Suddenly, a golden radiance exploded from the piano. Dazzling rays of light poured out in all directions, as if the sun had entered the room.
"Aaagh!"
"What on earth is this......?!"
Kemen and Alphen instinctively shielded their faces with both arms. The radiance pouring from the piano was so intense it seemed ready to swallow everything.
Arrows of light swept through every corner of the antique shop and seemed to swallow the antique objects whole.
Even Dason, who had reflexively squeezed his eyes shut, could feel the fierce flash through his eyelids.
In that instant, their senses went numb, as if the whole world had been dyed pure white.
"Ugh!"
It was the same for Dason.
At the fierce explosion of light that had gone off before his eyes, Dason too covered his eyes with both hands.
Flaaash.......
It was then.
The dazzling golden light coiled around Dason's body.
[The old piano changes according to your will.]
With the system's notification, the piano's outward form slowly began to change. It was turning into the black grand piano that Kim Han-su had always kept by his side and played.
The cherished instrument that had been with him countless times, in concert halls and at home alike. The worn and faded piano was transforming into the one in Dason's memories.
Hummm.......
Astonishingly, the piano's shape grew smaller and smaller, and soon it became a glowing sphere floating in the air. Then it swelled back to its original size and began to regain its form.
A glossy black surface, ivory-colored keys, an ornately decorated soundboard. With every trace of the years wiped clean away, it shone like a new instrument.
It was a miraculous change that reproduced his treasured possession perfectly, as if it had recognized Dason's soul.
-Hummm.......
As the golden light slowly subsided, the antique shop returned to the way it had been. The space that had been engulfed in dazzling radiance regained its antique air once more.
"Huh? This is......."
Dason saw the piano sitting where the light had faded, and his eyes went wide.
For the worn and faded instrument had transformed completely into the black grand piano that had been his treasured possession.
Ding!
[The old piano changes according to your will.]
Once again, a system message rose before Dason's eyes.
'The system has power this strong?'
It was a hard sight to believe. But when he recalled that this was a world where aura and magic existed, even something so unreal made a certain amount of sense.
"Good heavens!"
"Could it be that this piano...... was an artifact?"
Meanwhile, Kemen and Alphen had gone beyond Dason's surprise; their faces could not contain their wonder. They seemed to have sensed the presence of an 'artifact', an object holding powerful magic power.
They gazed at the glowing piano with eyes full of awe. A mysterious sight of the kind that appeared only in ancient legends had unfolded before them.
'An artifact piano?'
Dason could not hide his excitement either, and his heart pounded. That was because he knew better than anyone how much a single instrument meant to him.
Swish.......
Dason carefully approached the piano and stroked the keys. The cool touch of ivory came through vividly at his fingertips.
"Haha......."
At the fascinating feel of it, Dason gave a sheepish smile. It was his own piano, touched for the first time since he had died in that hospital room.
'My signature's still on it, too, just as it was.'
It was no ordinary grand piano. It was a craftsman's piano, made for Dason alone.
"Young Master......."
Just then, Kemen came toward Dason.
'Oh no.'
Dason's head was suddenly in a tangle. It felt as though Kemen was about to ask at what point he had become able to play so splendidly, and why he had gone out of his way to pick an old piano to play.
"Truly...... it was a moving performance."
But contrary to his expectation, Kemen did not pry into Dason.
He simply offered heartfelt praise, as one member of an audience.
"I had the feeling that my beloved wife, who left this world before me, was comforting me...... It was as if she had come back to my side."
Kemen's voice was trembling. Tears streamed down from his eyes, full of old regret.
"It was truly wonderful."
It had felt as though his wife stayed by his side for a little while and then left. Even so, Kemen was happy. Through the instrument called a piano, he had come face to face, if only briefly, with the bond he had been missing, after all.
"......."
At the sight of the old man gripped by deep emotion, Dason felt a curious fullness in his chest. He had witnessed the moment his music moved someone's heart.
'That's right. This is what I longed for so badly.'
A message delivered in notes, a rapport built through melody. He realized once again why Kim Han-su had staked his life on music while he lived.
"Thank you."
Etching his calling as a performer on his heart, Dason sent Kemen a warm smile. Hoping that someday he too could stand before a piano with a heart as whole as the old man's.
"Ahem...... Um, Young Master."
Alphen, who had been standing behind Kemen, approached cautiously and spoke.
"If I am to tell you the truth......."
Complicated emotions showed in his eyes. As if he had hesitated and then made up his mind, he slowly went on with his confession.
"When you first came to the antique shop, Young Master, the truth is I thought you were looking for a pretext to do me harm again. You may take offense at this, but......."
Alphen scratched his head sheepishly and looked away. The bad blood of the past was making the air between the two of them awkward.
But he soon mustered his courage and spoke again.
"But now that I have actually heard you play, Young Master...... you seem to have become a completely different person. I apologize for my prejudice."
At Alphen's words, in which his sincerity showed, Dason felt curiously touched.
"Thank you."
In truth, it was a situation in which Dason could have felt wronged. He had to bear all of the original owner's vile behavior himself, after all.
But the moment he heard Alphen's words, Dason felt a curious emotion he could not describe.
'I've as good as been born again. If I can soothe people's hearts with music instead of repeating my past as trash...... then it's worth paying any price.'
The conviction that he would move others' hearts through his playing and win new recognition and trust filled Dason's head. It was not a mere wish but a resolute vow.
Ting...... ti-ting...... ti-ti-ting.
Just then, an irregular run of notes came from the piano. It was a sound close to noise, its pitch jumping up and down, as if a small child were banging on the keys at random.
"What is that?"
At the sudden sound of the piano, Kemen and Alphen flinched and froze.
"Surely not......?"
"Has something descended?"
Fear flickered across their eyes. In this world overflowing with mysterious power, it was all too common for supernatural beings to break into reality, so no one could readily say for certain.
"It may be a curse being triggered!"
What was more, wicked dark mages had been running rampant of late, so it would not have been strange to think it a piano possessed by some weird curse.
"No, that's not it."
But Dason gazed calmly at the piano. There was a sight that only he could see, after all.
"A small spirit is tapping the piano keys."
A single spirit the size of Dason's palm was wandering back and forth over the black keys and the white keys, hopping up and down. A soft, mysterious blue light was pouring from its small body.
"A spirit?"
"Why would one be in a place like this......?"
Kemen's and Alphen's puzzled murmurs followed. That was because they could not think of any reason for a spirit to pop up in an old antique shop.
"It's true. It's playing on the keys right now."
Ting! Ti-ting~ Ti-ti-ting!
Dason earnestly described the spirit that only he could see.
Di-di-ding!
The dainty, close-packed piano notes kept flowing out. Dason gazed at the spirit with curious eyes.
Astonishingly, that small being had a translucent body. Its cute appearance called to mind a small child, but it was clearly different from a human child.
Tiing~
Each time the spirit pressed a key, a bluish light glimmered softly from its small body.
It was a wondrous hue, as if countless stars were hidden beneath its skin.
[To form a contract with the Spirit of Music, your level of rapport with the spirit must be high.]
Just then, the system offered Dason a piece of advice.
"Rapport, huh."
Having seen the message about the spirit, Dason fell deep into thought. There was no information about spirits in this body's memories.
"Kemen. What do I have to do to build rapport with a spirit?"
"You must do things that please the spirit. In the case of a water spirit, one gives it clear water...... and conversely, to a fire spirit one offers heat."
"Hmm."
So he had asked Kemen, and at the answer that came back, Dason nodded.
"Do you happen to know about the Spirit of Music, too?"
"As far as I know, there is no such spirit."
"......."
But at the words that followed, he could not help faltering. To think the Spirit of Music did not exist.
'But it's right in front of me?'
Then what was that little thing pressing the piano keys supposed to be? If it was not a spirit, there was no explaining it.
-Kurung?
Just then, the spirit on the piano turned its head toward Dason. Staring straight at him with curious eyes, the spirit tilted its small head to one side and made a sound as if asking a puzzled question.
Its blinking eyes sparkled with curiosity, as if Dason's very existence were a marvel.
-Kurung! Kururung!
The spirit beckoned to Dason and cried, "Kurung! Kururung!"
It pointed at his hand with a small finger, and soon mimed tapping on the piano keys.
'That little thing.......'
It looked as though it were earnestly begging, "Play it one more time!"
'Did it hear me play?'
Its bright, shining eyes were full of excitement and anticipation. It seemed that the spirit, enchanted by Dason's performance a moment before, wanted to feel that emotion again.
Swish.
Dason slowly approached the spirit. Meeting the gaze of the small being that looked at him from atop the piano with sparkling eyes, he raised his right hand and set it on the keys.
Ting-ti-ti-ting, ting-ding-ding.
A dainty little melody flowed from the piano. They were the notes of 'Up, Up Goes the Airplane', which even a small child could easily sing along to.
"!"
The moment it heard the song, the spirit broke into a bright smile, its eyes opening wide and round. Its face, flushed with delight, even had a rosy blush on it.
-Kururung!
It was the moment the joyful spirit said something to Dason.
[The Spirit of Music earnestly wishes for a contract with you.]
[If there are any conditions you desire, please state them.]
Poof!
Light rose in the air. And with a splendor like the opening of a treasure chest, a single contract revealed itself.
The enticement had succeeded.