Indie Games 30330

Her Majesty's Theater[Note 1] is located in the West End of London, between Piccadilly Circus[Note 2] and Charing Cross Road[Note 3], just one stop away from their Embankment Station, and it didn't take long for the two of them to meet Standing in front of the theater gate.

Same as the real world, this building maintains the original appearance of CharlesJ.Phipps design since 1897[Note 4]—the whole building has 5 floors and is made of pure white stone, with four Corinthian stone pillars[ Note 5] Extending from the first floor to the second floor, a loggia is formed in front of the rotunda [Note 6], and the design of the square dome at the top refers to the architectural style of the French Renaissance.

At this moment, the wind and snow stopped, and London once again showed its ever-changing weather. There was no cloud in the sky, but the high white moon had a hazy halo. It seemed that a shower would come soon.

Cheng Mo and Qin Chuhe walked into the front hall of the theater.Different from the relatively simple exterior, the interior decoration of the theater is very delicate - the hanging crystal chandeliers are brilliant, and on the gold-rimmed ceiling, golden vines are entwined with complicated patterns on the sapphire blue background.It’s just that although everything here is gorgeous, it reveals a kind of luxury—the crystal chandelier has obviously just undergone some hasty cleaning. Although the light is bright, the metal bracket is covered with a layer of fine dust; The spider web that I noticed, a long-legged spider weaving a web in the corner like no one else—like a prodigal son with exhausted family resources, he still asks to wear brocade clothes when facing others.

Security guards in overalls stopped them:

"What's the matter with you?"

"Look for your boss." Cheng Mo looked at the burly security guard who was nearly a head taller than him, "We want to buy this theater."

The owner of the theater who came late did not show any apology, as if he was unaware of his lateness, but Jonathan, the actual person in charge who followed closely, stood aside with an apologetic face.The private office gave the boss a little more confidence, so he looked at Cheng Mo and the two of them with a little arrogance, and all of them made an astronomical figure contemptuously.

"The business of this theater is very good. After all, we have the best band, script and actors." He twirled his beard slowly, as if he knew that Cheng Mo and Qin Chuhe couldn't afford the price he offered, and just wanted to humiliate They look alike.

However, Qin Chuhe didn't show any sign of being angry because of the humiliation, not even a trace of being irritated, instead he glanced at the boss with interest.That look made the boss shiver inexplicably, thinking of the leopard that was about to hunt, and the poor prey that was about to fall into the trap was himself.

"Yes, no problem." Qin Chuhe sat on the stool calmly, with playful eyes like a seasoned shopping mall connoisseur, and added a sentence that made the boss displeased, "But before paying, we I want to hear your most famous musical here."

He pointed to the giant posters posted on the bulletin boards on both sides of the front hall wall:

"'Phantom of the Opera,' [note 7], we're going to hear this."

Cheng Mo sat on the side without saying a word, and when he saw the arrogant theater owner's face turn pale instantly, he knew that their previous guess was correct——

There was something wrong with this theater.

"The Phantom of the Opera" tells the story of the unknown opera singer Christine [Note 8], who has superb singing skills under the guidance of "The Phantom of the Opera House" [Note 9], and accidentally replaces the sick troupe chief to sing on stage.Delicate skills and wonderful singing voice made Christine quickly become the new favorite of musical theater, and she also fell in love with the new patron of the theater, her childhood playmate Rolle [Note 10].

Unexpectedly, the "Phantom" who originally lived behind the cold curtain like a ghost silently admired Christine who was like an angel.After discovering that she fell in love with Rolle, the angry "Phantom" launched a series of crazy revenge actions, but in the end, being influenced by Christine's affectionate kiss, she acquiesced in the love between Christine and Rolle. Finally left sadly.

In the real world, Her Majesty's Theater is famous for this poignant musical. "The Phantom of the Opera" was very popular as soon as it came out, and to this day, there is still an endless stream of audiences who come to enjoy this play every night, and even some good seats need to be booked weeks or even months in advance.But at this moment, the luxurious decoration of this theater still cannot conceal the decay and decay inside. Judging from the current situation, there should not be any performances for a long time.In their eyes, the price offered by that arrogant boss was nothing more than a bluff.

Something is eating away at this theater.

The potbellied boss's expression twitched a few times, as if he was struggling fiercely in his heart.After a while, he suddenly snorted coldly with an extremely ugly face, ignored the few people present, and walked away with a black face.It wasn't until he slammed the office door shut that Jonathan, the person in charge who hadn't made a sound for a long time, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said cautiously:

"Boss...has been tormented by this incident recently, I hope you don't mind too much."

Jonathan is in his early 30s, dressed in orthodox, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and has an innate gentlemanly temperament in his gestures.Unlike the boss who is only responsible for funding, he is the actual manager of the theater and is responsible for coordinating various affairs.In other words, he was the one who knew the theater best.

Seeing his hesitation, he must know something inside.Cheng Mo thought for a while and asked:

"What happened to you here?"

Jonathan was silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating whether to tell the truth.Qin Chuhe glanced at him coldly and didn't say much, but he shivered inexplicably, his whole body shrank, and he finally dropped his shoulders as if giving up.

"Phantom... the ghost in the play, he's back." He said tremblingly, his shoulders trembling in fear, as if trying to restrain his fear.

"The ghost is back?"

"Phantoms exist..." Jonathan tried to calm down, and poured hot tea for Cheng Mo and Qin Chuhe, "Her Majesty's Theater has staged this musical for many years, and there has been no problem. Until a month ago , the original actress asked to resign because of her age, and we replaced a new one as the heroine, and since then, strange things have happened one after another."

He took a sip of tea and continued:

"First, the crystal chandelier in the auction fell accidentally[Note 11] and injured Leo who played the role of Rolle, and then the lead actor who played the role of Phantom suddenly fell ill...After the last performance last Tuesday, he played Chris Ting’s Chloe woke up in the middle of the night and told her roommate that she saw a phantom wearing a white mask in the mirror.”

"Since then, Chloe has gradually become crazy, saying that the phantom took herself to the underground lake in the theater, deep in the underground labyrinth, and a wax figure exactly like her was wearing a wedding dress. The phantom forced her to wear a ring, threatening If she is not with herself, she will let Luo Er fall into a deep sleep forever. She accidentally took off the phantom's mask in panic, and the phantom who lost the mask revealed a face full of disfigurement and scars, cursing her life in despair and fury No chance of happiness."

"All of this is too similar to this play... The chandelier that suddenly fell, the reflection in the mirror, the artificial lake under the theater, the plot she said is almost the same as in the play, and people can't tell whether it is true or not. It’s the hallucinations she’s had from acting too much.”

It seems that the clues of the matter are currently concentrated on Chloe who plays Christine.Cheng Mo thought for a while and asked, "Can we meet Chloe?"

"Yes, yes." Jonathan raised his arm and glanced at his watch. It was exactly three o'clock in the morning. "After the accident, she has to go to the dressing room to practice at this time every night. It's just that the poor little girl is crazy right now." , I don’t think you can ask anything.”

"Take us to find her." Qin Chuhe didn't look disappointed, "Maybe we can find something in her."

<<

Jonathan led them to the dressing room, pointed out the route, and left.The person in charge with a pale face explained very apologetically that "someone has seen a ghost suspected of being a phantom in that dressing room", and all kinds of accidents happened to those who saw the ghost.

"Except for Chloe, no one dares to go to that place at this time." Jonathan wiped the sweat from his forehead guiltily, sincerely sorry for his timidity, "I wish you all good luck."

After saying goodbye to the well-meaning director of the theater, Cheng Mo and Qin Chuhe walked towards the dressing room.As they walked toward the depths of the dark corridor, they gradually heard the faint singing [Note 12].

【Angel, I will listen to your words】

【Accompany me and guide me】

【Angel forgive me for my wavering will】

【You are finally here my mentor】

Facing the huge full-length mirror, the young girl in white dress was singing in a low voice the aria that summoned the phantom in the play.She lowered her head, her seaweed-like wavy hair spread over her shoulders, trembling slightly at her slender waist as she moved.The girl touched the mirror lightly with her hand as if possessed, as if stroking the face of a lover she hadn't seen for a long time.

From nowhere, a violin sound seemed to be played, and the full-length mirror flickered on and off.At the moment when the ending of the girl's song disappeared into the air, a wave-like blue light appeared on the mirror, and another person's low-pitched echo came from the mirror.

【Smart and well-behaved child, you know me】

【Understand why I hide in the dark】

【Looking at the phantom of your face in the mirror】

【I will hide in it】

Cheng Mo opened his eyes wide in surprise.

——In the corner of the mirror, a phantom wearing a white mask appeared in response.

The author has something to say: [Note 1] HerMajesty'sTheatre, founded by playwright John Vanbrugh in 1705, was originally named theQueen'sTheatre.After Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne, it was renamed HerMajesty'sTheatre.

[Note 2] Piccadilly Circus, located in the first district of London.

【Note 3】CharingCross is located in the first district of London.

【Note 4】Her Majesty's Theater is now located in London, designed by CharlesJ.Phipps and completed in 1897.

【Note 5】Corinthian Order is a type of column in classical architecture, which originated in ancient Greece.

【Note 6】The loggia, originated from Italy, is a corridor located on the outside of the building facade. Only the outward side is supported by columns and can only be entered from the inside.

[Note 7] The Phantom of the Opera, adapted from the French writer Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux's novel Le Fantomedel'Opéra, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber (Andrew Lloyd Webber), the first female lead actress is Sarah Brightman (Sarah Brightman).She was Weber's wife at that time, and many arias in this musical were tailored for her by Weber.

【Note 8】Christine, the heroine of "The Phantom of the Opera", has been receiving the secret guidance of the Phantom.

[Note 9] The Phantom of the Opera, the male protagonist of "The Phantom of the Opera", is a person with a congenital deformity in his face but extremely talented in music.

【Note 10】Raoul, Christine's childhood playmate and later patron of the theater, fell in love with Christine after they reunited.

【Note 11】In the musical prelude, an auction decades later had an accident during the auction of the chandelier of the original opera house, and the chandelier fell, which led to the mystery of the Phantom of the Theater decades ago.

[Note 12] It comes from the song "Music of Angel" in the play. For the convenience of reading, the original English lyrics are not used. The Chinese translation here is taken from the dubbed version of the subtitle group of the Gods of the 25th Anniversary Concert.

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2020/2/14 update

Modified the inaccurate part in [Note 11].

2020/3/15 update

Fixed mixing of "opera" with "musical".