Chapter 3372 - 3373: Lament Song

Chapter 3372: Chapter 3373: Lament Song

In Angel’s eyes, Uriel was an incredibly talented music maestro, extremely serious about music. Music is an elegant art, and in Angel’s heart, Uriel was also an elegant person.

But if Uriel lived in such a disorganized room in reality, the contrast here would be stark.

However, upon closer thought, it’s not entirely impossible.

Many geniuses often excel in one area to an extreme degree, yet in other aspects, they might perform worse than a child; could Uriel be such a musical prodigy yet a mere layman in life?

Of course, besides this possibility, there’s another one.

That Uriel might have suffered some misfortune or external blow that made him decadent, dejected, indulging in alcohol day and night, indifferent to the affairs of the world, hence his current rundown appearance?

Angel didn’t know which one it was, but he internally leaned more towards the latter.

Because previously, Uriel, in the ’Dreamseeing’ state, had said a phrase: "My partner will only be one, and that person has already gone to the radiant sanctuary."

The Uriel in the Dreamseeing state was actually the real Uriel. Therefore, the words spoken in the Dreamseeing state must correspond to his real-life situation.

This sentence contained two important pieces of information.

And these two pieces of information both begin from the "radiant sanctuary."

In the Wizards’ Realm of the Western Lands, the Church of Radiance spreads throughout the continent and is the belief of countless people. According to the Church of Radiance’s doctrine, after a sinless person dies, they ascend to the radiant sanctuary, the soul’s homeland and a pure land of bliss.

Hence, from Uriel’s words, it’s clear he lived on the Western Lands and must have been influenced by the teachings of the Glory Church.

The second piece of information is that his partner has passed away, and he would never choose another partner.

The passing of Uriel’s most important partner must have been a severe misfortune and an unbearable blow to him?

Also, let’s not forget about the analysis by Guy, which showed Uriel’s musical preferences.

Uriel was very dissatisfied with religion, even wanting to rebel against it.

Considering the previously mentioned background, the religion Uriel was rebelling against was most likely... the Church of Radiance.

Living in a land dominated by the theocratic influence of the Church of Radiance yet secretly plotting against it, doesn’t this suggest that he was persecuted by the Church?

If we delve further, combining previous conjectures, could Uriel’s partner’s death also be related to persecution by the Church of Radiance?

If that’s the case, having suffered such a severe blow, it would be understandable for Uriel to become decadent and disorganized, muddling through day and night.

Of course, all of this is just Angel’s baseless speculation upon seeing the chaotic room.

No one could say for sure except for Uriel himself.

...

Turning back the time to just a few minutes ago.

In the messy room, Uriel sat like he had no bones, slumped on a sofa piled with dirty clothes.

His head lifted up, his eyes intently gazed at the mottled ceiling as if trying to discern a flower from the dirty patterns on it.

The dazed state persisted until the sound of Luigi’s harp began, slowly bringing him back to awareness.

"Where is this music coming from?" A random thought popped up in Uriel’s confused mind: "I seem to be experiencing auditory hallucinations again."

"Eh, why did I say ’again’?"

Uriel was about to harness the few thoughts he had to deeply ponder it, but at that moment, Luigi’s music shifted from being lively to slightly solemn, clear, and pure.

This is... religious music?

Upon hearing religious music, Uriel originally wanted to ponder why he was ’hallucinating again,’ but he abandoned this thought: "Never mind, let it be a hallucination then."

Religious music was his forte, and what he excelled at most was religious music.

So upon hearing religious music, he would inevitably become engrossed.

Yet... religious music was also the music that caused him the greatest pain. It seemed so clean and pure, but who could know that beneath the sanctity lay countless sins and atrocities.

So, when he heard religious music, his feelings were extremely complex, both immersing and repelling him.

Uriel forced himself to gather spirit, intending to raise his head to see who was playing the religious music; could it be someone from the cathedral choir?

However, his body became unusually stiff for some unknown reason, moving even slightly required a lot of effort.

Uriel could lift his head slightly if he exerted all his strength, but just halfway through lifting his head, he suddenly stopped.

Because the music ringing in his ears gradually transitioned to... the Chapter of a story.

The melodious tune, with a religious flavor, sounded clean and clear, yet gave Uriel the impression that behind the clean and clear, there was a deep sadness.

The composer seemed to be conveying a story through the music.

This story was a lament under the religious hood.

Because of this, Uriel didn’t want to think about any other mundane matters anymore or see who was performing. He only wanted to enter the story now, to see what sort of lament it was.

Would it be similar to his own situation?

At this moment, sitting across from Uriel, Luigi was deeply absorbed in performing the "Black Sheep Confession Song."

If he knew that Uriel had already perceived the "dark lament beneath the holy story," he would probably be startled too. After all, the real lament Chapters of the "Black Sheep Confession Song" were in the latter half.

The early Chapters merely outlined a carefree priest spreading gospel within the monastery.

Even grasping the tragic essence of the entire piece just through the early Chapters.

Luigi would not be able to achieve that.

Uriel’s ability to discern such subtleties demonstrated his superior musical appreciation compared to Luigi... Of course, it also helped that Uriel was adept at religious music, and the priest who wrote the "Black Sheep Confession Song" did so when his own faith was already skewed. Expecting a heretic to compose purely immaculate and praising religious music would be too difficult.

Thus, Uriel could easily detect the dissatisfaction beneath the surface.

If it were another type of music, Uriel would have been impatient already, as music that couldn’t convey its core emotions purely wouldn’t be considered good music at all.

But this was religious music, and its underlying emotion was: a lament beneath the sanctity.

In some ways, it precisely matched Uriel’s mood and... predicament.

Therefore, even though the first Chapters of the "Black Sheep Confession Song" weren’t that pure, they still managed to capture Uriel’s attention... He eagerly anticipated the release of the lament in the latter Chapters.

Soon, the trajectory of the music began changing slowly.

The clear, indirect notes started being replaced by complicated sounds with occasional dissonances.

This signified that the "Black Sheep Confession Song" had entered its middle part.

The once carefree, devoted priest was assigned to a post "spreading gospel", "guiding the lost sheep," and it was during this time, he learned from the congregation’s prayers countless dark secrets.

And these dark secrets, which led to the congregation’s suffering, were for the most part oppressions of power, and within his home of the principality of Eugriss, his faith, "Xitu", was the largest authoritative institution, and "Xitu" was the only divine being!

But in the lands governed by theocracy, the common folk were oppressed by nobility... This occurrence would be impossible without the tacit consent of the Xitu faith.

So the Xitu faith he believed in turned out to be the source of the darkness...

The content of the middle section of "Black Sheep Confession Song" tells the story of a devout priest, who after witnessing the darkness—especially a darkness born from "faith"—slowly undergoes a transformation in his mindset.

This Chapter, already carries the initial pitch of a tragic song.

Uriel, upon hearing this, is completely entranced. He seems to enter the story of "Black Sheep Confession Song," but in the story, he is not the devout priest; rather, he is one of many tragic civilians crushed under the rolling wheels of divine authority.

Uriel’s emotions rise and fall like waves, and he can see himself under the vast godly power of the Church of Radiance—he and... he are just tracks left by the ruthless wheels.

This surge of emotions is no longer a mere inner stir but is visibly apparent on Uriel’s face.

And then, when Luigi inadvertently lifts his head, he happens to see Uriel’s expression.

This is an unprecedented scene in Luigi’s performances.

Luigi’s eyes light up, and his heart blooms instantly, indicating that this time the music truly strikes a chord, delving into Uriel’s heart!

Luigi is well aware that his technical skills cannot improve significantly in a short time. Thus, to gain a higher rating from Uriel, he can only focus on the score.

The score is now correct; "Black Sheep Confession Song" has already found its way into Uriel’s heart. What Luigi has to do next is simple...

To give it his all, pour more emotion in, and unite himself with the protagonist and creator of "Black Sheep Confession Song"—the priest from the Duchy of Eulgris!

You are me, and I am you.

Completely immerse into the role, and pull emotions to their maximum!

Other scores are difficult for Luigi to integrate as deeply into the role, but "Black Sheep Confession Song" is different. Angel fought for three days for him in Xock’s Ghost House and created an illusion identical to the core of "Black Sheep Confession Song." At that time, he was the protagonist in the story; he personally experienced everything the creator did in the illusion, including the final release—an utterly tragic song of self-liberation!

Now, it’s just about regaining that state.

This is not difficult for Luigi, a virtuoso performer.

Moreover, Luigi is somewhat different from other musicians. He is the temporal body of Laplace, and each temporal body, or quasi-temporal body of Laplace, amplifies a certain characteristic of itself.

For instance, the feature of the quasi-temporal body "Maggie" is "tolerance for the good."

Luigi also has his unique feature, which is "the pursuit of dreams."

Once Luigi sets a goal and starts to enter the "pursuing dreams" state, his passion gets ignited, his senses magnify, and everything goes for the better.

Similar to a natural, all-encompassing enhancement effect.

This enhancement even provides a boost to "infectiousness."

Thus, when Luigi seriously enters the state, the melancholy song that initially had an emotional impact score of 80, is instantly pulled to 90, approaching a perfect score.

For ordinary listeners, there might not be much difference, merely an issue of immersion depth; but for a connoisseur like Uriel, even a tiny change can let him feel an entirely different world!

Before, Uriel was still in the "immersion" state of the story, barely able to dissipate his emotions—even if he wanted, he could withdraw from this story anytime without a problem. But now, he is directly brought onto a roller coaster, with no foreplay, instantly soaring to a hundred meters sky-high.

In such a situation, the overflowing emotions in the sky cannot dissipate, and so they must be internalized.

Internalization once again infects Uriel, drawing him deeper into the story, and even if he wishes to withdraw, he can’t; he can only follow the story’s progress... rise and fall together.

At this moment, "Black Sheep Confession Song" happens to enter its climactic final Chapter.

Enter with drumbeats—

Drumbeats performed by the harp lack the original heaviness of drumbeats; yet, they appear sharper, perfectly matching the story’s hint of the priest’s heart—sharp and fragile like taut harp strings.

The notes don’t instantly reach the climax; instead, they use continuous sharp drumbeats, long classical wailing sounds, and sporadic religious solemn tones to accumulate force.

Undoubtedly, when the power accumulates to its peak, it will burst forth with an astonishing and dazzling display!

In the story, the priest with the purest and unblemished heart directly touches the darkest side, which causes a sudden change in his mind.

At first, he’s still self-consoling, trying to endure.

This process of endurance is the process of accumulated drumbeats.

But endurance cannot last long, for he is a priest spreading the gospel, continually listening to the followers’ distress. More distress follows, amassing like a dark malady, constantly battering the priest’s soul.

Until today, a follower, less than ten years old, dies before his eyes.

A noble bearing the Xitu Teachings Honor Medal kills this innocent, lovely child... like his past self, his dearest follower.

Looking at the dead child follower, the priest, in bewilderment, sees his own face on the corpse.

As if the one dead is not him but himself.

Boom—

At that instant, the dam collapses.

The priest’s soul is utterly shattered.

Pure white paper is no longer pinched between fingertips, suspended in midair, but released, gently drifting down, sunken into the ink-black pool.

The white paper turns black, just in the moment of sinking.

At this moment, the notes change completely, transforming from accumulated low pitches into ascending long notes.

This also signifies the priest’s current mood.

With each ascended long note, the priest in the story delves deeper into the darkness.

He abandons the light; he becomes the nightmare of the Xitu Church, and according to the Xitu Church, the black sheep demon in human skin.

He retaliates against all who dragged him into darkness.

Aristocrats, popes, accomplices, all are his targets.

When he becomes a "demon" in another confessor’s mouth, the priest finally arrives at his Land of the End—the Xitu Church’s Cathedral of the Sky.

Flames blaze inside the Cathedral of the Sky.

At this moment, the notes peak!

Frantic notes, like flames, constantly scorch everything around.

And the mad demon, surrounded by countless black-blood corpses.

Within the intense sea of fire, the demon steps onto the choir stage, performing the last song.

This song is precisely "Black Sheep Confession Song!"

As the song ends, the fire completely envelops the demon.

The scorching flames strip away the demon’s shell, revealing underneath the priest’s pristine, immaculate face.

Immediately, the flames continue to burn, as that face also fades away into invisibility.

Until everything transforms into orange-yellow sparks...

The notes abruptly halt.

End of the song.