Lady Purple?" Clockmaker asked with envy.
"Nice song, man," Vaelan said, then picked up his guitar.
"I'll continue then," Ru said, who had chosen a simple flute as his instrument in honor of the character Fanfar.
"Lonely sky, sad and gray
Ashes fall, a mournful day..."
Vaelan intervened, "I'll play it acoustically."
"Why bother so much? Just a girl with purple hair," Clockmaker said and rolled Vaelan's eyes.
Vaelan blinked and made a suggestion, "I think you should sing this song, Rui."
"Lonely sky, sad and gray
Ashes fall, a mournful day
In the silence, shadows creep
All the memories we couldn't keep."
"I think you should sing this part, Vaelan, I want to have a flute solo in the interludes," Ru said solemnly.
"I see, you're Fanfar. You're in the game," Clockmaker said excitedly.
"Yes, partially," Ru said.
"Purple the cloud to purple sound
I need to fly your heart and told
My dreams were lost
I'm walking along the ashes coast."
Vaelan played the song's musical rhythm on the acoustic guitar. Ru joined the song with flute solos at intervals, supporting the melody impressively.
"Whispers cold, the winds they sigh
Tears that fall from empty eyes
In the ruins, I stand alone
Where the light has never shone."
The people chatting at their tables and sipping their beers in the dim and cozy atmosphere of the small bar were happy with the music, but they were not expecting a song like this. They focused on the stage, whose lights turned magenta as the flute played.
"Lonely sky, sad and gray
Ashes fall and fade away
In the darkness, I'll remain
A lonely girl, with endless pain."
Vaelan and Ru delivered a performance that blended seamlessly with the song's narrative. As Ru's vocals grew in intensity and depth, the stage presence of Vaelan became more prominent. The audience was visibly engaged, and enraptured by the music. The song resonated with the emotions of everyone present.
"Purple the cloud to purple sound
I need to fly your heart and told
My dreams were lost
I'm walking along the ashes coast."
As the last few words of the song faded, there was a moment of silence followed by a long breath of air. Then applause broke out from the Wolf Without You Bar. People welcomed the "Notajest Band" with great appreciation and admired the impressive performance.
Hadiah
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