[Phantom of the Opera] In Praise of Iris

sing for meIt's a wonderful illusion, no wonder it's easy to get addicted.Walking through the bluestone corridor with dim candlelight, Irene couldn't help but sighed in self-mockery.But I don’t know where to start from, the strings of large and small bells are hanging over her head in a patchwork pattern—it coincides with the idea she kept in her mind when she visited this candlelight corridor before; even the slightly damp ceiling wall It is also dotted with abstract paintings as she expected.

"You sang to me in my sleep, and you came to me in my dream. Your voice called me, calling my name..." But it was still Christine who was breached first.The brown-haired beauty stared at the slow-moving figure in front of her obsessively. The singing voice lingering in her ear was still full of fatal allure, but it was more generous and gentle than usual.In a trance, Christine seemed to be dragged back to the past again, the time when the hell angels hadn't shown their fangs to her.

"I wish I could go back to my dream again, and never destroy the pure white illusion of the angel, but the devil's fangs are approaching, and I can no longer be an ignorant lamb!" At this point, the haggard face of the brown-haired beauty once again drenched with crystal The rain of tears, anyone can see the bleeding scar on her heart from this song - torn apart by the ghost's lies, gradually rotted under the temptation of the waif's lies, until now she can break free from the paralysis of fear and burst out There was piercing pain.

Maybe the mentor is indeed singing for you, maybe...you do have more of his favor?Irene used ethereal overtones as the transition between the two singing, she quickly put away her hypocritical guilt, and a heart that was not used to admitting defeat keenly began to move around.I don’t know how many arches under the spiral descending corridor, a sleek black horse opened its mouth and yawned boredly. Irene recognized that it was the most proud show horse of the theater’s equestrian master—I don’t know how often When will a man in his prime who smells like alcohol find out that his beloved horse is missing.

"It seems that your angel is really considerate." Irene gave Eric a teasing look, and smiled at her before Christine could speak, "Get on the horse, my princess, it is not polite to disappoint a gentleman's kindness What a lady does."

If this dreadful nightmare could be escaped by the abandonment of propriety, I would be the most impertinent shrew at once!Christine sighed bitterly in her heart, and did not refuse Irene's kindness.This is not surprising, after all, Irene rescued her from the agency several times before, which proved that she was more suitable for this dangerous journey than the haggard brown-haired beauty.As for the reason, Christine instinctively refused to think about it.

The brown-haired beauty was obediently pushed onto the horse's back, and the ghost stopped in its tracks, frowning slightly behind the white mask, but said nothing, as if acquiescing to Irene's actions.In fact, although Eric was slightly displeased that the horse carefully prepared for his lover was occupied by Christine, he cared more about Irene's abnormal silence—based on Eric's understanding of Irene, There is no libretto that contains heart, no independent tune that conveys emotion, and Irene's almost perfunctory humming at the moment is equivalent to silence, when two souls who love music stare at each other.

"Sing with me again, repeat this strange duet, I'm looking forward to you so eagerly, do you have the heart to turn my back? Why don't you say a word, in this holy moment of first sight? When will you allow Your good teacher, who resides in the deepest part of the soul?" Eric led the black horse and continued to move forward in a majestic posture, but the eyes hidden behind the white mask were staring at the other side of the black horse through the reins Irene, whose light-colored pupils were full of tenderness, actually brought out a trace of anxiety.

Irene also looked back at him seriously, and a bright smile quickly appeared on her light pink lips.But before she had time to respond, she found that the bluestone corridor had come to an end—the lead gray dark river that made her stop countless times was in front of her.But this time, she didn't need to worry about it. There was already a dark boat parked at her feet. The boat was decorated with three square lamps with black bones and white backgrounds. Cleverly splicing out the shape of a sheep's horn representing bad luck.

Irene didn't like the color of the river at all, but she was very interested in the dark end of the river that twisted away.The green-eyed little girl suddenly remembered the vow she secretly made when she stopped at the end of the corridor.

At that time, she thought that if she wanted to enter the mysterious underground kingdom, she would either be a recognized student and receive a sincere invitation from the master; The king came to deliver the surrender letter.Of course, if possible, Irene would prefer to be there as the hostess.

Before Eric reached out to her, Irene almost gave up on the third possibility.Even the second possibility, considering her age and the progress of "stealing a teacher", is still far away.But the first one, the possibility that Irene hadn't expected for a long time, suddenly seemed to be close at hand?

Eric took the slender bamboo poles he had prepared and stood on the stern of the boat, then bent down to untie the ropes at his feet, and the dark boat slowly started to drive in the misty river, with three square lanterns shining in the mist. The boat is coated with a hazy halo, which contrasts with the gradually sparse arm-shaped candlesticks on both sides of the river.He thought it was so beautiful how those lake green eyes suddenly brightened up, especially when its owner couldn't wait to follow him into the boat.

"Everyone who knows your face takes a step back in fright, I am your pathetic puppet..." Christine was not unaware of the change in the direction of the ghost's singing; but...it was I who provoked the ghost and said Nothing can make Irene suffer the disaster on her behalf!So Christine spoke first again—except that it was strange not to say a word, the ghost's libretto could be used to describe Irene, but Christine was also completely in line; and as a student who was also carefully taught by the ghost, even though Not as good as Irene, but it fits perfectly with the teacher's singing.

"I won't control your life anymore..." Irene couldn't pretend to be ignorant of the possibility that even Christine could think of.But before she was drenched by this pot of cold water, she heard the teacher's quiet and powerful answer; "My spirit and my soul will be closely combined by another person. If she allows her good teacher to enter the deepest part of her heart... ..."

The pitch-black boat turned several bends, and the river channel gradually widened.Christine grasped the side of the boat with both hands, trying her best not to pay attention to the eerie and clumsy reliefs of human faces on the tall stone walls on both sides of the dark river, but the narrow and swaying hull still made her feel dizzy—this was originally only for two people. The downside is that the boat is forced to carry three people.

Irene quickly got used to the fact that the situation was not so bad compared to the various traps, but the short hull limited her possibility of sitting side by side with Christine, so that she wanted to give it to her as usual at this moment. Even a comforting hug from the brunette was troublesome.But the tutor is also indifferent to this?Some kind of unspeakable thoughts of the little green-eyed girl finally came to life completely.The next moment, Christine heard her answer in a dreamlike low voice: "There is no doubt that you will always be in my heart!"

"Irene!" the brown-haired beauty whimpered in pain.The dreamlike joy in Irene's singing sounded so familiar to her—when she was bewitched by the devil, it wasn't this illusory joy that often appeared in her eyes!The hull was still shaking, and Christine didn't dare to turn sideways, but she could imagine the mocking smile behind the white mask.The devil who is used to playing tricks on people's hearts with his voice, when she finally mustered up the courage to face his various urgings, he turned his target to her closest sister and last consolation Irene?

Are the visitors of this hell really so harsh?They refused to give me a chance!Christine desperately cursed fate in her heart.She knew that she had always been weak-willed, and it was already a great miracle to be able to make it this far.But the cornerstone that inspired her to create this miracle is about to fall... The brown-haired beauty struggled for a moment between the fear of being dragged into that nightmare again and the urgency to save Irene's soul, and finally decided to pick up her most powerful weapon at this moment , and the only weapon.

Just like against a beautiful woman, the most advantageous weapon must be another beautiful woman; and against a singing voice, the most powerful weapon can only be another singing voice.The moment Christine opened her mouth, she no longer thought about her chances of winning the game with the devil. Not only were the cumbersome lyrics completely discarded, but even the melody was so plain that she only slightly adapted the syllables she used to practice her voice—— What remained in Irene's ears was only an ethereal long sound, and Christine's emotion sublimated by that long sound.

Even Irene couldn't help being overwhelmed by this intense and full emotion for a moment.But what followed was a touch of shame and displeasure.She admitted that she conspired with her mentor to deceive Christine, but she did not want to be robbed of the limelight by Christine when she first met with her mentor.Of course, she was not allowed to speak to Christine when the tutor taught her in the past, but now?The green-eyed little girl thought it was time for her tutor to recognize the difference between the good student he had favored for a long time and her bad student.

A more lofty and lively singing voice easily caught up with Christine's melody, and even turned back domineeringly in just one bar—and the brown-haired beauty was caught immediately.She had always known that Irene's singing was beautiful, but she never knew that it was the unpretentious voice of the little sister--different from the gentle and quiet voice that lulled her to sleep at night, this voice was so magnificent at this moment, but so light and dexterous, In the blink of an eye, it led her to climb the peak that was previously unattainable.

Perhaps, just her pinnacle.Christine desperately squeezed out the last trace of air in her lungs, her gifted singing voice trembling at the highest speed possible.But in her dizziness, another melody still ruthlessly passed away.

At this time, the boat happened to be on a wide lake, and the lake water was still oppressive lead gray, but the black curtain stretched in front of the boat was retracted with the rising syllables.Then, the grid-shaped portal behind the curtain slowly rose, and a beautiful world surrounded by candlelight finally broke through the barrier of thick ink and was completely displayed in front of the two of them.

That's right, only two of them.The moment the boat docked, Irene supported Christine's limp body in time, and finished the finale at the real peak of this brilliance, and then smiled calmly at the ghost who had just landed and lost his cloak: "It's a pity, your enthusiasm I'm afraid I can only give one guest for hospitality."

The author has something to say: Well, there was a small accident in the plan, and there is still one chapter to finish irreplaceable... However, I found that sprinkling sugar is really faster than sprinkling knives and writing 23333. I am really a kind author!