musicians of old

Chapter 867 Conditions for "Setting Up the Game"
As Pogrerich finished speaking, a ring gleaming with the light of a sharp blade suddenly tightened, "hooking" into a spot on the thousands of cracked lines.

The streaks of blue light were bound into a spindle shape.

"But now, 'noon' has passed."

Pogrelic's deep voice came through.

The scene was shown briefly, and then what was in sight was slightly distorted.

"Crack!——"

A clear voice sounded.

Just as the deep secrets of the three hammer blows that day reappeared, all the lines of light and shadow dedicated to showing "noon" broke, exploded, and fell.

All that remained on the round table was a mess of chaotic, twisted remnants.

Fanning understood.

"That day there was neither night nor dawn, only the hour of preparation at 'noon' and the hour of stagnation at 'noon'."

Everything related to the Symphony No. 6 in A minor, the conflict at the "X coordinate," time once "prepared at noon," and then briefly converged.

With three hammer blows, the thousands of gnarled and twisted roads shattered, leaving only this patch of rotting, clump-together necrotic creatures, where time seemed to have "stood still" at noon.

Whether space and time intersect or become intertwined, the effect is no different.

Whether it is "prepared at noon" or "suspended at noon," the effect is no different.

Therefore, let's re-examine the conditions under which the "disenchantment ritual" was constructed in the current context.
Since the "Noon" has the same effect, and there is nothing left to offer as a sacrifice of the "Number of Costs," then only the "Number of Witnesses" and the "Number of Keys" remain.

The lights in the round table conference room gradually dimmed and flickered, and outside the airtight curtains, it seemed as if countless impatient creatures were constantly prying at the glass.

"Don't worry about the 'phantom' problem of the witness count." Pogrerich glanced at him coldly before returning to the main topic, "There is someone who will be more proactive and enthusiastic than you: F. Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin."

Dangerous element? Fanning frowned.

Yes, that seems to be the case.

On the surface, Mr. F's conspiracy has succeeded; the light of the 'Midday Moon' permeates every inch of the earth, and the murmurs of the 'True Word Serpent' are everywhere.

However, considering the painstaking planning this person made in the early stages, their current situation is likely to be just as difficult!
The Serpent Sect's "path" was not actually successfully constructed, and Eternal Night could not be achieved!
Because the "Old Days" of the Trinity pillars was directly destroyed by Fanning!

For the Serpent Faction, the current state of the world hovering in the garbage timeline is also a helpless stalemate.

At most, it can be considered a slight victory, or a "minor win" similar to Pogrelic's successful ascent.

“Scriabin, including Koseli and his gang from the Lingyin Discipline Society, must be trying to find a way to solve the problem of ‘illusions’. Now that the ‘worms’ beneath the surface of the world have become active, it is not too difficult for them. It may still take some time, or it may have already made considerable progress.”

"The only problem is that you destroyed the 'Old Days' so thoroughly that the shaping of this 'phantom' might be abnormally distorted and unstable, but that doesn't matter. The purpose is not to reset back to the beginning of creation. This ritual can completely 'fail upon activation'!"

Pogorelich narrowed his eyes, his voice becoming even lower and colder.

"It only requires activation, a very short period of time reset, to bring a small number of people back to the hour of 'Preparation at Noon'. That time point is on the eve of 'Sunset and Moonrise', when the seven artifact source god remains are complete, and the 'Old Days' are also intact."

"Besides the above, the ceremony still has the key."

"Therefore, all you need to do now is take the 0 and -1 keys that you can reach, go to the bottom of the collapsed sky, and climb the tower again!"

Fanning suddenly laughed.

"Director, you've put together a very good plan."

It must be admitted that Pogrerich's teachings, or rather, the "Special Patrol Office's salvation plan," completely opened up Fanning's mind.

Even in this rotten world, there are still things to do.

Fan Ning believed that if the plan was finalized, the remnants of the Special Patrol Bureau would immediately become his loyal subordinates who would do everything in their power to handle all the miscellaneous tasks.

He also believed that the people of the "Serpent School" would welcome him back to the tower with the key.

The key cannot be "held," only "touched," and both the "divine theme" in *The Art of Fugue* and the "masterless hammer" in the Sixth Symphony in A minor are currently under Fanning's "touch." Although it's unknown how the Divine Descent Society will "welcome" him, or what underhanded tricks they might pull, the process of approaching and even ascending to the collapsed sky will definitely not encounter any obstacles preventing him from going; he will certainly be able to go.

The reason for such confidence in judgment is that when a group of gamblers, their eyes bloodshot, are down to just two, if a random person suddenly rushes up and overturns the table, the first thing those two will think of is not "demanding an explanation."

They have no interest in pursuing this matter.

All they think about is when the table can be put back together.

"It's an honor that I was the one forced to flip the table, and also the one urged to regroup." Fan Ning smiled, propped his right elbow on the table, and stood up. "You two are both very interested and hope to start another game. I suppose you each have your own considerations and your own chances of winning. Of course, I couldn't have imagined or guessed that."

"But what good does all this do me?"

“Yes, ‘experience’ is one aspect.” Fan Ning looked directly at the person in the main seat and held up one finger. “Many people who know me know that I’m nostalgic. My mood has indeed been quite bad lately. There are many people and scenery I want to see again, and many things I want to experience again. However, this doesn’t determine anything and has no meaning. To be honest, my ‘mental preparation’ has been quite successful. I’m gradually accepting this ending and will continue to do so.”

"You people might have some new cards to play, but I don't. Hehe, Director, I've already played all the cards in my hand! Picking up these cards again and playing them all over again, I myself don't feel the point!"

Fan Ning looked calm and laughed twice.

And so, all we managed to save was a world beyond redemption.

It's uncertain whether another attempt would save him.

“You’re exploring some conditions, or bargaining chips,” Pogrerich said with a faint smile. “Perhaps you’re considering your next move, but I must tell you, your options are already exhausted.”

“'All you have to do is choose,' the organization once told you. From the Harvest Arts Festival to the 'X Coordinate' arrival plan, from the three hammer blows on the tower to the choice between reading a letter or praying, you have made all your choices, and the meeting is about to end.”

The lights in the conference room had become dim.

Thick liquid seeped in from under the door, meandering across the floor, and the window behind the curtains began to crack and shatter under the violent pounding.

"Perhaps it will take some time to consider, maybe."

"After waking up, there is still some data in the archives of the 'Central Control Area,' which may shorten the time of hesitation. But Master Fanning, the key to truly figuring out what you want and what you want to fight for lies within yourself."

Data? Archives? Fanning stared sternly at the slime flowing down to his feet.

This level of communication probably ends here.

In the main seat, Pogrelic's face had become dark and blurry.

Waking up in the secret chamber below the steps, the eerie blue light of the gas lamp still lingered. Fanning's gaze met that of Lasus, who was sitting on the steps. After resting for a while, Lasus's chaotic spiritual energy had finally calmed down.

"Where are the secret data in the archives?" Fan Ning asked bluntly.

“It seems the conversation was quite fruitful.” Lasuth’s dry lips moved slightly as he raised a finger. “The ledger the leader mentioned is on the bottom shelf of the cabinet under this lampshade.”

Fan Ning squatted down, took out an ordinary-looking notebook, and quickly flipped through it.

"Monthly night duration survey record?"

The densely packed data and line chart in the table made Fanning frown.

He knew that the duration of the current "day" and "night" was completely chaotic and there was no stable pattern at all.

However, Fan Ning has not yet had the time or the ability to compile statistics on the specific distribution.

Based on his own observations and experiences, the duration of day and night varies in different places, and it seems that the closer you go to the "center," the shorter the night becomes.

"The data you see is the result of surveys conducted by more than ten 'controlled areas' and more than a hundred 'investigation teams', as well as a compilation of more oral accounts."

A sigh came from behind.

"In short, the duration of each moonlit night varies greatly and differs from place to place, but overall, it is slowly decreasing, and the distribution pattern is gradually becoming 'decentralized.' We speculate that this is because the world has not been in chaos for very long, and the light of the 'Noon Moon' has not penetrated completely. Although this change is very slow, it may happen after a period of time."

"There is only 'daytime' in this world, and no 'nighttime'."

(End of this chapter)