The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

Although what the puppet said to Garrett Gielgud was just an inscrutable excuse, but when Siles woke up from the dream, he really felt something... The feeling of being touched instead.

Four o'clock in the morning.Both Siles and Cindo woke up.In theory, they only slept for an hour or so.

Qin Duo quickly fell asleep.But Siles couldn't fall asleep anyway.In the dark night, he was thinking about his flash of ideas.

All along, he has known that Akamala's power points to dreams, illusions, fictions.Akamala himself had participated in the performance of "From Cynthia on the Journey", and the residents of Dormaine would even be proud of it at that time.

In Akamala's Paradise Kanyo Farm, one of the most important things in Akamala's residence is the miniature stage model.

Judging from the current actions of Siles, through this stage model and the reflection of the planet in the lake, the former Akamala can affect the development of the real world.This is an important display of Akamala's power.

...And the "Dreamland", which is also one of Akamala's godheads, was isolated by Kanyo Farm instead.

Siles turned his mind slightly, thinking about this question.

The god of dreams and illusions, the beautiful rainbow bubble, Akamala.

This is Akamala's divinity and position.

According to what the dice said before, Lygardia and Akamala were two gods born together at the beginning of the world.They each symbolize "reality" and "illusion".

Lycardia's "real" authority seems to have been divided by other gods shortly after his birth-for humans, that may be a long period of time-it is unclear whether he is active or passive.

In short, Lygardia has gradually changed from the god of journey of "the long journey of life" to the patron saint of ordinary travelers and strangers.

In contrast, Akamala's authority does not seem to have changed much.Dream and illusion, these two godheads have always maintained their original appearance.

Ruthmi seems to have spied on Akamala's "dream" authority, but from the way Akamala moved the power of the "dream" from Kanyo Farm to the deep-sea dream, he doesn't seem to value it that much this power.

It should be said that Akamala's core strength is still the concept of "illusion".

Since the beginning of human beings, when the real life can't satisfy their thoughts, they will choose to find satisfaction in the imaginary world.Maybe it's a dream, maybe it's a fictional work of art, from which they taste a sweet feeling that the human brain needs.

……Art.Silas suddenly thought.Will Atkinya have anything to do with Akamala?

His thoughts just flicked across it, and then returned to Akamala.He realized that he had missed an omission in the process of exploring Akamala's power in the past.

It can also be said to be a misunderstanding.

He never really, in any sense, admits the importance of "unreal" over "real."He is so close to the "real" side of the world, but he rarely participates in the "illusory" side himself.

To be more precise, he seems to be too "real" to this world all the time.

Professor Siles Noel should be the young scholar in a suit and tie, who appeared solemnly and indifferently in the classroom of La Mifa University. People can't imagine him playing a ghost in a dream, nor can he become a ghost on the stage. The protagonist of the drama with refined acting skills.

His image is rigidly fixed here.A real, ordinary college professor with an overly defined social status.And secretly?

The same is true in the dark.Excellent researcher of the Historical Society, inventor of the "Return to Self" ritual, creator of Noel's Solitaire, author of a passable novel or two, and solve the conspiracy of two or three followers of the old gods...

Quite a feat, the honor and recognition he has received in this real world.

The problem is, he never put himself in the "illusory" power.

And when he inadvertently attributed the name "Siles Noel" to a character on the stage as Mr. Ghost in the deep sea dream, he suddenly stayed out of the matter and looked back at his own identity .

This human being who has left a deep enough imprint on the real world.Siles Noel.

He realized that he seemed to be trying to obtain the power of "illusion" with "reality".

To put it simply, taking the statement he mentioned in front of Garrett Gielgud, who is the priority, Mr. Ghost or Sirius Noel?

Who is in the script?Who is the fictional character?Who is the priority?

Perhaps anyone who knew the truth would answer, it should be "Sileus Noel".It was this Professor Noel who obtained the identity of Mr. Ghost after he entered the deep sea dream.

The identity of Mr. Ghost is completely fictitious, created, and a dummy who can only move in dreams.

However, in terms of Akamala's power, Mr. Ghost is closer to "illusion".

This is an identity created out of nothing, and anyone who knows a little bit about Akamala's character will definitely admit that this must be a character that Akamala likes—a ghost in the dream, how interesting it is!

As for Professor Noel, who is boring, strict and loves to assign homework... Alkamara probably started to frown when he saw the thick manuscript paper.

This is determined by the nature and attributes of the power, and actually has nothing to do with the character of the person who obtains this power.

"Unreal" is destined to be close to unreal, and "real" is destined to be close to reality.

...Once he changed his position and thinking, he couldn't help but realize in surprise that his thinking about how to further grasp the power of Akamala during this period of time was simply a blind eye, and he embraced Jinshan without knowing it.

Isn't Mr. Ghost the embodiment of Akamala's power?

In fact, the power of the gods in Fisher's world has a simplicity in the sense of "concept", which is related to the mechanism of "reappearance" of the power of the revealer.

Take the circus as an example, because there were so many clowns in the past, they together formed the concept of "clown", so people who want to be a clown can make themselves a "clown" as long as they get close to this concept, Possesses the abilities a clown deserves.

...Of course, this approach will have many problems, and it will lead to mental pollution, or spiritual deactivation.However, this is indeed a way to control power.

It's as if some revelators are actively pandering to some powerful but dangerous timelines.This is a way of controlling power with a slanted sword, but it does conform to the underlying rules of this world.

……"recurrent".He pondered the word.

Rather, it is the countless things that have happened that have led to the "sublimation of the concept", and the emergence of a "metaphysical" "concept" that has been recognized by many people.

People recognize reality because those real things are indeed within reach, or indeed point to something in the real world; people recognize fantasy because fictional things only exist in a world that is beyond their reach. .

These concepts make up the world, and the weaker "concepts", such as the clown, become the weaker gods; the stronger "concepts", such as the stars, become the stronger gods.

They are "concepts" themselves.

The problem he has always had is that he himself has never catered to this "concept".

When he tried to master the power of illusion, did he really think about the meaning of "illusion", did he really realize the difference between himself and illusion?

Akamala's form of existence is different from that of humans, but he needs to use his human identity and self-awareness to obtain the power in the realm of gods.This is quite a complicated matter, because he originally came from another world, so he fulfilled this prerequisite.

However, when he entered this threshold, he seemed to stop.In the face of "illusion", he always behaved indifferently.

He himself is simply "real" to the extent that illusory power cannot be polluted, because the identity he has always recognized as "Siles Noel" is a member of the real world.

But from another perspective, from the perspective of "He Jiayin", Siles Noel was just a role he was playing, a role... that shouldn't exist.

... He Jiayin.

He was stunned for a moment, silently reciting the name, and suddenly realized the problem.

He seems to have too much sense of the identity of "Sileus Noel".If this world is originally a lonely stage that belongs to him, then he has been fully involved in the play for a long time in the past.

He became Siles Noel, teaching students at the university, studying those complicated rituals and timings at the Historical Society, running between Lamifa City and the Land of Eternity, preventing the terrible and eerie conspiracy.He even has a love.

He admits that these things are what he got.

But, in essence, it was "He Jiayin" who got it as "Siles Noel".

Siles Noel was a man who didn't exist.His mother was pretended by the only god in the world, and his hometown of Merlin and the memories in his brain were all fabricated by the power of Akamala.

Siles Noel... was also a ghost.A ghost that haunts the world.

[Will +1. 】

[You need to make a will judgment. 】

[Will: 96 (+1)/50, success. 】

[An irrelevant judgment.You are already aware of this long neglected problem.This is your world, this is your life, and aside from all this, the distance between reality and illusion may not be that far away.Everything has been calmly presented in front of you. 】

He listened to the dice's explanation silently, and at the same time realized what he should do next.

He turned sideways, and saw Qindo's sleeping face in the dimly lit sky.

Sometimes, he thought, Cyndo might be right.Since he has the power of fate in his hands, he should be careful what he says, because it might be unintentionally in line with the direction of fate.

Is Mr. Ghost a mask of Sirius Noel, or is Sirius Noel a mask of Mr. Ghost?

Although when he said this, he still agreed with the former in his heart, but at this moment, when this judgment appeared, he was already inclined to the latter...or in other words, he agreed with both at the same time.

At this moment, he reconstructed his self-awareness.

In fact, the longer he lives in Fisher's world as "Siles Noel", he will inevitably have more and more sense of substitution for this identity.

If his life is a lonely drama, and He Jiayin, Sirius Noel, Mr. Ghost, and even the croupier who appeared in the salon of the Historical Society are all characters who appeared in his life, then "Cieres" Noel" is undoubtedly the protagonist of this past period.

This identity is becoming more and more "real", or in other words, getting closer to the real world, interacting with people in the real world more and more, and having a sense of existence in the real world.

Therefore, he seems to be slowly shifting his self-recognition to "Sileus Noel".He had to say it was a kind of... instinct like conditioned reflex.

It was as if countless people called him "Siles" and "Professor Noel", so he inevitably thought of himself as Professor Siles Noel.

...of course he is.But he is essentially "He Jiayin".

The name eventually evokes a sense of himself in him, and he realizes that, as he calls it, "Cileus Noel" is a character on stage.

...That was a real corner of his life, or, the real and the unreal intertwined.

In the darkness, he closed his eyes, feeling that the world was subverted in front of him, the past and the future were reversed at this moment.Everything in the world, the rotation of the stars, the tide of the sea, the cycle of the four seasons, the world of the world... When he opened his eyes, there was still darkness in front of him.

The darkness made him feel dazed for a while.

"...Aren't you asleep yet?" Qin Duo woke up in a daze and asked him what's wrong in a low voice.

He turned his head to look at Qin Duo, and then suddenly laughed in a low voice.

"No, it's nothing." He whispered, kissed Qin Duo softly, and let his lover continue to sleep, "I just want to understand a question."

Qin Duo was still half asleep, and nodded when he heard the words, and said vaguely to let him go to bed earlier, and then fell asleep.

A few hours later, in the morning, when they finished breakfast on the gloomy, windswept isolated island, Cindo suddenly remembered the incident, and asked Celes what was going on.

At that time, Siles was standing on the edge of the island, frowning at the storm clouds in the distance.It still seemed to be slowly approaching them.Perhaps they will not be the center of the storm, but there is a good chance of being hit by heavy rain.

Qin Duo's question made him startled, and then he showed a slight smile.

This smile is actually the same as always.But Qin Duo was keenly aware of an unusual feeling.

Siles explained: "In the dream last night, Garrett and I mentioned some things that might happen later, so that he could be prepared. I told you about these things in the dream yesterday."

Qin Duo also nodded.He also went to check the condition of the canoe in the Tau cemetery yesterday, and found nothing unusual.

Siles said, "Actually, Garrett is doubting my identity. I mean, Mr. Ghost, and Siles Noel."

Qin Duo couldn't help frowning.

"It's inevitable." Siles said objectively, "He has been in contact with these two people at the same time, and he is also very keen. He can find the connection between these two people."

Qin Duo could only admit this, and he asked curiously, "So how did you deal with it?"

"I told him that Siles Noel is just a character controlled by Mr. Ghost, like a puppet." Siles said, "So he will still focus on Mr. Ghost instead of Sirius. Les Noel."

Qin Duo was stunned.

This approach obviously gave Garrett an inexplicable illusion of darkness under the lights.Mr. Ghost is always very mysterious, but there are traces of Sirius Noel's past.Letting Garrett ponder and think against the air was a rather interesting solution.

Qin Duo can understand this, but what Siles said and... the use and tendency of certain words hidden in his explanation also made Qin Duo notice and feel a little weird.

He hesitated for a moment, and then said: "You...I mean, why do you suddenly have a feeling of staying out of the matter regarding the identity of 'Sileus Noel'?"

When talking about the relationship between Mr. Ghost and Siles Noel, Siles never used the pronoun "self" at all.He seemed to jump out of this identity suddenly.

"This is the result of my thinking just now." Siles said, "I can't say...completely. But it is necessary to try."

"why?"

"Because of the power of Akamala," Sirius said.

Qin Duo was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly reacted: "Do you think this will make you more 'in line' with Akamala's power?"

conform to.Yes.Siles thought.In the final analysis, it is for "compliance".

Just like if a person wants to be a "clown", he must meet the characteristics of a clown; and if he wants to be a "illusion", then he must also meet the characteristics of the concept of illusion.

He's doing it, but perhaps, not doing it well enough.Or maybe he could do better.

"It is true, but this is just an attempt." Siles said, "Siles Noel can also be said to be a character standing on the stage. From this perspective, he is also illusory and created out of nothing. , exactly the same as Mr. Ghost in the dream."

Qin Duo frowned and thought hard for a while, but still found it difficult to understand.

He said, "So you feel like, you're a creator at the same time, and the character you're creating?"

Siles looked at Qindo in surprise, and he found that Qindo's metaphor was quite appropriate.

Indeed, he stands both inside and outside the script at the same time.

"Yes, Cindor," Sirius said in a low voice, as if washed by the coming storm, "it's complicated, I gotta say. I'm Sirius Noel, but I'm not Sirius either S Noel."

He seemed to be talking nonsense, but Cindo understood what he meant.

"The creator is He Jiayin." Qin Duo could say the name quite fluently, "and the character in the novel is Siles Noel."

"I didn't create the character in the first place," says Siles, "but I'm using it now."

Qin Duo stared blankly at the ocean, and then said: "This is too symbolic-just borrowing the surface meaning of the term-I don't understand it."

Siles laughed, and said, "Don't worry, Gindor. It doesn't mean I've changed. The life that belongs to Siles Noel is still an inseparable part of me. It makes me who I am.

"But, maybe, I will also get closer to 'He Jiayin'... or, Mr. Ghost. I think I understand the... essence of Akamala's power. Everything is illusory, including truth."

When he talked to Garrett Gielgud about his identity, he never thought that he would make such unexpected progress.This is a miracle.

"So this change allowed you to further grasp the power of Akamala?" Qin Duo asked.

Siles thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Not yet. In fact, I also have a...quite novel feeling. I haven't fully gotten used to this...perspective."

He finally settled on that word.perspective.

"Why the angle of view?" Qin Duo asked quite unexpectedly.

"It's like I'm a puppet that I'm manipulating," says Siles, "a character that moves according to my script."

Cendo thought for a moment, then said, "It makes me a little worried about your situation."

Siles couldn't help laughing: "Because of this strange statement?"

"...It will make me feel as if you have been polluted by Akamala's power." Qin Duo muttered in a low voice, as if afraid that Sirius would be angry, and immediately added, "I don't mean..."

"I understand." Sirius whispered.

He was about to say something more to tell Qin Duo not to worry, but he couldn't help but pause at this moment.

He suddenly noticed a trace of vigilance.This strange vigilance seems to have been lingering in his heart all the time, but it also seems to be vague.It's just that his instinct reminded him with some hesitation.

Just like this one action, one blink of an eye: before you close your eyes, there is darkness, and when you open your eyes, it is still darkness—as if everything has changed, and it seems that nothing has changed.

... He had felt something like this before.

"Spiritual pollution".he thinks.He was thinking about something stubbornly just now... stubbornly, looking for an answer.Unusual stubbornness.

He thought of the little bit of will that he had just increased, and felt relaxed; but he also thought of that inexplicable decision, the will decision called "irrelevant" by the dice.

... So, what is "relevant"?

He gazed into Cendo's emerald green eyes, obviously worried, and decided to give it a try.

Be wary, he told himself.Don't forget the power of fate that corrupts you; and the power of illusion too.There are dangers to the forces of this world, as you have long known.

So he said silently in his heart: "Determine the will attribute of Siles Noel."

[Keeper of the Secret, Siles Noel (university professor) is making a judgment of will. 】

[Will: 96 (+1)/...]

Unexpectedly, or, unsurprisingly, there were only two choices in front of him: 0 or 100.

At this time, he suddenly realized that after adding that little will, his own will has also reached 96.In terms of this value alone, this is already a number that can cause a big failure.

...a tipping point, a dividing line.One eye open and one blink.

A strange calm took control of his brain at this moment, and he chose 0 without thinking.

[Will: 96 (+1)/0, great success. 】

[This is indeed an important decision, Keeper of Secrets.When you are getting closer to the truth, when you are only a few feet away from the gods, remember to stay vigilant.You already have enough hands and enough chips, but how to use them?That's another thing. 】

This question suddenly made Sirius startled.

He raised his eyes suddenly, still looking at Qin Duo.Time seems to stand still at this moment, and it seems that a long time has passed.He fell into a long thought, as if he was slowly sorting out his thoughts.Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think what you said is also right." Siles said to Cindo, "I can't be too obsessed with Akamala's power."

Hearing what he said, Qin Duo couldn't help being a little surprised.He asked, "What did you think of?"

Siles shook his head. He sighed, "Just feel...the need to be on the alert all the time. Any little bit of relaxation will bring surprises."

Qin Duo was even more surprised.

So Siles explained: "I have just been very obsessed with the falseness of the identity of 'Siles Noel', but as far as this identity is concerned, the real and the false are not clearly separated.

"The identity itself may have been created out of thin air, but now I've made it real. So, there's never been a priority between Mr. Ghost and Sirius Noel, it's all 'I 'identity of.

"I'm just 'He Jiayin'. I haven't been able to fully sort out this issue just now. The core 'me' has not changed, and the surrounding 'my identity' has not changed. I just need to understand this situation."

Qin Duo tilted his head and thought for a while, then said frankly: "Sorry, I didn't understand."

Siles: "..."

He was speechless for a moment, thinking about how to make Qin Duo understand this statement.

"...To put it simply, I seem to have been polluted by Akamala just now." Siles briefly summarized his state just now, "So, I paid too much attention to it, derived from Akamala's power Come out with the identity of 'Mr. Ghost'."

Qin Duo suddenly understood, and he said, "You use this identity too often."

Siles was silent for a moment, thinking, yes.When he felt that his sense of substitution for Siles Noel was too strong, he actually felt the same about the identity of Mr. Ghost... It can't be said that this is a bad thing, the point is that he didn't realize the problem.

At the same time, he always regarded this identity as...a false ghost, as if it really didn't exist.

In fact, as long as you look at the plants on the isolated island, you will know that more and more people are getting in touch with Mr. Ghost.

Besides, Hal Goss, a boy from Biddle City, once told him that because of the story Siles told in the fireside chat, the reputation of Mr. Ghost has actually secretly become popular in the land of no embers Yes, like Noel.

He should pay attention to, even "manage" this identity.

Mr. Ghost is no longer the figure that used to appear silently in the children's dreams, he began to symbolize something more... In a sense, even the power of Akamala.

"Dreamland".he thought.

Besides, now Garrett Gielgud has a misunderstanding.Garrett believes that "Sileus Noel" is a projection of Mister Ghost's powers in reality.

From the point of view of birth, then the identity of "Siles Noel" was really constructed by Akamala's power; but Mr. Ghost and Siles Noel should be equal.

In other words, they are actually "He Jiayin".They have no priority.

...It's just that, before Siles really introduced Garrett in this way, he also didn't realize this problem.He hadn't realized before that it was necessary for him to think carefully about his identities and the meanings these identities symbolized.

As the dice said, maybe it's time for him to sort out his cards, before he actually sits at the card table with "Shadow".

Siles Noel, Mr. Ghost, He Jiayin.three identities.he thinks.

…body, spirit, will.He had to make this association because it fit his triad theory perfectly, though he thought it might just be a coincidence of fate.

He pondered for a moment before turning to say: "However, I think this kind of ... 'contamination'," he paused, said in his mind-in fact, it was the result of his thinking all night, although a little bit before that. A little bit off, "It did bring some new hints."

Qin Duo listened intently.

Says Siles: "I can get myself involved in the first place, just as Akamala would be involved in 'From Cynthia's Journey'.

"'Cileus Noel' could indeed be a puppet for Mr. Ghost; we all know that's not the case at all, but it's certainly worth taking advantage of."

"A false impression." Qin Duo whispered, "A... secret."

Siles couldn't help but paused, feeling as if he had been hit by a sudden inspiration.He realized that he himself had been included in a myriad of secrets, whether he knew it or not.

"Yes, that's it." Siles almost sighed, "I think it's worth trying. After all, I need to find various ways to further grasp the power of Akamala, and I haven't made any progress before. "

Qin Duo observed Siles' expression, and he was slightly relieved. He said, "However, I don't think you need to be too anxious. Even if the end of the world will come tomorrow, at least today, we are still living in this peaceful world." .”

Siles nodded, stared at Qindo for a moment, and suddenly couldn't help smiling.

Sometimes he couldn't help wondering whether Lygardia and Akamala had chosen the wrong successor to power.He and Qin Duo, their personalities seem to run counter to these two gods.

However, it may also be that Siles is always worried about the possible disasters in the future, while Qindo is based on the present and pays attention to the status quo of the real world.They may indeed fit the characteristics of these two gods.

"So what are you going to do next?" Cindo asked.

After realizing one small misunderstanding of his own and another small misunderstanding, Siles has corrected his concept and re-identified himself as "He Jiayin".But thoughts are one thing, actions are another.

"For the vast majority of people, Siles Noel is still Siles Noel. I'm still me," said Siles. People who don't know the truth.

"He can be the 'audience' of this drama."

Siles and Cendo looked at each other, and then looked at Garrett Gielgud at the same time.

It was nine o'clock in the morning.

After yesterday's chaotic day, people basically went to bed very late, and now most of them are listless.After eight o'clock in the morning, they came out of their tents one after another, had breakfast, or stood there staring at the distant sky in a daze.

They had no intention of talking to each other, and the entire island seemed rather silent.

Golden, the captain of the Crystal, was probably the first person to wake up. Early in the morning, he excitedly ran to the Crystal which was still moored at the edge of the island, checked the situation of the Crystal carefully, and confirmed that the ship was safe. A big sigh of relief.

Then he returned to the center of the island, woke up the sailors and cooks at the campsite, and asked them to make some breakfast.Afterwards, people got up one after another, and spent the dreary morning in silence and occasional whispers.

Everyone is concerned about the condition of the storm clouds.

But the storm always gives people the feeling that it is not far or near, as if it will come to them after a while, and it seems that this is just an illusion, just to scare them.

However, after lunch, the sky became dark for a short time.The coming of the storm seems to be only in the next moment.

So some people lost their temper.

At first, it was a sailor on the Crystal, who found Captain Golden, and then chatted with some other sailors and cooks.They also feel threatened.

And Golden also seemed to be a little anxious. He listened to what these people said, then frowned, and turned to find Garrett Gielgud.Garrett was chatting around the campfire with Nigel, Siles, Cinder, Isaac, and Johnny.

Of course, Garrett and the others were mainly chatting, and Sirius and Cinder couldn't understand what they were talking about. After Isaac and Johnny came over, the situation was better.

By the way, during this morning, except for the meal time, they did not see Foster Langhe, his friend Alpert, and the two malicious sailors at all.The four remained in their respective tents without even speaking to each other.

When Golden came to them and sat down to talk to Garrett, Johnny whispered their conversation to Sirius.

"...the captain said that his sailors were feeling restless, worried about what the storm would do to them and to the Crystal...he was asking when the Marlin, which Garrett said earlier, would appear .

"He said that since this trip seemed to have a purpose, the Crystal could leave when the Marlin showed up. They didn't want to stay here any longer, especially with Foster.

"...Uh, Garrett's reply was very rude. He said that Golden also knew that it was Foster Longey who hired them. And Captain Golden still wanted to get back the leftovers from Foster. employment fee.

"So, it's not Garrett's decision whether the Crystal can return, it's Foster, and the money-greedy Golden -- Garrett did use the word 'greedy', oh, he really is quite You're welcome."

The introverted Johnny couldn't help sighing in a low voice, which is enough to prove how straightforward Garrett's ridicule towards Golden was.

Isaac added: "He also said that since he knew the storm was coming, Golden should follow the port's warning and not go to sea at that time. He finally chose to go to sea, so now it is time to face reality."

Captain Golden's face was already ashen.If it weren't for the presence of so many people, he might have gotten into a fight with Garrett.

He took a deep breath, then grabbed the wine bottle dangling from his belt, and took a sip to calm himself down.He pointed to Garrett's nose and said something, then got up and left.

Johnny hesitated about the need for an interpreter, and finally said softly, "He called Garrett a word."

...probably some kind of rather unkind swearing as well.

Siles stared thoughtfully at Golden's leaving back, feeling that the situation on this isolated island was becoming complicated.