Half-step Purgatory

Durin stroked the black cat on the armrest of his chair, sitting on the black leather sofa. Through the glasses perched on his nose, his gaze passed over the long table in front of him and settled on the man kneeling on the carpet:
"I understand, you've made money in Naples, your business has been very successful, and you've led a happy life. You've had those secret police, friends in both the law and the underground, and even the Royal Family speaking on your behalf."
"You don't need a friend like me, I know that. You're afraid of owing me a favor, and you don't want to get involved in troubles."
"But now you come to me and say, 'I beg you, Mr. Durin of the Corleon family, please help me seek justice, so that my life and my family will not suffer and sink into despair.'
Yet, in your eyes, I was nothing more than a second-rate artist involved in movies and music. Even at the brink of death, you still show me such disrespect, not even willing to call me by my title... Keeper of Secrets."

Durin's Diary

The first class on the first day of school, Durin sat in a sparsely occupied classroom, learning about the movies in this world from an Old Sean.


It could be said to be very interesting, indeed—because there are two ways to make movies in this world.


The first method is the standard one used by many Great Craftsman: film and cameras.


This approach was familiar to Durin. In his past life, he had never made a film, but when he was bored he had been an extra on movie sets—by that time, Durin was already getting on in years, not taking much work, experiencing the last leisurely moments of his twilight years. Therefore, he could talk about it for a reason, of course. Back then, the technology was completely different from now. Nowadays, you just need to focus the camera and you're all set. Green screens? Blue light? To Durin, these seemed like technologies that had been phased out, yet here, they were probably the cutting edge, something out of reach of the ordinary.


Chapter 16: The First Lesson