Sympathizing with the masses, yet never truly immersing oneself among them. Never immersing oneself among them, yet loving to view oneself as their enlightener and savior. But when it came to specific problems, they could often only provide childish answers full of unrealistic, romantic fantasies.
Levi himself used to be this kind of person.
Before acquiring the painful memories of this body's original owner, he was also someone who only engaged in empty talk from high up in the clouds.
But what he didn't expect was that Seraphine's "illness" was actually much more severe than his, a modern city youth—and significantly so.
"Mr. Ivern must love you very much."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing, I just envy you for having a good father."
Meanwhile, the tribesmen of the Freljord were still struggling to survive in the ice and snow, and the old farmers of Demacia were still toiling for their knightly lords. The pirates of Bilgewater were endlessly slaughtering each other, while the natives of Shurima were barely surviving amidst warlord conflicts and colonial rule. The people of Ionia were fighting hard to resist Noxian invasion and encroachment, while the slaves of Noxus were clinging to their last breaths in weapon workshops, military farms, noble estates, arenas, and anywhere else that could squeeze out their final drops of life.
As for Zaun, just across the river, the situation needed no introduction.
He truly envied Seraphine for being able to grow up so pure and naive in such a terrifying and cruel world.
Her parents had really taken excellent care of her.
They hadn't let her see a single glimpse of the world's true face.
"Sing," Levi suddenly said.
"Eh?" Seraphine tilted her head.
"Didn't you think that music could move the world and solve problems?"
"Then sing right now—"
Levi believed this was a rare opportunity. An opportunity to completely shatter this privileged young lady's naive fantasies. It was time for her to face the real world.
"Those beggars are still fighting desperately, just to snatch the few coins you threw out."
"If you think singing can solve the problem, then put your idea to the test right now. Try it out and see if your singing can actually save them."
Levi didn't directly intervene to stop the chaos, instead leaving the opportunity to Seraphine.
"L-Let me do it?" Seraphine was at a complete loss.
"Yes, hurry up. We don't have time, and they have even less."
The fight over there was already drawing blood. If the beggars were allowed to continue fighting like this, someone might actually get killed.
And she was the cause of all this.
"I-I understand."
"But what song should I sing?"
"Isn't this something you should have figured out before offering this as a solution?" Levi criticized coldly.
"I-I..." Sweat beaded on Seraphine's forehead. She seemed to finally understand why both Levi and her father called her naive.
"Then I'll sing... I'll sing that nameless lullaby... It's a lullaby my dad brought from Zaun... When I was tormented by the 'noise' as a child, he would always use this song to coax me to sleep..."
"Stop talking nonsense and sing!"
"Okay..." Seraphine nodded pitifully, her presence as weak as a lop-eared bunny.
However, after she cleared her throat, closed her eyes to feel the rhythm, and immersed herself in the emotion, her aura gradually changed.
She began to sing. And when she sang, she was always confident.
Because she was the Starry-Eyed Songstress, a natural soul musician.
"La..." The first note sounded.
The volume wasn't loud, completely drowned out by the sounds of slaughter over there.
Levi watched from the sidelines with a nonchalant attitude.
But gradually, the music hit its stride.
Seraphine opened her voice and sang, carrying her sympathy and pity, carrying her sentimental heart.
"That song..."
"Have I heard it somewhere before?"
The beggars, who had previously been seeing red, actually stopped their hands one after another.
It seemed the gold coins were no longer important, and all their troubles had vanished. They only wanted to listen to the song, to this familiar melody.
This was a lullaby from Zaun, so of course, the Zaunites had heard it.
Yet Seraphine elevated this incredibly common lullaby to new heights. Her singing was so gentle, soothing, warm, and full of hope.
Everyone was mesmerized.
Including Levi, who had initially been dismissive.
When the song ended, the noisy battlefield had actually become completely quiet and harmonious.
Everyone looked at each other, completely forgetting to continue fighting.
"Everyone..." As the lingering notes echoed, Seraphine asked with her warm voice, "Please don't hurt each other anymore, okay? Whatever troubles you have, we can solve them together!"
"O-Okay..." the beggars muttered in reply.
The hostility in their eyes had completely vanished. Even though the music had stopped, they had inexplicably lost their killing intent and couldn't fight even if they wanted to.
It was as if they had suddenly reached an epiphany: 'Yeah, what's there to fight over... We're all clearly fellow townsmen and friends... Why should we slaughter each other like this instead of uniting and helping one another?'
"It worked... It really worked!" Seraphine clenched her delicate fists in excitement. She immediately turned to look at Levi. "Mr. Levi, look! My singing really has an effect!"
"Yeah..." Levi also sighed from the bottom of his heart. "Seraphine, I misjudged you! Your singing is simply heavenly, a hand that soothes the soul, a medicine that heals pain, it's..."
"It's absolute bullshit!"
Levi snapped out of it with lingering fear.
Holy crap...
Is this fucking singing?
This is Support Sona casting her ultimate!
"Mr. Levi, why are you suddenly swearing?" Seraphine felt very wronged. After one-on-one tutoring from a famous Zaunite teacher, she already knew that wasn't a good word.
"Swearing at you is letting you off easy!"
"Seraphine, is this what you meant by using singing to make people understand each other?"
"Yes..." This girl hadn't even realized that she had unknowingly used an ability she couldn't control at all.
"But what you're doing isn't fucking singing! In scientific terms, this should be called brainwashing; in magical terms, this should be called charming!"
"Seraphine, do you have any idea what you're doing?" For some reason, Levi was extremely angry.
Seraphine looked at him with some fear. "I-I don't know..."
"You're shoving cheap escapism down their throats! You're wearing down their fighting spirit, corrupting their minds, and making them even more complacent with the status quo! No, the problem is even more serious than that..."
If it was just pleasant singing, it could only be considered cheap entertainment. When tired, listening to it for relaxation was fine.
But Seraphine was a mage.
Even though she couldn't control it freely yet, her singing ultimately carried magic—this kind of magical singing could directly affect the emotions of the audience.
And for those suffering Zaunites, this was simply...
"It's no different from a Shimmer Potion!"
A Shimmer Potion could temporarily enhance a person's physique, bringing a powerful sense of euphoria to the weak, making them sink deep into it and unable to forget.
And Seraphine's magical music could make people immerse themselves in false illusions, producing a twisted mental euphoria. It made people forget reality, stop thinking, and paralyze themselves.
It was as if as long as they immersed themselves in this music, all the pain in their lives would vanish into thin air.
If she debuted as an idol using this kind of singing, she would become the biggest narcotic dealer in the Twin Cities in the future, bar none!
"Seraphine, what do you think of these people who listened to your song?" Levi pointed at the group of beggars in front of them who had inexplicably become docile. "Look at them. What's the difference between them and that group of Shimmer addicts from before?"
"Think carefully. When your magic wears off, will they still look this 'happy'?"
The effects of magic weren't permanent, just like the power brought by Shimmer would eventually dissipate. In the end, it only treated the symptoms, not the root cause! Overusing it would only leave endless disasters!
"I..." Seraphine was left speechless.
She thought of those Shimmer addicts, thought of their terrifying appearances like walking corpses.
She thought she could help others, that she could let everyone live a good life and not fall into such a miserable and desperate situation.
But now Levi was telling her that the so-called good deeds she was doing were actually turning people into that state.
"Was I... Was I wrong?"
Tears surged out like a burst dam.
The teardrops slid down Seraphine's spotless cheeks, past her smooth and delicate chin, and finally fell into the dust, landing on this land she had never set foot on before.
"Waaah..." She had been scolded awake by Levi, and of course, scolded until she cried.
She cried very hard, her body trembling with every sob, like a pink-haired bunny.
"Sigh." Levi sighed. "Stop crying. How could you be at fault?"
Of course she wasn't wrong.
She was just too naive.
"Mr. Levi, then what... what should we do?"
"That's something we have to explore together, but before that..." Levi suggested sincerely. "I think you should first understand the suffering of the Zaunites before talking about how to save them from it."
"This..." Seraphine listened earnestly. "How should I understand it?"
"It's very simple—"
"Don't you just need to make physical contact to read minds?"
"Perhaps, this time you can step down from your high stage, return to the ground, and shake hands with the people you want to help."
Levi boldly extended his hand this time:
"Are you willing, Seraphine?"
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