None of the five people had any stage performance experience.
They stood awkwardly on the stage, staring blankly at the curtain in front of them, looking somewhat helpless and scratching their heads.
As the curtain slowly rose, distant lights shone on Richard, and "Holy Night: Chapter One" officially began.
The cold, mechanical voice seemed to act as a narrator, explaining the background of the story.
Yun Wei glanced discreetly at the audience seats and discovered that it was indeed the ancient Roman theater he had imagined: the stage beneath their feet was located in the center of the bottom of the semi-circular theater. The open-air marble tiered seating was now densely packed with people.
No, how could there be other living people in this space?
Upon closer inspection, Yun Wei realized that the noblewomen and citizens were not real people, but rather marble sculptures.
They are so lifelike, some holding handkerchiefs, some holding small fans, and some wearing masks, staring blankly at those on the stage.
As the speech abruptly ended, the entire audience fell silent.
But Richard, standing in the light, remained unmoved, unaware that it had already begun.
"Richard, it's your turn," Yun Wei quickly reminded him in a low voice.
"Oh!" Upon hearing this, the other party seemed to snap out of a daze and began reciting the first line of 'Tyrant Luther':
"Every dark night, I wait in solitude for my turn to enter the funeral parlor."
"Life is so short, it is nothing more than a few decades of winter."
"I am clearly the ruler of this land, why must I share the same fate as the white bones by the roadside..."
This passage describes a tyrant whispering in his palace, his obsession with immortality resonating with the Abyss. Under its influence, he then offers the Heart of All Elements to the Abyss.
Richard recited without any emotion, like an annoying rooster crowing in the night. Not only were the audience members expressionless, but even the others on stage were somewhat drowsy.
Yunwei noticed that a corner of the stage they were on collapsed as Richard recited his poem poorly.
If this continues, they're doomed sooner or later.
During a brief pause between light transitions, Yun Wei hurriedly reminded everyone, "Hey guys, get your emotions in there! Imagine you are the character! If the stage collapses, our trial will fail!"
At this point, everyone noticed it after his reminder and quickly nodded to indicate that they understood.
So when the light shone on "Lucy", Vivian stomped her foot hard, making a dull thud.
Yun Wei was instantly jolted awake.
She stepped forward, stopped, and opened her mouth with deep emotion, uttering only one word:
"ah--"
She sang in this way, and it was an aria full of emotional tension.
Yun Wei stared in shock at Vivian's retreating figure, as if he too was affected by her reaction, his mouth agape in disbelief.
Her demeanor was elegant and poised, impeccable. Her expression was passionate and confident.
The high-pitched female voice was both penetrating and captivating, full of emotion, and its lingering sound seemed to echo faintly from the other end of the theater.
The word "ah" is the crystallization of all emotions! In a children's book, an author wrote that you should use the word "ah" a lot when writing poetry!
If you add an "ah" before every word you say, you've bravely taken the first step towards becoming a drama queen!
Vivian captivated the audience with just that one exclamation. The audience, who seemed as if carved from stone, even came to life, stiffly raising their hands to applaud.
The response was excellent.
"..." Everything before his eyes was unexpected, and Yun Wei's pupils were still trembling. He clapped his hands silently in the shadows, thinking to himself, "This is for the best."
...
The subsequent performances went relatively smoothly. Although the stage would collapse every time Xie Mulang and Richard performed, it was always able to be restored to its original state by Vivian's emotionally charged arias.
As for Yun Wei and Isaac's performance, it was fairly average. Although the audience's reaction was still indifferent, at least it did not cause the stage to collapse.
At least the five of them can keep the show going.
Yun Wei thought that if he continued to perform like this, he could finish the trial smoothly tonight, but unexpectedly, something still happened.
Unlike Eastern drama, which emphasizes the tension and simulation of performance and stresses the transition from the virtual to the real, early Roman drama focused on authenticity.
If the performance involves a house burning down, then a house is actually set on fire in front of the audience; if the performance involves a flying witch falling to her death, then the actress is actually killed; and if there are scenes of beheading, then slaves are used instead…
Overall, it's too realistic, to the point that some characters are completely useless.
And the stage of the First Dynasty in the trial actually inherited this point in the same way.
Towards the end, during the scene where the knight is wounded, Richard completely loses control and plunges his sword into Isaac's chest...
The sharp "hiss" sound was exceptionally clear in the boundless darkness, silencing the entire audience.
Everyone on the stage was stunned.
Richard quickly released his grip after regaining control of his body and staggered back a few steps.
Isaac slowly slumped backward to the ground, his neat white shirt instantly stained red with blood gushing from between his fingers.
At this moment, however, only a sparse applause rang out from below the stage, cold, indifferent, and condescending.
Yun Wei's mind went blank. The instant he saw the sword light thrust out uncontrollably, he was already at a loss.
He wanted to run to Isaac's side, but his legs felt like lead, pinning him to the stage.
Suddenly, the distant lights shone on him, cold and blinding.
It turns out that it was the mage's turn to sacrifice himself to cover his companions' retreat.
It seemed as if an unseen force was manipulating him, leading him to stand between the fallen knight and the tyrant.
At this moment, Yun Wei seemed to merge with Alkh from a thousand years ago. He looked down at the countless emotionless eyes below the stage, spoke coldly, yet his eyes were filled with tears:
“Oh, Aragorn, my dearest friend! If I could fall in your place, I would step forward without hesitation.”
"Don't be sad for me! Before the twenty-one rings of the oak tree, in the eternal branches of time,"
"We will meet again..."
As the tyrant unleashed a torrent of magic, the mage's figure slowly began to dissipate.
At this moment, a thunderous applause erupted from the silent audience, resounding endlessly.
The lights gradually dimmed, the curtain slowly closed, and the bizarre midnight farce came to an end.
...
"Congratulations to the six challengers for successfully completing the third trial, 'Holy Night: Chapter One'. The final trial, 'Holy Night: Chapter Two', will begin in three days. Please prepare yourselves."
When Yun Wei woke up in front of the flower bed in front of the clock tower, a sentence seemed to still be echoing in his mind.
It was the same familiar mechanical sound, cold, stiff, and devoid of emotion.
He glanced up at Isaac sitting in front of him, who was also looking at him nervously. Yun Wei's gaze swept past the man's melancholy eyes and landed on his broad chest.
He was still wearing a neat and pressed white shirt, clean and tidy, as if the bloodstains that surfaced in his mind were a distant nightmare.
"Brother Yun, let me help you back to rest. You don't look well." Xie Mulang broke the silence first. "Mr. Long and I held us back quite a bit during tonight's trial. I'm very sorry."
"I must say, little guy, your acting skills are really something else," Richard said, offering a sincere compliment without comment.
I don’t know if it was something that resonated with him before, but his silver eyes were shining now, as if he had just cried.
"It's alright, I can get up by myself." Yun Wei silently stood up, still somewhat disoriented. He refused Xie Mulang's help and walked towards the dormitory on his own. "Sorry, I'm really tired. We can talk about it tomorrow."
“I’ll go with him.” Isaac also got up to say goodbye and followed him.
The remaining three looked at each other and fell silent for a moment.
"Well, I'll head back to rest now. Gentlemen, you don't need to see me off. Goodnight." Vivian gently wiped her eyes with a silk handkerchief. Her tears hadn't stopped since the moment Isaac was injured.
...
Isaac remained silent the entire way, trailing silently behind Yun Wei.
When Yun Wei's figure disappeared on the stage, he almost couldn't suppress his inner rage and wanted to destroy everything he saw.
If this means saying goodbye to the other person forever...
Just thinking about it sent a piercing pain through his chest. The intense pain was more agonizing and disorienting than the sword stuck between his ribs.
At that moment, his eyes turned bloodshot, and his fangs pierced his lips, filling his mouth with a bitter, rusty taste.
Everyone was focused on Yun Wei's monologue under the lamplight, and no one noticed his pale and disheveled appearance hidden in the shadows.
Fortunately, they were all teleported out the next moment.
And it was in this moment of clarity that he realized he was a monster, a monster who could destroy the entire continent of Zhuyuan at any moment if he lost control.
All he could promise Yun Wei was unwavering protection and loyalty.
Can he bring happiness to the clouds?
With his heart now raging like a monster, or as cold as a corpse, what kind of happiness could he bring to Yun?
Even three days later, he still remembered it clearly. That night, his master got drunk.
In the boundless night after the illumination spell was extinguished, he obeyed his master's command, holding the other person tightly in front of him, as if he wanted to meld the other person into his own bones and flesh.
She hugged him tightly.
Just as he had hoped, it fit perfectly and was inseparable.
As the most esteemed descendant of the Second Dynasty, he had never had such intimate contact with anyone. People fawned over him, flattered him, and all he had to do was maintain his unapproachable demeanor, while countless words of praise poured in.
But more than eight hundred years later, on an ordinary night, he humbly embraced an extremely frail man.
They found it sweet and delightful, yet remained cautious and meticulous.
Just for a simple, permissible hug.
They shouted "Long live the Emperor!" with utmost respect and trepidation.
Even the slow, sluggish heartbeat in her chest quickened as she rejoiced at that moment of intimate contact.
The intense, warm breath of life pulsating on the other person's neck was the only sensation he could feel in his long-faded world.
They embraced silently in the darkness, listening to each other's long, hot breaths and feeling each other's steady, powerful heartbeat.
In that vibrant, rhythmic beat, he suddenly became aware of the emotions he had been hiding.
He fell in love with his master.
Isaac likes Yun Wei.
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