The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Dear Professor Sirius Noel, Zhan Xinjia.

"We are delighted to learn that your thesis "The Lost Songs of the Sardinian Empire - A Brief Analysis and Tracing of the Tradition of the Wandering Poets' Poetry" has received an 'Outstanding' rating, which is something to celebrate.

"Therefore, we solemnly invite you to participate in the year-end meeting of the Academy of Literature and History. The meeting will be held on the morning of Saturday, February 2st, in the conference hall on the first floor of the main castle of La Mifa University.

"At the meeting, we will select outstanding scholars and outstanding academic achievements in the past year, and look forward to the academic development path in the coming year.

"Looking forward to your participation.

"Lamifa University Faculty of Literature and History, January 401, 1 in the Mist."

Siles looked at the letter with some surprise.

Professor Bright had already told him about the year-end meeting.Of course, as a young professor, Siles had no need to participate in such high-level meetings.It's just that his academic thesis earned him the honor in advance.

However, compared with honors, Siles is more interested in the bonus that Professor Bright said.After all, he wanted to buy a house in Ramifa City.

... Siles suddenly felt that he now seemed to have an unprecedented ... the feeling that he "has a family".

This made him laugh helplessly.

He put the letter away, spent some time in the office, and then went to class.After the morning class, he went to the cafeteria for dinner, and happened to meet Professor Bright.

"Cilles!" Professor Bright called to him.

Siles sat down opposite to Professor Bright.

Professor Bright said mysteriously: "Cilles, I'm afraid you will receive two good news today. The first is the invitation letter for the year-end meeting, and the second is..." He paused, then said, "you guess?"

Siles considered it for a while, and then said, "Professor Mantel?"

"Oh, you're sharp, it's not very interesting," said Professor Bright, "but, yes, the old thing's been suspended. He's said to have had a fight with Dean Hurst."

Siles couldn't help but startled, and asked, "Why?"

Professor Bright shrugged: "It seems to be for the visit of scholars on spring break. He probably still doesn't want you to participate. I really don't understand...why would he compete with you so much?"

Professor Bright looked at Sirius inexplicably, and said, "I didn't see that old guy pay so much attention to you before the winter vacation."

Siles thought, maybe it's because, before the winter break, someone at the top of the Historical Society didn't know the existence of Professor Mantel?Perhaps, Professor Mantel is planning to fight for a future for his nephew before retiring?

But he didn't intend to let Professor Bright know about it, lest Professor Bright get angry again.He said: "Anyway, this matter seems to be resolved."

In this regard, Professor Bright nodded.He said, "I appreciate your sanity, and your calm, Sirius."

Siles was slightly taken aback, then smiled slightly.

He said: "Thank you for your compliment. By the way, I plan to buy a house in Ramifa City before the spring break, and I can move in after the spring break scholars come back. If there is a house for sale in the block you are in, you Can you keep an eye out for me?"

"Of course." Professor Bright immediately agreed, "Are you finally planning to move out of that cramped apartment on Hayward Street? Let me tell you, that place is useless except that it is closer to the university. "

That's what Hayward Street is like, Siles thought -- but it's free.

And if he bought a house, the corresponding maintenance costs, cleaning costs, etc., his daily expenses will rise in a straight line.However, Siles also had to admit that owning a house of his own is of course more convenient.

"I'll keep an eye on it for you." Professor Bright said, "There are a lot of projects going on in Lamifa City recently, and it is estimated that some people will want to sell their houses to raise money for investment. In this way, you may be able to pay a relatively low price. Get the right house for the price. What's your budget?"

"Five thousand dukes," said Siles.

Professor Bright nodded: "This is enough to buy a good house in the East City of Ramifah."

"Then please." Sirius said sincerely, "By the way, how is your foot now?"

"It's all right!" said Professor Bright. "Of course, I've also paid great attention to my daily actions now. There's nothing I can do about it."

Siles nodded and said, "If I can really live near you, then I can help you if you need anything."

Professor Bright laughed, and said: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Sirius. You can just say it straight, I'm a bad old man after all, and I've reached the point where 'if anything happens in life, you need the help of young people ' of age.

"I'd like to admit it. I've read and taught all my life, and I've learned a lot from the halls of literature. I think I've reached the age where I can face it—aging and dying."

Professor Bright's statement made Sirius slightly startled, and then he sighed softly in his heart.

After dinner, Siles bid farewell to Professor Bright, and then planned to go back to No. 6 Hayward Street to put things away, and then go to Cindo - at noon today Cindo went to deal with the affairs of the Praia family. Did not dine with Siles.But they plan to spend the afternoon together.

Siles put the lesson plan and some documents back in the small study at 6 Hayward Street.When he was about to go out, the appearance of the postman stopped Siles.

He was a little surprised to receive a thick letter from the postman, not sure where the letter would come from for a while.

... At least it can't be a reminder letter from the editor, he thought calmly.

But then, because of this idea, he suddenly realized a problem.If he's going to Middleton for a scholar's visit during spring break, does that mean he'll have to hand over the manuscript for that time to the newspaper in advance?

Siles was troubled for a moment by the thought.

He went back to the room on the third floor and opened the letter.Then he realized, to his surprise, that while it wasn't a reminder letter, it was indeed from an editor.

The editor of the "Literary Review" found out the manuscript that Professor Kabell had sent, and sent it to Siles.

He apologized to Siles in the letter.This paper is actually easy to find, but they are too busy at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, so they don't have much time to help.He hoped that this paper would bring some help to Siles.

Siles also sincerely thanked the editor in his heart.He sorted out these papers. There were about a dozen of them. He probably re-transcribed them, so the writing style did not have the madness of Professor Kabell.

He couldn't help but read.After reading this, he was fascinated, until Qin Duo's arrival woke him up.

"...Cendo?" Siles looked up in surprise, "I'm going to Lowell Street."

"Getting ready?" Qin Duo looked at him suspiciously, "But, it's already past one o'clock."

Siles belatedly took out his pocket watch to check the time, and he couldn't help but say, "Sorry... I got Professor Kabell's paper and started reading it, without paying attention to the time."

"It's nothing." Qin Duo approached and rubbed Siles' cheek affectionately, and he said, "I thought something happened to you, so I hurried over here. It's just that you're fine. It's the 'shadow' thesis?"

"Yes." Siles said in a low voice, "I've almost finished reading it. You can read it. Some of Professor Cabell's views..."

He considered his words.

Finally, he said: "Amazing."

Qin Duo was surprised to learn of this, and he said with great interest: "If you say that, then I really have to take a good look."

He also spent some time reading the paper.

Siles estimated that Qin Duo would take a while to finish reading, so he simply took this time to sort out the reading notes of the two apprentices.Another semester is drawing to a close, and these two apprentices are already writing their thesis.

I don't know if it was because of the influence of Siles, Dorothea did not choose Atkinya-related literature topics again in the end, but chose to study the person changes in several classic novels of the Silent Period.

The title of Jules's thesis is a comparison of narrative perspectives between a certain novel of the Chronicle of Mist and some novels of the Chronicle of Silence.The thesis topics of these two apprentices have something in common, and they also discussed relevant knowledge and reference books with each other when writing.

The list of books Siles gave them is almost universal, but occasionally there are some differences, after all, the overall research directions of the two apprentices are different.

Dorothea seems to have become interested in the literary topic of "the relationship between gods and believers", while Jules has embarked on the path of "comparative literature" instead.They have all slowly found their future goals.

After Siles read the apprentices' reading notes and recorded related questions, Qindo also almost finished reading Professor Kabel's thesis.

He tidied up the stack of papers, thought for a moment, and then said, "Some... are indescribable."

Siles nodded approvingly.

In Professor Kabell's thesis, he gave his opinion very clearly: "'Shadow' is a god hiding behind the fog of history. He and his believers, although always present, have never been people realize.

"It wasn't until the fall of Erkoo kicked off the twilight of the gods in the Silent Age, and it wasn't until the millennium before the gods named it 'Shadow' that people suddenly realized that the world was shrouded in 'Shadow'.

"However, this secret is hidden behind the title of this era after all, and it has become a deceitful lie known to those who care about it, but ordinary people have no way of knowing it."

Although Professor Kabell's attitude is very clear, it is difficult to say where he came to this conclusion.Even in this paper, he still hides and does not quote from sources, but simply lists his own views.

From this paper, Siles can see Professor Kabell's several views on "shadow".

First, he believes that "Shadow" is a god, and this god has appeared long before the Shadow Age.The reason why people don't know his existence is because he has been hiding in the dark shadows as described in "shadow".

However, Professor Kabell also added that this is a completely different concept from Houddoka's deity, "the shadow side of the world". "Shadow" is just a certain description of this god, or in other words, a metaphor, not its godhead, god position, or god name.

Second, he believes that "shadow" is the enemy of many old gods, but there are also many old gods who don't know the existence of "shadow".This intricate relationship also makes the situation of the Old Gods starting from the Shadow Era more confusing.

At this point, Professor Kabel hinted a little at the reason why he came to this conclusion: "Just look at the time when the old gods fell!"

Thirdly, "Shadow" is very likely to take the power of the old god by devouring, gnawing, covering, etc., which makes him stronger.In the Shadow Age, it is very likely that a battle of gods took place.The so-called "disaster" of the Shadow Period was also caused by this battle of gods.

Regarding the "War of Gods", Professor Kabell gave some explanations a little more solemnly.He did not think that the war of gods was limited to wars between gods.

To be precise, the battle of gods did take place between gods, but of course it would also affect humans, and many human warriors must have participated in this protracted war.

Except for these three points, the second half of Professor Kabell's thesis actually clarifies the same point of view.

That is: the "shadow" never fades away.

This concept coincides with what Detective Jon said before.They all believed that there was still a conspiracy going on in the dark.

In fact, this point of view can prove that the person mentioned by the group of weirdos that Jon came into contact with, who has a very in-depth study of "shadow", is indeed Professor Kabell.

Siles is more interested in the second half of the content, since he already knows the existence of "shadow".

Professor Kabell himself was not from an official organization, and he didn't even really become a revelator.However, he extracted all kinds of gossip and rumors from various secret channels, such as secret organizations, small gatherings, antique lovers' exchanges and so on.

He sorted out these messages and arranged them in chronological order.

Then he discovered that, at least in the Principality of Constance, there were many cases involving Luthmi's believers, all of which were finally settled.

This kind of "involvement" includes some relics found at the scene of the crime, rumors of certain beliefs passed down by word of mouth, introductions and guesses from paper media such as manuscripts and news reports, and investigations of certain cases by some private investigators.

In short, Professor Kabell listed several typical cases in the paper.

For example, when the sun rises and the sun sets, an unidentified corpse appears at the same place; for example, a strange dead man with bleeding eyes and a telescope in his hand; for example, a transvestite who dresses herself as a woman and wears the clothes of a female knight man.

Regarding the last group of people, Professor Kabell especially introduced that he saw the relevant news in a certain old newspaper.The reason why this matter is included is because the breastplates of those transvestite men are all carved with marigolds.

"And readers who are lucky enough to read this paper, if they know what the meaning of calendula is, then I am afraid they will naturally understand what the appearance of these people means." Professor Kabel wrote so mysteriously in the paper .

... No wonder his paper was reprimanded by the journal editor as "a madman's grotesques."

However, for Siles at this time, because he understands the meaning of calendula, he can understand what Professor Kabell means-calendula is a symbol of Ruthmi.

From this perspective...

Siles thought of a possible explanation.He said to Qindo: "Do you know that there are some secret organizations of followers of the old gods that use some symbols related to the old gods as membership credentials?"

For example, believers in Blanca will display the objects used to torture themselves. For example, inside the Ramifa Chamber of Commerce, those merchants who believe in Menawaka will use a falling balance as a status symbol.

Perhaps, calendula symbolizes an organization?

That was a gathering place for a group of Ruthmi's followers... No, according to what Professor Kabell and Jon said before, it was an organization that the followers of "Shadow" belonged to under the guise of Ruthmi's name.

Is it possible that the calendula cup was discarded in that trash can by someone after joining that organization?If this is the case, then their speculation about the extermination of the Darrow family will undergo a radical change.

Perhaps the reason why Brewer Darrow was killed with a single knife was... just someone's initiation ceremony?

This thought made Sirius startled suddenly.

Qin Duo didn't think so much, he agreed with Siles' thoughts, and said: "Kabel said he saw it in an old newspaper. That means that this organization may have existed for a long time. But... the female knight ?”

He was a little puzzled and said, "Why a female knight?"

The concept of a female knight is not unfamiliar to people in Fisher's world.

It is true that some women choose to become knights, fight for the monarch or for the gods. This kind of thing may not be very common, but even ordinary people, when they mention this topic, they can say a few words, mentioning Some well-known female knights in history.

For the gods, human gender does not affect beliefs.There are also many gods in historical records who have female representatives, which is not a rare thing.

But why did this group of followers of the old gods deliberately pretend to be female knights?

No, it should be said...

The identity of women has a special meaning in this secret society?

Siles thought for a moment, then shook his head.He said: "Maybe it's just that Ruthmi once had a female representative, or they think Ruthmi is a god who tends to be female. Or maybe this group of people are just pure transvestites?"

Just as the disciples of Brancani have gone astray through time, so perhaps the disciples of Ruthmi have done the same.

Qin Duo nodded in agreement.He tidied up the paper, put it aside, and said, "This seems to be another incident."

"Yes." Sirius said quietly.

"...Your life is always filled with the concept of these gods." Qin Duo said a little troubled, "I never thought that you would come into contact with so many secrets about the past.

"Sometimes it pays off - like that rose. I have to say I do sleep a lot better after getting that rose.

"But more often, I feel that your life is disturbed by these complicated and obscure things."

Siles agrees.However, considering that he is always looking for the hidden secrets of this world, the hectic situation he faces can only be said to be his own fault.

He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, finally smiled slightly, and just said: "Perhaps, this can also be regarded as a kind of joy in life."

Scramble through weird puzzles, chaotic information and complicated situations, and finally find the answer hidden in the corner and let the truth surface.He had to admit, it was something that brought him joy.

It's Tuesday afternoon.He read another book from Kansas with Cinder, and then went to dinner together.Life has not changed in any way because of the puzzles he studied, and it is still going on as it is.

On Wednesday, Siles received another letter from the Historical Society, also an invitation.The content is exactly what Grenfell said, the commendation ceremony of the Historical Society.

To his surprise, like the year-end meeting of the Academy of Literature and History, the date of the commendation ceremony of the Historical Society was also on February 2, but the time was changed to the afternoon.This also means that February 1st may be a very busy day for him.

On Thursday, when meeting with the apprentice, Siles received not so good news.

Dorothea told him apologetically that she had wanted to borrow for him the family collection of books on Thaddeus, the god of death and disaster, but her grandfather, Adolphus Grant, had refused the request.

When Dorothea mentioned this, she looked very embarrassed, even a little ashamed.She probably didn't expect her grandfather to refuse this matter, after all, it was a request from a scholar.

Siles was also a little surprised, but he quickly said: "It's nothing, Dorothea, don't take it to heart. I just wanted to know something about Thaddeus on a whim." information."

Dorothea breathed a sigh of relief at this statement.

However, this matter did make Sirius feel a little strange.Adolphus Grant's uncompromising attitude seems to be a bit guilty—maybe the Grant family is really related to Thaddeus?

And that also seems to imply that other elders who were acquainted with Adolphus Grant, including the bibliophile Professor Denton Calverley, the painter Alden Bridges, etc., may be Sarah. Follower of Dieus.

…But, this group of people seems to have taken a completely different path from Jonathan Bryant after the fall of Thaddeus?

Did these believers of Thaddeus completely split after the fall of the gods?

This day is January 1th, which happens to be halfway through January.In the evening, when Siles read Conan Fremont's "Life" No. 15 volume, in this work from the distant Silent Age, he found the answer to this question.

"...

"I think there are two cases of death--before I explain the two cases, I must first explain that my classification is based on the nonsense of an old man. Readers must not think that what I said It's a wise saying.

"No one can say what the world is like, and no one can say how the world will develop. If there is a god of destiny in the world, then I would rather He is tolerant, kind, and peaceful, or, 'Indifference' in the absolute sense.

"In conclusion, I think death falls into two categories: foreseeable and unforeseeable.

"Oh, dear reader, you must say: Isn't this nonsense? It is true, but I realized later that death can sometimes have two ... opposite meanings.

"If you have lived long enough, you are already bored, and your family and friends are also bored; or you have been sick for many years, and the illness is unbearable, but you are still alive; in short, at a certain stage, it is not uncommon to die. .

"Having lived for a short time, children, young people, and adults, no one thought that death would suddenly come to them; accidents, disasters, diseases, and bad luck happened suddenly, taking away some lives that should have been fresh; in short, It was like a bolt from the blue.

"The death of a stranger is like a number. It happens every day, every day.

"... So, to which kind should I attribute my god's death?

"Caught off guard? That's true. However, the concept of 'gods are also mortal' suddenly dawned on me, and I felt belatedly... er, familiar?

"A true follower of my god would call me a blasphemer if they heard that. That's not the case with me, though I know it will leave many people feeling a sense of disillusionment.

"I don't know whether the gods are born, old, sick, and dying, whether the gods have to eat, drink, and scatter, and whether the gods are also troubled by daily necessities. These questions occasionally bother me a little.

"I feel that I am an extremely arrogant human being, because I put my own life appearance on the gods, thinking that those gods will also have the troubles of ordinary humans like me.

"But... death.

"Everyone dies, and the most amazing thing is that even the gods die.

"I've heard that some people have called these fallen gods 'Old Gods'. That's really an incomparably wonderful appellation. It reminds me of a few days ago, when I sorted out the books at home, I found a book that I was obsessed with when I was a child.

"I was naughty when I was young, so sometimes my parents would be very strict, and they would confiscate my favorite books. So I hid the book under a heavy cabinet, and I guess no one would find it.

"Later, even I myself forgot the existence of this book.

"However, when I picked up this book from the dust of time, wiped off the dusty cover, and saw the yellowed, slightly wrinkled paper... that feeling was more like wiping my own. Life.

"Old books. Old gods. What is buried in all old things is, after all, the old self.

"...So I can understand the behavior of those most loyal believers after the fall of my god. They are not like me. I am born with a kind of complacency, as if the world really revolves around me.

"Those believers, their lives are equal to my god. When my god fell, their lives suddenly shattered. They glanced around, but all they saw was nothingness-they had spent their entire lives, but in the end everything was nothing.

"They thought they would return to the arms of my god after death, but 'death' was already dead.

"As far as I know, some believers are able to calm down, whether they are deceiving themselves or not, they are indeed telling themselves that it means that our God is also waiting for them at the end of death.

"This is such an ironic idea. As I said before, humans will die, and gods will die; the distance that was originally long has been shortened like this.

"...well, some believers may not need that sense of disillusionment (intimacy).

"However, this also means that the latter group of believers are a bit unfortunate. It is hard for me to say whether this...preferring to let oneself fall into painful delusion rather than changing one's own thoughts and concepts can be said to be self-inflicted.

"Anyway, they took a different path.

"If you'd like to take my word for it, I'm here to make my point. I think death really means two things: life and death."

Seeing this, Sirius couldn't help being startled.

He raised his head temporarily, took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let himself escape from the gloomy atmosphere created by Fremont.He thought about the information revealed in this text.

After the fall of Thaddeus, his followers were indeed divided.

One group of people believed that the fall of Thaddeus meant that "death" also accepted his own death.He will await the arrival of believers at the end of death.

It's hard to tell if this is a self-defeating idea.Siles agrees with Fremont on this point.

And some of the thoughts that Dorothea relayed earlier from the Grant family's collection are very consistent with the thoughts of this group of people.In other words, the Grant family is likely to be the descendants of these Thaddeus believers.

They seem to still adhere to the original concept - to make their lives more valuable, and to make their deaths more sensational, so that they can show Thaddeus how much they value death.

As a result, they continued to appreciate art and search for the value of life, and some of them also tried to make themselves big names so that their death would attract more people's attention.

...Simply in terms of their actions, Siles felt that this group of people could even be said to be harmless.Their greatest pursuit is to make themselves "deserved to die".

Siles once obtained a manuscript from the Praia family, which recorded some of the states of the followers of Thaddeus and Pessonari during the August Empire.

Believers of these two gods unanimously agree that human life should be valuable-the former is because of life, and the latter is because of life itself.

And now, Fremont mentions that he believes that "death actually means two things", which also reminds Siles of the difference between the beliefs of believers in life and death.

Combining Jonathan Bryant's fear of death and nostalgia for life before, Sirius couldn't help but have some thoughts in his heart.

He went on to read Fremont's text.

"No matter how much believers in death (not counting death believers like me) deny this, for ordinary human beings, they will of course admit that a creature can only die after it is alive.

"That is to say, life is a necessary journey to death.

"So, after 'death' also died, some of my god's believers have a subtle change in their understanding of death. When you are only a step away from death, will you look forward or look forward? look later?

"Some people choose to look forward. Because death is close at hand, all old things can be left behind. In the end, human life is a lonely journey, and only oneself can accompany oneself.

"So, this group of people -- this group of believers, they're after a death that doesn't look back.

"But some people choose to look back. They still look back after all, it is inevitable. Because life is life after all, and death is death after all. No one can not be confused about the world after death, and no one can be so confused No fear.

"So, they don't want to die. They set their sights on life. And they can also give themselves a valid reason: because 'death' is already dead, so, who will receive their death? They want to keep themselves alive, looking forward to 'Death' will one day be resurrected.

"Is this kind of thinking ridiculous? It doesn't seem to be. But when they think this way, the relationship between gods and believers is reversed. The right to interpret the 'gods' has come to the hands of believers.

"Because the god is dead, believers are desperately researching possible future directions for themselves.

"The gods—the power of the gods, at this time has become a concept that can be deconstructed, disassembled, and explained. With the fall of the gods, this matter is inevitable after all.

"...This is the Silence Period. The fall of the gods seems to have begun in the distant years, but after such a distant time, people have not been able to draw an answer from it.

"There are even a lot of people who haven't realized this problem yet.

"That is, when the gods fall, what should we—we human beings do?"

Siles stared silently at the question mark of the last question.He was aware of the confusion that appeared in Fremont's mind, and that confusion had also plagued Sirius when he realized the current state of the world.

And he also knew that the answer to this question might not be obtained overnight.

He sighed slightly, under the dim light of the desk wall lamp.He looked out the window into the quiet night.The coldness of winter night makes mist appear on the window, and the city outside the window is hazyly shrouded; and the world is indeed shrouded in such mist.

At this moment, Sirius felt as if he had touched the essence of this world; or maybe, that was just an illusion he had when he meditated in the middle of the night.

He sat in silence for a while before slowly shaking the thought away.

He let his mind converge back to the current situation.

It can be seen from Fremont's book that after the fall of Thaddeus, that is, at the end of the Silent Era, his believers were divided, and some believers continued to walk along the old road—and they still do not. known to exist.

Judging from Dorothea's performance, she herself does not seem to know the possible belief nature of the family.This matter might only be passed on when she was old, or when Adolphus was about to die.

This group of people, to some extent, they have deviated from their belief in Thaddeus. They disguise themselves as followers of Atkinya, the god of music and art, perhaps because this identity is more To be more harmless, and the notion seems decent enough.

Siles doesn't like to comment on their actions, but in any case, at least these people are not doing anything bad.

But another group of people, to some extent, should be said to have "betrayed" their previous belief in Thaddeus.At least in terms of action, they "transferred" Pessonari, even if they themselves did not want to admit it.

They began to fear death and began to lust for life.Of course it is human nature to be greedy for life and afraid of death, Siles thought so, but it is not a good practice to deceive oneself and others.

And judging from Jonathan Bryant's approach, this greed for life and fear of death may have developed into an extremely terrifying obsession.

He believes that only by being alive can the intention of death be fulfilled.His ideas became distorted and extreme unconsciously, and he himself failed to realize this, and even hated being pointed out by others.

This made Siles sigh slightly.

This exclamation is based on life and death itself.In any case, Siles could not agree with Jonathan's point of view, especially