Chapter 138
Hebe inexplicably thought of Miss A-Long —if dragons are living mountains, then what are living ocean currents?
Whose Sea Kin?
212 Beluga Whale
Of course, in the ancient texts that Hebe read, rivers and waterways were also referred to as "dragons" in ancient times.
There's a classic joke about Cathay: To the north is Taiga, to the south a great river. The great Taiga floods when it's unhappy; it's unhappy when it doesn't flood. The great river is cruel and cunning, the Taiga is cunning and cruel... Both are mother rivers, but the Nile River can be considered a benevolent mother, while Cathay's two great rivers will equally strike down any emperor who doesn't manage water conservancy projects.
Just kidding, I'll elbow you if you build water conservancy projects.
The two major rivers in Cathay do not require human sacrifices under normal circumstances, because they will come out on their own to find food when they are hungry.
If even mountains can be transformed into dragons, why can't ever-flowing rivers transform into dragons?
During the ceremony, Hebe's question was answered.
—It was June Archon, Pearl.
Pearl came from a coastal city in an Eastern country; her physical body was born from the womb of an ordinary person.
In her youth, she frequented the seas, rescuing those who had fallen into the water or guiding those who had lost their way; until the waters churned and the land receded and the sea rose.
In silence, she built a dam across Cathay, and after nine years, the rivers burst their banks. At that time, Pearl, in despair, leaped into the abyss of desolation... With the help of the Holy Grail, she was reborn, channeling the waters and restoring the Water and Soil of Cathay over thirteen years.
By this time, the waters of Cathay had submitted, but the ocean currents surrounding Cathay had not yet been tamed.
Therefore, Pearl once again leaped into the sea as the final step in her accomplishment, and the ocean currents of the four seas and even the world have remained gentle and calm to this day.
Navigators from various countries said that if they encountered storms and dangers, they should call out "Your Empress," and Pearl would surely come running with her hair flowing down to save them from their suffering.
It is precisely because of the existence of pearls that all the water systems in the world no longer possess the status of "dragons." No matter how turbulent or angry they are as they break through the restrictions of the dikes, they are ultimately just a phenomenon, not something deliberately promoted for the purpose of "dragons entering the sea." They will eventually return to the river channels.
Therefore, mountains can be brought to life as dragons, because the Holy Grail is the Earth Mother, and the mountains are her offspring.
Therefore, amidst the furnace fires, tales often circulate of a craftsman forging a divine sword that transforms into a dragon and flies away amidst thunderous roars. This is because the Celestial Flint possesses unparalleled craftsmanship, and it is His highest praise for all craftsmen.
On the contrary, the rivers that were most likely to resemble dragons were punished and deprived of the possibility of transforming into dragons and developing consciousness.
While ocean currents may not reach that level, as just one part of the myriad waters, they cannot become dragons like Miss A-Long.
"What will I become?" Hebe wondered.
She felt her enormous body gradually becoming rounder, like a giant tortoise.
Hebe was suddenly startled. "No, no, no big turtle!"
She remembered a somewhat hellish joke: I've traveled back to the prehistoric era; what have I become? My body is huge; oh my god, a giant turtle!
The Holy Grail is the Great Mother Goddess, the original Earth Mother. In Cathay, there is a legend that she cut off the limbs of a giant tortoise to establish the heavens and the four seasons.
As her body gradually developed in the direction of a giant turtle, it also gradually became slender, like a huge white whale with a single horn on its head.
It's clear that Pearl is making her move; compared to the giant claw, the narwhal's appearance is more in line with Hebe's aesthetic.
On another note, haven't I seen this beluga whale somewhere before...?
Before Hebe could think further, she sensed the ritual's effectiveness waning and began to regain control of the enormous new body.
As the waves surged, a massive beluga whale roared in the golden ocean current, swirling its long tail and creating terrifying whirlpools.
"Dead... all dead!"
On a small boat, Old Yule Jules stood there, his eyes glazed over, trembling.
He never imagined that the massive Titanic would sink into the sea in an instant; but when he saw the enormous white object riding the ocean currents, almost level with the sky, his heart was completely gripped by fear.
The Titanic was such a massive metal structure, yet it was as insignificant as a speck of dust compared to this white whale.
What are you afraid of?
Another man sitting at the bow of the boat spoke with a sneer.
He shakily pulled out a clean cigarette from the tin box on his chest, and was about to take a puff when a flood surged in from afar.
The man had no choice but to steer with all his might. When he finally managed to avoid the giant wave that was enough to capsize the entire small boat, the cigarette between his lips was already damp.
"Damn it!" The old man at the helm angrily slammed his fist on the gunwale.
He irritably exhaled his cigarette smoke into the sea, staring at the white Giant Whale gradually disappearing into the distance, especially the long, slender horn on its head.
"You're fucking a big dick." The old man cursed the Giant Whale that capsized the Titanic with vulgar language. "I think you should be called Mobidic."
"Hey, Jules." The old man walked over and slapped Jules, who was still convulsing and trembling, twice to wake him up.
The old man's gaze was intense.
"What... what did I do?" Jules murmured. "Santiago, it's you? You're still alive?"
Old Yule never imagined that his roommate would survive this catastrophe and even manage to steal a small boat full of supplies.
"You're just talking nonsense," Santiago sneered. "If I hadn't dragged you out of the bilge, you would have been fucking sunk to the bottom of the sea long ago."
"The captain is incompetent; it seems I have no choice but to set sail."
Santiago was silent for a moment, then looked at Jules, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "You come and be my sailor."
"I...?"
Jules pointed incredulously to himself.
"If it wasn't you, who else could it be?" Santiago scratched his head in frustration. "I'm definitely going to kill this beluga whale..."
His voice gradually faded, and he muttered something only he could understand.
"Damn it, back in the day I was leading the Golden Fleet to hunt down sea monsters. I thought I could finally rest, but when I opened my eyes I found myself on a ship, and still surrounded by sea monsters..."
There was a hint of melancholy and nostalgia in Santiago's eyes.
He began to miss the round-headed seal with orange markings that always led the way at the front of the fleet, the seal named "Little Orange".
Rose sat blankly at the bow of a small boat.
Beside her was an oyster that kept blowing bubbles—it was Jack.
They were extremely lucky in that terrible disaster that capsized the entire Titanic.
The surging flesh and blood gathered them together, and when the flesh and blood turned into pure water, they were washed onto a perfectly good small boat, and thus pushed to the surface by the ocean currents, far away from the Titanic and the surrounding undercurrents and whirlpools.
'But where should I go next?'
Rose's blank gaze gradually regained its spark, but she still felt somewhat lost.
Not only for his own future, but also for the oyster beside him, who turned out to be his former lover with whom he had been separated by life and death.
Indeed, when Rose came into close contact with the oyster, they were able to communicate with each other, and it was because of this that Rose realized that she had also experienced the sinking of the Titanic.
And his own mother, for the sake of terrible profits, sent him back onto the ship.
Just as Rose was feeling lost, the small boat, which was drifting aimlessly with the ocean current, suddenly began to rock violently.
Wearing a neat gray striped suit, Hebe emerged from the water, clung to the gunwale, and climbed aboard.
Rose's eyes widened. "Miss Antonio, you, you're not dead? You're alive..."
Hebe frowned, instinctively feeling that there should be music playing in this place.
"Of course I'm fine."
Hebe finally remembered why the beluga whale she had transformed into felt so familiar.
Whether in Toyokawa Shoko's dream or in the real world, when he and Arthur sailed to the waters near Atlantis, they had seen this enormous narwhal, which was covered in countless corals.
However, at this moment, his own body was no match for that white whale—the latter was far larger than Hebe.
Hebe's gaze swept over Rose's anxious face and the oysters opening and closing beside her, and he knew that the couple, no longer the same as before, had finally met again.
How are you feeling?
"It's novel, but not bad," Rose replied. "Are you helping us?"
Hebe nodded calmly, acknowledging his earlier action of delivering the item to the ship.
The Titanic has now sunk, and many citizens, nobles, wealthy merchants, and musicians have perished with it.
If Rose intends to break free from the so-called citizen aristocracy now, it would be a good opportunity.
"But you can't just leave now." Hebe slowly revealed a subtle smile.
Just now, as she transformed into an ocean current, she received a message from afar.
Mozart, the Grand Harmonizer, is leading the entire army of Issus northward to fight a decisive battle against Joan of Arc's Mycenae army.
A full-strength orchestra of Tuners; a full Golem Legion; the last Golden Fleet; and all the philosophers who are willing to answer the call.
Judging from the literal data, there is no doubt that the advantage lies with Ys.
So Hebe had to change course temporarily and go to "join" Mozart.
The Golden Fleet, under the command of the Philosopher King, once roamed the high seas, conquering the bodies of barbarians with swords, cannons, and nooses, and converting their souls with music, poetry, and drama.
After the Philosopher King entered into eternal contemplation, the three Grand Harmonizer began to maintain and make necessary corrections to the Grand Symphony.
However, as time went on, the drawbacks began to emerge.
The three Grand Harmonizer did not initially have this division of labor. However, compared to Mozart, Nero and Elizabeth were more likely to cause trouble in the tuning process.
Mozart remarked more than once that they were simply sent by the Philosopher King to amuse and confuse him.
It's not fair to say they were completely useless. If they were truly clueless about music, it would actually be a good thing for Mozart.
Because in that case, he could directly use them as apprentices without having to explain further; he could simply issue orders for them to carry out.
The crucial point is that both Nero and Elizabeth are very opinionated, and not completely ignorant of music.
However, their mastery of musical theory was far from reaching the level required to correct Grand Symphony.
Whenever Mozart tried to tell them to stop causing trouble, they would always have a strong argument, and could even use their own theories to question Mozart in return, which always made Mozart laugh in exasperation.
This cycle repeated itself, causing more and more problems to accumulate within the Grand Symphony, and the loopholes to grow larger and larger... Finally, the once peaceful Water and Soil began to rebel, and the once united Atlantis began to experience unnecessary noise.
Chaos began to fester, and riots began to break out. At first, they could be suppressed, but as the saying goes, "press down one gourd and another floats up," and once one happened, two happened, and three more were bound to follow.
Riots of varying frequencies are breaking out throughout Atlantis. The Golden Fleet, once a sharp weapon for external expansion, is now forced to turn its blade against its own blood relatives.
Even in the end, half of the Golden Fleet turned against them.
It was in this terrible chaos that the Golden Fleet, unable to receive replenishment, ultimately self-destructed.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Mozart poured his achievements into the Grand Symphony, concentrating all the flaws and loopholes in the Northern Territory's Movement, and then relinquishing the entire Northern Territory, thus restoring the general stability of Atlantis.
From then on, Nero and Elizabeth were no longer able to make any further changes to the Grand Symphony; their authority had in fact been delegated to Mozart, and they possessed only worldly power.
Of course, they weren't entirely reckless madmen who refused to admit their mistakes. After the North was ceded, they continued their relentless campaign against it... But in Mozart's view, the North didn't have to be sacrificed in the first place.
Once something happens, it's like the dice have been rolled; spilled water can never be retrieved or changed. This is the way of the world.
Mozart certainly never regretted incorporating his achievements into his Grand Symphony.
As a political enemy of the Philosopher King Remus, or as a trusted advisor entrusted with the care of the Philosopher King, Mozart disagreed with Remus on many issues, but he always firmly believed that music could achieve immortality for the human soul.
He was absolutely certain that fate could be controlled and calculated, that one day humanity would no longer be controlled by the gods, and that mortal destiny would ultimately be in one's own hands. The key to ultimate destiny lay hidden within the Grand Symphony.
"The destruction of the past has caused irreversible damage to the Grand Symphony."
Over the years, Mozart gradually came to understand one thing: according to Remus's previous definition, the Grand Symphony itself had a considerable degree of resilience.
In other words, no matter how much Nero and Elizabeth struggled due to their incompetence, they should not have allowed an irreparable flaw to appear in the Grand Symphony.
"Unless, it existed long before us and has already planted loopholes in the Grand Symphony."
On the flagship Fool's Ship, Mozart sat in his recliner, his brow furrowed.
"Who exactly is it... besides the Philosopher King and the Grand Harmonizer, who else has the authority to modify the Grand Symphony?"
Nero and Elizabeth might know, but they are dead in the North and cannot corroborate this.
Now, there is only one way: to risk Grand Symphony and start anew at the border between the North and Ys.