musicians of old

Chapter 868 Heart knot
"So, what were you originally thinking?"

Azure sea, blue sky, waves crashing against the shore and receding, the sound of the tide continuing.

Joan, in her wheelchair, turned to Fanning and asked, sunlight outlining the golden contours of her hair, which danced and swayed in the hot wind.

"I?"

Fanning lay on the damp sand, using her arms as a pillow to look at the sky.

"What I said is exactly what I think; there's nothing insincere about it."

"Besides, Pogrerich is not someone who can be easily fooled. God's judgment of people is always accurate. Although I am not yoke with him, I dare not be presumptuous or think I am clever. I just used some negotiation tactics as much as possible in my choice of words."

"But we didn't get any substantial promises?" Joan asked, frowning.

“I expected Pogrerich to make such a promise; I was just testing his attitude.” Fanning shook his head, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. “But he was happy to convey that attitude, just like the other dangerous figure at the gambling table. It’s quite ridiculous, really. After their gambling game in the tower was ruined by one person, their shared wish was for that person to climb the tower again.”

"If you've decided not to go, then you won't go." The girl in the purple dress in the wheelchair sighed. "If the collapsing world remains suspended forever, then it will remain suspended. However, those people from the Special Patrol Bureau did have one thing in mind."

The "moonlit night" is shortening, and the "daylight" may, from a certain point onward, be called eternal daylight.

They showed this to Fanning not because they were threatening her that "she'll be finished if this drags on," and they knew they couldn't threaten her.

The motivation is to convey that "the meaning of action is fading."

If the premise is "action," then when time is rewound to before the "sunset and moonrise" are about to occur, everyone's state and memory will be reset to that moment. For example, Fanning would return to the state of performing the Sixth Symphony, and Pogorelich would return to the state before preparing to ascend the steps for the "rebellion ceremony."

So, how much of our current memories and will can be retained if we go back to that time depends on whether our "cognitive anchor" in this broken world is stable—for example, the Special Patrol Agency's plan is to continue to stabilize and expand the "controlled area".

Therefore, they also openly suggested to Fanning that on the way to the "X coordinate", he could continue to try some methods to expand the Southern projection. The leader only instructed on the results and never interfered with the process, and even encouraged the two to complement each other.

Both sides are demonstrating their influence, and if Pogrelic subsequently achieves a decisive victory, these influences will collectively form part of the "new world."

On this point, the remnants of the Special Patrol Department made no secret of the fact that, from the perspective of the ultimate form, the "New World" under the leader's principles does not contain art; the latter is ultimately driven by emotional rules and excessively free and undisciplined. However, the "New World" cannot directly reach its ultimate form; there are still many problems to be solved. Perhaps for a considerable period of time, deliberative bodies with functions similar to "discussion groups" will continue to exist. In return, however much Fanning's Southern Projection expanded before, it will continue to expand as much as possible, serving as a "privileged area" for the development of art. He himself will continue to exist on the altar of the mystical and artistic aspects of the "New World."

In short, seeking "action" means seeking "the possibility of a new world".

If Fanning cares about the "new world," then she should hurry; if she drags it out until "daylight" becomes "eternal daylight," her cognitive anchor can no longer be effectively maintained, and the memory loss after turning back time is too thorough, then the possibility of seeking the "new world" will be almost zero.

"These people talk a good game, but frankly, they're just using us unilaterally." Joan sneered. "We've tried the Southern Kingdom projection many times, but in this broken and almost deserted world, the 'Shell of Memory' simply can't expand. The Special Patrol Hall has the support of the Witness Lord, powerful control artifacts like the 'Furious Silver Flake,' and a large amount of 'Sneaky Water' supplies that they've stockpiled and prepared before. Maintaining the 'Controlled Zone' is already so difficult; they're waiting for you, their free labor, to pave the way and stabilize the order."

Of course, all of this is predicated on "action." If there's no intention to "act," then the statement "the meaning of action is fading" is meaningless. After all, the "old days" are destroyed, and the Serpent School's "path" is no longer achievable.

Even under the eternal light of the "noon moon," the projection of the southern lands remains confined to a small, tiny area.

It doesn't matter, it's already like this.

“You know what, all this scheming and calculating is actually meaningless.” Fan Ning used his hands to build a “castle” out of the damp sand, strand by strand, and then watched it be washed away by the waves.

"Before I conducted the Sixth Symphony, I never thought there was anything interesting about the 'new world' that Pogorelich talked about. It's not like I suddenly find it interesting now. But during this meeting, he said something else that was very accurate."

"To truly understand what you desire and what you want to fight for, the key lies within yourself. Haha, this is still a quote from my 'Resurrection' lyrics."

"I don't care if everything remains the same if time were to go back to before 'noon,' or if there would be no new efforts to be made. If everything remains the same, then so be it. But there's something else, something I've always wanted to do after becoming an Order Keeper. Ever since I left the Southern Kingdom, I've thought about it. Now that I have indeed become an Order Keeper, in this world, I'm afraid it's difficult to have such an opportunity anymore. I wonder if I should still try."

Fan Ning slowly turned around and got up.

"What?" Joan asked, puzzled.

Fanning walked from the front of the composer's cabin to the backyard, where the sunlight became intense in some areas, and in a daze, some of the scenery and objects seemed to be rearranged and changed.

A tombstone adorned with flowers, a dark gold bronze bust, and the "Unfading Fire" symbol behind the base.

A gentle breeze blows, and the birdsong is melodious.

"At the end of Oak Street, at Liufennas Garden, is that right?" Fanning seemed to be seriously recalling something before asking.

“Yes.” Joan’s wheelchair glided across the dew-kissed lawn. She paused for a moment, then looked around.

If it were still there, it would be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

However, she couldn't be sure whether that cemetery in the world in the past still had a meaningful correspondence with a certain location in the present, or whether its location could still be clearly indicated.

“I was actually quite smug,” Fan Ning murmured to herself. “I fulfilled Professor Anton’s blessing, message, or request in his last letter. Not only did I fulfill it, but I did it very quickly, and I was even more confident that it would continue to be so from now on, because it wasn’t something that was difficult to do.”

"May you spend your life with music and sunshine?" Joan said softly, reciting those words.

(End of this chapter)