Even though Natasha didn't quite understand why Lucian had suddenly grown so serious, his views on causality and his resolute attitude had still melted away the inexplicable ache in her heart like ice meeting sunlight. A world where everything was already predetermined, where nothing could be changed, would be the most hopeless and lifeless world imaginable.
Feeling the warmth of his hand and listening to his solemn, dignified voice, the naturally cheerful and optimistic Natasha quickly recovered her usual self. She let go of the topic and smiled: "You're planning to compose an opera and give it to me?"
"How did you know?" Lucian asked, somewhat surprised.
Natasha grinned: "I've got sharp eyes. I glimpsed a manuscript on your bookshelf this afternoon — *Valkyrie*. I figured it had to be for me."
She showed no false modesty about the title "Valkyrie" whatsoever, taking it as perfectly natural that it should refer to her.
Lucian sighed softly: "I'd originally planned to have the opera company perform it on my birthday, to mark the one-year anniversary of our confessions. But this past year, with everything surrounding Saer de, the Arcane Council, and our future, there was never any spare time for composing. And the libretto turned out to be far harder than I'd imagined, and the music even more so. I've only finished a third of it by today."
Although the work was based on a piece from Earth, it was essentially an entirely new long-form composition, and it had presented Lucian with numerous difficulties.
Natasha smiled without a trace of disappointment: "That's fine. It can wait until next year, the year after, or many, many years down the road. Speaking of opera, I'm thinking of sponsoring the Rontart Musicians' Association to encourage the development of music and rebuild this city into a capital of music."
She truly loved music. Since she couldn't return to Altor for the time being, she would make Rontart a holy land of music instead.
"If I have time, I'll offer some guidance to Rontart's musicians." Lucian could say this with confidence now. The creation of *Valkyrie*, though grueling, had allowed him to truly integrate all the musical knowledge he had studied. He was no longer an ordinary musician who could only write piano pieces and arrange excerpts from symphonies — he had roughly reached the caliber of his teacher, Victor.
This rapid progress owed itself to the many advanced musical concepts he had studied within the Soul Library, to his own tireless effort, and to the enhanced thinking speed that came with a strengthened soul.
On the tree-lined path at night, the cool breeze was refreshing. Natasha took a deep breath and said with a touch of humor: "Then let me thank you on behalf of the Holm Kingdom's musicians, Master. And if you don't mind, I'd like to bring your Uncle Joel into the association — to bring the musical trends and latest developments from Altor over here."
The contraband issues of *Musical Review* and *Symphony Guide* that had been smuggled over could obviously only showcase the most highbrow aspects. They couldn't help musicians learn the true fundamentals.
"Of course I don't mind, as long as Uncle Joel is willing." Through their correspondence over the years, Lucian had learned from Natasha that after the initial excitement of noble life, Joel had resumed his musical studies with great diligence — not at all like a middle-aged man.
Natasha glanced at Lucian, a hint of amusement shimmering in her silver-violet eyes: "I brought this up precisely because I wanted to ask you — when are you going to go see your Uncle Joel and the others? The Church has already withdrawn; there shouldn't be any other danger. The intelligence operatives protecting them covertly have reported that, under the influence of *Voice of Mysteries* and the convenient alchemical amenities around them, their views on mages and clergy have noticeably changed. There shouldn't be any hostile reactions. And besides, they probably still miss you in their hearts. To get news about you, they often stay up late listening to the 'World Truth' channel, even though they can't understand a word of it."
Listening to Natasha's simple description, Lucian's heart was suddenly filled with emotion and warmth. He had been in this world for just over eight years, yet it felt as though an entire lifetime had passed. Having experienced countless things, he said in a low voice: "I'll go see them in the next few days."
"Cheer up! Something like this should make you happy." Natasha playfully mimed a rallying charge gesture, and used the moment to change the subject. "Great Musician, have you come up with any revolutionary musical concepts these past few years? You've always been known for your paradigm-shattering ideas. Going several years without an innovative, groundbreaking work is really uncharacteristic."
Lucian looked at her with a smile: "How could there not be any? I've connected musical composition with mathematics."
"Huh? Musical composition and mathematics? How can those possibly be connected?" Natasha was genuinely surprised. Music was something filled with free, unrestrained thought, while mathematics was the most rigorous and constraining of disciplines. How could they be brought together? This wasn't something divisible and conceptual like equal temperament — this was composition!
Lucian chuckled: "That's exactly what makes it paradigm-shattering. You abandon traditional structural elements — themes, musical logic, musical motifs, phrases, periods, and so on — and instead treat substantive parameters like rhythm, dynamics, note density, and timbre as variables. You arrange them using mathematical permutations into sequences, and then compose according to those rules."
"That sounds awfully cold... but it's interesting. I wonder what it sounds like?" Natasha knew this wouldn't become mainstream, but she was inherently open to trying new things, and given Lucian's standing in her eyes, she naturally had no resistance to it.
After a pause, she added with a sigh: "Now that's the way an Archanist thinks!"
"I'll play some small pieces for you when we get back." These were the serial music works Lucian composed to shift his thinking and relax his brain — and someday they might find application in electronic music.
"Great! If they sound good, you'll have to stay up late tonight and teach me!" Natasha said enthusiastically.
Lucian deliberately twisted her words and teased: "Stay up late? Sounds like you're trying to dodge something, aren't you?"