“Wait, someone used an illusion?”
Some of the apprentices grew alarmed, while the other wizards sneered at them.
“The magic array isn’t triggered, so the illusion is not harmful. No need to get all worked up.”
When the piece of cloth was fully removed, the ripples became a fully functional illusion which covered the entire auction hall up together with music, thus surprising everyone.
We could “see” music? People wondered.
We could use a music box like this?? Prome, as well as the other alchemists, wondered.
The gentle music played by the box and the Tranquility Rune that was placed on it masterfully amplified each other.
Lydia quickly lost herself in the music. She enjoyed different styles of music. This gentle piece might not be the best one she heard of yet, but it was beautiful enough.
When enjoying herself in the soothing clouds, Lydia was getting convinced to make her first purchase of the night.
Inside another chamber, Flora was also quite shocked at the item. However, compared to the music, she was more interested in the illusion.
Flora was not an illusionist. But as Sunders’ student, she knew the correct way to examine illusions. She already found out that the music box was based on a Melodious Illusion.
Whoever deployed the illusion had to possess a solid knowledge about basic illusions as well as expertise in micro illusions.
The important factor was that the creator of the music box never used anything too complicated. He combined a simple cantrip with music and enchantment and produced something worth noting down in the textbooks of Acoustic Illusion.
It was not all about praises though. The clouds and sky were perfectly made, but Flora easily noticed flaws when looking down.
There were vast grassland and stretching mountains down below. They stood too high in the air to observe the scenery clearly, and this was where the illusion was wrong.
Flora was sure that the creator of the illusion never spent much time flying in the air, or he would not have made such an obvious mistake when determining people’s range of visibility.
However, only someone who knew illusions well enough could notice the mistakes. Flora concluded that the music box was a finely-made and creative alchemy piece of art.
Those who loved it would love it very much, while the remaining people would not leave any harsh comment about it. Both Flora and Lydia reached the same conclusion.
On the second floor, Prome was also immersed in the cloud illusions and enjoyed the soothing melodies.
“A work of genius!” Prome gave Angor an approving look. He had willingly admitted that the music box was an outstanding creation when he himself would never be able to find such an inspiration.
Dave enjoyed the illusion while feeling a bit down. He regretted not joining Angor. If only he knew that Angor was making something so beautiful…
Almost everyone in the hall presented their positive comments for the music box.
Twilight glanced at Chamber 1 and grinned. She knew well that the illusion had not shown its full potential.
As people all believed that the music would end like this, the illusion shifted.
Dark clouds suddenly came into view, blocking sunlight.
Snakes of lightning danced wildly inside the clouds.
“Ohh! Something’s coming!” Someone mumbled.
The sudden change raised everyone’s curiosity again, including Lydia and Flora.
Another shadowy figure in a Gold VIP chamber secretly raised his eyebrow.
As the music went on, people found themselves dive into the thunderclouds head-first.
Several string instruments worked together to announce the end of the thunderclouds and white mist and clouds showed up once again. However, there seemed to be a black shadow hidden behind.
“What’s that?” People pointed to the shadow.
With several lively beats, the mist dissipated towards the sides, presenting a floating island to everyone.
“So that’s what the name meant. There’s really an island in the sky!”
“What’s so special about a floating island? Hey, wait… look!”
That was more than a floating island. It was an island with stories hidden behind every trace and detail, urging people to go there and read.
Here, the time had stopped ticking.
“It’s… it’s love.” Someone wept. “When my lover left me ten years ago, I felt so isolated. I sensed the same thing when looking at the deserted island… It reminds me of the love lost in time.”
“Hey, look at that tattered building. Who built it? Hey, wait… why did I want to know?”
“Tales… creations! I feel like writing a storybook now!”
Everyone felt their minds pulsing with curiosity when looking at the island sitting still in the sky.
Beside their ears, the gentle music whispered the history of the island at the end of clouds.
Lydia got a strange feeling. The island also reminded her of something decades ago, something she locked deep inside her memory.
She released a deep breath. “Land on the Sky, right? I’m buying it.”
In another chamber, Flora stared at the scenery with widened eyes, and for a completely different reason.
Frozen time? This is exactly what it looked like in the Nightmare Realm! But how did a simple illusion carry an element of the Nightmare Realm?
Also, Flora was shocked to find out that she was getting affected by the illusion as well. Her emotion was still calm but looking at anything on the island would cause her mind to pulse with unknown realization.
Something she decided to forget long ago. The days before she was adopted by Sunders. The memories from the miserable days easily came flowing back into her mind.
Strangely, she did not feel pain when thinking about those memories. The gentle rhythm and the still beautiful island somehow mended the scars in her memory.
“Who created such a thing?” The shadowy figure in another Gold VIP chamber wondered. “Music, enchantment alchemy, Melodious Illusion, Nightmare Realm. The story of Augustin and Margaret… and those clouds. Is that the scene on cloud whale?” He pointed out the elements in the illusion in a low and hoarse voice.
The figure could not understand all of the elements. However, from what he could see, the vivid image of his adorable little student quickly popped up inside his mind.
“Oh… I never thought I’d remember those stories from centuries ago ever again. Is that you, Angor?”
He moved his head around, briefly exposing a gentlemanly face.
…
Angor was oblivious of what was going on in the hall. By using the effect brought by Tranquility Rune, he was now stroking Toby’s feathers to calm the bird.
Thanks to the soothing music and the tranquility aura, Toby finally quieted down.
“Thank goodness I used a Tranquility Rune on it, or I don’t know if I can control Toby,” Angor sighed. He always trusted Toby and allowed the bird to wander outside in a carefree way. He was afraid that the bird might have a hard time getting through such a heavy blow.
When something like this happened, as his guardian, Angor needed to protect Toby.
The music was ending. The misty island was hidden behind approaching clouds, and Angor could sense that Toby completely cooled his tiny head.
Angor tried to tease the bird again and was glad to see Toby responding to his attempts, though somewhat unwillingly.
The illusion was no more, yet all the people in the hall did not make a sound. It seemed they were still thinking about the great music and beautiful sight which had traveled far from their minds.
“Angor, I don’t know what to say,” said Dave as he gave Angor a sad look. “Why am I getting the feeling that you always learn stuff a hundred times faster? You can do something in a day when it’d take me years! I mean, you’re Angor, right? Who are you and what have you done to him?”
Angor facepalmed. “Well, maybe you’re talking about ‘yesterday’s me’.”
“I see… So, an Angor that I don’t know about created such an amazing artifact,” Dave comforted himself.
Prome also spoke to Angor with mixed emotions, “I know what we should discuss later…”
Angor thought about their agreement yesterday and nodded.
Twilight waited for everyone to collect their senses.
“As you all see, this is ‘Land on the Sky’.”