In an office-like space, there was a middle-aged man talking to a woman in formal office attire.
"Did you say Vault Studios has paused their Doraemon series?" the man asked the woman.
"Yes, sir, they have put it on hold and said that they will be working on a different project," the woman replied to the man.
"Hmph, they are idiots. If they knew any better, they should have continued with this series. Now that I have destroyed their reputation, they need to prove themselves to the world, and instead of doing that, they think they can do just whatever they want?" the man said in a haughty tone.
"How dare they mess with my Starglow Studios? Now that they have dug their own grave, all I need to do is watch the show as they destroy themselves," he continued.
"But, sir, how is this going to affect them?" asked the woman to the man, now identified as the head of Starglow Studios.
"Sigh, you still need more experience. But since you are my secretary, I'll explain it to you once. Tell me, what exactly did we do to Vault Studios?"
"Um... we made rumors that they joined the Nebeska Film Fest's second part by corruption," she replied to the man.
"Exactly, and that became the reason for people to doubt the abilities of Vault Studios. This, in turn, made people lose interest in the upcoming movie at the film fest, but since they already had a big fan following from the Doraemon series, our method did not have much effect. So, what do you think will happen now that they have even stopped working on Doraemon as well?" the man looked toward the woman as he spoke.
The woman had a look of sudden realization on her face, as if every piece fell right into place. "Now that there will be no more Doraemon, people will start forgetting Vault Studios, and all the hype for their upcoming movie will be lost, and that means no chances of having good results in Nebeska Film Fest."
"Hahaha... exactly, those bastards just lasered themselves in the foot. If they had just continued this series, they would have some audience, but now all of their paths are sealed," the man laughed triumphantly, as if already sure of his victory.
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Meanwhile, in a different part of the universe.
Arwin and the duo were busy in front of their own screens. They were inside a virtual space that looked similar to a studio.
All of them were in different corners of the studio space. While Arwin and Eden's area looked very normal, Diana's space looked like it came straight out of a Barbie movie, fully in pink.
They were completely focused on their tasks, eyes on the screen and pens in hand. The screen in front of Arwin was a picture of the lake shown in the movie, where the town is situated. It looked mesmerizing, as if it would suck you right into it.
Diana and Eden were focused on characters at the moment. They were animating different characters; Eden was animating Mitsuha, while Diana was working on some scene related to Taki. It looked like all three of them were in some sort of trance, and it would be difficult to get them out of there.
That was until another figure appeared in the space with a ray of light. The person that appeared was none other than the fourth team member and the legendary music composer, Torin Zane.
"Looks like you guys are very busy," Zane smiled as he looked toward the trio working hard.
Hearing the voice, all three of them looked toward Torin. As they noticed him, they got up from their seats, stretching, and went toward him.
"Yeah, boss is going to work us to the bone," replied Diana as she walked up, but with a smile.
Arwin chuckled, while Eden glared toward Diana, as if she was committing a crime.
"Haha... sorry about that, Diana. You can take a break whenever you want," Arwin smiled toward Diana as he spoke.
"Just kidding, boss. I'm loving this project. Just the views are so nice that I just want to stare at my screen," Diana replied sheepishly, as if embarrassed.
"Looks like you guys are having fun working on this," Torin, with his kind elderly face, glanced toward the trio.
"That we are, Mr. Zane. Anyway, how are you doing today?" Arwin turned toward the recent guest as he asked about his well-being.
"I'm doing alright, but are you ready to work on the music today?" Zane replied with a question of his own.
"Of course, everything is ready, Mr. Zane. I'm ready whenever you are," Arwin replied positively.
"Good, good. Why don't we start right away? If you have the song written down, we can start creating the music, and I will call someone from my contacts to sing it for us," Torin Zane gave a nod as he instructed.
"Yes, please follow me." Torin followed Arwin, while the duo went back to their workstations. Arwin and Zane went to a door in the corner of this virtual studio, and on the other side was another studio, but this one was for creating music.
Arwin and Torin both took seats opposite each other at a desk. Then Arwin, from his light bracelet, took out a screen that had the song written on it.
"These are the lyrics for the song," Arwin said as he handed over the screen to Torin, who curiously grabbed it as he started reading the lyrics.
"Caught in a never-endin' game
Seems like the world's still trying to tame me
If that's the way, I will obey
Beautifully struggle every day..." Torin began to hum the lyrics to himself.
He hummed them repeatedly for a few minutes, changing tunes each time, sometimes in a higher pitch, sometimes lower. He kept repeating this action a few times, and Arwin didn't disturb him. He just kept quiet and let the pro do his job.
He then even started to make some notes on a separate screen. It looked like he was extremely focused as well, just like Arwin was when he was animating.
After a few more minutes of scribbling on his screen, he turned toward Arwin and spoke, "I have to say, this is a unique song. I haven't done anything like this before. And yet, that's exactly why I'm here, because I grow with your unusual talent for innovation."
Arwin smiled at his words, feeling a little sheepish from the praise.
"Now, I think for this song, the most suitable instrument will be a piano," Torin Zane said as he turned his side of the table into a piano.
He started to get a feel of the instrument, his fingers brushing across the piano. He closed his eyes for a moment as he felt the keys underneath his fingers. Soon, a melody started playing.
Arwin was shocked, because it sounded very similar to the original from his world. Maybe that's why he's a legend. He could find the optimal tune for the song just from the lyrics.
Although not exactly the same, it was awfully familiar to the original. It would take only a few tweaks to perfect the music.
So, after he finished performing, Arwin spoke up, "Honestly, this is way beyond my expectations, because the tune and music I had in my mind are almost the same as what you performed."
"Haha, really? Then that just means you have good taste in music since your choice is similar to mine," Torin laughed, hearing Arwin's words.
Talking and laughing like this, both of them got to work and started perfecting the music.
In just two days, the music for the song was ready, and the only thing now left was for the singer that Torin Zane had promised to come join them, so that they could record the lyrics.
Arwin had created an AI version of the lyrics, and he gave it to Torin, so that he would have an idea of what kind of voice Arwin was looking for. Torin approved of the AI voice but said that it lacked certain depth and emotion, and he still preferred the old way, so he went ahead and called a new singer from his own company who had a similar voice to what Arwin was expecting.
Soon, that person was to arrive, so Arwin and the Diana and Eden duo were waiting in the virtual studio. It was a rare occasion since all three of them were free at the moment and weren't neck-deep in their screens.
All of them decided to take a break from animating and instead enjoy today's special private music show.
In just a few minutes, Torin Zane arrived with a youngster who looked a little bit older than Eden, still much older than Arwin.
"Hi, my name is Rihan, and I will be the singer on Mr. Zane's request today," Rihan, the new singer, introduced himself to the team, and they warmly welcomed him.
They led him to the music studio, ready for the recording of the song.
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Rihan was feeling nervous, because he was going to perform in front of the legendary Torin Zane himself. He was shocked when, from the company, he was selected by Zane himself to work with him.
His friends from the company were red with jealousy. It's not every day you get a chance to work with people of such status.
Although excited, his nervousness still showed for brief moments. Thoughts about what if he messed up, would he be kicked out, or would he be given a second chance or not. Maybe that's why he had been practicing all night the previous night. He had received the lyrics from Mr. Zane.
And he had to admit that this song was very unique. He hadn't done or heard a similar song before. So, practicing for this song was still pretty hard for him. Still, he spent hours perfecting his vocals and tone last night.
So, breathing a few times, he calmed down, ready to sing.
"I am ready," he said to Arwin, who was at the control panel outside the singing booth.
Arwin nodded, and he counted down from three, and the music began playing.
The tune of the piano playing started echoing in the studio. Everyone just listened in silence. Both Eden and Diana focused intently on the tune, as it was their first time hearing it, compared to Arwin and Zane, who had been hearing it for two days straight.
For about twenty seconds, only the sound of the piano rang out, but there were no lyrics. It was only after that the lyrics finally started.
"Caught in a never-endin' game
Seems like the world's still trying to tame me
If that's the way, I will obey
Beautifully struggle every day
Should we have a little kiss
While seeing both of our hourglasses?
Let's make a plan to meet somewhere
That is the most far from 'goodbye'."
As the lyrics began, everyone in the studio started bobbing their heads up and down, totally engrossed in the music, forgetting everything around them.
The music was relaxing in a sense, calming them down. Eden and Diana also started to relax, as if all the burden from the past few days was gone.
Rihan continued to sing, while all four in the audience kept quiet as they listened to him. The song was almost seven minutes long, and for that amount of time, they lost themselves in the world of music.
When the recording finally ended, they all started clapping.
"Job well done, young man," Torin praised the singer Rihan for his performance, who also looked very happy with himself.
"Thank you so much, sir. It has been my honor," Rihan replied.
Arwin and the duo also praised Rihan, and soon, after it was confirmed that everything was good, Rihan left the virtual studio. Diana and Eden also took the rest of the day off.
Now, only Torin and Arwin were left inside the studio. They had done final reviews of the music, and it was satisfying.
"I was not wrong in trusting you," Torin said, looking at Arwin.
"It was my pleasure working with you, sir. If it weren't for you, maybe this wouldn't turn out as good as it is now," Arwin replied humbly.
"You are being too modest, kid. I know that you have talent and would have done a great job by yourself. Anyway, I am glad that I could join this project, and contact me when you will work on the next one. I will join you again," Torin Zane smiled toward Arwin, clearly very pleased with their collaboration.
"I will, sir. Have a good day," Arwin said his goodbye with the confirmation.
Torin smiled as he was about to log out and wished Arwin luck for his upcoming movie release.
Arwin also logged out for the day and went to rest.
A/N: Yup, I am alive. Hopefully will stay this way for a while.