It was vital for me. Sometimes I needed to relax, to forget about this endless cycle that I would one day destroy. It's simple math, everything ends sometime, even this nightmare. Sooner or later, I will find a way out of the situation, but I would like it to happen sooner rather than later.
The courtyard of the Beacon was filled with a million memories. There were countless times I came here, not only as a student, but also as a teacher. The second is a rather rare event that I had at the very beginning. I was looking for answers to many questions at the time, and the easiest way to do this was by becoming a teacher. Of course, I learned the answers in other ways, in the distant past, from Salem herself and from Ozma.
Sometimes, I didn't even let these two just get to know each other. It affected the world so seriously that he died literally a hundred years later. Salem became the Queen of Grimm anyway, but instead of playing with Ozpin, she decided to quickly end the existence of mankind. I saw it with my own eyes. I tried to do something, but the attempt itself was already a failure. I didn't understand what was driving Salem at all. And I don't think I would have understood.
After hitting the strings, I looked up at the sky, where there was a whole moon. In this cycle, just for the sake of interest, I saved the moon by turning back its time. I did it in ancient times, just a couple of minutes after the Gods left this world. Why not? Unfortunately, this did not change anything at all. But the view of the night sky has become much better and more pleasant. Looking at the fragments of the Moon is not as interesting as kissing it.
Chuckling, I began to tune the guitar to the right tune. Something hasn't worked out for me yet with the melody, too many thoughts are still spinning in my head. In the evening, before admission, there was usually only one person walking in the courtyard, whom I deliberately walked around. Without this meeting, she won't be interested in me and won't try to save me during the exam. But to be honest, in this cycle I did not set myself a goal to do anything, but just decided to go along the beaten path. I will change some things, but not others. In any case, one click, one look or a sigh and time will roll back again.
It has become so familiar that if this ability suddenly disappears, I will not be able to get rid of it for a long time. Unless, of course, I go to another world. Only this time for good.
Shivering from these thoughts, I lightly ran my fingers over the strings, satisfied with the sound and connected my other hand to the neck. To be honest, I was afraid of death. I've died hundreds, if not thousands of times, even got some apathy towards death, but every time... every time I was afraid not to wake up. Especially in recent attempts, this fear has been incredibly strong. It feels like my time is coming to an end. It was as if I had already played my part and in the subsequent Time plans, I was not needed. Maybe I'm just winding myself up, but what if?..
Grimacing at the unpleasant sound of the guitar, I noticed that my hands were trembling slightly. Maybe I'm still too young. In terms of the fact that I have lived too few attempts to completely get rid of the fear of death and get complete apathy for everything. So far, I still feel quite... confident. There is hope, because I believe that someday this nightmare will end. I hope the future me thinks the same way, otherwise, I can't even imagine what I'll be like at the end of the road.
Clearing my throat, I began to quietly sing along to my own game. The song was made a long time ago and worked out to the smallest detail. And in this attempt, she was quite famous, because I released my own album. In this cycle, I wanted... variety. I'm popular enough now to compete with Weiss. My vocals became professional in dozens of cycles, and I could play the guitar with my eyes closed and with one hand.
But it wasn't too important. I took such a vacation every ten cycles so as not to go crazy from constantly trying to save my friends. Therefore, popularity was a thing... not particularly important. This lasted only a couple of years, and then a short-lived death. But it was enough for me to rest and continue my attempts.
When I stopped, I slightly rearranged the guitar and now a completely different melody was playing. I remember writing this rough version and singing Weiss... God, it was a long time ago. Now this song is my favorite, perhaps because of one platinum blonde, who has always been an unsurpassed fortress. I only played it in public once. She was so popular that even Weiss herself noticed me. Perhaps because of the words themselves, as well as the phrase "You are an angel flying into the distance, into the distance." But I never sang it again, and I wasn't going to. She was... too personal. My good memory.
And now there was just such a mood when I wanted to sing this song. To awaken some good memories.
— This guy was the kind of guy who just loves life.,
He loves holidays and loud laughter, the dust of the roads and the whistling of the wind.
He was everywhere and always made the whole world fall in love with him,
And he drove his bike, not a limo,
There are no such friends anymore.
How long have I been writing this song? Probably four cycles. I was choosing words, in part, that spoke about me, as well as about Weiss. Another tune. Oh... how much I suffered with her.
— And in the living room by candlelight he danced like a God,
But he changed before his eyes, only he remembers the noise of the roads.
Everything he had, he immediately spent,
And taking a step over the threshold,
My friend was giving the command to the brothers,
Raising his fist up.
I wanted to continue and sing the chorus, but I smoothly finished the melody, because I had a listener. Moreover, it was not the usual Pyrrha, which usually caught me, but it turned out to be... Weiss. An amazing coincidence, for the first time in these cycles, Weiss found me. He glanced at her slightly and chuckled softly, because the girl was, if not in shock, then in quite serious surprise. I wonder why? She was never surprised to see me. Even when I was becoming quite a popular musician.
— Can't sleep? I asked softly, deciding to start the conversation first. My fingers, on the other hand, moved as if by themselves, playing a rather playful melody, conveying my mood.
"A little," the girl gravely agreed with me. Swallowing the shock, she regained her pride by sitting down next to me. Weiss is such a Weiss... - I ... did not hear this song in the last album, - the heiress of Schni said a little timidly.
- And she wasn't there. As it won't be in the next ones," I calmly refuted her thoughts. - I wrote this song when I was thinking about my first love. And I thought about the words for a very long time, however, it turned out that I was talking about a friend.
- Really? Very sorry. She sounds very beautiful, but so sad - is this really Weiss? This is the first time I've seen her react like this in dozens of cycles. Or else?.. I started writing songs in this cycle literally from the age of ten, did she listen to me from the very beginning? I wasn't particularly interested in her, especially when she was performing. Maybe I was her inspiration? To be honest, it's unlikely, but I could check it at any second. But honestly, I didn't want to.
- That's the point. We can say that the song symbolizes the farewell, so I consider it... a little personal, - you may be Weiss, but I sang this song, no matter how strange it sounds, another Weiss.
After a short silence, I adjusted the guitar slightly, starting to play a relaxing melody to remove some of the awkwardness around us.
- I heard you decided to leave the stage? I asked casually.
- Of course, I got into Beacon. It is impossible to combine the profession of a Hunter and a singer," her tone returned to a seriously patronizing one, as if she were saying this to an unintelligent boy.
- Yes? I said softly. - When I listened to your recordings, it seemed to me that you get incredible pleasure from singing, - she turned away from me, starting to look at the trees and the general environment of the yard.
"But I've always wanted to be a Hunter." I even went against my father's wishes, refusing to study at Atlas and enrolled here in Vale.
"I like your voice," I said, which made Weiss turn to me in surprise. - You have it clean, light and pleasant. I think you could easily sing most of my songs, because that's the kind of voice you need. I rarely write anything for myself. All these songs were created for you.
- But... why? We didn't even know each other," there was a strange tremor in her voice. Actually, I'm surprised by Weiss's reaction, but to be honest, I'm already used to these oddities. After all, playing with time and my various manipulations can change a lot in the overall story.
"I don't know," I shrugged. Telling the truth was pointless, no one ever understood me. It's better this way. - As soon as I heard your voice for the first time, such inspiration came to my head, which I have never seen before. To be honest, I even tried to suggest to your manager to arrange a duet for us, but no one listened to me," distracted for a second, I awkwardly scratched my head, and then continued to play the guitar.
"I... wanted to sing with you too," she said, as if huge boulders had fallen off her shoulders. - I've been listening to you since I was a kid, your songs... they helped me get through some moments in my life. But... I've always thought I wasn't worthy of it. Your playing and vocals were there... unattainable for me. It seemed to me that no one living could play and sing better. And I also wanted to influence people's lives, only with my singing.
"You did it," I smiled gently. - You have perfectly divided my life into "before" and "after" your voice. And about the duet... I heard there's going to be a ball in six months. Of course, it's a bit hasty of me to talk about this, but would you like to spend it with me? We could sing together, dance and have a great time," the smile never left my face, and I stopped playing and put down the guitar, beating it on the bench.
"I won't mind," Weiss replied with the same smile.