The Kingdom of Astley was considered an art country due to its rich history and culture. Given how aesthetically pleasing and splendid the structures erected within the country were, the claims about the titles of the country were difficult to deny.
Among all the magnificent wonders of the kingdom, the royal palace in the capital city of Richtpole stood out the most. It was the second royal palace of the country after it was reconstructed about five hundred years ago. The palace was apparently a present for the king at that time to his queen, the Mother of Arts.
Architecture was not the only prominent art in the country; there was also the art of music, which was also popularized by the Mother of Arts. Since her period, countless music pieces have been written and intoned, including many of their forms, and varieties of musical instruments have been invented.
Almost every day and night, there were performances occurring in the theaters of the kingdom, especially in the capital. The rise of musicians and composers was common these days, including the one they hailed as a child prodigy, Raphael Raevender, who was also renowned in various fields.
Other than him, there was a man who made his name through his exceptional talent in multiple fields such as science, technology, literature, medicine, and so on. But this man was famous for one particular thing.
One night in the city of Richtpole, a high-class theater opened its doors to receive patrons who were looking for entertainment. It was the most prestigious of the dozens of playhouses in the city and was used as a venue for big shots.
“I’m glad we make it in time.” A rich merchant man in fancy clothes relieved himself as soon as they reached their designated seats.
“Yes.” His wife, who was also dressed well, seconded him. “Every time he performed, the seats were always full, so yeah, we got lucky to have tickets.”
Tonight, a superstar was going to perform on the stage of that theater. He got his name by showcasing his talent in almost everything. Not only did he become famous in Astley, but his greatness was even heard in the empire.
That being said, all the seats were basically occupied. He only performed once a week, so his enthusiasts were longing to hear his music again, thereby selling out the tickets to the establishment.
He was not alone, actually. He had companions with whom he shared his fame. And right now, they were behind the huge red curtains that were covering the stage.
As there were a few people finding their seats, the magically powered lights in the theater gradually became dimmer. It was a sign that the show was about to start. Seeing that, the audience hurriedly got into their seats so that they would not miss a thing.
Soon after, the lights ultimately lost their brightness, and the theater was now shrouded in darkness. But the audience was not wavered by it, as they knew what was going on. And suddenly…
Tun. Tun. Tun.. Tutun.. Tutun.. Tutututun…
A drum kit started to play the intro, and then it was followed by the harmonious melody of the orchestra. Spotlights suddenly illuminated the stage immediately after the drum intro played, revealing the performers once the curtains were pulled.
Once the spotlights pointed on the stage, there was a ginger-haired, mid-twenties man in a black suit. He waved to the audience as he swayed his body with the instrumental. Along with him on the stage was the orchestra he had been playing with.
The audience eventually lowered their noises a few seconds later before the man drew his mouth closer to the magical device resembling a classroom retro microphone and started singing.
“?…We’re no strangers to love… You know the rules, and so do I…?”
The man’s name was Rick, and he was actually one of the embodiments of Raphael Raevender’s Parallel Profiles, the fifth incarnate between Michael and Azrael, chronologically. His physical appearance and style were apparently based on those of a famous British singer, whose surname was coincidentally the same as the country’s.
One of the reasons he was created was that Raphael needed somebody to take on the role of recreating the ideas and concepts of his past world in his new world. By doing that, the attention of the people would divert from him toward Rick.
Rick existed a few months after the Myriad Wings. While the first four incarnates were given five hundred levels, Rick was born with seven hundred since he would be venturing into the world alone.
However, facing the world alone was difficult, so he was permitted by Raphael to have his own clones, which gave physical bodies to his three Level 500 companions, who were playing the instruments for him. Their group was called Rickroll, referring to the popular rickroll itself.
They came to the Kingdom of Astley and started gaining fame by doing various things, such as making discoveries, composing music, inventing revolutionary inventions, and so on.
The drum kit was one of their inventions, along with other modern musical instruments such as guitars. They were so famous and rich that they established their own company, separate from the Raevender Company.
In music, their group was mainly focusing on songs, whether they were pop or classical. But their pop songs were gaining popularity as they were something novel to people’s ears. Of course, they translated the lyrics from English to the world’s common language.
The song they were currently playing was Never Gonna Give You Up, with the intent to rickroll this new world. But the residents of this world were literally not aware of the context, so only Raphael and his clones were the ones who got rickrolled instead.
“?…Never gonna run around and desert you…?”
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
The audience gave them rounds of applause and cheers, with tears running through their cheeks as soon as the song came to an end. Many of them gave them standing ovations.
Rick and the crew then waved their hands to the audience, bowing to them a few times.
“Thank you, everyone!” Holding the voice-amplifying device, Rick’s deep voice echoed throughout the theater. “Next, we are going to sing the next song!”
“Woohoo!!!”
The audience loudly cheered before Rickroll started to play their instruments.