Warlock Apprentice

The prelude of the City of Sky gently came about, along with the soothing aura of Tranquility Rune.

Lady Mirror slowly nodded as she listened. She already decided to keep this little charm since it did not release those awful metal clinks she expected.

“The start’s pretty good,” Lady Mirror enjoyed the calming effect brought by the rune and forgot about teasing Angor again for the moment.

As she prepared to enjoy the music to its fullest, she suddenly saw ripples surrounding the space around her.

“Melodious Illusion?”

When the ripples were no more, she saw herself traveling through clouds in the endless sky.

Along with the Tranquility Rune, the beautiful scenery gave her a strange yet comforting sense. For the moment, she only wished to join the dreamy game with all the clouds and birds above the boundless earth.

Both the music piece and the illusion were created by masters of their own fields. They combined perfectly together and aroused even more fantastic effects, immersing people within.

Lady Mirror had forgotten about all distractions in the musical journey. Only the purest and the most relaxed mood remained. It was rare for her to find such a pleasurable moment in her prolonged life.

She was expecting the music to finish while traveling in the sky, but Angor provided her with yet another surprise at the end of it.

A floating island was hidden behind raging thunderclouds, which only the bravest adventurers could find.

On the island, primitive jungles and concrete building co-existed strangely well.

To her pity, time seemed to be frozen on the island. Every single structure was covered in thick moss. Only the occasional traces on the buildings suggested the islands’ previous prosperity.

However, it seemed to be how the City of Sky meant to tell the story in the first place.

Beside Lady Mirror’s ears, the music whispered and slowly depicted the history of the island like a dedicated storyteller.

Whilst listening to the story, Lady Mirror could see how the island once came into being: residents worked together to create majestic buildings on top of the ground, then they danced around the campfire in joy, celebrating their great achievement. During the dance, those who shared a common emotion found their lovers and joined…

A shallow cut on the bricks, a damaged monolith, a dirt pile… everything was telling a different story to the audiences.

Lady Mirror felt the corners of her eyes watering for some reason. The now deserted island seemed to be reminding her of something, yet she could not tell why.

As the music came to an end, clouds moved into their views and hid the island behind them once again, locking it back into history.

Ripples appeared, suggesting the end of the illusion.

Lady Mirror remained still for a long time, trying to recall the mysterious island lost in time.

She let out a deep breath in the end.

“Strange… it’s just an empty island. The mirror world had many better islands for you to see, better buildings and magnificent touring spots. But none of them ever triggered my deepest memory like this one.”

Angor did not know what kind of story Lady Mirror thought about in the illusion, but he could understand how the lady appreciated the music box.

“Maybe this is the potential of music?” Angor carefully suggested.

Lady Mirror grinned gently. “Not only that. Maybe the author of the music did tell us something through his work.”

Author? Angor realized he never checked who the author was. However, he did want to tell the story he saw in his dream by creating the illusion. It was the music “City of Sky” that helped him weaved such a beautiful dream.

“What’s the song called?” Lady Mirror asked.

“City of Sky.”

“That… gives us a lot to imagine.” Lady Mirror sipped her tea. “This is the best gift I’ve received in the past thousand years. I’m not expecting such a big surprise from you, boy.”

Angor smiled. “It’s nothing, really, compared to how you saved me from doom.”

“Ah, if you put it that way, yes.”

Angor was surprised a little. He said that just to be polite. Yet…

It seemed being too modest would not always work in the wizarding world.

“So, to repay my favor, you must give me yet another surprise,” Lady Mirror asked. Angor was not sure if she was being serious this time.

“Another surprise? No problem. I’ll be honored to.”

He already began to think about what to give the lady. Maybe a new music piece?

Lady Mirror was quite satisfied with Angor’s swift response. The kid knew how to play the game!

She never wanted any payment from Angor, and she almost forgot about the incident the other day. But now, she was really curious about Angor’s potential. Upon realizing that the kid in front of her was much talented at both illusion and enchantment, she could not help thinking about gaining a little more profit.

“I’ll tell you what I want later. For now, I have some questions about this music box. Can you indulge me?”

Angor nodded. “Of course, lady.”

“Does it have a name?” Lady Mirror picked up the small artistic piece and inspected it.

“I’ve not given it a name yet. Please feel free to do so.”

Lady Mirror considered.

“The ‘Journey in Heaven’ then. I enjoyed the trip very much.”

Angor nodded in acknowledgment.

“Tranquility Rune, City of Sky, and a Melodious Illusion… The rune soothes the mind, the music calms the spirit, while the illusion sends our imagination wild. Each element required great talent and expertise in the respective subject, and you did a perfect job. Tsk… people will be jealous of you,” Lady Mirror did not hold back when praising Angor’s excellence.

The music box was only a low-leveled alchemy item. Supernaturals with great longevity would keep seeking truth in their lives, true. But they would not mind some additional, colorful decoration along their way.

Journey in Heaven was such a decoration for Lady Mirror, something that gave her spiritual enjoyment.

“I’m glad you like it.” Angor smiled back. The uneasiness for visiting Lady Mirror out of the blue had completely vanished.

“Rune and music are fine. More importantly, how did you construct such an illusion?” Lady Mirror was still curious about how the floating island reminded her of so many emotions.

“I chose several spots on the item as illusion nodes when the music starts…” Angor carefully explained the principle of the illusion when Lady Mirror stopped him abruptly.

“I mean, the strange feeling inside the illusion. How did you do it? Most illusionists can create realistic illusions, but there’s something in yours that… reached my heart, and triggered something I’ve hidden in my memory for a long time.”

Angor was really puzzled now. He simply followed his dream to create the illusion. There was nothing else.

Lady Mirror looked at Angor’s dumbfounded expression and decided to ask in another way. “What’s in your mind when making the illusion?”

She really wanted to find out about it. Aged beings usually had colder natures. She could not remember when she felt so moved last time.

“My mind? I made the moving clouds because I know how. I spent many days on a cloud whale, during which I’d watch the cloud.”

“What about the island in the end? And everything else on the island.” Lady Mirror wanted to know how everything on the island hid a story behind it.

“When I drew the floating island, I was thinking about…” Angor tried to remember. “… Nether City.”

He was referring to what he saw in the Nightmare Realm. When creating the remains of a campfire on the island, he even thought about a sad couple he read in a diary—a one-sided lover called Augustin, and an elegant young lady called Margaret.

Of course, there were other elements he collected from the films from Earth. Since he could not really explain the films or the Nightmare Realm to Lady Mirror, he could only give her a name “Nether City”.

“Nether City? I heard about that somewhere… you mean the ruins in the garden of the labyrinth?”

“Yes.”

Lady Mirror’s eyes, or at least where her eyes should be, suddenly glimmered. “You’ve been to Nether City in the Nightmare Realm?”

Angor looked up quickly in shock.

Lady Mirror immediately understood Angor’s thoughts. “Sunders took you there, right?”

“You already know about it, lady?”

“Because Flora visits me quite a lot. By the way, the ‘Little Red’ behind her back came from Nether City as well. So that’s why your illusion looked frozen in time. Isn’t that how the Nightmare Realm looks?” Lady Mirror nodded. “Still, it’s very interesting that you can actually express such a special element in your illusion, along with more personal feelings. Maybe you illusionists all know the tricks? Oh my. I wish the Elder of Books is here so I can ask him. Too bad the old fart never steps out of his library.

“Well, so much about my questions…” Lady Mirror downed her tea and put on a mysterious look. “Now, let’s talk about the other surprise you’re going to present me.