Morning, right after a rain.
Dimmed rays of sunlight sneaked inside a room, allowing a large, strange, and polished machine to surface in the spotlight.
A man sat in silence, as he traced his fingers across the black and white keys.
Then, he began to play.
As soon as the first verse finished, another man screamed from the corner of the room.
"AHHH, it's horrible!"
Aurora walked out of the darkness with his hands covering his ears, face full of disgust.
"Absolute horror, your thingy sounded like two String Monsters mating!"
"...A simple 'not good' would've sufficed." Kael relaxed his shoulder, then stood up and offered Aurora the seat.
"If you wanted to judge so badly, why don't you take a try at it?"
"Hell, nah." Aurora waved his hands.
"You're the one who wanted to buy this thing, it's called what again… a 'piano'?"
"So stupid. We already have sound vessels like flutes already, why do they need to invent more of these?"
"It sounded bad only because I was the one who played it." Kael signed.
"In good hands, it could bring more complexity to songs entirely."
"And?" Aurora yawned.
"These things serve no purpose, only recreation for normal people. We're now amongst the best String Masters in the Kingdom, our focus should be on Tuning."
"How naive." Kael smiled, with a bit of mocking in his expression.
"What do you think Tuning is, Mister 'best String Master in the Kingdom'?"
"What do you think is the difference between Tuning and normal day activities?"
"Foolish questions," Aurora crossed his arms, tone unimpressed.
"You're just trying to ragebait me again. Tuning is the manipulation of Strings, a normal day activity does not require that power."
"However, it's acknowledged by everyone that the universe, and everything within it is made up of Strings." Kael lifted a finger, as he continued.
"So, tell me. If flour, eggs and milk is made up of Strings, then why is baking a cake classified as a 'normal day activity' rather than Tuning, when their nature has completely transformed?"
"...I don't know." Aurora said impatiently.
"But if baking a cake is Tuning, why are we called String Masters, why do we have Instruments and can use resonance? If Tuning can be done by anyone—"
"That's it!" Kael interrupted with excitement written all over his face.
"I believe Tuning can be performed by anyone, String Master or not!"
"And the key is through this—"
He pointed at the piano.
"One of the biggest mysteries of String theory is to conceptualise the tiny vibrations each Strings make, they are no different to sounds!"
"Piano, flutes, drums or even violin, they are sound vessels that transform our stamina into melodies that vibrate the Strings around us, and that's called music!"
"The more you play these sound vessels, the better you will become at knowing Strings, and maybe one day a person Instrument-less could enter the Tuning realm to perform even spells!"
"I cannot listen to this any longer…" Aurora picked up his jacket as he stepped towards the door.
"Your imagination always amazes me, yet you rarely have something concrete to bring them into real life."
"Oh, don't you worry, my friend." Kael called out to him.
"Why don't we make a bet? These sound vessels… No, I should call them something else."
"Music vessels? Nah, something that needs to relate to Tuning…"
"Sound Instruments? Hmmm, doesn't feel quite right…"
"Oh, I know!" He smiled, waving his hand to say goodbye, yet Aurora could not see him behind his back, only hearing the joyful words that lingered in the air:
"I'll name them 'Musical Instruments'!"
"I bet you, they will live on, played by millions and millions, for more than one hundred thousand years!"
"And one day, they will evolve into actual Instruments that allow everyone to become String Masters!"
***
'If nothing happens to me for a few weeks, I believe my soul will be restored by then… Ofcourse, not the God version, but a normal sized soul strong enough to hold all my memories.'
Aurora sat alone inside the grand cafeteria, the space was tenfold the size he had imagined, yet not a single corner could escape the delightful aroma of cuisines.
To his surprise, although the year hadn't started, there were still many students dressed in daily outfits and staff visiting this place. He could not fathom how busy this place would be during school season, yet he also can't see the image of this place ever becoming cramped.
'Unfortunately, what's forgotten can not be restored. But, my Tuning mastery is still here, and I actually have a divine grade Instrument now, so things are still going well.'
'If I ever come across a spell I had forgotten, I believe I could understand and perform it again faster than anyone.'
'...Delicious.'
After he had finished a succulent meal, he began to explore the academy, seeing there was still so much time.
The reason why he wanted to become a professor, to work for an academy was much simpler than anyone would imagine— the resource.
A String Master was ranked by the stage their core Instrument had progressed to, the further your progression, the stronger you are.
There existed three prime methods that allowed a String Master to progress, and the first one was the progression through practice. The more you use your Remnant Art, the deeper understanding you'll obtain for your core Instrument, hence a progression onto the next when you have mastered stage I. Very simple, yet the outcome extraordinary.
The other two methods were absorbing Instruments of the same type, or utilising String Artifacts. Unlike the first method, these two were heavily dependent on resources, and Aurora did not want to think about it too much before he secured his professor position.
There were plenty of other factors that also influenced progression, such as the higher grade a core Instrument was, the faster the process due to the benefit of larger resonance capacity.
Aurora right now, even walking past the beautiful academy view, he cared nothing but devoting his thoughts to formulate a plan of progression.
To advance into the next stage meant more than bestowed a better title for every String Masters. Not only do their physical and mental attributes increase, their Remnant Art, [Kuro] for Aurora's example, will also enhance, sometimes even transform into a new ability.
Furthermore, progression meant increasing the resonance reservoir. A Etude rank String Master at stage II, has a higher resonance capacity than three Prelude ranks combined, assuming their core Instrument was the same grade.
Amongst the 0.01% of spells Aurora chose to remember, there were still some sitting at high level. The only reason he could not perform it now was even if he depleted his resonance, it would not account for even a fraction of what's required.
'I could still remember some places that have what I need to progress… but I am too far away.'
'For now, the best opportunity is to utilise the resources I get from becoming a Professor, whether it's the handsomely paid wages or more opportunities its status will bring.'
Suddenly, a calm, smooth flow of melody entered his mind.
Curious, he turned to the direction of where the sound had come from—
And found himself currently standing outside of a classroom.
Inside, there was a white piano, played by a girl with soft, slim hands.
Verse after verse, piece after piece, Aurora did not say a word.
He simply stood in place, where he had first found her, and listened.
Then, when the girl had finally finished, he turned and began walking in the opposite direction.
"May I ask who you are, stranger outside the door?"
A voice called from the inside, and his step came to a halt.
"My apologies." Aurora returned to the door.
"I did not mean to disturb, only admire."
Only when his words finished, had he realised, the girl was currently facing towards him.
'...she's blind.'
Though she wasn't wearing a blindfold, her attire was prestigious yet messy, unusual for someone of her status holding a gold staff, which he presumed was used to help her walk.
Her silky blonde hair wasn't brushed, eyes of faint grey, as if clouds had spilled on top of a pair of brilliant obsidian pupils.
"Admire?" She offered a faint smile.
"There's nothing to admire here…"
"I shouldn't get my hopes up…" she asked softly, yet her posture tensed a little.
"May I ask what you find admirable, kind one?"
"Your music."
"Ofcourse." She nodded, showing a little disappointment in her expression.
"Also you."
"Eh?" The girl instinctively looked up, though her eyes were blind, her other senses worked fine enough to allow her to process what he had said.
"You…You mean me?"
"Certainally." Aurora stepped in the room.
"To play a piano with such mastery, you've done something even Kael failed to accomplish."
"I appreciate the praise." She sounded a little grumpy.
"But may I ask you to refrain from mentioning our Lord Kael in such manner?"
"Sorry, sorry." Aurora smiled, a faint, subtle smile as he came close to the girl.
"I once had a bet with my best friend, looking at you just then, it made me realise he had won."
"Really?" She tilted her head, curiously asked.
"May I ask what the bet was about?"
"I could tell you, if you teach me this instrument."
Upon hearing this, the girl's expressions suddenly burst with excitement.
She hurriedly moved over, creating enough space and indicated Aurora to sit beside her.
"I'm glad to hear your expression of interest in piano. My name is Clara, what about you?"
"Aurora."
"Aurora?" She laughed with a sunny smile.
"How ironic. Your light is more visible in the daytime, wouldn't you reckon?"