The awkward silence in the room at the end of the song made Lucas look up at his audience.
Everyone was looking at him in amazement, and what's more, there were more people in the room than when he started playing.
The room was full. Because it was a place capable of supporting the size of an orchestra and still have space, there were almost three times as many people in the room as at the beginning.
From where Lucas was standing, he couldn't see, but his senses told him that outside the room there were even more people.
What's happening?
One person caught Lucas' attention immediately in the crowd, Violette. She was at the forefront of the crowd and for some reason, her expression was really weird.
Lucas couldn't quite understand her expression, it seemed extremely complex. Although he was trained in body and face reading, her expression didn't make much sense, especially given the situation.
While he was in the midst of these thoughts, seconds passed and only then did people slowly recover.
Caritas suddenly appeared on top of the piano while Lucas was thinking and said.
'Master, did you use any mind-twisting techniques? Everyone looks pretty confused.'
'No... I just played the music I knew... Maybe it's the vital energy?'
'Vital energy? What is it?'
'You do not know what it is?'
'I know what it is, but I don't know if you're talking about the same vital energy that I know.'
'It is the fundamental energy of the physical bodies of living beings. Without that energy, no matter how healthy and powerful a person is, they quickly ages gets sick, and dies.'
'Oh, so we're talking about the same thing. But I did not understand. Why would it be the vital energy's fault?'
'It's just a theory. Since I was little, I've been trained in the use of vital energy for combat. One of my many workouts was to use vital energy while playing music, sending out vital energy through sounds. I've never played any music like that in front of other people apart from my mom, Rose, and a few other people, so I don't know what kind of effect the music has on normal people when it's infused with vital energy. It wasn't my intention to do that, but as I always played like that, I forgot to hold the vital energy.'
'So that explains why the music was able to travel outside this soundproof room.'
'So no one called these people here?'
'Yes, they just walked in and started listening to the music, as if they were attracted to the sound.'
Lucas looked thoughtfully at the people. At that moment, they still seemed to be in a daze. At first, they just stared at him intently. Now, they started to look around, but they still seemed kind of disconnected from reality, like they were sleepy.
Violette is weirder, she didn't look sleepy. Her expression was bizarre, she just kept staring at Lucas with her hand holding a cell phone.
In this weird situation where Lucas couldn't do anything and just wait and see what happens, one person started clapping.
Violette began to clap her hands explosively, ending the silence of the room once and for all after the music.
With a smile, she clapped excitedly, and soon after, several other people also started clapping. After a while, everyone present was clapping. People weren't in some sort of trance anymore, and they looked excited.
With whistles, cheers, and explosive claps, Lucas had never been in this kind of situation before. A strange feeling warmed Lucas's heart and a small smile appeared on his face.
'That's not so bad.'
***
On a famous internet video site called Metube, a live was done on the channel of a not very famous Metuber. The live was created suddenly, without any presentation by the owner of the channel, it lasted a few minutes and only showed a boy playing the piano. After the song ended, the live was closed, and Metube quickly turned the live into a watchable video.
During the live, an average of only 500 people watched simultaneously. After the live became a video, however, it quickly took off. The number of people who watched it quickly increased, taking an hour to reach 100,000 views.
For the size of the channel, 100,000 views was an absurd number, and the number kept rising.
The video was quickly downloaded and uploaded to other video platforms, gaining even more attention.
The comments were diverse, but most were surprised by the pianist's skill.
[Wow, what a talent! I've never heard such amazing music! I can close my eyes and imagine a forest when I hear this song.]
- Yes, and it's amazing how almost everyone who listens to this song has this same image in their head.
- The song doesn't even have lyrics. How does such an amazing song exist? Or is it the skill of the pianist? He's pretty young too.
[What is the name of this song? Who composed it? Anyone? I can't find the name anywhere.]
- I also searched a lot and didn't find it. I think it's a new song. Maybe the guy in the video is the composer?
- I feel it's not the music, but the pianist.
[But why did PurpleX do this live? She didn't even introduce herself, just filmed the song. When the video starts, the pianist is already in the middle of the song too.]
- Maybe she didn't expect this?
- You mean she didn't know about the event, and when she did, she started the live without even saying what's going on? But then she would have at least closed the live with an explanation of what happened.
[Where is the live location? It looks like a classroom. A school perhaps? The pianist is young, seems to be about 18 at the most.]
- Unfortunately, from the information that the live brought, if it's a school, you can't know where.
– PurpleX lives in San Diego. It must be one of the schools there.
Discussions were diverse. Although people who listened to the song online didn't have the same experience as those who listened to it live, the song itself was unique enough, and Lucas' skill managed to impress all listeners.
***
After the crowd dispersed, the teacher asked Lucas, in front of the students, about the origin of the song. At first, Lucas was hesitant to tell, but in the end, he decided to tell an edited version of the song's actual origin.
"A long time ago, there was an Empire. The Emperor was very capable in domestic and foreign political matters, and even better versed in military matters. However, he was not perfect. He was a disaster in romantic relationships. As an Emperor, it was his duty to carry on the lineage, so he couldn't just let it go. The Emperor was very stoic, he didn't know how to treat women well, and so he was quite clumsy."
"He had a political marriage, and although he promised to make her happy, the Empress had a lot of trouble fighting the concubines and the other wives."
"It was the Emperor's role to keep the harem in peace, but he didn't have that ability. The fights were constant, and the Empress tried several times to ask for help and try to solve or change things, but she couldn't. The Emperor didn't give enough importance to the subject."
"One day, they tried to assassinate the Emperor, and the Empress was furious. Although the Emperor did not die, he was wounded, and he was bedridden for a long time. While the Emperor was bedridden, she tried again to explain to him that the problem was in the harem. That the assassination attempt was only possible because he couldn't take care of the women well enough. Since he couldn't show affection or love, women became insecure, and it made suggestions from certain people attractive."
"Even in bed, the Emperor did not believe that his assassination attempt had anything to do with the harem. With no choice, the Empress had to think of some way to make him understand. After all, the only one who could solve this problem was him, the most powerful person in the Empire, as well as the only one who could discipline his women."
"She then had the brilliant idea that the only way to make him understand would be through a language that the Emperor was very fond of: music. She spent days and nights, with the Emperor still in bed, writing a song to express her problems, and eventually created the piece called [Plea to the Emperor]."
At the end of his words, everyone was looking at Lucas thoughtfully. Everyone seemed focused on the story.
"And what happened next?"
The teacher asked confused. How can the story end like this? Everyone also believed there was more to be heard.
"Nothing, the Emperor died in bed before listening to the music. He was poisoned while the Empress was busy creating the music."
Many gasped at the end of the story. Although it was short, Lucas' story resonated well with the music he played and because of that, women especially, felt a lot of empathy for the Empress who just wanted to help her husband. Many felt it was a shame and hoped that the Empress would manage to put some sense into the hard-headed Emperor.
Seeing that everyone was surprised, Lucas added some of his opinions at the end.
"You reap what you sow. The Emperor ignored his wife's warnings and words and kept turning a blind eye to a serious problem that required a quick response. He was closed-minded and this is the result."