The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

There were still dark red blood stains like rust on the stage of the theater.

That kind of bloody, obscure breath always remains in the air of this gloomy theater performance hall, lingers in people's noses, and it is difficult to relieve and eliminate.

This is the theater where the Theater District murder took place.The time was the early morning of the second day after the incident, that is, the early morning of Friday of that week.

The murder took place in the early hours of Thursday morning, three days after Ebenezer Const arrived in Ramifa.

…Now that I think about it, it was a fairly short period of time.

In such a short period of time, the shadow believers have already decided on the murderer, the victim, the method of committing the crime, the location of the crime, etc., which is really amazing efficiency.

But the strange thing is, after the attempted murder at the trade fair, the Shadow Believers didn't react immediately.

...which means that their efficiency is not as high as expected.They probably made a plan in advance.But after the failure of the plan, it is difficult to make temporary remedial measures quickly.

Mr. Xia stood at the entrance of the performance hall, looking down at the stage from a commanding height.The only little light illuminated the stage, and the hazy large area of ​​blood spots gave people a very uneasy feeling.

He noticed that this theater was almost the same as the Lancelot Theatre. Of course, many details were different, but the difference was not bad, and the overall impression was very similar.

Of course, these small theaters may have followed a similar template when they were built.

...but that makes this theater a shadow of the Lancelot Theatre, or the other way around.This resemblance gives a subtle mirror effect.

Mr. Xia appeared here to verify a guess, and he did get the result he wanted.

When the murders in the Theater District happened and they realized that the place was across from the Lancelot Theatre, they thought it seemed like a way to give them a break.

But maybe, it's not just for that.

If that's what it's for, why not just kill on stage at the Lancelot Theatre?He thinks the Shadow Cultists can do it, and the Lancelot Theater does have more to do with Kellan.

However, they chose the theater opposite.

This was chosen specifically to contrast with the Lancelot Theatre—in substance, and, in shadow.

... If they carefully investigate the list of investors and patrons of the opposite theater, they might find something unexpected.For example, the Kermit family invested heavily and required theater owners to furnish it in a certain way...

Anyway, the Kermit family has become famous for their dictates of these theaters, troupes, and playwrights.It's no surprise they do something.

Perhaps, they had prepared this stage for murder a long time ago - this "shadow".

The attempted murder at the Ernestine Fair was actually the same, but the contrast was actually a little more stark, that is, above and below ground.

It's in the underpass that the trade fair takes place, isn't it?The underground passages extending in all directions in Lamifaxi City are the invisible shadow of the city above ground.

...Mr. Xia just realized this.

When he confirmed that the farewell letter he left behind had been found by the Historical Society and the salon space was completely sealed, on the other side of Ramifa City, the dream bubble of the Lancelot Theater happened to burst——Sileus Noel and Cindo Playa leave the theater.

The scenes on both sides happen to happen in contrast, just like a bubble bursting in the sun, so its shadow also bursts along with it.

And this gave him a glimmer of inspiration.

He suddenly realized that after the attempted murder, the reason why the shadow believers hadn't acted was probably because they couldn't find a suitable place—sufficient symmetry, enough mutual reflection, and enough conforming to the concept of "shadow".

Even if there is, they will not have time to conceive a complete plan for a while.

Is there any place more suitable for concepts like "shadow" and "shadow" than the ground and underground of Lamifa City?

...Kanla River.

The term appeared naturally in his brain.

On the one hand, the Kanla River divides the city of Ramifa into the east and the west. This is a very sharp contrast. On the other hand, the water of the Kanla River itself is like a mirror. underground.

Quite a wonderful geographical feature.Mr. Xia couldn't help sighing.

In this quiet and peaceful late night, he stood silently in the dark theater where the murder took place, thinking for a long time.

After a while, he came back to his senses, and he didn't intend to stay here any longer, so he let Qiuqiu take him away.

"Where are you planning to go next?" Qiuqiu asked.

Mr. Xia originally thought of the death of Jeremy Forbes.He almost wanted to go straight to see the truth of his death - the truth that tempted him.But he held back.

It is of course easy to rely on the power of time and occasion to know the truth, but that goes against his original intention.

What he hopes more is to use the power of time only when they have no clue and can't see a way out.In fact, he'd rather rely entirely on "human" powers to resolve the whole thing, even though that's not realistic.

It is not safe enough to rely entirely on the power of time and fate.Of course, dice and balls are well-intentioned.But this kind of goodwill is based on the goodwill of the gods.

…It’s like a giant who handed you a chicken leg thinking that it would fill you up, but if you really ate the giant’s chicken leg, you might be starved to death on the spot.

Mr. Xia didn't want to take any risks.He'd rather wait for Detective Jon's investigation into Jeremy Forbes' death.

In fact, the reason why he came to this theater today was only to verify his own ideas rather than to investigate the truth.He just stood there, standing at the scene of the crime that was still full of blood, silently staring at the trivial air floating in the darkness.

...as if every speck of dust spoke of the pain of that young man's death.He had seen that scene in the picture of the dream bubble, and had heard about the tragedy and evil of that death in various information.

But after all, he did not witness the truth for the first time.He relied on his own strength and that of his companions to investigate the whole truth bit by bit.

The moment he realized this, Mr. Xia couldn't help showing a self-deprecating smile.

The strange thing is that when a force is placed in front of him, he still resists it.He realized that power would change him into a very different person.

He would get used to this power as he had been used to the power of fate, the power of dreams.

And fate——the power of time and fate may make him resist more than the power of dreams.

Before he came to Fisher's world, he was already a sufficiently mature and sensible person.He already knows what his goal is, and he also knows what he is willing to give and what he is not willing to give in order to achieve this goal.

...he still recognizes himself as a human being, not a god.

Perhaps it was because Antinam discovered this that he provided him with that extra will.A long-standing ritual.he thinks.

He can keep his will at 99.Because the bit of will given by Antinam can help his 99 will break through to 100, but that doesn't mean he has become a god.

He only possessed that person and identity for the time being, as if he had been recognized by this world, so he became the god of this world for the time being...if his will can really reach 99%.

And he has already realized that if he wants to break through from 99 to 100, it will be an extremely difficult and incredible transformation.That is the transformation from human to non-human.

...He has to admit that he is not very happy to be "inhuman".

For example, flowers growing on his head, spiders crawling out of his rotten eyes... Well, those two things alone made him quite unhappy.But that was just an apparent displeasure.

Actively being polluted by the gods, actively receiving this power, actively abandoning one's original identity and existence...to transform into a completely different and brand-new identity.It was a painful change.

In fact, he quite likes his current identity - He Jiayin, Siles Noel, Mr. Ghost (Mr. Xia).

...he could have more power, but he didn't need it.Maybe something held him back.

All he needs now is...the truth.

As the keeper of this world.

In other words, this is where his strength lies.

"...The Shadow Age." So he said this logically, because only the long river of time can allow him to see the truth of the Shadow Age, "Let's go to the Shadow Age to see."

"Okay, Keeper of Secrets." Qiuqiu said briskly, "Let's set off now."

Dice cheered from the side: "No. Qiuqiu, let's go!"

Amidst Qiuqiu's soft protest, the scene in front of Mr. Xia jumped and changed instantly.It seems that the picture has been broken up and divided into countless colorful blocks of different colors, and then the blocks of color are disrupted, confused, rearranged and combined into completely different shapes.

...Or, a similar look?

He was a little surprised to find that he went from one theater to another.

This is a deserted street in the evening, a play is being staged, it seems that everyone is crowded in the theater to watch that play, so the crowds are empty.On the bulletin board not far away, an oil painting poster was posted, depicting the relevant content of the play being staged.

The words were strange and strange, but the body of the No. [-] doll allowed Mr. Xia to understand the meaning of the words on the poster.

""Molten Star" is released! People look up at the sky and can often see the twinkling stars, but do the stars hanging in the sky forever have a melting day?"

The poster depicts a meteor crashing into the ocean.

That's pretty surprising, after all... this is the Age of Shadows.The gods still exist.And the picture depicted on this poster, as well as the related description of this play, all pointed to Ruthmi very clearly, as if they were blasphemy.

After thinking for a while, Mr. Xia remembered a certain club activity he had done.

At that time, Kellogg provided him with a list of books about the Shadow Chronicles.He also roughly read it.There is a book called "Summary of Shadow Chronicle Literature", which mentions some of the existing Shadow Chronicle literature, mainly fictional works.

The real materials related to the Shadow Period, such as history books, archives, etc., were completely destroyed by Antinam, but some fictional books still exist, such as one of the plays.

...In fact, some gods disappeared during the Shadow Age, such as Lygardia and Ruthmi.

Although people don't know exactly when these two gods disappeared, some related records, or the common memory of mankind, do exist.

After the disappearance of these two gods, their believers naturally experienced some changes.Especially the believers of Luthmi, after Luthmi disappeared, almost lost their minds, gave up on themselves, and completely languished.

A troupe, therefore, has composed a play to satirize the deplorable state of Ruthmi's followers.

Purely from its standpoint, it's hard to say how such an almost blasphemous thing was accepted by people at this time, and even this show was released so openly.

Could it be that in the Shadow Age, people have less respect for the old gods?

While Mr. Xia was thinking, there was a burst of laughter from inside the theater in front of him, the laughter almost shook his eardrums.

He couldn't help looking sideways curiously, thought for a moment, then walked over there.

He walked into the theater entrance hall.

This is a large theater with a rather elegant decor.He even thinks this is more fashionable than the theaters in the Middle Ages... in terms of his earth aesthetics.He couldn't help taking a closer look at the extremely elegant and delicate decoration details.

The young lady at the ticket window gave him a strange look.She obviously felt that Mr. Xia was dressed very strangely, and he was poking his head around, as if he had malicious intentions.She immediately stared at Mr. Xia vigilantly.

Mr. Xia showed a rather friendly and gentle smile, and just asked, "Ma'am, is 'Molten Star' playing here?"

He used the unfamiliar language, not very fluent at first, but he quickly became fluent.Of course, this also made the lady more vigilant.

"...yes," she said. "Any questions?"

"Uh, it's just that I just missed this show." Mr. Xia said, "When is the next show?"

"There won't be another show." As if suddenly realizing Mr. Xia's harmlessness, the lady's tone relaxed, and she shook her head, "We won't be performing another show."

Mr. Xia was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

It was already dusk at this moment, and the streets were empty again, looking lonely and deserted.The young lady looked out at the street with a lazy and indolent mood.She yawned lazily.

She said: "'Stars also have corresponding melting points. Melted stars fall into the sea, and the stars and sea water evaporate together.'" She paused, and then said, "That's the line."

Mr. Xia nodded.

"...But maybe it came true. From the lines of the drama to the real scene." She murmured, "Then, everything would be meaningless."

Mr. Xia frowned slightly, staring at the young lady.

"You see, human believers will degenerate because of the disappearance of the gods," the woman said. "We don't think this is a good thing. But if the gods really disappear, then things are different. "

Mr. Xia gradually realized.

Rather, the lady was hinting at another possibility... she was saying, "The Fall of the Gods."

In the beginning, when Luthmi disappeared, maybe his followers just thought that he was not willing to respond to them because they were not doing well enough—so it was called "disappearance".

How can believers know what the gods think?So this group of human believers can only blame themselves, can only give up on themselves, and can only fall into madness in despair. They think that the gods they believe in "ignore" them.

... But, when thousands of years have passed, when the time has come to the future Silent Era and Fog Era, those followers of the old gods, when did they "voluntarily fall"?

Aren't they still very active and working very hard to carry out various conspiracies and plans, hoping to revive the gods they believe in one day?This is completely different from Luthmi's believers in the Shadow Age.

...There is a difference between a temporary disappearance and a permanent disappearance.

"What do you believe in, ma'am?" Mr. Xia asked after a silence.

"Akamala." The lady smiled slightly, "That god who likes to sleep."

There was a slight intimacy in her tone, as if mentioning the name and the hobby of the god would make her feel very happy.

So Mr. Xia also smiled, and said, "It's a coincidence."

"Oh, are you His believer too?" The lady was a little surprised, "But yes, this is a theater. We all like Akamala, and people who like theater always like Akamala.

"...We mention His name so often today, maybe He can enter our dreams at night and show us a drama He likes."

The lady's tone carried a loose smile, as if she really experienced this in a dream.

Mr. Xia was a little surprised and asked: "Will He really do this?"

"Of course. It's like a little girl's prank." The lady said with a slight smile, "Of course, you must also know that different gods and believers have different ways of getting along. It's just that Akamala is so kind. "

This sentence made Mr. Xia not so eager to respond.

He paused, and then said, "Well, I wish you a good dream tonight."

"Thank you." The lady laughed loudly, "This is the most sincere wish for Akamala's believers! I also wish you a good dream tonight!"

They were chatting when the door of the performance hall of the theater was suddenly opened.The audience inside came out.Almost no one noticed Mr. Xia standing here at the ticket window.Occasionally, a few people noticed him, and they just nodded or smiled casually as a greeting.

There was a young man who walked at the end, shaking his head and saying in an aria-like tone: "'We look up to the world, but maybe one day, the world will fall for us.' Oh! The world will fall for us! That What an incredible scene it will be!"

While muttering, he walked past Mr. Xia.

"He is a person who is obsessed with it." The conductor lady explained to Mr. Xia, "He is always curious about the relationship between humans and gods, but, let me tell you, it's fine to do anything, there is no need to be obsessed with it."

Mr. Xia nodded absently.

After a while, he asked, "Do you think... that's really the case?"

He didn't make it very clear, but the lady conductor understood it all at once.She was silent for a while, and then smiled wryly: "No one knows... No one knows, whether the gods will abandon us..."

In the silence of Mr. Xia, she continued: "I count on Akamala to give me a good dream forever. However, maybe He will also give me a nightmare that lasts for several days. No one knows what the result will be of."

The audience gradually dispersed.There is only a few sunsets left on the street.

"...just like this moment." She murmured, "Everyone hopes to just greet the morning sun all day long, but dusk will eventually come, and night will eventually cover this land. That is the dusk and late night of human beings."

And what about the dusk and late night of the gods?

Mr. Xia's gaze also fell there.He suddenly felt that he shouldn't have come to the Shadow Era, at least he shouldn't have appeared here... Just like the name of this era, it was a sad "shadow".

"But after the early morning darkness, the dawn will be in sight," he said.

"Oh, sir, I'm not talking about astronomy to you." The conductor lady joked, "...Do you want to watch any other plays? Although "Molten Star" is no longer in theaters, it is still available." There's something else to look at."

So Mr. Xia asked the lady for a performance list.This list of performances is not limited to this theater, but also mentions some other plays.

He was amazed at the abundance of these repertoires, which were more than he had imagined.

Mr. Xia glanced roughly, then shook his head, and returned the list to the ticket seller.

"Is there nothing you like?" the lady asked, "...I see, you came here specially for "Molten Star", right? No wonder your common language is not very standard. It's quite a pity."

lingua franca?In the Shadow Era, has there been a common language in Fisher's world?Perhaps a huge country or a certain region has integrated languages.

Mr. Xia nodded slowly, then turned to say: "Do you have a newspaper here? I've been traveling for several days and haven't paid much attention to the latest news." He acquiesced to the lady's guess.

"Oh, of course. The evening paper has just arrived," said the lady. "I'll give it to you. I just read it. It's all bad news."

What she said made Mr. Xia a little psychologically prepared for the contents of the newspaper.

He was familiar with the typesetting of newspapers, etc., but the content was not.The words that still made him feel unfamiliar also brought some shocking content.

The headline on the front page was the war between the two countries, and a piece of news below mentioned that the relief work caused by an earthquake was still going on.Turning to the first page, there are famine, plague, conflict, confrontation, storm, tsunami, economic collapse, rising prices...

. . . catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe.

Each cannot be separated from death, each cannot be separated from disaster, and each cannot be separated from pain.

Mr. Xia finally realized why people in the future would think that the disappearance of the huge population of the Shadow Age was related to Thaddeus.

The lady conductor yawned again wearily.She said: "It's always the same old story. So business has not been very good recently, and there are few people on the street... No, it should be said, not just recently, but all these years.

"Perhaps this is why "Melting Star" is no longer performed. Perhaps the stars are indeed melting, but I'm afraid we will also welcome our own twilight."

There was an emotion in her tone that had nothing to do with her, but that was not indifference, but just... It's not surprising.

She wanted to say something again, but at this time, the door of the performance hall not far away was pushed open again.Several people came out.

"Look here, gentlemen!" the conductor lady suddenly called out to them, "here is one of your faithful spectators! He came all the way, but he missed the last show!"

Those people looked over in surprise.Their faces are surprisingly young.

Mr. Xia hesitated for a moment, then folded the newspaper casually and put it in his pocket, smiled and nodded towards those people.He thought, maybe, indeed, he came from afar.

He had come from the distant future, and was here only for a moment, to catch a glimpse of one of the wonders of this age.

Those people seemed to hesitate for a while, and one of them talked to the others, and then walked over alone.

"Hello!" he said, "I'm the author of Molten Star...Thank you for your support."

His tone was not very excited, with a natural slow tone.He shook hands with Mr. Xia not very seriously, then scratched his hair, and said, "Unfortunately... this show is no longer going to be staged."

"Because times have changed?" Mr. Xia asked.

"...ah, maybe so," the man mumbled. "Things have changed... so, it's not needed anymore... Maybe it's because we've had enough."

He suddenly said something so seriously that both Mr. Xia and Ms. conductor were surprised.

He said: "Maybe it's because the gods seem to control our lives forever. Even if we ridicule the believers of Ruthmi, what is the difference between us and them?"

The lady conductor said unhappily: "The gods are also different."

The man sneered.Pointing to the deserted street outside, he said, "The war is coming."

The two people opposite him were silent.

"...death casts its shadow over our heads," he murmured, and departed.

The lady conductor was at a loss for a moment, and then apologized to Mr. Xia.She said: "His relatives passed away due to an infectious disease, so he is not in a good mood recently... Maybe it is because of this that he gave up the show."

Mr. Xia was silent.The atmosphere of the Shadow Period gave him a feeling of being depressed and overwhelmed.

He suddenly asked: "Where is this place?"

"Where?" The lady's eyes widened in a daze. "Here...here is Tao Hetia. Don't you know?"

"I came from far, far away," Mr. Xia said, "I just heard that I was going in this direction, but I didn't know what it was. I also heard of Tao Hetia, but never Really been here. So, this is Tauchitia?"

"Yes," the lady murmured, "...it's dark. You should find a place to rest and face a new day. You shouldn't stay here... As you said, you should go to greet the dawn. "

"And what about you?" Mr. Xia asked.

"Us?" The lady thought for a while, "I will look for a job tomorrow, and this theater will be closed. Although I don't know when this fate will really be decided, I have to make some plans in advance... As for the future , I'm out of ideas.

"... As for the future of other people, I don't even have any ideas. Maybe it will rain, maybe it will blow, maybe it will usher in the sunrise of a new day, maybe it will sink into the darkness of the old day... everything possible."

"Do you expect someone to change all this?" Mr. Xia asked in a low voice.

"Change?" The conductor lady gave him a sharp look, then laughed. "Of course. But I think..."

She stood up, as if planning to go home from get off work.

"Any change has the potential to be painful and brutal," she said.

She came out from the ticket window, put on her coat, stared at Mr. Xia for a while, then shook her head, and said, "Sir, let me take you to a nearby hotel. I can't let you get lost here... The law and order in Takhtia is not very good recently."

Mr. Xia readily accepted, and he thanked the kind lady.

He asked again: "Why do you think change is cruel?"

"Because we can't possibly know what the future holds," the woman said, distractedly discerning the way.

Mr. Xia was startled.

"...Since we don't know what the future holds, it is impossible to know what kind of path such a change will lead us to, whether it is good or bad." The woman said, taking her handbag, and then Let Mr. Xia follow.

There was still that tired, indifferent undertone in her tone.

She said: "So, I'm just going with the times. One day I'm off work normally, tomorrow I'm normally looking for a new job ... that's how it is. What's the future, I don't want to think about it.

"...someone always comes to help me think, I think. Like that young playwright just now, like those gods... But maybe I just hope that Akamala will be willing to give me a good dream today. I don't expect More."

Mr. Xia listened silently. He said, "Maybe this is my whimsical idea... I just thought, what would it be like if someone knew the existence of the future and what kind of path it might lead to?"

"Oh...the Prophet?" The lady laughed. "It's like a character in a novel or a play. It's very dramatic."

Mr. Xia hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

He talked to this lady about many things.he thinks.However, until now, the dice and the ball had not given him any warning.This means that this conversation will not lead to any future results.

For the lady in front of her, maybe she just welcomed another boring guest on a boring evening, so she struck up a conversation with him in her boring job as a conductor to pass the time.

She doesn't take this conversation as seriously as it will change her future in any way -- it's meant to be.

Before they said goodbye to each other, Mr. Xia had clearly anticipated this.This caused a complex and profound thought to flash across his mind.

The lady said: "A prophet...for himself, maybe that will be happiness, a kind of painful happiness, at least he can face the future soberly...or maybe he will feel that this matter itself is very painful .

"He's going to take on more responsibility, more complex and profound stuff than anyone else in the world, because he 'knows'. Means responsibility - people say so.

"Perhaps people say this because they just hope that those who control the power will be kind, can not torture them, can not do cruel things to them, maybe, it is best to save them... that's all.

"...I don't have much hope for that. For me, maybe I'd rather not have the Prophet."

Mr. Xia looked at her a little surprised.

"Is this weird? I don't want anyone to predict my fate." The lady laughed, she was obviously joking, after all, everyone knows that there is no god of fate in this world.

She thought for a while and added, "Of course, if there really is a god of destiny, and if he is kind enough, then I would be happy to believe in him."

Mr. Xia also smiled gently.

They then walked quietly for a while.The woman pointed out the location of the hotel to Mr. Xia and said goodbye to him.

Before leaving, she said: "Back to your topic... If a prophet is going to change the world... then..." She seemed to be thinking, and finally shook her head helplessly, "In any case Such a scenario cannot be assumed."

"It's just an irrelevant assumption." Mr. Xia said.

"...Maybe..." The lady tilted her head, showing a smile that fit her identity as a "believer of Akamala", and she said, "Perhaps, I will be happy to watch this show.

"I'm not an actor or creator of this play, but just an audience in the audience... It's too far away from me, I can't imagine. But because of this, I will look forward to it. People always look forward to the unsatisfactory life in life. got something."

Mr. Xia couldn't help being taken aback.

Ms. Conductor waved with Mr. Xia and said, "That must be a very good show, isn't it? It would be a pity to miss it." She laughed, "Goodbye, sir!

"I hope you enjoy some of the other plays here, after all, life can't just be attached to one play!"

"...Goodbye, ma'am." Mr. Xia smiled and said, "That's a good answer."

At the moment when the lady conductor disappeared at the corner of the street, Mr. Xia's figure also disappeared outside a small hotel in Shadow Ji Tao Hetia.

... Siles opened his eyes in the Fisher's Mirror.The No. [-] puppet ran to his side in small steps spontaneously.

On the opposite side, two glass balls looked at him with "eyes".

"How did you like the journey?" Dice asked.

Siles thought for a moment, then said, "Impressive."

He just chatted with an ordinary conductor lady and a playwright for a while, and briefly witnessed the appearance of Tao Hetia in the Shadow Age - it turned out that in such a distant era, the capital of the Silent Age Sardinian Empire Do cities already exist?

It's a short ride, but an impressive one.

He seemed to have suddenly remembered something, and then took a crumpled newspaper from the puppet's hand.

Shadow Age, 788, August 8th.Here is the evening paper from that day.It is the same month and the same day as his reality, only the year is different - but this is the biggest difference.

"You can't take this newspaper into the real world," Dice reminded him, "but it doesn't matter if you look at it here."

Siles nodded, he put the newspaper on the table, and then pressed his teacup on the newspaper.The unfamiliar text in the newspaper still makes people feel a chill.

This trip to the Shadow Age didn't bring him any information gain... Maybe there were some, but more, it was just a certain kind of deep imprint left on him by that era.

It was, he felt, like a dying age, a doomsday carnival, and a weary crowd.

…Fisher’s world forgetting this era, is it a good thing or a bad thing?

He couldn't answer this question for a while.

He thought blankly for a moment, then collected his thoughts.He chatted with Dice and Ball for a while, and then left Fisher's Mirror.He went to Kanyo Farm and chatted with the dolls.

This approach always makes his feelings