With most having had their meals and their initial conversations squared away, the attention of the students naturally turned towards the dance floor. Franz Steiner, despite being a rat, a murderer, and a scam, had put on a mean display of dance skills on the open space, somehow not looking out of place despite the lack of a lady in his arms. There was something admirable about the confidence of the man, undoubtedly, a self-assuredness that made others hesitant to be the second act…until Inti joined in with his own off-kilter interpretation of Occidental-Abya-Yalan fusion dance. That drew more than a couple chuckles out of the observers, most of them wondering who that kid even was, but while the Austrian’s dance was beautiful, the Aztec’s dance was compelling. And when a couple of shitfaced teens crashed into the dance floor following Inti’s routine, demanding perhaps one of the most hilariously satirical orchestrations of the 16th century?

Well, who wouldn’t skip out on an opportunity to dunk on those islanders with an outsized ego?

Brass instruments blared out brightly, echoing throughout the opera hall with the bombast of artillery, as more than a couple drunk Polymaths, in lieu of accidentally causing a catastrophe with their specializations, sang in off-kilter unison with Kalil instead, some with more vulgar interpretation of the lyrics than others. Above in the private boxes, those that fancied themselves more aristocratic sneered or giggled at the display, while those who sat at the dining tables at the back were forced to endure the cacophony they were surrounded in. Hearing damage may not be a complete possibility, but if that elephant-faced Egoist joined in, perhaps no one would be leaving the party without blown-out eardrums. Still, this amount of merry-making may have been expected out of Polymaths who suddenly found themselves free to do as they wished, to mingle with who they wished. So many of them had been tied to academies and parents, governments and wellwishers. But here in Bermuda, surrounded only by their peers? For many, this was the first true night of freedom that they’ve had, not to pursue their own designs, but to act out in socially irresponsible manners.

And with a crescendo of instruments and voices, the song ended, leaving them all breathless.

In that lapse of concentration, in the [i]caesura[/i] of youthful restlessness, a man, beard well-trimmed and hair swept back, stepped out from the orchestra of mechanical musicians, his presence commanding, his features a handsome mix of Oriental and Occidental. A few shrill gasps sounded from those more musically-inclined amongst the Polymaths; one particularly-enthused lady even fainted on the spot. For he was Ling-Ling Zamloch, a violinist with international fame, whose talents had seen him perform all across the world. His right hand could control a bow with near-molecular precision, while his left hand could strike the strings at speeds that easily surpassed machinery, all whilst maintaining his humanity. And now, he was here? Some may have dreamt of it, some may have thought it possible, but none had expected that such a humanistic artisan of the musical crafts would be performing for them in-person!

For a moment, the middle-aged man stood, eyes lowered in heart-wrenching contemplation.

Seconds ticked by, the lights in the room slowly concentrating upon him.

And then, bathed in luminescence, he let out a rare smile.

[b]“Would the real Franz Steiner please stand up?”[/b]

One finger crooked, beckoning the prodigy of prodigies, the Universal Genius who needed to sacrifice nothing to attain his Formulization. 

It was never a [i]challenge[/i] that the Austrian boy could back down from, and in Ling-Ling’s shadow emerged a second violin. Twin Stradivariuses, crafted of warm wood and polished by the hands of a master luthier. Seconds stretched on to eternity as two musicians tuned their instruments, the notes honing like the sharpening of blades before a battle, while one of the waiters assembled a stand upon which sheet music was provided to Franz.

[i]‘Danse Macabre, an arrangement for two.’[/i]

The genius youth met the gaze of the untouched apex and in unison, they raised their violins.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqGzGAyIFy4]It has begun.[/url]

Thirty minutes remained until the end of the night.