Rise To Stardom - Chapter 212

Chapter 212: Evergarden
After five brutal years of racial conflict, the Great War in the lands of Elendor finally came to a bitter end.

Yet, amid the chaos and bloodshed, two siblings—Ursula and Kaine—were forged into cold-blooded killers by the merciless hand of survival.

As the war reached its harrowing conclusion, Ursula was left maimed and hospitalized after a deadly skirmish. Kaine, however, was not so fortunate.

His death shattered the one bond that had given her hope in the darkest of times. The promise they had made to each other—to survive, to escape the horrors of war, and to explore a peaceful Elendor together—was broken, leaving Ursula adrift in a world she no longer wished to see.

But just as despair threatened to consume her, Ursula discovered a message left behind by her late brother, etched with a single word;

Live.

–

That was the synopsis of Christina’s published novel.

And as Kyle comfortably settled into his sofa a few minutes after he got back home, he picked up the novel and got to reading.

It would only be until the next day, that Kyle would finally be done reading the novel.

Glued to the carefully and evocatively crafted world that sucked him right in from the first few pages, Kyle ended-up pulling an all-nighter as the novel’s plot, refused to let go of him.

Ursula, driven by grief, longing, and the weight of Kaine’s final message to her, found herself given the necessary push to at least, try living in a world, colorlessly drab to her in a literal sense.

And so she embarked on a drifter’s journey across the peaceful yet scarred lands of Elendor.

However, in the course of her travels, Ursula met different races from all walks of life, experienced things she’d only ever heard about and uncovered secrets buried in Elendor’s scarred lands.

And in the process of all these, she slowly found a path of redemption, healing, self-discovery and her own reasons to live in a world devoid of her brother.

…

…

…

“We all suffer, just to discover, that we’ll recover, as long as our lives, aren’t over.” Kyle read Ursula’s words out loud.

It was also the last line in [Evergarden] as Ursula, finally saw color, literally return to her otherwise drab world for the first time in her life.

But no sooner had Kyle read that last line though, he flipped right back to the page where Christina’s dedication was written;

To all the adrift drifters around the world, this one’s for you.

Staring at the words for way longer than he should have, Kyle soon closed the book slowly with a glimmer of inspiration mixed with genuine appreciation for Christina’s book.

Despite the simple plot that had been told a thousand times over, it was the execution of the story, one like no other, that truly elevated the novel to a league of its own.

Added to that, The Lands of Elendor had been such a vivid world to get sucked into, it felt like a world that truly existed in some other dimension.

But the greatest strength of Christina’s novel was Ursula, [Evergarden]’s protagonist.

As a character, Kyle could confidently state, that she was by far, one of the best-written fictional female characters he had ever encountered in any piece of media in the longest time.

And that was why Kyle also knew in that very moment…

[Evergarden] was going to sell millions.

Yet, for him, the novel had given him a wisp of inspiration for a new song.

A new song that Kyle was planning to dedicate, solely to his fans, just like Christina had dedicated her novel to every drifter around the world.

* * *

(A few days later…)

Casually twirling about on the producer’s chair near the console of his recording studio, Kyle’s eyes was closed, seemingly trying to work out the right tune for his new song.

Surprisingly, he’d sorted out the lyrics of most of the song without much hassle this time.

Maybe it was because he had leveled up extensively, or because he’d always kept his fans in mind whenever he composed his songs, making a song, solely dedicated to them came very easy.

The tune however…

Now that was what he and Jennie–– although she was currently out on a lunch break –– had been dealing with without any noticeable progress in sight.

‘A tune that can suggest how they should feel in line with its lyrical themes…’ Kyle mused to himself, his thoughts continuing;

‘Classical? No. Doesn’t fit the bill, unfortunately…’

‘Ballad? Hmm… I’ll consider it.’

‘Pop… might work… but it has to be really unique…’

‘Electronica…? That… that might actually, be the right play…’

Pondering for a few more seconds and seriously considering electronica once again, but this time with a different approach to it, Kyle slowly opened his eyes, his decision made.

Evergreen.

Staring, right back at him with a curiously twinkling gaze.

Almost as if she wanted to tinker through his mind and figure out what was happening upstairs.

<Hi!> Christina mouthed, her delicate features, popping into Kyle’s field of view as her beautiful blonde hair, draped over her neckline and shoulder.

The lady had asked the young man just yesterday if he was around as she wanted to hang out with him, one to which Kyle had favorably responded.

“Hello Blondie. Fantastic day you’re having I bet. 50,000 copies sold, in a week at that too.” Kyle replied with a warm smile, earning a blissful smile from the lady.

“Why [Evergarden] though?” the young man then asked curiously.

<Evergarden is believed to be of French origin, meaning ‘Love For Humanity’.> Christina signed in response, her blissful expression still a bit curious as she added;

<The underlying groundwork for the novel was encompassed by my love for humanity’s strength to always heal, persevere and recover, no matter the circumstances. That’s why I chose it.>

<Cheesy?> she inquired curiously.

“Absolutely not. It’s, perfect.” Kyle genuinely responded, his smile warm.

<Thank you!> the lady beamed at him, after which she then asked curiously;

<New song?>

“Yep.” Kyle replied with a slight nod.

“All thanks to you.” he casually added.

In response to that, Christina’s intrigued gaze, slowly morphed into a mix of shocked surprise.

“Haven’t figured out the tune just yet but, would you like to see the lyric sheet?”

Still blinking her eyes in stunned surprise, the lady soon recovered and bobbled her head vigorously!

Named [Your Odyssey], the song that Kyle was currently working on, was one he wouldn’t be releasing until next year.

Sure the young star himself wasn’t planning to release any new song anytime soon but, he’d been a bit surprised when his team, told him to hold off on releasing it this year altogether.

Rather, they had all jointly advised him to keep it till his tour next year.

One where it’d come as a pleasant surprise to all of his fans, while also making it very easy to promote since it’d end up spreading, mostly by word of mouth.

…

…

…

It could be argued, that Hollywood’s seven-month long Guild Strike, did more harm than good for the industry, although the masses stayed ignorant and unaware of that fact.

But for some in the industry, it had been a period of opportunity.

A period to unwind from the heavy, unrealistic expectations.

A period, to finally, create something that they’d always wanted to.

One of such people, was the one-time, Oscar-winning Xavier Cage, a famous director in Hollywood whom had fallen off in recent years due to multiple flops of his movies at the box office.

And standing firmly behind him, despite his gradual descent into obscurity in the cutthroat industry, was his long-time friend, business partner and something more, Cassandra.

Stepping out of her vehicle, her dyed, silver-blonde wildly flaying about in the sea breeze of Santa Monica’s State Beach, Cassandra casually made her towards her destination.

As the lady in her late thirties, strolled through the coastal landscape, dotted with palm trees and patches of greenery, her silver-grey irises swept over the modern Mediterranean-style condos, complete with its neat white walls and terracotta-tiled roofs.

Soon, she arrived at one of said condos, casually opening the door without even knocking.

Making her way through the neatly arranged apartment, her steps light and graceful, just like her features, Cassandra soon arrived at the balcony that faced the beach, the view breathtaking.

And seated on a rocking chair, his voluminous, quaff-styled, jet-black hair, with the occasional wiry strands of grey gently ruffling in the breeze of the wind, was Xavier himself.

His features were distinct, distinguished yet mature, his light stubble and beard, adding to the overall charm and confidence that a director and a man in his early 40s should have.

“You sure took your time contacting me Zay.” Cassandra stated, purposely obscuring his field of view with her elegant figure.

“And you look as beautiful as always Cass.” Xavier responded with an arch of his eyebrow, his cognac-brown irises, studying his wife’s sensual waistline.

“You, sleazy pervert. You’re not getting out of this one that easy.” she leaned forward with a suggestive gaze, her eyes gleaming in mischief as she asked;

“Progress report?”

“Oh come on babe. I’m a man, you know. Besides, I haven’t seen you in over three months! What’d you expect?!” Xavier, with a noticeably bulky script in his laps, raised and dropped his hands in exasperation.

Yet, realizing his wife wouldn’t be giving in to his demands just yet, Xavier groaned in resignation and then stated;

“Fine! [Stray Wolves] is done.”

“And the cast?” she inquired further.

“Nuance.” Xavier brushed her question aside.

“Babe?” Cassandra leaned closer, prodding even deeper with a sultry gaze leveled at her husband.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve picked out a few actors.” the director folded pretty fast to his wife’s advances.

“Though I’m only confident in one choice.” he briefly added, his gaze thoughtful.

“Which one?” Cassandra asked, her sultry gaze turning slightly curious.

“Kyle Kestis as Damian Wolf. The movie’s main antagonist.” he responded casually, although there was a noticeable hint of confidence to his words.