The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

When Antinam mentioned the concept of "the stage of history" to Siles, He didn't say too many details, but asked Siles to ask about the glass ball later.

Therefore, now Siles is also very attentively listening to Qiuqiu's explanation.

"First of all, time." Qiuqiu whispered, "I symbolize the power of time, the long river of time and history... But time itself is a fixed thing...

"Even if I disappear, time will continue to flow down... It is not the power of the gods that annotates time, but time that annotates the power of gods... Time is earlier.

"...so, when you go to the 'stage of history'...the first thing you have to be aware of is that you can't change the established history - try not to do it."

Siles asked, "What kind of history is the given history?"

"What you know, or what other people know, everything." Qiuqiu said with a hint of seriousness in his tone, "If you want to make something on the historical stage of the past...then, only those who are unknown Things, places, and occasions give you room to act.

"You can't change time itself, and you can't delete a section of it, you can only fill it with more."

Qiuqiu was quiet for a moment, allowing Siles to have some time to think.

In fact, Qiuqiu's statement was unexpected and reasonable.

Even if he can really "board" the stage of history, it is impossible for history and the past time to become a plaything in his hands.

The turbulent river of history does not depend on anyone's will.He has no way of intervening in those established historical events and known historical turning points.

Standing now and looking back at the past, what he can do is to add some unknown and unnoticed small waves to this long river.

After a while, Qiuqiu explained: "History has its own power...For example, people always remember the tragic situation of the fall of the silent ancient god...So, Antinam, who just became the god of the past and history... Can have the power to fight against the old gods.

"This is the footnote written by time for the world... The long river of time flows in the soul of every human being."

It spoke softly, with a slight sigh naturally in its tone.

It goes on to say: "So, if you really want to change that history - not necessarily impossible - but, it would open you up to the resistance of time.

"The power equivalent to those historical events...will act on you in reverse...It will be quite terrifying. It will also make the gods collapse."

Siles suddenly asked sharply: "In other words, is it true for any person or god? If anyone wants to tamper with history, they will definitely be resisted by the power of time?"

"That's right." Qiuqiu said, "But...But, if you don't have the power of time...then it is impossible to have the possibility to change history."

Dice said aside: "You want to use this law to solve the 'shadow'?"

Siles had thoughts in his mind, and after a while, he said, "I have this idea. But..." He paused, "I don't think it is necessary for 'Shadow' to gain the power of time."

Rather, this situation is the self-reflection of the god of time.

If it becomes the god of time, then this god must rely on the power brought by the past time.

He is time, He is history.

If he wants to change the past, it is equivalent to dissolving part of his own power.

Therefore, Qiuqiu said that they had no choice but to make use of the gaps and insert some inconspicuous small actions and small waves in the long river of history.

The backlash of time does not discriminate; Siles did wonder if it might be possible to fight Shadow in this way.

But this brings up several questions: first, how to give "Shadow" the ability to change history?Second, how can the "shadow" want to change "history"?Third, how to ensure that the actions of "Shadow" to change history will be backlashed by time?

After all, isn't the current situation quite in line with the psychological expectations of "Shadow"?

Antinam fell into a deep sleep.The power of time and destiny is now in the hands of a seemingly very weak human being; although "Shadow" does not know this.

In addition, many people in Fisher's world believed in "Shadow", and this group of people was now migrating long distances, intending to go to the Duchy of Const to fight to the death.

If they really changed the city of Lamifa, and even the Principality of Const, into the "shadow" kingdom of God, then sooner or later, Fisher's world would also be in the pocket of the "shadow".

The length of time is not a big problem for the gods.Even if the dice say "Shadow" is a little impatient now, how long has it been since Sirius came to this world?

Even for a human being, the time of one or two years will not really lose patience completely.

Although he did fail several times in the past, and he is still trapped in the sea of ​​Furiou, but in the final analysis, the reason why he did not destroy Fisher's world casually is because there are still things he wants here. So He is willing to wait for a little while.

Things are looking good for Shadow, don't they?

……yes?

Siles stared at the two glass balls on the opposite side for a while, and then suddenly realized the biggest weakness of "Shadow".

In other words, for the situation they are facing today, "Shadow" is the biggest flaw.

——He doesn't know where "fate" is.

And Siles had precisely this information.

...Indeed, "Shadow" is in a state of complete crushing in terms of power to Fischer's world and to Sirius.Siles himself had been influenced by the "shadow" invisibly, and the clay bowl almost trapped them in the isolated island.

But power is not the most interesting thing in this dilemma.

Even if it is difficult for Siles to completely shut out the pollution and influence of the "shadow", it doesn't matter. Anyway, he can use the ritual of "returning himself" and the judgment of the dice to at least maintain a relatively balanced situation.

In addition, "Shadow" cannot fully exert its own power; on the one hand, he was trapped in the Sea of ​​Furiou by Amois, and on the other hand, he did not want to destroy Fisher's world, because he wanted to get "destiny".

On the whole, at the level of direct confrontation of power, rather than worrying about the "Shadow" destroying the world, they are more concerned about the "Shadow" believers creating some irreversible scenes.

They need to hold this city, this country.That's the first thing they want to make sure.

Apart from this, things related to "Shadow" can basically only be done by Siles and Qindo, at most plus the people on the side of Detective Jon.

...However, it doesn't mean that Siles doesn't need more human helpers.

become a god.

How to be?Why be?

... "Shadow" does not know that fate is with him. "Shadow" does not know that time is with him. "Shadow" doesn't know even more, the illusion is here with him.

Under the flickering light of Fisher's Mirror, Sirius suddenly showed a slight smile.The smile was fleeting, but it was rarely so real and easy.

The arrogance and ignorance of the "Shadow" towards Fisher's world and the human beings in Fisher's world finally gave them a chance of escape.

During this time of his contemplation, Dice and Ball remained silent and watched him.Dice noticed Sirius' smile and said, "Keeper of the secret, do you know what to do?"

Siles said noncommittally: "It's just a prototype of an idea."

"Really...?" Dice muttered suspiciously.It seemed to him that his dear Keeper of Secrets had already made up his mind.

But... "Keeper of Secrets".

Dice suddenly realized something, so he didn't continue to ask.

Siles regained his senses, turned to look at Qiuqiu, and said, "I still have a few questions about the 'Stage of History'."

Qiuqiu hurriedly said, "Say it."

"The first question is, what if we did something on the 'stage of history' that had no impact at the time, but inadvertently changed something later? How can this butterfly effect be avoided?"

Qiuqiu listened carefully, and then said: "This situation exists... But, you don't have to worry... because, whether it is me or Dice, they will give you a warning in time.

"...In addition, as you become more familiar with the power of time and fate...you may also get some kind of warning and omen in the process...that will make you vigilant about your next action."

Siles suddenly realized.

In other words, this danger does exist, but he can predict it in advance and avoid it—"The Prophet", very well, he has finally fully fulfilled the expectations of his old friend Alfonso.

He continued: "I see. The second question is, if we want to do something, will the gods at that time find out? For example, Anti-Nam at that time? This will not conflict with the power He has mastered ?"

Qiuqiu thought for a while, and then said: "I understand what you mean... Time is not a completely linear thing... It should be said, it's just that human beings think time is linear.

"... At every point in time, the past, present, and future exist at the same time... This is coexistence, rather than the first, second, and third in order.

"So, even at that time, for example, Anti-Nam in the first year of the Mist Era noticed the fluctuation of the power of time...then he would think that it was something done by his past self or future self."

Siles asked again: "Will He know my existence and my actions at that time?"

"It's like what I said before... that's why we need to be concealed enough and unknown enough... If he discovers the change of time, then his power will also be counted in the resistance of the river of time .

"If our actions are a little more concealed... then even if Anti-Nam discovers the fluctuation of the power of time... He will quietly cover it up for us... At that time, Anti-Nam already had the idea of ​​'the stage of history' .

"...However, if our actions are too obvious...then Anti-Nam can't do anything about it."

Siles thought for a while, and felt that his human brain was whining—seriously, why didn't he read a few more science fiction novels on Earth before he crossed over?

He changed a simpler term to make himself understand: that is, when he acted on the stage of history in the past, he had to keep enough concealment, not to be discovered by anyone or God, and not let anyone know what he was. want to do something.

...it's very Schrödinger.he thinks.He has to keep this secret until the surprise box is opened at a certain time.

Qiuqiu said again: "As for whether it will be discovered by the gods...I am afraid that only the gods with the power of time can find out...that is to say, it can only be Anti-Nam, or...you."

Siles froze for a moment.

Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Yes, you...Of course, most of the power of time you master points to the future...I don't recommend you to go to the future. That will bring more trouble...

"And the reason why Antinam wants you to go to the past, that is, the 'stage of history'...is because he believes that this can make 'Shadow' feel that you have inherited the power of the past and history.

"...In addition, most of the troubles we need to solve are also in the past."

Siles said very rationally: "However, we can only solve this trouble now."

The ball turned gray-blue in frustration, and after it transferred its own color to the glass cover not far away, it became gray itself.Therefore, it really took a lot of effort to turn it into a gray-blue color.

It said softly, "Yes."

"Pessimistic silly ball." Dice commented on the side.

...the ball looks bluer.

"Don't worry, Qiuqiu, we can solve these problems." Siles comforted Qiuqiu.

Only then did Qiuqiu cheer up a little, and the blue color faded from the glass ball.It asked politely: "Do you have any questions?"

Siles thought for a while, then asked: "The existence of the puppet is indeed very convenient, but how did you make the puppet, Mr. Xia, speak in reality?"

This problem had troubled him for a long time before, and it was not until Qin Duo further grasped the power of Lygardia that this problem had a solution.However, Qiuqiu must have a suitable plan.

"Talk..." Qiuqiu said a bit troubled, "but... I can talk."

Siles froze for a moment.

Only then did he realize that even dice can speak through the sealed item, so it makes no sense that Qiuqiu can't speak through the puppet.

The crux of the problem of "speaking up" is to interfere with reality.

When Siles was conducting research on the sealed item, Ms. Aston, the head of the research department, once reminded him, "Don't talk to the sealed item."

Communication, language, dialogue - perception, understanding, consensus, this is the foundation of a civilization and the barrier of the real world.The reason why ordinary people cannot know the existence of the sea of ​​darkness and the universe of gods is because they cannot perceive such things at all.

And some people who are spiritually high enough, they are unfortunately quite accessible to this kind of thing.They talk to "things" they imagine, but don't know if they really exist.

For people in this world, ignorance can also be said to be safe.

Therefore, with Siles' further mastery of Akamala's power, the puppet will finally be able to speak in the real world—or rather, it means that the spiritual standard of humans who can hear the puppet's speech is rejected. Reduced.

... Although I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

From this point of view, people who have been in contact with Mr. Xia and heard Mr. Xia's words have a high probability of being mentally polluted.Even though it's harmless pollution, it's... well, it's a pollution after all.

Siles understood, and couldn't help sighing in his heart.He turned to say: "I see, there is no other problem. I'll go and bring the doll here first."

Both the dice and the ball returned to his hands.He went to Kanyo Farm and asked the puppet to help bring the real number two puppet over.

Even if the No. [-] puppet is very stable, it can't help but ask at this time: "What are you going to do?"

He replied: "Do you know the 'Stage of History'?"

The six puppets looked at him in blank dismay.

Doll No. [-] said thoughtfully: "Do we need our bodies? To be active on the stage of history?"

"Yes." he replied.

"...Sounds so interesting!" Doll No. [-] exclaimed, "Can I go?"

"I'll try it with the No. [-] puppet first." He said patiently, "Before you woke up, Anti-Nam did something with the No. [-] puppet. I need to follow up on these things now." .”

He thought, now is a matter of "the stage of history"; and he still has to use Mr. Xia's identity to see the situation of the Church of the Past and the Apocalypse of Dawn.But that will have to wait until later.

Only then did the dolls suddenly realize.They are not angry that the gods have used their real bodies, and are even eager to try.

It took him a while to reassure them, and he returned to Fisher's Mirror.

"Then, let's try it once!" Qiuqiu said a little excitedly.

"How do you usually do?" Sirius asked curiously.

He stood on the edge of the glass cover, looking at the changing colors in it.Dice and balls floated around him.

Qiuqiu replied, "Just let the puppet go in."

Siles acted according to his words, and let the puppet walk into the glass cover carefully.

It looked like a transparent but quite strong glass cover, but when the doll walked in, the glass cover seemed to melt automatically.The puppet walked in, as if on the stage of history, but it was still stupid.

"Should I make it human?" Sirius asked.

"It doesn't matter...you can wait until it gets there." Qiuqiu said softly, "Now, when do you want to go?"

Siles couldn't think of it for a while, so he said, "Anything... some time during the Silent Period?"

He almost instinctively chose Silence Ji.

"of course can."

After Qiuqiu said so, the colors and pictures in the glass cover suddenly flashed rapidly.After a moment, that stopped.A scene unfolded in front of them.

"This is March 365th, 3, Year of Silence." Qiuqiu whispered, "...in Kansas City of the Sardinian Empire at that time."

Siles was taken aback for a moment, and he said, "Can I switch the perspective to the puppet?"

"Of course." Qiuqiu said, "Dice and I will accompany you on this time and space journey... If there is any problem, we will remind you, don't worry too much."

So Siles sat back on the sofa.He closed his eyes, his thoughts and vision, as if his entire soul had been dragged to another place.

When the scene in front of him suddenly brightened, he noticed that he was in a dark alley, and the puppet was standing on the ground.He manipulated the puppet to walk carefully to the edge of the alley, and looked out.

... Kansas.Once upon a time in Kansas.

It used to be one of the most prosperous and lively cities in the world and the economic center of the Sardinian Empire.

After a long and short few hundred years from this time point, after the fall of Menawaka and the capital of the Sardinian Empire, Tauchitia, this place will become a brand new country, that is, Kansas in the Mist Age Principality.

However, it is not the middle of the fog.This is the silent period, full of dark clouds, crazy, twisted and frightening, the silent period that utters hoarse mourning in the long river of history.

The little puppet stood on the edge of the alley, quietly gazing at the city.

This is the day of spring.There are people coming and going on the street, and they all seem very lively.There are horses, vehicles, the shouts of businessmen, the smell of food, and occasionally even the sound of an airplane roaring overhead.This lush sight is startling.

Of course, there are also homeless people who died in dark alleys and were frozen to death during the long and severe winter of the past.

The puppet turned around and looked at the scene behind it again.In the city he saw just now, it was a bustling and bustling downtown area; but what he was facing at the moment was a gloomy alley that was not shrouded in sunlight and protected by commerce.

At the end of the alley there was a dead body.It was already full of bones, and the most embarrassing moment must have passed for a long time.The winter snow buried this nameless corpse, and the spring wind melted away the last flesh on his body.

The puppet also looked at the corpse quietly for a moment.

Dice bluffed in his mind: "Keeper! Get out of the way! Someone is coming!"

The puppet fell directly to the ground, pretending to be a useless doll abandoned by children.

What happened after that was surprising.

A group of homeless people came here.This alley seemed to be their home, but the appearance of this corpse made them feel deeply unlucky.While complaining, they planned to move the corpse away, and at the same time they were talking about going to drink for a while.

……drink wine?

The puppets lying aside wondered, are these people wandering poets?

They do seem to fit the title "vagrants" very well.They didn't notice the existence of the puppet, and quickly left with the corpse.A Kansas coin fell from the corpse's pocket, and it happened to land beside the puppet.

Unaware of the last gift of the dead, the tramps left.

The puppet stood up nimbly again, picked up the coin, and held it in its hand.He turned into an adult, using the appearance of the No. [-] doll itself.There is no mirror here, and he has no idea what he looks like.

He noticed that the clothes on his body were fairly normal long trousers, which were similar to those of the Kansas people outside the alley.He walked towards the entrance of the alley.

Someone happened to pass by, and just cast an inexplicable glance. I'm afraid he would be very suspicious, why such a well-dressed man would come out of the alley of homeless people.

But the Kansas have always had that apathetic indifference, and after just one glimpse, the man continued on his way.

Of course he would not know that the man passing by was a traveler from the future.

"...So, the image I'm using now is the image of Mr. Xia?"

"Yes." Qiuqiu whispered.

So the man—perhaps he can be called Mr. Xia now—showed a thoughtful smile.

He saw the group of homeless people carrying corpses on the busy street.People avoided, so he easily saw this group of people.He followed behind them.

The homeless men who carried the bodies to a mass grave in suburban Kansas stood in silence for a moment, as if in mourning, before leaving.Mr. Xia stood further away and saw this scene from afar.

After that, the tramps went to the tavern.Mr. Xia didn't know if the dead homeless man was a companion of this group of people, most likely not.But when they went to the tavern, their footsteps and conversations seemed quite heavy.

Soon, they came to a tavern.Compared with the image of the bustling neighborhood before, this neighborhood looks dilapidated and deserted.But there are also many people coming and going, most of them are in a hurry and look haggard.

The tramps swaggered into the tavern.But they just run into a man who was thrown out of the shop by the proprietress.The man was half-drunk and was arguing with the landlady, and the bums joined in, laughing and joking.

When Mr. Xia came over, he happened to hear the proprietress scolding.He couldn't help but stop, stared at the man for a moment, and then walked over.

He handed the proprietress a coin, then pointed to the man.

The proprietress looked at him suspiciously, tossed the coin, then shrugged and went back to the tavern.

Those homeless men looked at Mr. Xia in amazement, but they didn't bother to say anything, thinking that this man was just a rich man with a kind heart out of nowhere.They went into the tavern.

The drunk man who was being helped didn't understand what happened, only knowing that he hadn't been chased away, so he staggered into the tavern again.Mr. Xia followed him in.

They sat down at a dirty table.It was hot and dark in the tavern, but there was a lively, sweet alcoholic atmosphere that stuck them to the table.

The proprietress brought them each another glass of beer.

Mr. Xia thought to himself, it seems that that coin is more valuable than he imagined.He didn't drink, he just pushed the glass towards the person opposite.

The drunk man opened his eyes and looked at him. After a while, he hiccupped and said, "Oh, hello, hello... I'm Karakak! Who are you?"

His voice was slurred, and he spoke a not-so-standard Kansasian.

Mr. Xia couldn't speak, and couldn't answer the question, so he shook his head and pointed to the group of homeless people next to him.

"...They! They say they are poets...haha, are you a poet too?" Karakak said drunkenly, and he drank another half glass of wine, "You buy me?"

Mr. Xia nodded.

"Ah, well-meaning man," Karakak said, "good intentions don't pay off these days. But you're just buying me a drink anyway."

Mr. Xia pushed his wine glass in front of Karakak.

Karakak's eyes widened in surprise, and then he laughed loudly: "Okay! Poet, you buy me two drinks. That's really good."

He drank sullenly again, his expression looked like he was happy, but also depressed.He was about to pass out soon, but at this moment, a drunk man at the next table suddenly reached out and patted him.

"What time is it?" he asked aloud.

"...What!" Karakak snapped back to his senses, "Stupid thing! Don't you even know what time it is? This is March 3th, in the afternoon... I don't know what time it is, idiot!"

The drunk man giggled for a while, then staggered away.Probably going home.

Karakak opened a pair of eyes that were not sober. He stared at Mr. Xia opposite him for a while, and then said, "Oh, did you just ask me what time it is now? Why, you poet doesn't even have time Don't you remember?"

Mr. Xia just sat there silently, looking around thoughtfully.When Karakak said that, he came back to his senses and looked at the drunken tramp.There are many such people around.

He didn't answer the question, just pointed to the wine glass in front of him.There is still a lot of wine in it.

"...Thank you! My friend! Nice to meet you!" Karakak said loudly and vaguely, "I like this kind of people who buy me drinks!"

There is a smile in Mr. Xia's eyes, but perhaps there are more complex emotions.He looked at Karakak and thought, He can't do much more, he's just here - at most, just, only, buy Karakak a couple of glasses of wine.

He knew that this matter would be recorded in Karakak's diary.Hundreds of years later, this diary will be collected by the Church of the Past in the Mists, and will be borrowed by a professor of literary history named Siles Noel.

He also knew that many years later, when Karakak died in a foreign land, when his soul returned to the Tau Cemetery, this silent poet who suddenly appeared and disappeared, and bought him two glasses of wine, would appear in Karakak In the dream of the dead soul, it flashed by.

Karakak drank, occasionally muttering or complaining.About this damn life, about his lost hometown, about the cold and desolate winter, and the few boring cities he's been to.

Only he said.Mr. Xia just listened quietly.Soon, Karakak passed out.He was lying on the table, snoring, and fell into a deep sleep.

Mr. Xia looked at him for a moment, thinking of more and more things.Time, fate, fog, shadows... this huge, small world.

...the coincidence.

He suddenly smiled.He realizes that the ability to go back in time is pretty good too.

Maybe he can't do more, can't change those tragic stories, but he can also sit there at this moment when the winter cold has just passed, and silently invite his friend from the past to drink two glasses of wine , listening to the other party chat vaguely about their own life.

He even knew that he would appear in this old friend's diary and dreams, and after many years, he, who was still ignorant at that time, would see these things.

At that time, he would curiously guess who the poet who bought Karakak a glass of wine was.He will eventually know that this is Mr. Xia.But at the time he didn't realize that this was himself.

until now.

Life caught him off guard, a coincidence that seemed like a joke and a surprise.

"Goodbye, my friend." Mr. Xia said silently, "Nice to meet you."

People around are drinking happily.He got up and left the tavern.As he was leaving, he glanced back and noticed that the name of the tavern was "Jon."

Jon Tavern.

... I don't know what the detective would think about his name appearing here.he thinks.He remembered that the surname of the author of "The Poet's Fate" was also Jon.This is a coincidence of the same name.

When he looked back at the past and finally discovered that there was a surprise hidden in the long river of time, it was like a small wave struggling to sway, and finally managed to attract his attention.

He walked for a moment on the flat, spring-bright streets of Kansas City, and then came to an alley again.He closed his eyes and turned back into a puppet.Then, he withdrew his consciousness.

When Siles opened his eyes in Fisher's Mirror, he felt an indescribable trance and surprise.He hadn't expected to run into Karakak by accident.

Rather, fate seems to have decided the script of his "audition" a long time ago.

Another unsolved mystery has been solved.he thought.Why does Mr. Xia's face appear in the dream after Karakak's death?Why did Mr. Xia, who theoretically should have appeared after the period of fog, appear there?

Because, that is himself.

...and the culprit was myself.he thought helplessly.

This question had troubled him for a while, and made him doubt Mr. Xia's identity again.Now the answer to this question has emerged so naturally.

So, are those other questions about Mr. Xia that have troubled him, are he also doing it himself?

Like... Destiny Card?

Cendo had teased him about this before, but he didn't take it seriously at the time.But now, after actually meeting Karakak, he felt a little guilty instead.

...No, it's nothing.he said to himself.Come to think of it, now he could have a personal meeting with countless historical figures.

Although he couldn't do more, he still met these people in person - such as Conan Fremont, a writer who wrote a paper and put relevant content in his teaching notes, such as more history that he was interested in figure.

Isn't this quite an interesting scene?For him, history is no longer history now.

...Wait, having said that, the identity of "Siles Noel" was created by Antinam.Those literary knowledge can also be crammed quickly, but...

But who wrote that dissertation on Conan Freemont?

Siles sat silently on the sofa, his mind was a little erratic.

But soon, his emotions calmed down, and then he looked at the two glass balls in front of him again.

Qiuqiu whispered, "This is what it feels like to be active on the 'stage of history'. What do you think?"

Siles thought for a while, and said very frankly: "It's quite interesting."

He had to say that this incident brought him a touch and surprise beyond imagination.He seemed to be there, as if waking up from a dream, as if he had really returned to a certain time in the past.But in the final analysis, he is just manipulating a puppet to move on the "stage".

It felt half-real, but it was pretty amazing.

Qiuqiu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.It retracts the color in the glass cover, and then says: "You are still a human being... so, you can't go on the 'stage of history' too often... It would be better for you to do it every other day. "

Siles also nodded, thinking that it coincided with the time of the deep sea dream.

... From this perspective, Qin Duo is indeed more like a god than him.Cindo can enter Tau's Tomb every day, but Siles can still only enter the deep sea dream once twice.

This matter is troublesome, but considering the speed of information circulation in this world that people have to slow down, he can only sigh and warn himself not to bring the haste of the people on Earth to Fisher's world.

However, at this time, he also thought of the question discussed with Grenfell: Is it possible to use the power of the enlightener to construct a real-time communication method?

He thinks there should be, but right now they haven't been able to find inspiration.

Qiuqiu hesitated