Compared to the miserable state of the TV sets in Northrick which were deserted, the TV sets placed in the halls of the Imperial School of Magic immediately attracted the attention of all the student mages. In fact, they had noticed the movement at the Alchemy Tower earlier, but because they were not from the Alchemy School, they could not go over to visit.
At this moment, seeing that the results were finally beginning to show, a group of students gradually became curious because they didn't know what this thing was used for. In particular, some magicians who knew something about magic circles and runes looked at the magic circles engraved in this small space in disbelief, because there were too many of them. These magicians who had no foundation in magic alchemy simply couldn't understand how so many magic circles were embedded in such a small space.
In short, after everything was ready, with Du Lin's order at the TV station on the top of the Alchemy Tower, the promotion of this new era of watching movies officially began.
In fact, he had asked Viscount Barnil to promote television in Northrick long before. Compared with the mixed population of Northrick, the promotion of the Imperial Mage Academy can actually be said to be very easy. After all, for this group of bored and curious students, even if you find an artist to sing a rap in the academy, you will probably be able to attract a group of people.
Chapter 127: The release of "The World of Kara"
Chapter 127
Originally, this was a very ordinary day for the residents of Northrick. It was neither a festival nor any special changes. However, with the lively sounds coming from the Northrick Cinema, the whole town suddenly became lively.
"What's going on? It's so lively, is there a new movie coming out? But didn't they say last time that the second half of Fate Zero would be released in winter?"
"Don't you know? We were discussing it just now. It is said that every tavern in Northrick is now equipped with something called a TV. A new movie will be shown soon. It is said to be a story based on the same world view as "Fate Zero"."
"What? TV! Damn it, why didn't you tell me earlier? I guess it's hard to get a seat now!"
As noises were heard from the crowd, the residents of the entire town who had been doing nothing or doing their own things quickly began to look for taverns on the streets. Soon, every tavern that housed a strange alchemical device called a TV was full, causing those who could not squeeze in to start looking for the next tavern in great pain. It was only then that they were surprised to find that many new taverns had opened on the familiar streets, as if they had been prepared for the screening of a new movie from the very beginning.
... ...
In Edward's Tavern, like other taverns, this tavern is also equipped with a magic alchemy device called a TV. Some guests who had the opportunity to squeeze in were marveling at it. At the same time, Durin and others were occupying the most central position in the center of the venue. And this time, since it was to witness the beginning of a new era, Durin even called Winry, who had been arranged to manage the castle at home, to come over. After all, at this time, he would not forget the girl who had always helped him do the most important work.
"When does it start? I drank too much juice just now, and I'm afraid I'll have to go to the bathroom later..."
Soon, as more and more people gathered at the scene, Helena couldn't help but come over and complain.
In response to Helena's impatient approach, Durin simply held her down with one hand and said to Zat beside him, "Go ahead if you want to go... Zat, go and help guide the guests. When the tavern is full, close it and let them go somewhere else. Anyway, I have considered the population of this town when I was preparing before, so they will always have somewhere to go."
“Okay…..Okay!”
Although Zat felt helpless about having to work again, it was Durin's order after all, so he couldn't say anything. He rushed into the crowded crowd and maintained order. However, even so, guests still poured in from outside at a terrifying speed. After all, Edward Tavern was now the most famous tavern in the whole town, and most people thought of this place first. As a result, tavern staff including the Headless Knight, Juno, Wiz and Zoebe all took action. While tidying up the scene, they also kindly asked the extra guests to leave and closed the door as soon as possible. This resulted in the tavern, which was not big to begin with, accommodating people who could just watch TV.
Seeing that it was finally quiet, Du Lin, who was sitting in the chairman's seat, breathed a sigh of relief. Then he suddenly found a familiar petite figure in the crowd. Surprised, he hurried over and found that it was Daphne, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. He didn't know how she came out this time. The guard who came with her last time was gone.
At the same time, Daphne, who saw Du Lin, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Great, I finally found you, Du Lin."
"What's wrong? You ran away from the family again?"
"Haha... you found me... I can't help it. I heard you had a new movie to show while I was on the way, so of course I rushed over as soon as possible!"
Du Lin felt extremely helpless about the Duke's daughter's repeated escape from the family. He pulled her to the middle seat, but since there were not enough seats, he could only say helplessly: "There is no seat left. How about you sit on the floor?"
“Eh…”
Seeing the girl's confused expression, Du Lin couldn't help but laugh: "Okay, it was just a joke. Beldia doesn't need a stool anyway. Who of you can hold his head and watch together."
“… … .”
In short, amidst the chaos, as the order at the scene became more and more orderly, the picture on the TV also showed a little blurriness. It was obvious that the TV station at the Alchemy Tower was adjusting the magic signal. Soon, as a clear picture finally appeared on the TV, it also meant that the TV show had officially begun.
... ... .
"Damn it! The school hall is already packed with people! Where is the TV!!"
"Yeah, the teaching building is also full of people. I'm going crazy!!"
"It is said that each archmage in the Mage's Tower is equipped with a dedicated TV signal station. How abominable! This is not fair at all!!"
"If it's unfair, go talk to the dean, or you can talk to senior Du Lin!"
"Yes, it is said that the Alchemy Tower is equipped with a dedicated TV. If I had known this, I would have chosen the Magic Alchemy subject!! I regret it so much!!!"
"Wait! Hurry to the Alchemy Tower. I heard there's a new TV outside!!"
As someone's words fell, all the magician students in the academy rushed to the Alchemy Tower as if they were running to the cafeteria. In fact, the Alchemy Tower did not expect the students to be so crazy. Under the leadership of Scar, they quickly moved out the spare TV signal station and used the previous imaging crystal to conduct a live broadcast. This technology was actually no different from the last new form of live movie broadcast.
In short, after the enthusiastic students found the TV, even though there were no chairs prepared on site, a group of people either stood or simply sat on the ground, ready to enjoy the new film.
In fact, most students don’t know that since the TV is just a prototype, the "Kara no Kyoukai" shown on TV this time will be shown in a loop together with "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" and "Goblin Slayer" which have been removed from theaters. Of course, even if they knew, they would probably fight for the opportunity to watch the premiere.
Soon after, when the time gradually passed the time indicated in the trailer, Scar, who was preparing at the TV station, immediately ordered the students present to activate the central magic circle and transmit the image from the imaging crystal in their hands into it.
... ..
At Edward Tavern, the first thing that flashed on TV was the logos of Edward Studios and the Magic Alchemy Academy. This was something Du Lin had planned from the very beginning, and in a sense it was also a preparation for future advertising.
Yes, for Du Lin, even if it is not for earning advertising fees, he will accept various advertisements.
After all, isn't the purpose of watching TV to see commercials? The movies on TV are actually just to give you time to go to the bathroom...
In short, after Du Lin had imagined countless times what the television would look like in the future, as the title of "Kara no Kyoukai" gradually flashed by, the noise in the entire pub suddenly became lower, and soon, the TV premiere of the film "Kara no Kyoukai" officially began.
The movie starts with the appearance of the hero and heroine. It can be said that this is an opening without any ups and downs. The audience, who are used to the purely explanatory opening of "Fate Zero" last time, had no objection this time and just watched the development of the plot silently.
In fact, although the opening of "Kara no Kyoukai" is also completely flat, because the event is explained at the beginning and suspense is aroused, the audience can accept this structure of communication all at once. For these audiences, the only thing that is confusing is that the heroine's costume is quite strange and has never been seen in real life.
And that is natural. After all, Doolin was obsessed with the original work, so he tried his best to restore Ryougi Shiki's kimono, and even made the red jacket as much as possible. These are completely different from the mainstream costumes in this world. Although the previous films also had strange costumes, they were generally in line with the worldview of this fantasy world. This time, the special operation of "Kara no Kyoukai" will probably bring about some new activity called cosplay... ... .
In short, although most of the people present were not dissatisfied with the slow-paced plot, as the film gradually played, an unexpected voice suddenly interrupted...
"It's very strange. I feel that the style of this movie is completely different from your previous movies, Director Du Lin. How should I put it? Even the previous movies like "Fate Zero" have a clear main plot, which makes people understand what will happen next. This time, I watched "Kara no Kyoukai" for such a long time and still don't know what it wants to express."
Du Lin quickly turned around for this sudden comment, and then he found out that Chase had arrived here at some point to watch the movie as soon as it was released. In fact, during this period of time, the people from the Snow Flower Theater should have been training on the sequel to "Fate Zero" that Du Lin had sent them before.
Seeing Du Lin's confusion, Chase just smiled and said, "I didn't want to come at first, but I couldn't resist my curiosity about the new movie, and as it happened that this pub wasn't full yet, I came in immediately..."
After hearing what the other party said and understanding the situation, Du Lin shifted his gaze back to the screen played on TV and continued, "Well, you are right. The biggest difference between "Kara no Kyoukai" and previous works is that this film does not try to tell a serious story at all. All the clues are confusing and people need to watch it repeatedly. This is why I chose to broadcast it on TV, a new film and television medium. In short, although the main line is not very clear, in terms of excitement, I think it is comparable to "Fate Zero", but the style is completely different, so it cannot be compared."
Before Chase could react to Durin's high praise, the plot on TV changed. As Ryougi Shiki discovered Kurodori Mikiya's strange condition, she immediately rushed to a blocked building. Due to the limitations of the shooting scenes of this era, although Durin wanted to restore the original world of "Kara no Kyoukai", he was ultimately unable to do so completely. So in the end he could only shoot the first battle scene of "Kara no Kyoukai" with scenes as similar as possible.
In fact, it is true that as long as you do something, there is a possibility of success. Even in such a completely different world, Du Lin has successfully restored the feeling of the world in the changing times in "Kara no Kyoukai", making the overall style tend to the original.
Of course, this results in the overall style of the film tending towards dark tones, with a feeling of a horror film. In fact, when the boss Wu Tiao Wuhui suddenly appeared for the first time, many of the audience were startled. Aya and Daphne almost immediately shrank back, fully proving what it means to be a coward.
"Eh! Is this a ghost? It's definitely a ghost. Are ghosts afraid of fire magic?"
In response to Helena's surprise, Leticia, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, just smiled sinisterly and said, "Dematerialized undead are not afraid of fire magic. If you use a holy light, they may disappear on the spot."
"What? You're not afraid of fire magic?!"
Seeing Helena's panic, Leticia slowly added, "Of course, non-materialized undead spirits are often not very lethal to normal people. Even if they want to attack, they will only pass through the human body. In comparison, the soul energy of evil spirits is strong enough to interfere with reality, so they can be destroyed by elemental magic."
"What? I see. But why is the girl named Ryougi Shiki in this movie controlled by a ghost?"
In response to the orthodox magician's question, Leticia simply threw the topic to Durin: "How should I know this? You have to ask the person who constructed this story."
After hearing this, everyone present looked curiously at Du Lin, who was watching the movie silently. Suddenly, the latter looked at the people around him with curious expressions in confusion. After a long while, he chose to shut up. After all, only he knew that this story was not created by him. Even if he was asked to answer, due to the difference in worldview, he would not be able to give an answer that would convince the people present.
At the same time, in the Imperial Mage Academy, which was watching "Kara no Kyoukai", a group of magicians were communicating with each other in a completely different style from the situation in the tavern where most of them were just watching the fun.
Chapter 128: The Release of "Kara no Kyoukai" (Part 2)
Chapter 128
"How long will it last..."
"The suicides will continue until the eighth person."
"Um?"
"There are eight people floating in that place. No, eight."
"Where did you go?"
"What on earth is that place?"
"Time there is tilted, or the order is reversed. People's memories, or records, the time recorded in that ruin passed very slowly. The records of their lives have not yet caught up with their own time. As a result, only memories are still alive. Even if people die, as long as there are memories, they will not suddenly turn into nothingness, just like the smoke will not suddenly disappear when a fire is extinguished."
“… … .”
"I said, the scenery seen from a high place will remind you of something, the impulse you feel when you take in the whole world you live in. Even if you try to reject it, you will still be invaded by violent cognition, bringing a feeling of overlooking the view, that is - far away. The scenery overlooking from a high place is spectacular, and even the view of nothingness is a wonderful feeling. However, the endless view has become a barrier to the world. Compared with the small space that you can experience, the wide space you see is the world you live in. This understanding was originally correct, but no matter what, there is no real sense that you are in this wide world. Here, rationality as knowledge and reality as experience obliterate each other, and then one side begins to be worn away, consciousness begins to become confused, and then..."
“… … .”
"The so-called vision is not the picture seen by the eyes, but the picture understood by the brain. Our vision is protected by our common sense. People cannot live without their own limitations. Originally..."
... ...
Imperial Mage Academy, Academy Hall.
In the bustling hall, as the TV played the discussion between Ryougi Shiki and Aozaki Touko about the recent strange phenomena, all the magicians present showed confused expressions, obviously not understanding what Aozaki Touko meant at once. However, many students of the Department of Psychology and Soul recognized that the actor of Aozaki Touko was Rosa, the great sage of their department of Psychology and Soul, but even so, they still looked quite confused.
There is a word called hazy. The so-called hazy is a mountain shrouded in clouds and mist, with a variety of scenery. It makes you feel that you can see the scenery on the mountain, but when you think about it carefully, you find that you can't see anything. Even if you go to the top of the mountain in person, you will find that the strange scenery in this winding mountain will confuse your eyes.
The story and narrative of Kara no Kyoukai is like this. Its twists and turns are so mysterious that the audience cannot intuitively understand its connotation, but it is not without gain. Different kinds of people will have different feelings after watching the same story. Ordinary people will find its appearance interesting, magic apprentices will find it meaningful, and top wizards will gain something from its inner meaning. Such a story is undoubtedly a good story.
A good story can naturally arouse the audience's interest and promote discussion.
"Ordinary people can't see phantoms like ghosts, right? The protagonist of this time, Ryougi Shiki, is indeed not an ordinary person."
"But this time the movie actually has women as the protagonists, even though the last "Fate Zero" was also a group portrait. By the way, Sage Rosa looks so handsome in this outfit."
"There's no point in discussing this. Did you understand what Aozaki Touko said? Why is the time in that ruin different from that outside? I don't understand at all..."
"Indeed, no one has made even a tiny breakthrough in the study of time magic so far, but we can refer to the last "Fate Zero". Isn't the inherent time control used by Emiya Kiritsugu in "Fate Zero" to set up a barrier inside the body to change the flow of time? If we refer to it, the ruins may have become a natural barrier for some reason, and the time inside the ruins is separated from the time outside, thus creating two different time axes. This is why what is reflected in Ryougi Shiki's eyes is the dead, but the dead themselves are not dead yet."
"Although what you said makes sense, I still think this is not magic. Let's not talk about whether the magic barrier that changes the speed of time exists. Even if the future scenes appear because of the difference in the speed of time, and we know that those girls will jump off the building and die, what will happen if we rescue them in advance? Isn't this a pseudo-prophecy?"
Yes, after discussing for a long time, this argument is the topic that these magicians are most concerned about, because the so-called pseudo-prophecy theory is the research of the prophecy department that once existed in the Imperial Mage Academy.
Under normal circumstances, most prophetic magic is incomplete because it involves the field of cause and effect. It can be said to be a bit like fortune-telling, or metaphysics. In short, it is very inaccurate and only gives you a general idea.
However, when a great magician of the prophecy department clearly stated that he had discovered orthodox prophecy magic above the fifth level, the long-lasting debate on whether predicting the future exists began.
Because before the concept of pseudo-prophecy emerged, most magicians understood prophecy as absolute prophecy, that is, they believed in the unified view of the timeline, that everything from the past to the future is predetermined and will not change. This is also the result of a certain church advocating fatalism at the beginning of the concept of human race.
The magicians at that time were wise enough to debate the truth or falsity of fatalism. At the same time, the first to launch an attack were naturally the school of prophecy representing the future.
First of all, assuming that prophecy magic really exists, then if we use prophecy magic to know the future in advance and change some factors in the present to cause the butterfly effect, will the existing future change? If it changes, then wouldn’t the previous predictions be invalid? The future that changes because of changes is no longer a predetermined future, which fundamentally breaks through the view of fatalism, which means that the prediction itself is no longer a prediction, but a means of avoiding risks.
So in the end, the great magician who couldn't justify himself finally gave up proving his theory and directly disbanded the discipline of prophecy. However, the magic of great prophecy still remained, but now it has become more of a means of observing future possibilities. The prophecy of absolute achievement in the traditional sense has also disappeared into history like a perpetual motion machine from another world.
But the concept described in the story of "Kara no Kyoukai" seems to be about breaking through the shackles of this kind of thinking and bringing the concept of fatalism into reality again. Even though everyone knows that this is just a story, and the director even said that "Kara no Kyoukai" and "Fate Zero" both use the same fictional world view, they still can't let it go.
... ...
"The records of their lives have not yet caught up with the time they belonged to. As a result, only memories are still alive. Even if people die, as long as there are memories, they will not suddenly disappear, just like the smoke will not suddenly disappear when a fire is extinguished? It's an interesting theory, isn't it? This is not a prophecy, but an accelerated fact that the real time is actually a fragment on the top of the building."
"Because the future that appears ahead of time is the present, and the present that cannot catch up with the future is just the past. If there is a person who can speed up the time of the world on a large scale and travel to the endless time, then even if the world itself is out of touch with the time outside the world, in the end, the established facts will not change because the outside world cannot catch up with your time."
At the top of the Alchemy Tower, a group of great sages who had gathered again at some unknown time gathered in front of the only TV in Scar's office. At the same time, a great sage who had studied the great prophecy expressed his opinion on it.
In fact, the great sages including Hohenheim had no doubts about this theory, or they had already realized the solution to this problem.
In this regard, Scar, the only confused person present, could only helplessly look at these great sages who had TV signals installed at home and came to his place to watch on the big screen. He could only sit aside obediently with the expression of a newbie looking at the big guys, and did not say anything else.
And then, before he could ask these great sages if they wanted some water or something, as another sage spoke excitedly, he knew that as the only newbie on the field, it would be better for him to keep quiet.
"Reason as knowledge and reality as experience obliterate each other... The images seen by vision and the reality bound by common sense... I feel it. So that's why the sixth-level illusion barrier cannot succeed! Even if the illusion is set up in a completely realistic way, if the person entering the illusion does not have such common sense, the collision between the reality received by vision and the common sense understood by consciousness will bring fatal flaws to no matter how realistic the environment is! I understand! I understand!"
"You know nothing! Stop yelling and sit down and watch the movie!"
"Yes, yes. If you understand, go back and study it by yourself. We need to watch the film here, but you are blocking us."
Obviously, the sudden shouting of the great sage who was well-versed in illusions affected the viewing of other sages. Even though they could understand each other's excitement, if this excitement brought a bad viewing experience, then the grumpy old man present would make him experience what pain was.
Upon hearing this, the originally excited Great Sage immediately stopped his ungraceful actions and silently commented: "In short, to put it simply, our Illusion School's research on the sixth-order illusion barrier has actually been in a delicate state, that is, the effect of the completed barrier will have a large deviation. Before this, we controlled the variables for a long time but could not find the cause of the result."
"However, the story of "Kara no Kyoukai" gave me some inspiration - too broad a vision will lead to cognitive bias. In other words, the space within a radius of ten meters that can be felt by your skin and the space within a radius of ten meters that you look down on are both worlds in which you exist, but in comparison, the former is the one that can be felt in substance. Compared to the narrow world felt by your body, we should recognize that the vast world seen by our eyes is "the world in which we exist", but no matter what, we cannot have a sense of reality about our existence in this vast world, and eventually fall into the illusion of illusion and nothingness."
"In other words, the reason for the difference is common sense, or the strength of understanding. If a person believes that people cannot go to heaven after death, or even if he is a staunch atheist, then even if a 'heaven' comparable to the real one is created, he will not be shaken in the slightest, and will not even be affected by the illusion."
"Originally, as long as people have enough common sense and faith, they won't have the illusion of jumping down or flying up on the rooftop. But these victimized girls have one thing in common, that is, they have no place to stand on the ground. They have been absolutely excluded in the real world that originally belonged to them. Therefore, they have no common sense to equip themselves. Therefore, after coming to this strange world in the sky, they can no longer return to the ground and become residents of this strange world."
"The so-called illusion is ultimately an illusion of people. To create an illusion that is so real that people cannot distinguish it, we must start from the human individual. Because humans have an amazing ability to satisfy themselves, to break through the constraints of common sense, we must break through the self-satisfaction of individuals and create an illusion from instinct that people cannot help but fall into, just like a dream..."
"Sage Rosa, I didn't expect you to have such a deep understanding of the human subconscious. It seems that I will have to discuss spiritual and spiritual subjects with you more often in the future."
“… … .”
Rosa, who was completely confused by what she heard from the great sage who mainly conducted illusion research, just showed a subtle expression, and then said helplessly: "Don't confuse the actor with the role. This is not what I said. I was just reading according to Master Durin's script. If you want to discuss it, it's better to go to him."
"What? Was this actually made by that kid? He even studies illusions?"
Obviously, the great sage who felt his consciousness was shocked was stunned, while other great sages also gained something from what happened just now. Yes, as mentioned before, the tone of "The World of Kara" is hazy, "You say it is, it is, you say it is not, it is not", it is obviously unreasonable, but because of the momentum brought by its narration, you can't help but feel that it makes sense. When you think you understand it, you think about it carefully and find that it is indeed nonsense... ...
Therefore, the plot just now was not only beneficial to the researcher of the Illusion School, but other great sages also gained something in their respective fields. Although the story was ambiguous and hard to understand, the unique charm it carried made a group of people eagerly watch the film on TV continue.
Chapter 129: The Release of "Kara no Kyoukai" (Part 3)