The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

After one night, compared to the appearance he met at dinner last night, Ambrose now looks a lot haggard.

He was almost furious: "What are you talking about, sailor? You don't want to go to sea? Why don't you want to go to sea when the storm has passed?"

"Use my life to make money for you, greedy businessman!" the sailor also yelled loudly.

They used Middleton's language when they talked, so it was only under Johnny's translation that Siles understood what happened.He looked thoughtfully at the situation over there.

There were many people around, watching the quarrel.But judging from their standing positions and gazes, they were obviously on the sailor's side.

The storm passed, and Ambrose wanted the fleet to set sail as soon as possible, but the sailors were not happy.Siles did not see the captain, so the sailor's statement may be the general opinion of the fleet.

And Ambrose doesn't seem to understand it at all.

After all, the storm has completely passed and the weather has completely cleared up, which is a suitable time for sailing.But the crew was reluctant to leave Kingsley.

While translating for Sirius, Johnny also showed a little confusion.Apparently, like Ambrose, he didn't understand why the crew members were so stubborn, and even thought that they would lose their lives if they went to sea at this time.

He saw that Siles was also very confused, so he took the initiative to ask the nearby Kingsley people watching the excitement.He speaks Middleton's language while also identifying himself as the man who left Middleton when he was young.

So the man hesitated, and explained all this in a short sentence.Johnny was dazed when he heard that, but then he also conveyed the meaning of those words to Siles.

"He said," Johnny translated, "the day after the storm, if people go to sea, they must be swallowed by the sea."

After the translation, Johnny muttered something himself, as if he was wondering why such a thing happened.

Instead, Siles narrowed his eyes, as if realizing something.

If the sacrifices in the deep sea are always accompanied by storms, then the "shadow" must hover over the sea before and after the storm.When sailing at sea at that time, you may encounter the shadow of the "shadow" reflected on the sea.

Such a thing certainly seemed very dangerous.The sailors in the port city are always the most sensitive to changes in the sea, they quickly summed up such a rule, and then decided not to go to sea the day after the storm passed.

In addition, the port will turn off the lights when the storm hits, which may also be based on this reason.There may have been a harbor whose lights were left unextinguished during a storm, and then attracted "shadows" that destroyed it.

... It occurred to him that Isaac the guide and Johnny the interpreter had told him that the two of them had gone to Const because of the famine in their hometown.But Middleton is close to the sea. If he goes fishing, there will be no famine.

But now, Siles realized that if there were frequent storms on the ocean, "shadows" lingered, and the Middletons had no habit of growing crops, then a serious famine might really happen.

This kind of speculation made Sirius feel cold.Because he realized that the gods of this world have brought unavoidable disasters to ordinary people.

At the same time, he also realized that if he hadn't chosen not to turn on the light out of caution last night, then the ending waiting for him might not be very happy.

The shadow hovering in the deep sea also hangs over the people who are closely related to the ocean.

Siles once heard Ambrose mention that Kingsley's fishing population has suddenly decreased recently. It may be because of the frequent ocean storms during this period that the fishermen in Kingsley are afraid to go to sea.

However, businessman Ambrose does not seem to understand this.After communicating with the sailor to no avail, he left the port angrily.He looks like he's blown away and wants to make up for the money he loses every day by doing something else.

Siles wondered if he would pay top dollar for fishermen who would be willing to venture out to sea today.But this kind of thing can't be said for sure.

In just a blinding time, Sirius didn't see Ambrose again.The people around him also slowly dispersed, and some of the Kingsleys showed a predictable, crude contempt, which was directed at Ambrose.

It seemed to be mocking an outsider who didn't understand the dangers of the sea.But at the same time, they were not willing to explain everything very clearly, because it was a secret kept by all Kingsley people, and even all Middleton people.

In this regard, Siles couldn't help sighing a little in amazement.Each of the Middletons is a master at keeping secrets.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, and Sirius followed Johnny to buy a boat ticket.The small conflict that occurred this time did not attract anyone's attention, and some people even muttered regretfully.

Siles suspected that they wanted to see a more serious, even bloody conflict.

They quickly bought tickets.

Sure enough, even at the ticket window on the passenger side, the first boat to depart is tomorrow morning.Today, no ships left the port at all, and the most daring ones only dared to wander around the port, just like exercising their hands and feet.

They bought tickets to leave for Bethune at [-] o'clock tomorrow afternoon and arrive at [-] o'clock in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.They need to spend the night on the boat.

The available funds provided by Professor Bella were very abundant, and the group of them probably had never been on such a big ship, and they might get seasick, so Siles chose a luxurious cabin that would make them more comfortable.

It was a cabin for one person, and there were only about 26 cabins in total, and the group of them occupied [-] cabins.

The conductor lady said something in surprise.

Johnny explained in passing, "She was saying that if we came later to buy tickets, maybe we wouldn't be able to get tickets for this ship, because it's a very popular passenger ship going to Bethune. "

When leaving the port, Johnny explained the meaning of the ship's name to Siles: "'Far Sea'. It can be explained like this. People always believe that the gods will protect us in the depths of the distant ocean."

Siles was slightly taken aback.He couldn't help thinking, but, in the depths of the distant ocean...

It's just a group of crazy followers of the old gods, and a god who is likely to be malicious.

He sighed in his heart, but he didn't say it out of his mouth after all.

When we got back to the hotel, it was only after nine o'clock.They met with the guide Isaac and confirmed the travel plan for tomorrow.The rest were still sleeping, so after exchanging information, they went back to their rooms.

Siles stood by the window again, gazing out at the ocean.

Even though the storm has subsided, and even though the ocean under the clear sky looks much more beautiful than yesterday, the scene he saw has been deeply imprinted in his heart.

He thought, since today is the "dangerous time" recognized by sailors, he probably shouldn't communicate with Dice now.Tomorrow morning will be a better time, and I am afraid that everyone will not go out at that time, after all, this is an even stranger land.

Besides, do you want to enter the deep sea dream tonight...

Siles hesitated on this question, but finally decided to be prudent and not take the risk at this time.

Fortunately, when parting from Qin Duo, considering various reasons, he did not say in advance that he would contact Qin Duo through the Deep Sea Dreamland on the day he arrived in Kingsley. Otherwise, Qin Duo might be so worried that he rushed over .

Tomorrow is a better time to deal with these things.

After deciding these, Siles also breathed a sigh of relief.He thought about what he was going to do today, and finally realized that this seemed to be one of the rare days he had nothing to do.

This made him a little unaccustomed to it.

He can only read books and write novels to pass the time.

When he left, he had already sent the serial content of "Miss Garland's Dream Adventure" to the newspaper office during the spring break, but he still needed to rush the draft when the spring break was over.It is also a good choice to write a little bit now.

At that time, he also had to think about a question—since Nona became Garland, would the progress of this novel affect Garland's mental state in reality?

For this reason, in the previous part of the serialized content, he carefully considered the content so as not to affect Garland's self-cognition; and he also told the Church of the Past not to let Garland see those stories.

But not long ago, he met Garland in a dream, and he realized that Garland had broken free of the novel's shackles on her.

At the beginning, Garland just regarded herself as the protagonist in the novel, but later, she realized that she was living in a real world, which was completely different from Garland in the fictional story.

Thinking of this, Sirius couldn't help but realize that this can also be said to be a kind of... a switch between reality and reality?

Maybe he could ask the puppet at the farm tomorrow.

The help of this matter to Siles is that he doesn't have to have any worries when creating novels, but he also secretly warns himself in his heart not to substitute some characteristics of people around him into novels in the future.

When he created the role of Garland, he did refer to some performances of Nona, because he only knew this little girl.But, perhaps it's the references that allow Nona to finally identify herself as Garland.

Perhaps the results were good, but also unexpected.Siles thought it would be better for him to be more cautious in the future.

This day was spent reading, writing, eating, and observing the city and residents of Kingsley outside the window.It has to be said that the exotic scenery did give Siles some inspiration.

Perhaps in the next novel, he could describe a grown man on a journey?The character of adults is also better described, and this can also prevent accidents like Garland from happening again.

This kind of inspiration is just a flash in his brain.After all, it is still far from the end of Miss Garland's story.

...However, his first novel pushed Angus Keyes to embark on a journey of revenge, and the second novel made Nona become Garland; what will happen to the third novel?

As the evening approached, Siles opened his pocket watch to check the time, and then planned to get up to eat dinner.But at this moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange thing outside the window.

After careful observation, he realized that what made him feel strange was the situation at Kingsley Port.

...There is a ship that chooses to leave port at this time.

Siles couldn't help but startled, thinking, he had heard someone swear not long ago that people shouldn't go to sea the day after the storm, because that might cause the ship to be swallowed by the sea.However, is anyone now taking the risk?

Not long afterward, in the dining room of his hotel, he heard more from his guide Isaac about the audacious ship.

The captain of that ship, known as "The Notorious Garrett Gielgud".He had no father and was raised by his mother alone.He was a mischievous kid when he was a child, and he became even more annoying when he grew up.

He was the kind of person who, at a grand banquet, when everyone was cheering, suddenly deliberately overturned the food on the table, and then took pleasure in it.Even his mother couldn't stand his character, and had already cut off contact with him before.

In Middleton's environment, Garrett's personality is even more unpleasant, and he is not liked by others at all.But he himself didn't seem to care about it, but slowly devoted himself to ocean voyages with this always active and relishing attitude.

With some money he bought a small boat, and stayed at sea almost all the year except in times of storm.He can fish, but mostly just digs up the deep sea for antiques and sells them.

Sometimes, he can really find some interesting collections and sell them at a good price.Slowly, some people didn't care about his reputation and chose to join his fleet; he also changed to a bigger ship.

It is said that his goal is to earn more and more money, and then change to a good enough ship to go to the depths of the ocean to find out.

This kind of exploratory spirit may be praised, but Garrett's reckless and crazy style of acting is quite disgusting.He was an unruly man, not just socially but also Middleton.

But anyway, going out to sea on the second day of the storm was too much of a mess.

Isaac said, in a very subtle mood, somewhere between "good fun" and "really worried", "It seems that a businessman paid a lot of money to hire him to go fishing.

"No one else was willing to take the offer. So the businessman ended up going to Garrett, because only this renegade captain could take the deal.

"However, even Garrett, he insisted that he must go to sea in the evening, because by then the 'things' may have passed. Some people were kind enough to dissuade Garrett, but Garrett seemed determined to make money. This money.

"Anyway, they decided to go to sea like this. The merchant is also on board, and I'm afraid they want to see the actual harvest of fishing. I don't know how their voyage will end this time. I hope they will be safe and sound, but..."

Saying that, Isaac shrugged.He didn't seem to believe that they could really live in peace with this adventure.He probably has already inquired more relevant information from the Kingsley people.

However, the Consters, who didn't really believe in this rumor, had reservations instead.They don't think there is any problem going to sea after the storm, not to mention that the day has already passed, and even if there is any problem, it will not last so long.

Of course, whether the storm still persists across the ocean is another question.It's just that the fog still covers most of the ocean, and the range where human ships can move is only so small.

Of course, the crew members are very aware of the situation in this area, and if they encounter any problems, they can return as soon as possible—this is the thinking of some people present.

In any case, it seems that many people are looking forward to the outcome of Garrett's voyage, whether it is anticipation in a positive sense or a negative sense.

Siles didn't take much part in their dislike.He just felt a deeper anxiety.

According to the rumors, Garrett Gielgud is an unscrupulous person with a very manic and restless temperament; and when a person with this temperament is with that businessman Ambrose, what a bold thing the two of them can do , is also very suspicious.

Ambrose once revealed that if he encounters any special phenomenon at sea, then he will definitely go and have a look at such an idea.And Garrett... seems to be a person with this personality.

Siles was quite curious about what the two of them would encounter at sea and what they would do.Of course, he hoped that they would be safe in the end, after all, life is precious.

This anecdote made their dinner hour quite lively.Everyone was discussing the matter, and the conversation unknowingly shifted to topics related to the ocean.

Several people who had participated in the fireside chat also told the stories they heard at the time, and analyzed the possibility in a somewhat serious manner. Lorenzo, who had heard these stories, even made up the story with great interest. In addition to the story, many strange elements have been added to it.

It seems that after the storm last night and the morning sleep, everyone's spirits have finally recovered completely, and they are also interested in this brand new land and the sea full of secrets.

The rest of the Kingsley people in the restaurant were also attracted by the lively scene on their side, but because of the language barrier, these curious people could only communicate with Isaac and Johnny.

Sometimes Johnny would translate interesting things for each other, and sometimes just listened quietly.

They laughed and laughed in the restaurant until nearly nine o'clock, and then they got tired, and then they said goodbye to each other.

Siles also felt relaxed because of this breezy and cheerful atmosphere. He returned to his room, took a shower, and stood outside the window looking at the sea again—he still didn't turn on the light.

I'm afraid he won't be able to get rid of this psychological shadow in a short time, just like he had a psychological shadow on meat eating for a long time after the Grayson incident.

He seemed to be able to vaguely see the ship's lights lit up in the deep sea, but felt that it seemed to be an illusion.After a while, he opened his pocket watch, glanced at it under the faint moonlight, and found that it was almost ten o'clock, so he decided to go to bed early.

The next morning, he woke up on time at six o'clock in the morning, went to the restaurant to have breakfast alone, and then returned to the room.Not surprisingly, the other companions haven't woken up yet, and I'm afraid they don't plan to go out in the morning.

Siles knew that they probably played late yesterday, some active people probably formed a game again, and then fell into the joy of playing cards and couldn't extricate themselves.

This also gave Siles a quiet opportunity to communicate with the dice.

He took out the piccolo from the suitcase - the size of this instrument is more convenient to carry, at least it doesn't take up space in the suitcase.Afterwards, he made a judgment, and soon, Dice's iconic nagging tone appeared in his ears, but this time, Dice seemed a little surprised.

Piccolo first played a disjointed tune, and then said: "Keeper of the Secret! We meet again. Oh, a strange land, and the Keeper of Secrets who came to seek the secret, it is wonderful to think about. Anyway... wait!

"Wait, wait, I seem to feel something... It's that damned guy! Damn it! Damn it! He's only gone for a while, it's too bad. Keeper, I didn't expect you to be so close to Him!

"This is really dangerous. The situation is different from before. He has no patience now... No, it should be said that He has no patience in the first place, but he has become more and more impatient recently. Too much time has passed..."

Piccolo spoke, although it sounded like he was talking to himself, but he also vaguely revealed some information to Siles.

Siles narrowed his eyes.

Therefore, the dice can sense the existence of "shadow".And Dice's words also seem to imply that as time goes by, "Shadow" is losing patience.

… He lost patience with everything?If there is "patience" in the first place, then He must want to do something, and therefore be patient.But now, because the time dragged on for longer and longer, he lost his patience.

What would happen if he lost all patience?Will he go crazy?Or other possibilities?

Siles had many associations because of this passage about dice.

But Piccolo coughed instead and said, "Secret Keeper, you didn't hear anything just now."

Siles was taken aback.

Piccolo tried to hide it and said: "In short, just pretend that I didn't say anything just now. Don't ask me anything about this matter. It's not suitable for you to know now."

"...I see." Siles replied rationally.

In fact, the dice has already given some hints, but it can't express Celes.And this thing itself actually has a certain meaning.

He turned to say: "However, I will take a boat to Bethune in Middleton later. Will there be any problems if I go to sea?"

"It'll be all right, don't worry, Keeper," said Piccolo, with the same sweet voice as ever, but also in the riddle-like tone that dice always used. "The sea is not so dangerous and not so weak."

Dangerous, weak.These are two very incompatible words, but they are used to describe the ocean at the same time.

Siles felt the subtlety of the wording.Danger, he thought, might refer to the state of the ocean, but weakness?Why use weak to describe the ocean?That's more like describing a person...

Ocean...Amois?

If this means that Amois is not weak, then the symbolic meaning behind it is...

Siles was slightly taken aback.

Piccolo urged him back to his senses: "Time is running out, Keeper of Secrets! Tell me, do you have any questions?"

Siles returned to his senses and asked bluntly: "Is 'Shadow' a god that no one knows?"

His question actually has double meanings hidden, the first is whether the shadow is a god, and the second is whether the shadow of the god is unknown.The first point confirms the essence of "Shadow", and the second point confirms that Antinam is not "Shadow".

And Piccolo replied almost without hesitation: "Yes, 'Shadow' is a god that no one knows about." It added, "At least the vast majority of human beings don't know his existence."

In other words, gods and a small group of humans know of his existence.

Dice's answer made Sirius suddenly heave a sigh of relief.And the dice also remained silent, it clearly knew exactly what Sirius was asking.

After a while, Piccolo said in an unprecedented gentle tone that didn't even fit his current body: "Don't worry so much, Keeper. You can trust me, and Antinam's position. That guy is our enemy."

Siles almost asked without thinking, what is this "enmity"?But then he realized that he couldn't get the answer from the dice now.

And another question is, why is "Shadow" Anti-Nam's enemy?Isn't Antinam born in the middle of the fog?

Or, is it because Antinam itself symbolizes the past and history of Fischer's world, and therefore hates the "shadow" that caused such a huge disaster?

This seemed quite possible, but Siles still couldn't come to a definitive conclusion.From another point of view, I'm afraid he can't believe what the dice said. It's better to find relevant objective evidence from other files.

He thought for a while, and finally asked a question: "So, what you need me to do is fight against the 'shadow'?"

Piccolo was silent for a while, and then said: "I can't say that exactly... the Keeper of Secrets. But it's not suitable for me to tell you. Anyway, you can think that at least fighting the 'Shadow' is indeed part of it."

Siles frowned slightly.

"...I can understand your thoughts, Keeper of Secrets." Piccolo's tone became a little lower, "You have somehow come to Fisher's world, and somehow heard that you need to save this world, so you must feel unhappy. "

Siles didn't deny it either.

Piccolo hesitated for a moment, as if he was not sure whether he should tell Sirius about it, but he finally said: "The connection between Fisher's world and your home planet Earth is more profound and close than you can imagine. Some.

"Maybe you are not only saving Fisher's world, but also... at least to a certain level, you are also saving your hometown. Of course, I can't say how close the two are."

Siles suddenly raised his eyes to look at Piccolo, and he asked seriously: "What does this mean?" He paused, and then expressed his guess, "You mean, 'Shadow' will also affect the earth? "

"It can't be sure." Piccolo said, "I mean, no one can be sure about probabilities."

Siles frowned deeply.

"We've gone off topic," Piccolo said. "In short, I want to say that you are the chosen one—oh, that sounds like a sentence from a novel—the world needs your salvation.

"However, the power of choice is also in your hands, Keeper of Secrets. You can choose to sit idly by, although I don't think that is a choice you will make. I understand your confusion and displeasure, but... you are indeed Step by step towards the truth."

Siles thought for a moment, and then said: "You always call me the Keeper of Secrets, Dice. What is the significance of the running group script I learned on Earth to this world?"

Piccolo muttered something, very softly, probably complaining that it was calling Sirius the Keeper of Secrets in a very serious way, but Sirius just treated it like an ordinary dice.

Siles: "..."

The kind of thoughts and emotions that would emerge in his heart after countless judgments were over slowly rose in his heart—forget it.Don't count with dice.

Piccolo coughed quickly and said, "That was a preview." Its tone was quite serious, "About the possible future fate. And when you come into this world with those stories, you will be born into this world." Keeper."

Siles was stunned for a moment.

That's the story of the future.And he changed the fate of those people.That future story no longer happened, it changed into something else, but only Sirius knew about it, and only he knew that he made it all happen; maybe dice had to be added.

But the dice is only the embodiment of the power of fate, it is under the control of Sirius, so in essence, this matter only symbolizes the authority of Sirius—his identity as the world's secret keeper.

From the very beginning, he came to this world with secrets; from the very beginning, he has become a true keeper of secrets.

"...So, you are always a god, in essence. It's just that things haven't progressed to that point, you haven't..." Piccolo hesitated, and then said the word vaguely, Xi Les didn't hear at all.

Siles didn't listen carefully either, he just stared quietly at the piccolo on the table.

"In short!" Piccolo coughed, and his tone revived, "You are already slowly mastering this power, and you are slowly realizing its existence, and this is a good development direction! I'm afraid you know it very well at this point."

Siles nodded.

However, at the same time, he was also thinking, since this power is so powerful and terrifying, then the dice and Anti-Num may have a bigger picture.What exactly did they want Sirius to do?

This question bothered Celes.He thought about it for a while and said, "However, I still don't understand why it has to be me? What's so special about me?"

The piccolo jumped and hit the table.It bluffed and let out a painful cry that seemed real and fake, and then it said: "But, Keeper, you are unique."

Siles froze for a moment.

"...Well, to be honest, is it my turn to praise you? This makes me very embarrassed. In short, if there should be one person in this world who holds the power of a god, then I am afraid that many people will I would rather you come and be a god.

"And it's not because you have something special, or you have to be you... It's because you are good enough, brilliant enough, recognized and appreciated by everyone, because you have the will to match the power of the gods, because You deserve it all.

"Perhaps you may think that we want you to save the world, so we force this power on you. It's never like this. You know, we, especially me, I am very picky.

"Do you think that everyone can master such power? Do you think that everyone can continue to maintain restraint and sobriety under the premise of mastering such power, and will not abuse such power?

"Not everyone, but you."

After finishing this long speech, Piccolo exclaimed again, saying: "Time is running out! Oh, time is really not enough. Anyway, see you next time, Keeper of Secrets. I hope you can admit your excellence frankly. It's not a bad thing."

After the words were finished, Piccolo lay there peacefully, without the vivacity of dice anymore.

In the completely silent room, Sirius stared at the piccolo silently.He had to admit that Dice's words made him feel a little turbulent, a little embarrassed, and a little bit dumbfounded.

Well, he's good - it's really hard for him to say that, thankfully it's just in his head - but does that have anything to do with "why is he here to save the world"?

Siles is convinced that there must be humans in the world who are better, wiser and stronger than himself.But in the end, he was the one who traveled to Fisher's world in the end.So, why him?What is the mechanism of this "selection"?

Dice was obviously trying to answer Sirius' question lightly, hoping to make Sirius dizzy with a lot of compliments, but it was impossible.

I'm afraid Dice himself knew this too, so he left immediately after those words, so as to save himself from being pressed by Siles.This performance made Siles even more dumbfounded.

He realized that there might be something...not very flattering behind the question.Perhaps the dice deliberately concealed something, and Sirius also felt a little suspicious about this.

There were some guesses running through his brain, but he had to admit that they all had the same conjecture as a novel.

So he simply swept away these useless thoughts, and turned to think about the conversation with the dice, the information he learned from the dice.

First of all, "Shadow" and Anti-Nam are not the same god, and the two have enmity.This point really made Sirius breathe a sigh of relief, after all, he always felt that Antinam was on the opposite side of the shadow.

Second, Fisher's world is somehow related to Earth.This idea once appeared in Sirius' brain. After all, in some respects, he felt that some aspects of Fisher's world were too similar to the human civilization on Earth.

But Dice also said that he could return to Earth in some way, even with Qindo.So, what does this “connection” in the world mean?

Siles had to admit that what first appeared in his brain was the "parallel universe" that Mr. Grenfell blurted out.However, the Fischer world with strange powers does not seem to be the same thing as the parallel universe in the sense of physics.

... The end of science is metaphysics?

Finally, a more critical issue, running a group.

Dice finally revealed the reason why the running group script appeared on Earth.In other words, it was actually an advance "arrangement" for Siles...no, it should be said, for He Jiayin to travel to Fisher's world.

This kind of "arrangement" has a very strong meaning, but before the dice spoke bluntly this time, he did not think deeply about this issue.

...In other words, "Fate" specially selected these eight people in Fisher's world to let him know their possible future fate.And when he came to Fisher's world, he intentionally or unintentionally changed the established fate of these people.

He has been a secret keeper from the very beginning, has mastered and complied with the power of fate from the very beginning, and has known certain information about this world from the very beginning.

This is……

prophet.

Siles was taken aback for a moment.

When the word "prophet" naturally appeared in his brain, he was even surprised, because he never thought that mastering the script of running a group itself meant "prophet".

The word "prophet" comes from the tribal ruins discovered by Alfonso Carlyle and Emmanuel, and that place is actually the "Shadow" of the Temple of Belan at Huddoca.Not the unknown god.

The shadow of the Temple of Belan exists like the bubbles of the deep sea dream.

The Temple of Belan preserved a certain shadow from the past, and Alfonso and others stepped into it unintentionally.There they found a scroll of parchment, which recorded a revelation from the "God", claiming that there would be a prophet to save the world from sinking into darkness.

Siles felt