The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Do you think that if humans have the power of gods, can humans be called gods?" Edward asked.

This question stunned Sirius for a moment.Because he suddenly realized that there was a possibility hidden behind this question.

He thought for a moment before saying cautiously: "I don't think so. A god needs a godhead, a god position, and a god's name, not just the power of a god."

Edward was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help laughing: "Yes, I almost forgot your theory of three elements. Godhead, god position, god name...it is true. But nowadays, it is very difficult for people to have access to these three elements at the same time. The gods of the elements.

"Except for Anti-Num. And Anti-Num doesn't appear in front of humans very much. Therefore, when a person has the power of a god, then many people may regard him as a god.

"...It should be said that people need such a 'god' as their psychological sustenance."

Siles was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "So, the experiment 14 years ago was successful, right?"

Edward looked at Sirius in surprise, and then gave a wry smile.He said: "Yes, it worked. Although the young man went mad and died soon, but... indeed, he regained the power of the gods."

Siles thought about it and said, "Can you talk about that experiment in detail?"

Edward sighed, and said: "Of course. But, Professor Noel, I have to say my thoughts in advance. What I mean is that power can sometimes bring disasters, and people often don't realize it. to this point.

"When people get the power of the Revelator, they think of it as a weapon, as if the power can only be used to kill each other; when in fact, as you are studying the subject now, it can actually be used for other purposes."

Siles said: "I see... So, at that time, someone was moved?"

"Of course some people were moved. Even I, I can't say that I was completely indifferent to the power of the gods at that time." Edward said, "not to mention those guys who are a little older than me.

"I have to say, in just one or two days, people's hearts are changing, and the speed may be comparable to the things they have been thinking about in their lives. Then, that young man died, ha, everything is empty.

"Perhaps people want to master the power of the gods, but just for a day or two, it seems that it is not worth sacrificing their lives."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

He has always felt that people seem to be too vague about what happened 14 years ago.

Since it is a subject conducted within the Historical Society, of course there are quite a few insiders.Even the three-element theory that Siles once regarded as almost taboo is widely known within the Historical Society.

Maybe that subject is older and more serious in nature, but people's gossip will definitely reveal some rumors; moreover, it was only 14 years ago, and the researchers who witnessed that experiment may still be in history. learning.

For example, the ex-elder Forrest who was expelled.

Under such circumstances, people seem to have forgotten what happened 14 years ago. At least on the surface, Siles never heard anyone mention the process and results of that experiment.

He was indeed reprimanded for what happened 14 years ago, but no one told him exactly what it was.

Today, it is the former head of the research department who has left the Historical Society to completely uncover the truth.Perhaps it was because he was old enough to have nothing to do with the Historical Society that he was able to mention the past.

...the age when people's hearts were floating.

Edward said: "The old god people chose at that time was Trisley."

Siles froze for a moment.This choice was beyond his expectation.

Trisley symbolizes nature, mountains, rivers and wilderness. He is synonymous with nature and also a symbol of wildness.

"The reason for choosing this old god... is a difficult question. It should be said that in the environment at that time, people believed that Trisley was a relatively harmless god, so maybe his The same goes for power," Edward said.

Siles thought for a while and said, "Because of nature?"

"You can say that," Edward said. "Besides, the city of Ramifa also owns the Kanla River. I don't know to what extent these two things are related, but the experiment was carried out near the Kanla River. .”

Here was another clue that surprised Sirius.

Trisley is the god of mountains and rivers, and Lamifa City happens to have a Kanla River that runs through the city, so this experiment took place near the Kanla River.This sounds quite reasonable, and it is also in line with the concept of gods.

However, Siles felt a little subtle.

That gives people a very strong, rote feeling, as if someone deliberately chose Trisley.

Edward continued: "I was not able to personally participate in that experiment... At that time, I was not the director of the research department. Forrest, the director of the research department at the time, became an elder because of this subject, but was removed from his name and left completely. Center of the Historical Society.

"I became head of research after Forrest, for a variety of reasons. However, I found the position to be quite a headache because of the amount of administrative work involved."

Edward couldn't help shaking his head.

Siles accidentally heard Forrest's name here.He thought about it and said, "I once met this...Forrest."

Edward was also taken aback.

Siles also said: "It was he who gave Bart a dangerous document. This is what I heard from Bart."

Edward couldn't help showing a surprised expression.After a while, he sighed and said, "It turned out to be like this. When I learned that someone had given Bart a piece of dangerous information, I never thought that it would be Forrest."

Siles remained silent.Edward seemed to know Forrest quite well, he thought.But, at the same time, someone else had told him about Bart the scribe.

The intricate network of people within the Historical Society, especially at the top, is really amazing.

...Siles didn't want to get involved at all anyway.

"My intersection with Forrest is limited to certain occasions in the research department." Edward said, "He is actually much younger than me, but from another perspective, he is not very... obsessed for research.

"He is a person with opinions and backers. Of course, I don't know who his backers are. That's all in the past. During the years when he was the head of the research department, the overall atmosphere of the research department was pretty good.

"Forrest doesn't care much about what we researchers do, as long as we do our own research step by step and don't make trouble, he doesn't bother to care about us.

"It should be said that he has something he wants to study, and there are other enlighteners who study that subject with him. The position of the head of the research department is just for his convenience."

Siles nodded, and said, "That is, to revive the power of the old god?"

"That's true," Edward said. "I heard some information about the experiment that took place near the Kanla River. It is said that the young man did show... some ability to manipulate the river."

Siles was a little surprised to hear this statement.

Manipulating the river—maybe it also fits the description of Trisley's power in some historical legends? ——I'm afraid that immediately convinced the bystanders at that time that human beings can possess the power of gods.

This is indeed the case.Siles thought.It's just that it is difficult for human beings to have the corresponding will to match the power of the old gods. Therefore, the short-term glory is followed by an instant shattering.

…From this point of view, Siles, who came from the earth, naturally has a personality similar to that of an outer god, but he didn't realize it at the beginning.

"Even the young man was very surprised," Edward said. "He was crying and laughing at the time, and people almost thought he was crazy. In fact... he was crazy afterward. But no one knew why."

Siles listened silently.

"That's probably what happened in a day or two," Edward explained, "on the first day the experiment was successful, on the second day the young man went mad, on the third day the young man died; on the fourth day, Faury Sturt was expelled from the Presbyterian Church.

"At about the same time, something happened to the high-level officials of the Principality of Constance... I am afraid that you also know this. There are some rumors that some information about that experiment even spread to the Principality, and caused the mess.

"...In any case, that is already a thing of the past. Although there will be endless troubles."

With that said, Edward couldn't help but sighed.

Siles collected his thoughts, and then said, "Where did that young man come from?"

"You mean the person behind this experiment?" Edward was also quite keenly aware of the nature of Sirius' problem, and he shook his head, "No one knows. Everyone said he was a reckless young man, and no one thought There is someone behind him to instigate."

Siles frowned.

Edward said: "At least I don't know. And I don't think most of the elders know either."

Siles thought for a while, then couldn't help asking: "So, what about Forrest?"

"Forrest..." Edward fell into deep thought, "he appeared earlier, I'm not sure when he joined the Historical Society. He was only about 14 years old 40 years ago, when he He is already the head of the research department.

"So, he must have joined the Historical Society earlier, otherwise he wouldn't be able to become the supervisor. He doesn't seem to have any research results, and he is always buried in some... unclear research.

"I've heard some gossip about him, but that was 14 years ago, and I can't remember clearly... In fact, if you didn't mention him today, I would almost forget his existence."

"He really didn't have a presence," said Siles.

Edward also nodded in agreement with this statement.

They did not continue talking for a short time afterwards, but ate their respective lunches.Siles also sorted out his thoughts.

In general, during this meeting with Edward, he originally thought he would learn about the problems of the scribe Bart, but unexpectedly learned the inside story of the experiment 14 years ago.

In addition, Forrest's relevant information is also very surprising.He was actually Edward's previous director of the research department.

It should be said that the fact that Forrest was expelled after being an elder was really surprising, so they completely forgot that Forrest must have held certain positions within the Historical Society before becoming an elder.

However, from the perspective of Forrest's character and behavior, I am afraid that he has not made any achievements in these positions, so he has been completely forgotten.

At least after Siles entered the research department, he had never heard of Edward's previous director of the research department being mentioned.The age gap between Edward and Forrest makes it easy to ignore this possibility.

However, in fact, the directors of several departments of the Historical Society are not very old.It's not out of the question that Forrest will be head of research at the age of 40.

Some older researchers may remember the existence of this supervisor.But they probably wouldn't know about Forrest's personal information, since he was their superior after all.

After thinking for a while, Siles brought the topic back to what he originally wanted to ask Edward. He asked, "So, do you know what Forrest gave to the scribe Bart?"

Edward cast a sharp look at Sirius, and said: "That's actually what you're writing to me, isn't it?"

"The same can be said." Siles said, "That document...was quite shocking."

Edward said: "Don't say that. I'm an old man who is almost 70 years old and can't bear the burden of curiosity."

Siles laughed.

Edward turned to say: "However, I'm afraid..."

"It's information related to the old gods." Siles said in a low voice.

"...I guessed it," Edward said. "It's not a good thing. Everyone thought it was over 14 years ago, but now it seems that it was never over, and its effects were just lurking."

Siles couldn't help but sighed.

Now it seems that many things that happened in Lamifa City are inseparable from the changes 14 years ago.In addition, as far as the incident 14 years ago itself is concerned, Siles feels more and more that there may be some unknown behind-the-scenes hidden behind it.

Why did Forrest and the young man decide to recreate Trisley's powers?How did they do that?

Moreover, if we compare the restoration of Trisley's power with the nursery rhyme that Forrest gave Bart—especially the description of "the lamb walking on the grass" in the nursery rhyme—then the situation It's even more surprising.

They didn't seem to choose the god Trisley randomly, but based on some special purpose.Now Siles still doesn't know what their purpose is, but there is an obvious deliberate trace.

Edward said: "As for the question you raised, I may not be able to give a perfect answer. At that time, I just heard from an old friend of mine that there was a quarrel within the Presbyterian Church about those scribes.

"They seem to have got some materials, I don't know where they got them, but this world can always find such strange materials. They dare not read them themselves, so they plan to find a scribe to copy them. But it is obviously a kind of Not very ethical behavior.

"Some people accused them of their actions, but they were refuted. Some of them mentioned in the confusion, 'Someone has given the information to a scribe named Bart. Maybe you can find this person later.'

"My old friend shared it with me. I didn't expect it to be Forrest, though."

Siles frowned slightly.

In this matter, he suddenly realized that Forrest may not be the person involved in the quarrel Edward mentioned.Someone inside the Presbyterian Church handed over certain documents to Bart, but Forrest no longer belonged to the Presbyterian Church.

...so there are some other secret documents that no one knows about?

Siles thought for a moment.He knew it was very possible.

Bart gave Siles a copy of the material he thought was very important in his hand.However, that does not mean that there are no other important materials in his hands.

It's just that those materials didn't make Bart feel so dangerous, or didn't make Bart use the ritual of "returning himself".In addition, Bart doesn't know Forrest's true identity, he just regards Forrest as a big shot at the top of the Historical Society.

In other words, this may have been a coincidence from beginning to end.

Edward learns that someone in the Council of Elders has given dangerous material to a scribe to transcribe (which is actually quite common, judging by Barth's account), leading to a quarrel in which Barth's name is mentioned.

He himself had been actively helped by Bart, so he let Bart participate in the experiment of Siles' "returning himself" ritual.And Barthes thus successfully removed part of the mental pollution.

At that time, Siles was ostracized by the Historical Society, so Bart decided to give Siles a copy of the nursery rhymes that he had transcribed through the "self-returning" ceremony.

Bart thought that this information from the big figures of the Historical Society might be of some help to Siles.But this nursery rhyme information is not what Edward has heard, the information from the Presbyterian Church.

But Siles didn't know this question before that.He thought he could hear some relevant news from Edward, such as why Edward let Bart participate in the experiment, such as where the information came from.

For this reason, Celeste wrote a letter to Edward, but learned about Forrest and the experiment 14 years ago by mistake.

...a magical coincidence.The power of fate.

Sirius lowered his eyes thoughtfully.He felt as if he was running in a maze, but every corner of fate could give him something to gain, even if the gain was not what he originally wanted, it could still help him.

He roughly explained the process to Edward, and Edward was also amazed."What a wonderful coincidence," he said.

coincide.Siles thought.He is really inseparable from the word.

They chatted about other things.Edward casually asked about the subject of Siles, and Siles also didn't mention the possibility of "creature photography", he just said that they had made some progress.

Edward nodded without asking any further questions.He even asked: "Professor, although you are quite low-key in the Historical Society, there are still some people who will pay attention to you. Rumors always hurt people.

"Therefore, if possible, you don't have to tell anyone about the progress of your project, especially your ideas and solutions. That would really cause trouble."

"I understand, thank you for your reminder." Siles said.

After lunch, Siles said goodbye to Edward.He also had to go back to Ramifah University to participate in student club activities.

Fortunately, there was still time; unfortunately, before leaving, Edward's astonished eyes seemed to say, "I almost forgot, you are still a real university professor".

Siles: "..."

……never mind.

This afternoon, Siles spent in the main castle of La Mifa University with the students of the Geisha Literature Society.

Dorothea and Jules previously arranged a theme for the members of the literary club to freely conceive and interpret, allowing them to share their thoughts during this event.

And inviting Siles to come is just to let the professor's ideas be a reference; of course, if Siles doesn't come, then the students will evaluate and discuss with each other.

... Siles' schedule was always uncertain, and although he tried to make it possible for him to participate, no one knew if he would be able to.

Therefore, when he appeared in the activity classroom, the students seemed a little surprised and pleasantly surprised.

Dorothea even explained to him that she didn't bring the information about Cynthia that Sirius needed today, because she didn't know whether Sirius would come to the club activities, and her grandfather didn't even know. Let her take those precious materials out of the house casually.

Siles smiled slightly, telling her not to worry about it.He guessed that there might be some useful information in the materials of the Grant family, but after all, he already knew the existence of Kanyo Farm, so Dorothea's side was not so urgent.

He takes his seat, and the action begins.He listened attentively to the sharing of students' views and gave his own insights.For such a long time, he has seldom been able to concentrate so much and completely put aside matters related to the old gods.

There were only occasional moments when he was distracted by thoughts about these things about La Mifa University that gave him a rare light when he was immersed in those grand, complicated and dark affairs.

… At least it would give him a sigh of relief to realize that under the shadow of this god, the world is still going on, and its people are still struggling to find a way out of the future in the fog of the past.

This may be already a good thing.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the rest of the students had already left.Siles sat there quietly, distracted by other things.

There was a knock at the door.Siles looked up subconsciously, then was taken aback for a moment: "Qindo?"

He was a little surprised, he didn't expect Qin Duo to come to school.

"Good afternoon, Professor Noel." Qindo said solemnly, "Your faithful assistant teacher Qindo would like to ask you, do you want to have a big meal outside tonight?"

Siles smiled, and said, "Of course."

Qin Duo also laughed. He came to Siles, kissed his lips affectionately, and said, "The students are all gone, why are you sitting here alone?"

"Thinking about something," Sirius said.

When he said this, he realized that when he was immersed in his own thoughts, he always needed to find an answer for himself; but now, he would talk to Qindo about his troubles.

He can't say that there is any difference between these two ways. What he means is that life seems to change into another appearance quietly, and he himself is immersed in it.

Gyndo became a part of his life, that enriched his life.

He told Qindo about his thoughts, and at the same time talked about the meeting with Edward this morning.When he finished talking about what happened today, the complex emotions had disappeared.

He stood up and said instead, "So what's for dinner tonight? I think you've already picked out a restaurant."

"Of course. You really understand me." Qin Duo said complacently. He always made full preparations before coming to propose to Sirius. "Shall we go there now?"

"Then let's go." Siles said, "I don't plan to do anything serious tonight. Maybe I should let myself relax in this busy life."

Qin Duo hugged him and said softly: "You should have done this long ago."

He was always worried about whether Sirius was overthinking, after all, there were so many problems that Sirius had to solve.Of course he believed in his beloved god, but such worries were unavoidable.

Therefore, when Siles is willing to let himself relax a little bit, Qindo will also breathe a sigh of relief.

They went to dinner together and spent a relaxing evening.

The next morning, Siles went to Ramifa University to meet the two apprentices.He got a stack of papers from Dorothea.

He didn't rush to watch, and still completed the course that was going to be done step by step.After the two apprentices left, he roughly read the contents of this stack of ancient materials.

Siles was almost a little surprised, because this stack of materials is really old.The paper is fine parchment, two thirds of which are handwritten, and the remaining third are excerpts from other materials.

According to Dorothea's description, this part of the content is a collection of stories related to "Little Cynthia's World", as well as relevant records of the book's publishing process.

I am afraid that after the Grant family got the book, it took some effort to collect it, and now it is in the hands of Siles.

He thought thoughtfully of the ancient family of the Grant family who believed in Thaddeus, the god of death and disaster.Why are they collecting relevant information about Akamala?

He thought about it for a while, but came to no conclusion.Rather, it was because of his own tendency to think carefully and comprehensively that he thought of it.

The relationship of these old gods to each other is quite complicated.According to the dice, their relationship can be roughly referred to as the relationship between "brothers and sisters", but after the "shadow" hit, or even at a certain point earlier, their relationship broke down up.

Now Siles still doesn't know what happened in the past. These old gods devoured each other and turned against each other. Obviously, it didn't happen overnight—at least not overnight in the human concept.

He put this information away carefully.When the afternoon class was over, Siles took this material and returned to No. 99 Kelly Street.

Qin Duo was staring at the bubbling soup pot in a daze in the kitchen.The sound of the door closing when Siles came back woke him up.

"Are you back?" He poked his head out from the kitchen, "You can eat soon... Oh, that document?"

"Yes, I need the help of the teaching assistant to read."

Qin Duo was stunned for a moment, and then showed a very pleasant smile: "It is an honor for Qin Duo's assistant teacher."

Siles walked over and exchanged a kiss with him before saying, "I hope there is something to gain." He thought for a while, and then said, "Maybe I should write a letter to Benton."

"why?"

"The script of "The Journey From Cynthia" seems to be published by Benton's elders. Perhaps he also knows some relevant information. Besides..." Siles thought about it, but shook his head, "Forget it Well, maybe we can talk about it later.”

"...You always keep things secret." Qin Duo muttered, but didn't ask any more questions.

It should be said that ever since he realized that Sirius' hesitation was likely due to the astonishing and irreversible news that "he came from outside Fisher's world", he understood Sirius better. Les' troubles.

He asked, "What are you going to do tonight?"

Siles thought for a while and said, "I have to talk to Dice first. The last time I communicated with Dice was the number 19, but after a few days of work, I have accumulated a bunch of questions."

He originally planned to communicate with Dice last night, but took it to relax last night.However, it is not too late now.

Qin Duo also sighed helplessly.

So after finishing dinner and tidying up the kitchen, Siles went to the study alone - Qin Duo was reading a book downstairs - took out the piccolo from the small room, put on [Akamala's Spectacle Frame] and [ Tranquil Heart] brooch, and then made a judgment.

"Hello, Keeper," Piccolo said.

Siles waited for a while, realizing that Dice hadn't babbled more, and couldn't help but look at Piccolo with surprised eyes.

He and Piccolo looked at each other for a moment.

Then Piccolo coughed and continued to say seriously: "If you have any questions, you can ask me. I will try my best to answer you within my ability."

"...Did something happen to you, Dice?" Sirius said almost worriedly.

Hearing this, the piccolo played a series of very messy tunes, and then it knocked on the table angrily with the body of the flute.It said: "I met with Anti-Nam. He actually suspected that I was annoying you with too many words. Ha, He actually doubted me!"

Siles: "..."

He quietly concealed his smile.

He thought, Antinam is really... quite kind and considerate.

Piccolo started rambling again, probably saying that Antinam's suspicion made it feel heartbroken.Afterwards, it was a bit troubled and said, "I really don't understand, why did Antinam come to me?"

Siles said very calmly, "Maybe it's because of Canyo Farm."

He believed that, in the past period of time, the only thing that happened on his side that was worthy of Anti-Num looking for dice was Kanyo Farm.

"Kanyo... oh, Kanyo!" said Piccolo incredulously, "How could you..."

"Do you know why Akamala named his paradise Kanyo?" Sirius asked.

Piccolo shook its body, indicating that it didn't know, but it also said unwillingly: "How those gods want to name their paradise is their own business, and it's impossible for me to know everything."

"But Kanyo is Cynthia's home," said Cilles. "In Cynthia's script, the writer named Cynthia's farm Kanyo. I think that's why Akamala named it Kanyo. Own Paradise becomes Kanyo Farm."

Piccolo was silent for a long time, then it said dryly, "Oh, oh...that's how it is."

Instead, Siles asked suspiciously: "So, don't you know the origin of Kanyo Farm?"

Dice clearly knew that Cynthia was the incarnation of Akamala, and that Cynthia was the first puppet show staged in Dormaine.In this case, don't the dice know nothing about Cynthia's story?

Piccolo fell into a short silence again, and finally, it sighed and said in a rare somber tone: "I don't want to deceive you, Keeper. But the 'I' at that time...is not now so."

Siles was taken aback.

Piccolo added: "At that time 'I' was in a long slumber, or half-awake, so to speak. So, 'I' didn't really pay much attention to those things. 'I' knew, yes; but that doesn't mean 'I understand."

Siles frowned.He skipped the subject of Kanyo Farms for a moment and asked, "'You'? If I understand you correctly, you mean, is there any difference between who you were then and who you are now?"

"Yes." Piccolo whispered, "It's really different."

It doesn't seem to be trying to explain why it's different.

Siles was silent for a moment, and then asked: "So, 'Shadow' wants to get the power of fate?"

Piccolo made a very odd grunt, and said in amazement, "How could you...!"

Just as Dice was surprised by the words "Canyo Farms" just now, now Dice is also shocked by this question from Siles.

Siles said: "Because, I feel that the 'shadow' came to Fisher's world, after all, there is a purpose, not aimless."

"...a heavy topic." Piccolo commented, "I can't say there is anything wrong with your thoughts, but some of your thoughts about Him may cause some fundamental misjudgments based on your identity and position, which cannot be avoided , and I can't correct that right now.

"In short, your idea is correct. Although some starting points may be different, it is true that He wants to obtain the power of fate."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.At the same time, he was also thinking that Antinam's reminder of the dice seemed to have worked, and the dice was really not as nagging as before... The speed of going straight to the point even made him a little unaccustomed to it.

"I understand." Siles turned and said, "Since this is the case, how should I find...According to what you said, a place where we can talk freely?"

Piccolo said, "Outside the real world. You need to find that."

"Then, does God's Paradise count?"

"That's where the real world meets the unreal world," Piccolo said. "... Well, Keeper, I must say, this concept is always vague. If I could explain this concept to you thoroughly If you explain it clearly, then I feel much more comfortable.

"But the thing is, we can't explain it. The world you see may be very different from the world I see. Here we are talking, you may be looking at the piccolo; and I can only touch the hard table. That's the way it is .

"Even if you can really come to my place, the situation is completely different. Indeed, I can tell you everything there, but to be honest, at that time, I may not be needed. Antinam can I will tell you everything."

Piccolo revealed his true nature again, rambling on a lot of words, but finally returned to a topic that surprised Sirius a bit.

He then asked, "Is Antinam unable to talk to me in reality?"

He had thought about it.His original thought was just that he needed a higher will to face the gods, but now, because of Piccolo's words, he had another thought.

Perhaps, Anti-Nam can't appear in reality for a long time... just like dice?

"You can think so." Piccolo said in an ambiguous tone, "just as you guessed about the 'Shadow'. Indeed, you can say so, but the starting point may be different."

... Siles thinks that Dice seems to be getting more and more proficient in this vague riddler's tone.

He simply put