Chapter 350 - Passion

“To the moon? If it were anyone but me, then I would say that you are crazy… but I find such aspirations hold a certain charm.”

Cornelius bowed to Katalina and extended a hand forward, like she was presenting herself respectfully before someone grand. However, the recipient wasn’t quite so amused.

“Yet, you mock me with such a grandiose reaction.”

“No, no. I mean no contempt.” Cornelius got up in a panic. “For some reason, I felt like doing that. I’m not even sure what came over me.”

Under the dust and ruffled clothing, something shone from within Katalina. It was awe-inspiring, regal even. It made Cornelius subconsciously wish to follow along, doing what she could to fulfill the wishes of those determined eyes.

“But what will you do when you reach it?”

Katalina merely shook her head, as if that desire was some suggestion she caught in the wind one day. Her head turned to a giant mess of machinery, under some awning. What was there appeared half built, a mess of things spilling out of a vehicle that was hallowed out.

“I don’t know. My intuition tells me that I need to complete this. To break free from whatever holds me to this place.”

“And your flying magic can’t do it?”

“No, it can’t. If I fly too high, the mana grows weak. It can no longer support the weight of a person, and down I go again. Like wings melted by the sun. And the walls, they are too high…”

If Katalina said so, then surely, that was the case. Cornelius couldn’t help but feel that they were living in a cage. Something subconsciously was muting any desire to leave, but that all changed when she experienced the beauty of magic. Thinking harder about it, several thoughts flashed in her mind, causing her to clutch her head.

The beauty of ice. A winter wonderland. A sight so majestic that she couldn’t help but hear a sonata play in the background. And a girl…

“Are you okay?”

A hand resting on her shoulder brought Cornelius out of the visions. She stared at Katalina dumbly.

“Was that bit of flying too much for you?” Katalina asked, concerned.

“No, not at all. It must have been the nerves of creativity. They get to me sometimes. Asking me to pursue that which I find beautiful.”

Katalina backed up and blushed, eyes wide at the statement.

“That is why I wish to learn this magic from you. So that I can see the natural wonders that you see as well.”

Katalina’s face dropped, relieved that she now understood what the quirky artist meant. She coughed into her fist and composed herself before extending a hand towards the other.

“I don’t mind teaching you. It would be quite helpful for an assistant to help me build this device to shoot off to the moon.”

“To the moon.”

Cornelius reached out and accepted the gesture.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days passed as the two became enraptured by the wonders of magic and crafting. It seemed like such a huge task – creating a self-propelling vehicle to travel the skies. However, Katalina had already created blueprints, jotting down everything that was needed to accomplish the task.

The more that Cornelius poured through the designs, the more the drawings seemed to ‘sing’ to her. Each part was an instrument, waiting to harmonize with the rest. Each stroke of the pencil connected one with another, like a backdrop setting was sketched just for them to meet.

Cornelius always had creativity on the mind, ever since she discovered all the lost technology that mankind had once created. The sounds and images of the past – a time when humans were free to explore – Cornelius could catch glimpses of these moments that led her imagination to fill in for the rest.

“You’re purchasing quite a bit these days.”

A comment from the store clerk interrupted Cornelius’s thoughts. He handed her a bag of more knickknacks that Katalina requested. Certainly, coming here every day for a while had caught his interest.

“I’m helping to build something.”

“Hmm, I could tell from your expression. That eagerness in your step. You look livelier than ever before. I can tell when a person is building a dream. Unlike the sorry folks that live here without much purpose.”

Cornelius eyed the cloaked man, who seemed to blend in with the surroundings like all the other townsfolk. People hid their eyes a lot, almost like they didn’t want others to see them take interest. They would rather mull about their day, never changing. Perhaps, that was why Katalina seemed so bright. Even dirty, her eyes twinkled through it.

“What about you? You seem curious.”

“Well, we all want change. But it seems like no one has the will to do it. It takes courage to step out of one’s comfort zone. To experience the unknown, to see what hasn’t been discovered. And we have no one but ourselves to blame for any hesitation.”

“I want to do it. I want to sketch beyond what is around here. I want to create wonders with my own hands.”

“As long as you hold onto a goal, I think you’ll make it there. Here, have an extra meal on the house. It’s that girl’s favorite.”

Cornelius accepted the box and opened it. Several pieces of crispy fried eggplant were within. She eyed the food strangely, wondering where she had seen it before.

“Hey, how do you know-”

The cloaked man had disappeared from the counter, leaving her to head out in confusion.

She returned to the ruins, where she handed the objects to the witch, who promptly dumped them into her cauldron. Giving it a few swirls, the only other noise came from the rumble of her stomach, a clear sign that she had been working non-stop.

“Hungry?” Cornelius extended the box of fried things to her.

Katalina grabbed a piece and looked at it in wonder. But then, she took a bite and her eyes lit up.

“What is this?! It’s so good!”

“What is it? But the store clerk… never mind, watch what you are doing!”

Apparently, a moment of distraction had caused the cauldron to throw out sparks, a testament to how difficult it was playing with magic. Synthesizing require constant and precise control of mana flow. Katalina rushed to bring it under control, but try as she did, fireworks of different colors spewed around her.

“Maybe you should…”

‘Run?’ was what Cornelius wanted to say, but a bright light exploded, catching them both off guard. Like a bomb exploding, Cornelius was tossed back and tumbled to the ground. It took several moments to stop her ears from ringing and her eyes to regain focus.

Katalina stood before the cauldron, seemingly unharmed. A glowing force field surrounded her, ample protection from the blast. In her hands, a heavy device was held up, surprisingly intact after the magical snafu.

“Ehehe, it still worked! A moment of distraction merely caused the charging to overload, sparking the catalysts and creating a chain reaction! But no matter, it will replenish in time. A drained battery is only a minor upset in the scale of things! But the last piece of the puzzle is now complete!”

As quickly as the excitement came to her, Katalina placed the battery on a table and promptly fell over. Within moments, she was snoring soundly. Little did Cornelius know, her help as an assistant had revved up Katalina’s motivation, making her push far more than normal. And once the euphoria of finished claimed her, the final flame of consciousness blew out.

Cornelius sighed as she looked around. ‘Complete, huh?’ she thought. Her gaze fell upon the vehicle tucked under the awning. It looked close to done. The mess of wiring and machinery had all been shoved back into the shell, with only a single hole remaining to be filled. What it required now was the new battery, powerful enough to propel the full weight and not needing to draw power from the surroundings. Once they were high enough, it would have to handle everything on its own.

They would finally leave this place and see what was beyond their surroundings. An adventure – no longer confined to any specific role or place.

Cornelius clutched her head again, the vision of a platinum-haired girl looking back at her. She took to the skies, free as a bird. It left her with a feeling of being enamored, even as the image disappeared and all that was left was the moon hanging in the sky.

Moon. What it really that? The circular object that hung in the sky even during the day? Cornelius began to question its existence, that which had appeared suddenly one day.

‘Appeared? Why did that detail not feel strange before?’ Her memories were hazy if she thought too far back, like she wasn’t meant to.

“I’m awake and ready to synthesize!”

The outburst of Katalina as she awoke from her nap made Cornelius jump.

‘Oh well, we will find out soon enough.…’

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day of the launch approached. Katalina made the final checks – taking the vehicle for a test spin above town, much to the surprise of its inhabitants. They looked up as if the giant metal box had sprouted wings itself.

And even as she landed and said that the preparations were complete, it all felt surreal to Cornelius. The invention of magic or the magic of invention – she had no idea how each constituted to the other. All she could feel was an overwhelming sensation of awe, a willingness to take Katalina’s hand and join her in the impossible journey.

The seats in the vehicle felt just right. The box of metal surrounding them felt like just enough protection from impacts but open enough to feel the breeze.

“Where did you come up with this design anyways?” Cornelius asked.

“I didn’t. I got it from someone. It was called a ‘Jeep’ from what I recall.”

“I don’t care what it’s called. It still feels weird to me for an object rolling on wheels to ascend to the skies.”

“Aren’t you glad that we can build things beyond reason?”

Katalina started the engine again, the hum feeling mechanical. The warmth of mana permeating the vehicle swept that away. At once, it rolled forward and toward the makeshift ramp that would launch them into the air. ‘Angled perfectly to shoot for the moon,’ as Katalina said once.

“Now, the battery will keep it going, but we’ll still need to control its ascent. Two people will be more difficult to control, but we’ll have double the mana to channel through the conduit. Being in sync will be the key.”

They hit the ramp and flew upwards, angling higher and higher until they made a straight line for the moon in the sky.

“More! More! Keep at it, Cornelius! Just like stirring the cauldron!”

Cornelius was having a heart attack trying to keep up. The nerves – both from height and worry – was causing her flow of mana to stagger. She needed some way to focus, to direct her attention to. Fear bit into her until the engine started to sputter, and the motion of descent could be felt.

The visions of a lonely person, holed up in a room, invaded her vision. Someone who shied away from society, because it didn’t feel beautiful. A person who drowned in melodies to block out the noises from outside.

There was a fear of change. The constant melodies that had survived the passage of time were like companions. They were what gave the person strength to keep going. To keep playing. A head fell upon piano keys as the melody ended.

The music felt empty and stagnant. The tune was perfect but barely a single head had turned toward the melody.

Mechanical, cold, and hallow. That was what the notes were to them. There was no connection to people’s hearts because no beauty in them was seen. They were ugly in how they changed unexpectedly. A single feeling of dissatisfaction blooming into full on hatred.

There were merely the sting of neglect and the eyes of indifference. To not carry their legacy. To not be like them. The ones that raised the person.

What hope was there when one’s closest companions felt nothing? An artist would rather waste than give up music. If it didn’t make others feel, then what meaning was there to it all?

Cornelius clutched herself as the vehicle continued to fall. She felt like a failure just like that mysterious person, always getting too into things and then falling short. Letting others down, leaving them to pick up the pieces.

But amidst the panic of the situation, a gentle melody entered her ears. Cornelius turned to find Katalina humming her normal tune, focused on correcting the vehicle from its downward trajectory.

After a few bars, Cornelius joined in as well, their melodies far from harmonic but powerful nonetheless. Their eyes met, and with a nod, they placed their hands forward and forced the Jeep to plateau before rising again.

The melody was not beautiful, the untrained vocals of Katalina was barely able to keep pitch. But still, Cornelius could feel something from it, a sense of unity that held the flying vehicle together. Purple wisps of mana crackled from each of them, like they had both combined their powers. And soon, they were right back on course for the moon.

“Say… what is that melody called? Who taught you it?”

Katalina shook her head.

“I don’t recall, but it feels like it came from someone I cherished once. As for the song itself… I believe it was called ‘Passion’.”

Passion.

The person alone in that room was missing that. It was perhaps that very reason no one care for such tunes. A melody done perfectly, as it was plainly shown.

But not how the person wanted.

It was a simple thing, showing others one’s own excitement. But for a person that couldn’t connect with anyone, there was no one to impress. No one to show off one’s talents. No one to share in the joy of it.

Katalina had that someone. She could feel it. That someone was waiting on the ‘moon’.

The two of them stared as the circle in the sky became larger and larger. They were far from the surface now, but neither one bothered to look elsewhere. Their attention was fully on the goal before them, until…

“Is it just me, or does the ‘moon’ look strange to you?” Cornelius asked.

“How odd. A celestial body shouldn’t feel so close. And certainly, I feel a strange aura of mana around it…”

“Um… we’re going to crash right into it, aren’t we?”

“It seems-”

Suddenly, the flying Jeep went right through the ‘moon’, disappearing without a trace.