The Wielder of Death Magic

Chapter 153: The Stage

‘The land of fantasies he says.’ The meeting felt tight and awkward but tis was the nature of Aceline’s job. Scott and Staxius had the easy task of sitting back and watching.

“It sure is an honor to have you perform with our other stars,” after a few steps, Akhter got a phone call. It seemed pretty important; most didn’t notice apart from Staxius. The fat man began to sweat a little. After which he acted tough as if nothing happened.

“Excuse me miss Aceline, something has come up.” With haste, an assistant was called over to act as the guide. The eyes wandered around, it looked for anything suspicious. The manager rejoined with the singer and the tour began.

“This is where everyone will perform,” not much care was given to where the fan would stand. The place looked just fine for the magic happened on stage and at the back. Light glimmered within her eyes, imagining the crowd of people that would stand before her – the moral raised tremendously. A few meters stood before the stage and the guide, “We’ll take a quick tour at the back before climbing those stairs,” the guide pointed at the entry into the world of dreams.

The speakers played loudly, the people in charge of sound tested everything out. Throughout the week starting tomorrow; small shows would be put on by local artists. A sort of showcase for people to attend; this was the first big music event organized. The screen seemed to not have enough of the man named Sugar, his song played constantly. Staxius could not but stand still and watch, a show in of itself.

“Hey,” Scott yelled, it snapped him out of the daydream. “Stay close or you’ll stay behind,” he urged him to follow. The seriousness from beforehand had dissipated. A quick scan of the entire arena using the All-seeing eyes had to be done whilst in the car. In the end, he followed.

A tour of the backstage was given, from wardrobes to changing rooms – it held everything. Spare musical instruments laid inside boxes. The guide seemed to enjoy the technical side of this. Aceline could not but smile at the man’s passion. A few minutes later, the tour ended; the best saved for last. As a sign of respect, the guide stopped to let the young idol proceed, Scott and Staxius climbed behind her.

.....

“The sheer size of this place,” Scott mumbled. All around the floor, markers were spotted. Places for the many bands to stand for reference. “Amazing,” she was overwhelmed, the heart raced. With her on stage, the guys could practically hear the people cheering; truly magical.

“Hey Tom, we’ve got the live testing to do, where are the back-up musicians?” one of the tech guys rushed onto the stage, he spoke to the guide. “I think they took a break earlier,” clueless, Tom stood without knowing what to say nor do.

“Damn it,” the tech panted.

“Excuse me, but what’s the matter?” out of character, Staxius approached the man covered with dirt. “Need people to test the live instrument. All the sound checks have been done, it’s just the electronics,” he explained into further detail. As complicated as it sounded, he understood every word.

“To summarize, you need people to play anything just so the equipment can be properly adjusted if needed?” All the information condensed into that sentence. “Yes, we’ve got two people on standby, but we need another three.”

“We can help,” Scott jumped into the fray, Aceline’s face lit. The rehearsal wasn’t until four days later; a little practice never really hurt. “Awesome,” Jim ran down the stairs to fetch the other members, tis was the name of the tech guy.

“Scott, don’t you know I can’t play anything,” Staxius whispered, to which the manager laughed. “You’ll be fine, tis but a test; none’s going to judge if one plays in tune or no.”

“Here we are,” hands carrying various instruments – Jim walked in with two people behind. One was the same young man as seen on the screen, “is that Sugar?” Scott’s eyes lit.

“Hello everyone,” the voice felt soothing, Sugar walked in. Black hair, a face that would make anyone crumble, and blue eyes; a lady killer. In his hands, a black guitar. Next to him, a girl bearing black hair and fair complexion, her eyes were hazel instead. She also had a guitar, one with four strings – a bass. Rather than speaking, she nodded; the silent type.

Staxius could not but watch silently, Aceline took charge and greeted the rather popular artist. He smiled but the eyes told another story. “Greetings Aceline, glad to see that the pride of Hidros finally arrived safe and sound,” despite soothing, there was something off about him. Scott tried to engage the man in a conversation but was straight up ignored, without paying much heed, he stepped back.

“Are you alright?” Staxius approached. Sugar and his partner walked by and stood in front. “I guess, I forgot that some famous people are like that. Egotistical and very prideful. That’s the way of life in this industry.”

Aceline’s shoulder slumped, her confidence sapped away. ‘Another battlefield’, the face could not but smile.

“May I have your attention,” Tom called out, “We need a keyboard and guitar player, as for singers; Sugar and Aceline can do a duet if needed. I’ll play the drums,” he walked over and sat. Jim took over the testing, wires ran from here to there; playing wasn’t possible yet.

“A guitar?” Staxius glared at Scott who casually stood before the keyboard. “How the hell am I supposed to play?”

“You’ll be fine,” he threw a thumbs up. Holding a musical instrument completely foreign and untouched, Staxius looked around in hopes of finding a solution. The eyes came across a hidden Aceline, her presence nearly vanished.

“Are you alright?” he walked over to check; her eyes felt dim. The pleasure of seeing the stage vanished as soon as Sugar walked in. The latter and his partner were already playing. The speakers echoed around the empty spectator area. “I-I’ll be f-fine,” her confidence lost itself in the sea of doubt.

The bass played; the girl was pretty skilled. Accompanying her, a just as good guitar player, though it felt lacking. Tom’s drumming skill made most of the workers move their heads along the beat. They were playing a song unknown to Staxius, he didn’t have a single idea about how to begin.

“You three, are you just going to stand around and do nothing?” Sugar turned around; the eyes filled with pity. A single glare from Staxius made him immediately face forward, “who the hell is that guy?” he whispered to the silent girl.

“Follow me,” he pulled the lost idol away from the back, they all stood around Scott’s keyboard. “Lady Aceline, this stage will be yours to conquer in the upcoming days. Why don’t you go all out and sing, we’ll make you shine, trust in us,” the words rolled off the tongue with ease. The eyes filled with trust; her daydream broke.

“I’m sorry for that,” a moment of uncertainty. “You do your best, Staxius,” she smiled and walked forward. “You idiot, how the hell am I supposed to play?” that quandary remained.

“Don’t worry, just let her voice and my sound guide thy hands. I’ve witnessed how quickly you can learn; do the same thing. Think of the guitar like a piano, and you shall be fine,” the words meant nothing at all. However, he could not but smile – this job was fun.

“Can you guys stop playing,” Jim raised his hand; a problem occurred. This gave her time to walk and stand in front of everyone, the place where she belonged.

“Sugar, I’ll take over the singing,” the tone filled with determination, grudgingly he accepted. In the back, Staxius began to play the guitar without much noise – it was so silent only he could hear the sound being produced. ‘Like a piano,’ the fingers ran up and down the fretboard. The eyes closed, for a second; the body entered Clarity, all the knowledge needed was sought after.

“Got it,” he whispered, the eyes reopened. ‘Unlimited knowledge, a place where all my confusion is voided; I love it,” the hands burnt a little. Every time the mind traveled into that realm; a curse wrote itself onto the body. Ones that were usually inconsequential, living with curses became as natural as breathing.

“You’re good to go,” Jim yelled, the problem fixed. With a deep breath, Aceline took the lead and sang. Sugar and his friend were shocked, Scott joined in rapidly. The keyboard accompanied her harmoniously, the bass began to play as well. A few seconds later, the drums kicked in. Not wanting to be outdone, Sugar jumped into the mix and played; it sounded messy and sloppy. The young idol took a few tries but finally adjusted himself, though the song was way offline. Everything got turned upside down.

“What a mess,” Staxius strummed, it caught everyone off guard. “IS THIS THE WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TO PERFORM SOUND LIKE?” he yelled; this lit a fire under both idols. The guitar playing improved and so did the singer. That single note he played suffice, it got all on track.

She sang her heart out, all the faces began to smile. Without warning, the legs walked around the stage. Staxius’s guitar didn’t play, he watched without making much of an impact. “Come on Staxius, PLAY,” she screamed; everyone stopped.

“What’s happening?” Sugar asked. He was having fun until it all stopped. Not wanting to attract attention, the eyes closed, the hands moved on its own, he played. The only sound produced was that guitar of his, Tom jumped in. The heads moved furiously with the fast-paced rhythm Staxius installed. Scott cheered, the keyboard played, the bass moved rapidly, she complimented his playing.

With a big yahoo, Sugar jumped in, Aceline sang her heart out. All the workers stopped and stood in the spectator area. The faces held a smile, the head moved, in a weird way, Staxius had fun. ‘So, this is your weapon,’ slowly, he realized what she wanted to accomplish.

The prideful Sugar threw away his ego to play with the rest. To that end, he even seemed friendly, the people were pulled in as if attracted by a magnet. A few minutes went by, unknowingly, Staxius slipped into Clarity. The rhythm changed, the pace increased, the sound became more explosive but had a feeling of nostalgia hidden deep within.

Not able to keep up, Sugar stopped. He panted; the forehead sweated. Aceline followed, Scott’s finger hurt; the speed became painful. In no way did this fast pace sound bad, it was different. As hard as Tom could have tried, the man failed in the end, exhaustion caught up. Oblivious to the surrounding, the music continued.

“Just who the hell is he?” Sugar wandered around and watched. The others followed him, Tom got off the drum, Scott off the keyboard. Aceline watched, tears began to flow down her cheeks. The melodies that came one after the other were painful. It reached a point where the left hand bled, the consciousness had strayed way deeper into Clarity.

“Give me a second everyone,” Adete flew and slammed her forehead into his. He got pulled out instantly, “what happened?” he looked down to a bloodstained guitar. The hand raised; no pain was felt whatsoever. All who were present on stage rushed and gave a group hug. Whelmed by all this show of affection, he could not wait.

“I’ve found a new respect for you, Staxius Haggard,” Scott’s eyes teared up, the tight embrace ended. “Me too,” Sugar jumped in. “That was the saddest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” the singer spoke lastly.

“I apologize for getting this guitar dirtied,” the voice monotonous, the testing ended. “No need to worry,” Tom reassured. The wound healed itself, the atmosphere regained its normality. The image of him playing was burnt into the heart of all who were present that day.

“It was a pleasure meeting you all,” Sugar spoke, the tone changed from before. Near the foot of the stairs, his manager waited impatiently. Thus, the tour of the stage ended.