Silent Crown

“That’s right, feeling!” Charles put on a serious expression. “That’s the difference between geniuses and regular people. Why is it that only a few musicians can stand out from the crowd? Why is it that there are more musicians than I can count, but only Three Kings at the top?

“It’s a subconscious reflex that helps you communicate more closely with the aether. What do you have to do while chanting to group together more aether? Will the length of one syllable cause any changes? How can you use fewer syllables than other musicians to create the same effect?

“These are all things that can’t be taught, because a teacher can’t give his feelings to his student. The student can only search around with his own feeling. You know, the ‘rune’ itself is the power created from the communication between you and the aether.

“Your power comes from the rune’s sentiment. The deeper the sentiment, the more intense the feeling is. You can only use your instinct to control it. Otherwise, you’ll need to spend time adjusting and getting used to it. Geniuses can even skip most syllables and immediately cast a rune. Like this!”

Charles raised a hand and snapped. Immediately, a soft light appeared at his fingertip. It was not blinding like Bai Xi’s, but was rather stable and gentle, with a tinge of blue like moonlight. No matter how he shook or grabbed at it, the beam of light was still gentle as ever, unchanging.

Ye Qingxuan gaped. After a long time, he sighed in defeat. “What if you don’t have any feeling? Then you’d just be making blind guesses?”

“You can say that.” Charles sighed. “But your sense of aether is very clear. You can even say you’re at the top. But why do I feel like you’re just blind even with your eyes open?”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan’s expression turned bitter. “Okay. If I tell you that I was still ‘blind’ three days ago, would you believe it?”

“Are you kidding?” Charles pursed his lips, his eyes turned helpless. “If that’s the case, then that sucks. Most elites start Meditation under a teacher’s guidance during childhood in order to block out any distracting thoughts, and focus on observing changes in the aether to raise their familiarity of each other. If you’ve just started sensing it three days ago,” he trailed off. They’ve been practicing for more than ten years. You’re far from them.” Charles tried to explain, “It’s like trying to get a pretty girl. That other guy is her childhood lover, but you’ve just met! How can you compete with that? Are you attractive like me?”

“Charles!” Abraham’s book landed on Charles’s head again. “You’re getting off topic. Go stand.” And so Charles was kicked to the corner again.

“Actually, your interaction with the aether can be cultivated. Don’t listen to Charles,” Abraham comforted him. As if he suddenly remembered something, he asked, “I remember you said you knew a rune before?”

“I didn’t learn it,” Ye Qingxuan said, a little embarrassed. “I looked at some notes. I couldn’t understand at all, but then I suddenly understood something and I got it.”

“Can you use it now?”

Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and nodded. “I can try.”

—

This rune came from his odd epiphany. When he had sensed the aether that night, his will broke through the seal on the notebook, and he sensed the information contained in those blurry notes.

He had never read any explanation of any melody, but he subconsciously remembered that melody, and recreated the rune without any difficulty. He vaguely understood that maybe the rune had been hidden in that melody. But why did his father do so, and how? He had no clue. And he could not remember anything other than that.

He could only remember that he somehow awoke the instrument. As if a god had been helping him, he played the overture of a musical piece. But the entire process had disappeared from his memory. That’s why he suspected it was just a hallucination. But if it was a hallucination, why could he still remember the first note?

He was a bit nervous as he began the hymn. Under everyone’s eyes, he gazed around and decided to put his left hand on Old Phil. The dog squirmed and sneezed. The youth’s murmuring began.

There were sixteen short syllables in total. They overlapped in Ye Qingxuan’s throat, sometimes vigorous, sometimes faint. Going to the rhythm of his breathing, they expanded naturally as if he had practiced many times.

Like the faint vibrations of an instrument string, the notes left his mouth and scattered into the air, leaving behind a lingering echo.

Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuan’s forehead. In his heart, a strange power drew a new outline. Like neon lights dancing in the night, it wove the outline of a rune. Was this the so-called “feeling”?

The rune’s outline had never been so clear before! The rush from his soul pushed him to sing the syllables. Quickly, the aether began to group!

The light appeared in the darkness like stars, grouping toward his right hand. He controlled the pauses and pitch of the syllables, guiding the light to the right place. It had only been a few seconds, but it felt like eternity. Silver light flashed from Ye Qingxuan’s hand and then vanished. The library was still silent, but everyone was holding their breath.

—

Ye Qingxuan’s left hand was still on Old Phil, but there was an identical dog under his right hand! It had the same golden fur, the same open mouth, the same arrogant eyes. There was even a noodle from lunch on his nose. It looked like it had been made from the same mold.

Shocked, Old Phil moved over and looked at the dog which mirrored his actions. They shook their bodies and wagged their tails, but when they turned to the side, their eyes became disappointed. This dog looked identical to Old Phil, but there was not any thickness. It was like a copy printed on paper. No matter how similar it looked, it was not a living creature.

From the side, Charles poked the golden dog that only existed in a two-dimensional world. A ripple formed from his finger and the image blurred.

But after the ripple, the image became clear again. No matter what Charles did, it persisted like the moon’s reflection in water.

“Rune · mirror’?” Charles turned to look at the Professor, his eyes confused. “Professor, I don’t understand.”

Abraham’s expression was stiff. He did not know what to say.

“Rune · mirror” was the most complex of the common runes. Even for lessons, it was put at the back of the textbook. They had never seen someone who could jump straight to the end and learn the hardest part, but was still stuck on the first step.

“The rune’s effect is very stable and the hymn was clear. From the rune’s perspective, you’ve already reached the apprentice level.” Abraham gazed at Ye Qingxuan. “How did you do it?”

“I don’t know.” Ye Qingxuan was confused too. Looking down at the reflection of Old Phil, he scratched his head. “The runes and syllables were in my head. I somehow felt that doing that was the correct thing to do, so I did it.”

He suddenly reached out and pressed onto Old Phil, doing it again. In a flash of light, the mirror reflection of Old Phil reappeared. The two mirror images changed continuously, revealing Old Phil’s upset face. Ye Qingxuan stared in awe at the two images. Pressing down, he did it again, calling forth another mirror image.

As if he had gone crazy, he cast the rune over and over again. Finally, seven mirror images shattered at once. Ye Qingxuan collapsed to the ground as if he his energy had been sapped. Panting heavily, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was pale.

“Hey, junior, are you crazy?” Charles quickly cleared the table and laid Ye on it. He opened his shirt buttons to help him breathe. Then he commanded Bai Xi to boil some salt water.

“Casting runes requires strength! Mirror is a continuous effect, and you made seven at once. You’re trying to get yourself killed…”

On the table, Ye Qingxuan had fallen into a trance and was covered in sweat. In his daze, he grabbed onto Charles’s hand and panted, “I know…Charles…I know…I know how to fix the ‘feeling’ problem.” Seeing Abraham and Charles’s shocked expressions, Ye Qingxuan laughed. “Professor, can I borrow some books?”

—

“Analysis of the Equal Temperament Prologue,””Research of Changes in Pronunciation of Basic Runes,””Victor’s Experiment Record: Changes of Rune · Light,””Seventeen Uses of Rune · Light,””Pattern of Basic Syllables,””Introduction to Jorde Hymns.”

Ye Qingxuan flipped to the last page of the Equal Temperament and found the books in the references list from Abraham’s library. According to the books’ chapters and glossary, and other mentioned literature, he created another list of fourteen books.

Of these, three were in Abraham’s library. The other eleven books were kept in the school library, but identification cards were needed to enter the library and Ye Qingxuan was not allowed to yet, so he could only let it go.

Two hours later, with a giant pile of books in his arms, he got paper, a pen, and “Dictionary of the Rune Language” from Abraham’s library.

“What are you doing with all these books?” Charles was shocked. “Can you finish them all?”

“Some are just for reference. Others I’ll flip through.” Ye Qingxuan patted the pile of books up to his waist, his expression a little helpless. “Hopefully I won’t need to read too much. Oh right, is there anywhere that’s quiet so I won’t be disturbed?”

Abraham thought for a moment. “The basement. It used to be Charles’ workshop, but he owes too much money and can’t work for now. People usually don’t go there. If you need it, I can give you the key.”

“Thank you so much.” Ye Qingxuan smiled, took the key, and bent over to pick up the pile of books. Looking back, he said, “Oh, right. I won’t be coming out for two days. If there are any public classes, tell Bai Xi to take attendance for me…”

Bai Xi was still confused. “Hey, Cousin, what exactly are you doing?”

“Reading. Doing what I do best.” With the books in his arms, Ye Qingxuan left without looking back. His voice came from the distance, “Reading is my favorite thing.”

—

In the library, Charles and Bai Xi stared at each other. Abraham seemed to understand something and stayed silent.

“Professor, did he go crazy?” Charles asked uncertainly.

“Maybe, but maybe he found some feeling, right?” Abraham let out a rare smile and patted his shoulder. “Are your notes still here from when I taught you how to decipher ancient languages and runes?”

Charles shook his head sadly. “I’m not really interested in your research. I don’t know where the notes are. Why do you want them? Are you forcing me to learn it again?”

“Everyone has their own strong points. It’s good that you have your own ideas, so I won’t force you anymore. But please find the notes within the next two days.”

Looking down at the thick pile of handwritten notes on the table, Abraham laughed suddenly.

“Professor, are you okay?” Charles looked at Abraham, his eyes full of concern. “Has work been too stressful recently? Is the school board cutting down on our budget again? It’s okay, we can quit! Junior is already like this, we can’t have you going crazy too…”

“Watch your words!” Abraham knocked Charles’ head, his expression becoming stern. “Go stand!”

After comforting Bai Xi, Abraham left the library, leaving behind two confused students. He sat on a stone stool outside the building under the afternoon sun, humming an unclear tune. He raised his head to look at the specks of light shining through the verdure. Using his metal hand to fill his pipe with tobacco, he lit it with a lighter.

Humming and smoking, he laughed quietly. He no longer seemed like a stern and rigid professor, but more like an ignorant farmer who saw that his crops had turned golden and suddenly felt happy. Maybe he was old now.

Thinking of this, his smile became both helpless and relieved. The thought that he had a successor made him so, so happy.