'The tune he was playing.'
Aiden's mind immediately went to the tune he had heard. The music was on the back of his mind throughout the conversation with Joseph.
He was even going to ask him about it but hearing that it was the last song of Agnas was very surprising.
He had researched Agnas to prepare for the audition and had listened to each of his songs. Even the covers he had done when he was relatively new in his career and had read books about him.
But he never found anything about a song named 'Joker'.
If it was really the famed musician's last song, then won't it be famous? Aiden had such thoughts in his mind as he blinked his eyes in wonder.
"I never heard of that song before."
"Yeah." Joseph nodded. "It was never revealed to the public and only few people who are close to Agnas knew about it."
"Why wasn't it released to the public? I'm pretty sure Agnas's fans would appreciate that."
Joseph shook his head with a grimace on his face.
"It's incomplete. The song that is." He frowned, telling everything about it to Aiden. "No one was able to finish the song after Agnas's death. I tried a lot too but I failed. I don't think anyone could finish it in this world."
Hearing that, Aiden quickly checked the skill level of Joseph and like he had expected, it was at the peak.
'Level 9.'
It was the same skill level as Richard Allen, the author who had helped Aiden with his first book. He wondered if no human had reached Level 10 but in the first place, only geniuses could reach Level 9.
Not everyone has a system.
At the same time, he wondered about Agnas's skill levels. He was said to be at the pinnacle of what humans could achieve.
"That song? Can I hear it?"
Aiden asked, very curious about hearing the original version and thankfully, Joseph nodded his head.
"Sure."
He took out his phone and opened up an audio file on it. It was titled 'Joker' and then with a tap of his finger, he played it.
For the next one minute, Aiden felt like he was experiencing something that was magical. Hard to describe.
The pain and melancholy in each note was hard to ignore and Agnas's voice was revealing what he had concealed inside of him for so long.
In the pursuit of stardom, he had become a joker. The employee of his own myth who was overworked and just wanted to leave his job.
The incomplete song revealed all of it and Aiden felt it with every fibre of his being.
'I understand why Joseph said he would know for sure if Liam sang it.'
It was hard to emulate the feeling of the song until one was in a certain emotional range and if Liam mastered it, even Aiden wouldn't mind him doing the role.
It took a while for him to gather his thoughts. Joseph enjoyed his reaction and asked.
"How was it?"
"It's really hard to describe it."
"Most people say that."
Joseph laughed. It was always a sight to see when people would hear 'Joker' for the first time. It had feelings that would make people want to brawl their eyes out.
"Anyway, I won't hold you for too long. I heard you are busy shooting a movie. You must be very tired."
He changed the subject to better the mood but Aiden suddenly asked a strange question.
"Can I keep a copy of the song?" He asked, knowing that the song was something very precious and could help him get inspiration.
"Yeah, I can send you a copy. But you can't share it with anyone."
"I won't."
***
Aiden spent a bit of time with Cameron before leaving. He and Wade parted ways after that as the latter was heading straight to the office to know more about the situation with the casting for the biopic.
Wade was going to see if he could get more information on how the casting meetings were going on at Zero International and try to push Aiden's name.
At least, there was a small chance since Aiden was one of the few candidates that had reached the final selection.
As for Aiden, he went straight to his home. The shooting for [Action Hero] was daunting on his body, so he needed to sleep on time to give his body ample rest.
But no matter how much he tried, he was unable to sleep.
It was because his mind kept going to 'Joker'.
The song that truly captivated him and made him unable to focus on anything else.
He was repeatedly listening to it on repeat and feeling a new wave of emotions every single time. It was like his mind was filled with new inspiration for his next songs.
He also felt dejected that such a song was left incomplete. From what Joseph had told him, even he wasn't able to complete it.
'He's probably at the last stages of Level 9. Yet he was unable to do it. I'm still in the early phases of Level 8.'
Aiden thought in his mind.
Even then, when he had leveled up way back when his album had been released, the system had notified him that it would be extremely hard for him to level up again.
Level 8 was already a stage that most composers aren't able to touch.
'I don't think I would be able to complete it even if I tried.'
As Aiden thought about it, his phone suddenly started ringing.
—Du Du Du Du
It was Wade. Aiden quickly picked it up.
"Aiden, I thought you would be sleeping. Nevermind, it's good you are awake."
"What happened? Your voice seems a bit odd."
Wade's voice sounded a bit sombre and he was also hesitating in his tone. Something was wrong.
"It's just… I think we can't do anything about the Agnas role. I found out Intra Entertainment is very serious about getting Liam the role. The CEO of Intra met with Zero International CEO in the evening. The issue is out of our hands now, I think. It's hard to stand against corporations, you know."
Aiden frowned hearing that. His mood completely fell and he didn't know what to do now.
Even if he had prepared for such a situation, it still felt bitter to him.
"Okay. I understand, Wade. These things happen."
He said in a dejected tone.
"Yeah, don't worry, I would get a way better project for you. I'm pretty sure the public reception won't be any good if Liam really got the role."
They talked a bit more before Aiden cut the call. He sat down after putting his phone away and sighed.
His mind was thinking of a lot of things. Getting rejected for a role was common but it never felt good, especially when he had finally gotten interested in portraying Agnas.
It made him strengthen his resolve to become so big that all roles in Hollywood go through him.
To keep his mind away from thinking about this, he again played the audio file that he had received from Joseph.
For a minute, his mind was completely away, seemingly in some other plane, basking in the sadness and wonder of a song.
When it finished, Aiden wasn't able to say anything for a while. A reaction that had become very repetitive.
Suddenly, an idea struck his mind.
'What if I can complete 'Joker'?'
It felt like an absurd thought, considering that he wasn't good enough yet.
But he didn't really have any other option.
Even if he was thinking of something absurd, it was still better than doing nothing.
'Not like I have reached this place without doing absurd things.'
Aiden thought and looked at the time. It seemed like the night was going to be long.
***
"Are you sure that I'm going to get the role, right? I worked extremely hard for it."
Liam looked at the scrawny looking man in front of him. He had a face like a rat but Liam still treated him well as he was his assistant.
"Yes, sir. I tried to get information about it and it seemed like the CEO met with Zero International executives to ask for a favour for you. There's no way they are going to reject you now."
"Good."
A smile plastered on Liam's face hearing that. Agnas was his idol since childhood and it was an extreme honour for him to play him in the biopic.
Suddenly, a woman snuggled up to Liam and hugged his arm. She was Florence Levine.
Surprisingly, they were still together after the scandal.
"Babe, don't worry. The role will be yours no matter what. As a director, I could tell that you are the best actor I have seen."
She complimented, almost in a honeyed manner. Then, her smile became a bit vicious.
"I would love to see Aiden's face after he lost out on the role. Because of him, my career nearly finished."
"Are you sure I need to focus on him? I thought about stuff and it didn't seem like—"
"Yes, you need to. You are naive, Liam. In this industry, you need to completely crush anyone who stands against you or it will be a problem for a long term. You don't want that, right? Aiden is an arrogant guy who's high on his success and he won't hesitate to go against you."
"If you say so."
Liam said as Florence snuggled closer to him.
Watching all this, the rat faced assistant was finding it hard to keep his poker face. In his mind, his expressions had already become ugly.
'Bitch.'