The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Good evening, Alfonso."

"Good evening, Professor..." Folklorist Alfonso Carlyle stared at Mr. Ghost's face for a moment, then shook his head, "I'm not used to addressing you like that."

Mr. Ghost smiled, and said, "Perhaps you can call me a ghost in the dream."

Alfonso was noncommittal, and he said instead: "Dreamland is a wonderful place, I can achieve whatever I want here, and we can also ignore the long distance and meet here."

"Dreams are different from reality." Mr. Phantom said objectively, "This is a wonderful power."

Alfonso's dream is the vast wilderness of the withered wasteland, not far from a small inn.Farther away, Mr. Phantom could see lofty mountains and misty clouds.The gray-black mist was trapped on the side, looking tired and indifferent.

"...Let me also show you where we are now." Alfonso laughed, "We are in a small post in the west of the Land of No Embers, and we are going to explore the mountains in the south."

"In the mountains?"

Mr. Phantom couldn't help being a little puzzled.

The mountains south of the Everlands... Booth Mountains?

That's the roof of Fischer's world, and where Trisley fell.

Mr. Ghost's dark eyes shrank unconsciously, and he asked calmly, "Are you planning to go to the Booth Mountains?"

"Still planning a specific route." Alfonso said, "But it is very likely to go there. Because of the oasis, Angus's expedition team lost a lot of manpower, and he plans to use this opportunity to recruit Some new explorers.

"We will go all the way south... To be honest, I kind of want to cross the Booth Mountains and see the situation on the other side of the mountain. It is said that there is a scene of a civilization that is completely different from ours.

"In the past, the fog always shrouded the Eternal Land and the Booth Mountains, but now the fog is gradually dissipating. Even if it does not dissipate, we can still try to do something with the ritual of 'returning ourselves'. This makes Many explorers are eager to try."

Mr. Ghost nodded.For the time being, he put aside the doubts and anxiety in his heart, and asked instead: "How is the Land of No Embers now?"

"It's the same thing," Alfonso said. "People are busy exploring the mists. Honestly, it even makes Everland seem a lot calmer, because everyone doesn't want to argue with each other.

"Of course, someone did find something, riches, treasures, secrets...it could be anything. Gossip is never absent in the Everlands.

"However, this is also a vast enough land, and people are scattered in it, so it's hard to say what kind of news is circulating in different areas. For example, on my side, which is the west of the Eternal Land, the rumors are basically related to certain people. related to a particular deity.

"Pesonari, Trisley, Thaddeus, Menawaka... are basically these four. Their believers, their power, the treasures they left, etc., all rumors possible."

These four gods?

Mr. Ghost thought for a while, and then recalled a rather old message that he didn't pay much attention to.

From "Gods and Worshipers in the Shadows" by Jan Calder.He said Menawaka had a crush on Trisley.

And Trisley, judging from the current information, seems to have been swallowed by Pessonari.Pessonari broke with Thaddeus and Ruthmi because of the "shadow" they gave birth to.

There is also a rumor that in the more distant Imperial Age, Ruthmi's kingdom of God, the Mingguang Empire, was brought down by Menawaka and his followers using economic means.

... Then again, although I don't know what the term "secret love" refers to (maybe Menawaka wants to "eat" Trisley), but this happened in the Shadow Era.

In the early period of Silence, Menawaka was replaced by "Shadow" because of Huddoka's affairs.

Empire, Shadow, and Silence.The entanglement of these gods lasted quite a long time.

However, the reason why Mr. Ghost pays attention to this point now is because of... "Trisley".

Alfonso and the others are going to explore the Booth Mountains; the shadow believers seem to have not yet completed the paintings corresponding to Trisley and Pesonari; It was on the Canla River that Trisley's power was reproduced.

Trisley, Trisley, Trisley.

The god of mountains and rivers, the messenger of nature, Trisley.

This god was one of several gods born earlier.

People generally believe that life and death, stars and mountains, dreams and seas are the gods who were born earlier.

Of course, people don't know that life and death, stars and mountains are separated from the "real" power, while the dream and the sea, one comes from the "illusory" power, and the other is the combination of nature and human will. .

Together with Thaddeus and Pessonari, Trisley once became the patron saint of the distant ancient empire Augustus.Together, they protected this glorious empire for a long time, until the gods of life and death turned against each other.

After that, Trisley never became the patron saint of any human country.It seems that after that, Trisley seems to be drifting away from human beings.

In the story of Cynthia, the incarnation of Akamala, it is mentioned that ambitious people set fire to the forest, causing the forest to become a desert.It's hard to say if this has anything to do with "Shadows," but this short story also seems to point to something that happened in reality.

Humans seem to have conquered and transformed nature, but nature has retaliated in its own way.

Some animals (including humans) contaminated by Trisley will become mutated creatures.Many of these creatures have wreaked havoc on people in the Neverlands, in the wilds, and in the eerie depths.

For example, a group of underground creatures that Qindo encountered in Gainesd in the Land of No Ashes, they were afraid of light and hated any outsiders who broke into the territory.For another example, during the war in the Principality of Conster in the early period of the Mist, Mr. Xia once fought against the mutated creatures that came from the Mist.

The birdmen of the Never Ashes are considered such creatures, although they are harmless mutations.However, Birdman was actually mutated into this way by being polluted by Ruthmi, and people just pushed the whole thing on Trisley.

The fact is that the mutated creatures caused by Trisley's pollution are far more brutal, crazy, and ferocious than the birdmen, and these creatures seem to be very hostile to humans.

And one thing that is easily overlooked is that although human souls will indeed be polluted by the old gods after the fall of the old gods, will human beings not be polluted before the fall of the old gods?

Many of the problems that are troubling people now probably existed before the Silent Era.

Trisley fell in the 14th year of the Silent Era, according to Qiuqiu.He is the second fallen god of the Silent Era, sandwiched between Erkoo and Huddoka.

He was devoured by Pessonari and fell in the Booth Mountains south of what is now the Eternal Land.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the place where Thaddeus fell was a desert in the southwest of the Land of Embers; the place where Pesonari fell was a hill in the northwest of the Land of Never Embers.These two gods were killed by Antinam himself.

...he had heard of the Booth Mountains in many places.

After being influenced by the power of Pessonari, Garland named the majestic mountain that appeared in her dream "Booth", as if she had heard the name somewhere.

A manuscript of travel notes collected by the Playa family. Its owner is Felix Mitchelson, who was born in the early Silent Era.He went hiking in the Booth Mountains in more than 100 years of the Silence Era, but accidentally fell into the valley and died.

These two things, especially the former, made Mr. Ghost feel worried.

In addition, he himself has an unexpected connection with Trisley: [Boots of Nature].The boots that accompanied him on many of his travels were thanks to Trisley's power.

... All in all, Trisley is a lesser-known old god.

Most of his believers are obsessed with mountains and rivers and immersed in nature.People also often forget about the existence of Trisley, especially after the collapse of the August Empire.In a way, Trisley's disciples came close to Lygardia's disciples.

Could what happened in Ramifa City have something to do with Trisley?

It doesn't seem impossible.

Polluted river water, polluted livestock... the meat of mutated creatures.It sounds logical.

At the moment when Mr. Ghost was thinking and remembering, Alfonso did not stop his words.

He went on to say: "There is a rumor that Menawaka hid his fortune in the hills from the northwest of the Never Ember, to the desert in the southwest of the Ever Land, to the south of the Ever Land. Booth Mountains, somewhere in this zigzag."

"Menawaka's wealth?" Mr. Ghost couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Alfonso shrugged: "After all, Menawaka is the god of merchants. People always think that merchants are misers, so naturally Menawaka must also have a huge fortune.

"Besides, Menawaka was the last god to fall. After him, Anti-Num was born. There is a gap in the middle. So some people think that Menawaka may have gathered other gods wealth.

"...Even if the gods themselves don't know how to collect wealth or do business, their believers will still sacrifice something to them. Besides wealth, what else can the believers of Menawaka sacrifice?

"Slowly, the rumor of 'Menawaka's wealth' spread in the west of the Never Emberlands. As for the broken line, I'm not very clear about it, maybe it's just a casual word. "

Mr. Ghost felt a little ironic.

Why do gods collect human treasures?Besides, does Shadow know what people think?

And this so-called "broken line"... runs through the place where Pessonari, Thaddeus, and Trisley fell. He doesn't believe that people say it casually.

...Perhaps, just like the conspiracy of the House of Hales, this is just a rumor manipulated by shadow believers or followers of the old gods.They just want human death to fill this horrible plot.

Maybe this rumor has existed since earlier, since it is "Menawaka's wealth".Perhaps in the late period of Silence, when the prototype of the Land of Never Embers had already appeared, people had already begun to be interested in this so-called wealth.

"You're interested in this?" Alfonso was keenly aware of this. "Maybe I can gather more information. Such rumors are always very popular in the Land of Never Embers."

Mr. Phantom nodded and said, "I'm really curious. However, considering the current situation, you must also pay attention to safety and concealment. In addition, it may be best to pay attention to the relevant information of Trisley."

He considered it for a while, and then roughly told Alfonso what happened in Ramifa City.He also mentioned the issue of the Booth Mountains and hoped that Alfonso would pay more attention to it.

Alfonso was very surprised. He sighed: "These followers of the old gods are really crazy. I will pay attention to these issues."

Mr. Ghost nodded in the same way.

He then mentioned what he really wanted to ask Alfonso: "About the tribal ruins that you and Emanuel have been to... I have something to ask you."

"Oh...a distant memory." Alfonso said jokingly, "What do you want to ask?"

"I suspect that followers of the old gods are hiding in similar places today." Mr. Ghost said succinctly, "Do you think this is possible?"

Alfonso pondered for a moment, and then said: "Now I know that we accidentally stepped into that area, so we were trapped in it. However, if we realized it at that time, We may never get out.

"...Ignorance is the safest. Perhaps this is a self-deception. But if the followers of the Old God want to 'actively' hide in it, then they must have more information."

"Indeed." Mr. Ghost said, "They may have mastered this power."

He thought for a while, and then said: "But maybe, only a small number of people know the truth. You know, most of the followers of the old gods are crazy, and they may not have noticed the situation around them, nor realized I have entered a rather special place.

"They're just put there, hiding for a while. They probably don't suspect what this place is. Only the people above them, a few, know the truth."

The internal structure of shadow believers is divided into three categories: "people who decide", "people who work" and "people who hide".Nowadays, the hidden people have basically been classified into the working people, but perhaps, only the "deciding people" know their final plans.

And Mr. Ghost is very sure that Ebenezer Const is probably one of the people who made the decision.

Suddenly Alfonso said: "It's possible. Going back to your question... I think it's possible. It could be a hiding place, and it's a good place to do it.

"It's a place...like stepping on the edge of reality and fiction. People can go in freely and ignore this place inadvertently."

Mr. Ghost also agrees with this statement.

Take the space behind the door of the Historical Society and the salon as an analogy. To ordinary people, it is just an ordinary door; It is difficult to realize the strangeness behind it.

...But, having said that, it is impossible for them to actually open every door in La Mifa City in person.

Moreover, the entrance to the hiding place of these shadow believers may not necessarily be a door.

Maybe it's the shadow of a building, maybe it's a painting, maybe it's the shadow of a painting... anything is possible.

Brutal law would be an option in the last resort; but at least for now, they still need to continue to investigate.

After getting confirmation from Alfonso, Mr. Ghost also breathed a sigh of relief.

The only objects he can compare are the dream bubbles in the deep sea dream and the salon space in reality, both of which are within the scope of Akamala's power.He wasn't sure what the difference would be in the space formed by the power of other gods.

Fortunately, from Alfonso's statement, there seems to be no obvious difference (referring to its internal situation) between the two.

...However, will there be such a "space" in Lygardia?

After saying goodbye to Alfonso and returning to the isolated island in the deep sea dream, Mr. Ghost asked Qindo this question.

Qin Duo showed a subtle expression, and he said, "Is that...the grave?"

They looked at each other for a moment.

Mr. Phantom suddenly recalled an association he once had, based on the ritual of [Time Correction].At that time, he realized that this rather tasteless ceremony didn't seem to have many applicable scenarios, so he thought of a person hiding in a tomb...

...and is it really possible for Lycardian power to create such a place?

Mr. Phantom shook his head helplessly. He said: "I just realized that the power of the gods will gradually become related to the real world when it develops to the end. In the end, the power of the gods will still intervene in the real world."

"The 'paradise' was also formed." Qin Duo said thoughtfully, "...Maybe I should also think in this direction... This will help me further grasp the power of Lygardia."

Mr. Ghost nodded. He thought of the conversation he had just had with Alfonso, and then said, "Let's go to your dreamland."

"What's wrong?" Qin Duo took his hand affectionately.

"I thought of Felix Mitchelson." The name made Cindo show an obvious blank expression, so Mr. Phantom had to explain, "When we went to Kansas, the one you gave me The owner of that manuscript."

Qin Duo pondered for a moment, and then decisively skipped this topic: "So you want to find his soul?"

"...Yes." Mr. Ghost said, he knew that Qindo must not remember, but it didn't matter, "He died in the Booth Mountains, and now I have doubts about his death."

Soon after, they found the man's soul in Tau's cemetery.

He died in a foreign land, and the Praia family collected his body for him.He was only 30 years old when he died, and the flower of life withered while he was still young.On the face of his pale soul, there was still the fear and astonishment when the accident happened.

He slipped down a valley while hiking in the Booth Mountains and died, and his spirit still wears the same mountaineering suit.His limbs and head seemed to have been pierced by branches or something, and his limbs and cheeks were covered with wounds and blood.

His torso, by comparison, appeared to be unscathed.

Mr. Ghost and Qin Duo looked at the soul for a moment, and then checked his dream.

...a sunken valley.

The valley was full of flowers and full of spring scenery. Felix stood on the edge of the valley and hesitated for a while, then took a step carefully. He seemed to want to go down the mountain and take a look in the valley.

The situation suddenly changed at this moment, as if some messy and crazy pictures suddenly flashed in front of Felix.

He saw blood flowing and blooming in the valley.He saw the flowers stained with blood, soaked with blood, and became extremely vivid.He saw a bloody, drying river.

...he heard whispers.So the blood flowed from his ear, and a flower grew out of his ear.Every strand of his hair, every fine hair, seems to have become the root of a flower.

The pain made him sober for a moment. He wailed and pulled off the countless blooming flowers on his face.

He heard the spring wind whistling past his ears again, bringing a burst of unimaginable joy.He danced and made a bouquet of flowers from his face, ears, brain, and limbs.

Confusion, madness, joy and a moment of rationality, calmness, and fear appeared alternately on his face.His eyes gradually became empty, and with a pop, flowers jumped out of his eye sockets.

He laughed out loud at that moment, and threw himself down the valley.

The moment the body was lifted into the air, all hallucinations disappeared.He saw the beautiful flowers and flourishing trees in the valley, as well as himself stained red with blood.

His body is like the soil, his limbs are like the branches, and his head is like the flower.He became a beautiful plant in the valley.

He tried his best to insert himself in the valley, growing quietly like this.

Maybe it has been a long time, or maybe it was just a moment, he moved his head in a daze, and suddenly found that he couldn't bloom.So he crawled on the ground and left the valley bit by bit.

He wants to ask others, why can't he bloom?Where are his flowers?

The moment he climbed to the top of the valley, he suddenly woke up.He cried out, out of pain, out of madness.He rolled on the ground in pain, and then crawled away from here.

He gradually couldn't remember anything, and when he was really weak and dying to find a helper, he had completely forgotten what happened in the valley.He just remembered that he accidentally fell into the valley and was seriously injured.

...and then, now.It's now.He is going to die.

When he died, he was still holding his head, muttering why... Of course, no one knew, including himself, why he was holding his head.

...The picture of the dream bubble suddenly went black, and then started a new cycle.

But they don't want to watch it again.

Mr. Ghost reached out and popped the dream bubble.

Qin Duo let out a heavy breath, he hugged Mr. Ghost sideways, lowered his head and leaned his forehead on Mr. Ghost's shoulder."It's disgusting," he said sullenly.

Blossoming heads...other kinds of heads blooming.

...Maybe it can be referred to as "brain flower" for short?

Mr. Ghost also felt a little uncomfortable.He sighed in his heart, thinking that these old gods' pollutions were all messed up things.

Felix Mitchelson is clearly one unlucky fellow.

When he was hiking, he might have accidentally passed by the real place where Trisley fell.He was polluted in an instant, and made very crazy actions and had very weird hallucinations in the pollution.

...Or maybe it wasn't a hallucination, but Felix's mutation after being contaminated.

After stumbling away from that place, he did regain some sanity, and even forgot about those terrible pictures (because it was far beyond the range of his will).But the serious injuries he had suffered eventually cost him his own life.

And Mr. Phantom is very suspicious, even if Felix can survive at that moment, he will always be immersed in that bloody valley for the rest of his life, and he will never be able to escape.

That would be pollution everywhere.

They all fell silent for a moment.

After a while, Qindo whispered: "If this kind of pollution spreads in Lamifa City, will everyone become like this?" He paused, "Grow flowers on the head?"

"Nobody's sure," whispered Mr. Phantom. "Pollution seems to be different for different people."

He once conducted more in-depth research on spiritual pollution.He found that even with the same patron path and similar rituals, for different enlighteners, the manifestations of spiritual pollution caused by them are different.

Some people may be troubled by nightmares or hallucinations, some people may have a big change in temperament, some people may be sleepy, exhausted, lethargic, and some people may be unbelievably hyperactive and nervous.

In addition, large-scale pollution is quite rare.

This kind of pollution may spread, and it is difficult to find out in a short time, because people may have been polluted when they find out, and then they think it is normal and not worth paying attention to.

...In short, if the situation really develops to that extent...

He might have to make a judgment for the whole city.

However, he had judged a dozen or so people at one go before.

If he suddenly raised the number level to the level of "ten thousand", he would almost push himself to the brink of being "polluted" by the power of fate.

Mr. Ghost had to sigh in his heart.He said: "Let's take precautions first."

Qin Duo nodded, and he whispered: "I will let the Praia family pay attention to the relevant situation."

Mr. Ghost nodded, but also added: "However, let them pay attention to safety."

"I will," Cinder said.

Mr. Ghost kisses Gindor and bids him goodbye.He himself had to go to the Mirror of Fisher.

"Good evening, Keeper."

When he came to Fisher's mirror, two light spots flashed out, jumped onto the sofa opposite him, and greeted him.

"Good evening," said Siles.

"You haven't been here for several days." Dice said plaintively, "Are you so busy in reality? Of course, I can understand your vigilance towards 'Shadow' and those believers, but when I can only talk to this stupid When the balls were together, I couldn't help feeling a little sad.

"Once, I could only be trapped in the same eye socket as this silly ball. Then, I went to your home planet Earth. I was amazed by the entertainment culture there! I learned a lot, and even understood that you play The rules of the running group game.

"However, after you came to this world, you don't seem to like the rules I set for you. You don't seem to like interacting with me in this way... If you need anything else, 'Fate' Power can work for you too...

"Oh, as long as you don't just throw my old 'dice' on the sidelines!"

After Dice's voice fell, Qiuqiu said softly: "I am considerate of your busyness, Keeper of Secrets... But... I also agree with... what Dice said..."

Siles: "..."

There was a tinge of irony in his heart.It seemed like he had really let the two forces feel alone, even though the last conversation was only five days ago.

For a long time, he has been treating the two glass balls of Fisher's mirror similarly to the dolls of Kanyo Farm. Every time he comes to the deep sea dream, he will come to chat and talk with them.Maybe not for long, but it will happen anyway.

It's hard to say whether the glass ball and the doll have self-will in the human sense, but they do have different personalities.Sometimes it is difficult for Sirius to see them simply as the embodiment of the power of the gods.

"I'm sorry." Siles said almost gently, "The past few days were indeed quite busy. In addition, because the 'Shadow' may also be paying attention to Ramifa City, I don't intend to communicate with you in reality. We can only meet in the mirror of Fisher."

Qiuqiu was easily soothed, rolled slowly on the spot twice and stopped talking.But Dice still muttered a few words in a low voice.

So Siles said again: "It's not that I don't like this kind of power. It's just that I'm not used to controlling the fate of others. I will use this kind of power only at critical moments. Doesn't this show that you of importance?"

"...Oh, this really touched the dice. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and tenderness...Thank you very much." The dice babbled, and it rolled and bumped the ball. "Silly ball! Don't you think so?"

"Yes, what the keeper said was right, and what Dice said was also right." Qiuqiu said with a good temper.

Dice has always been a lively and talkative character. After saying a few words so seriously and ramblingly, his unhappiness seemed to disappear immediately.

It became cocky again, and said, "We do understand your caution! So, what do you want from us today?"

Siles could not help but smile because of the performance of these two light spheres.He couldn't express it, but he did feel that it was like having two little furry animals by his side.

...From this perspective, there are quite a few furry animals around him.

He didn't express his thoughts, and soon mentioned the business.

He first asked about a detail he noticed just now: "Dice, you just said that if I want, you can also change the rules of running the group to something else?"

"Yes, but... I don't really recommend you to do this." Dice said, "The rules of running a group are a manifestation of the power of fate. It can indeed be changed, but if you change it, you have to start all over again."

Siles understood, and he said again: "However, I noticed that I haven't encountered any attribute changes or judgments recently?"

"Because your current attribute is already high enough, it is not so easy to increase." Dice said, "In addition, only when you encounter something in reality will your attribute increase.

"For example, your previous communication with Anti-Nam can theoretically increase the knowledge attribute. However, your conversation took place in Fisher's Mirror, so it can't be counted.

"This is a rule I set...of course, mainly because the god universe is not within the influence of the power of 'fate'."

Siles understood.He had faintly realized these things before, but now he got confirmation from the mouth of the dice.

He thought for a moment, and then said, "Is there any way for me to actively improve the attribute of will?"

The dice was silent for a moment, then it jumped up on the sofa and said, "Don't push yourself!"

Siles laughed, and said, "But, I need the attribute of will now."

It is very likely that he will face the "shadow".

When people face these gods, maybe they get a judgment value of just over 90, but that doesn't mean that the will attribute of the god itself is only over 90.The will attribute of any god must be 100.

Judgment values ​​of ninety and above are in the category of gods.

It is more appropriate to say that when a judgment involving a god occurs, the judgment result will be a random number between 90 and 100.

If the running group is just a game, then the result of this judgment may be randomly determined by the dice; but now this so-called judgment is mixed with the power of fate, so the result of this judgment will be determined by the fate dice.

Thus, this randomness becomes the result of a certain "fate".

Specifically speaking of facing the "shadow" in Siles' imagination, if the "shadow" wants to pollute his soul, and he can only use the power of fate to make a comeback, then in this case, what he faces There may be only one judgment result: 100.

This is the worst possible outcome, but also the most likely.

He has encountered pollution directly related to gods, such as accidentally seeing rotten stars in the sky in a deep-sea dream, such as seeing sacrifices in the sea next to the storm in the Furiou Sea.

But in neither case is he "facing" the god.

Needless to say, Luthmi had already fallen, and "Shadow" hadn't noticed Sirius' peeping at that time.This means that the judgment result he encountered at that time cannot be compared to the result he will face in the end.

"Shadow" may discover his enemy, may deal with this problem seriously, may erode his soul destructively... No matter how you think about it, the number 100 is the result he is destined to face.

Therefore, he had to increase his Will attribute to 100 to be able to resolve this deadlock.

He does have a brooch of [Silence of Heart], and this ceremony did help him a lot.However, he used this ritual before only to deal with the pollution of those fallen old gods.

And the "Shadows" are living gods.Is this ritual really that useful when confronting the "shadow" directly?

In addition, the power of the Revelator essentially comes from those old gods, from Antinam, and from the world of Fischer.For "Shadow", this is something that can be destroyed at will.

Siles didn't want to take any risks, he couldn't simply pin down the winner of the fateful endgame to a small brooch.

Therefore, his only choice is to improve his will attribute—more precisely, to make his soul stronger.

...His current will attribute is 96 (+1) points.That additional point was obtained when the Historical Society accepted the commendation ceremony. Simply put, it came from the power of Antinam.

Even counting this, he is still three points away from 100 points.That's a pretty long distance.

How could a person's soul be so powerful in a short period of time?

... But, then again, did the conversation between him and Antinam in Fisher's Mirror really not bring him any improvement in attributes?He felt his worldview was shocked several times that night.

According to Dice, only thoughts and awakenings related to himself that occur in reality can affect his will attributes.

To put it bluntly, "comprehension" in the universe of the gods is actually meaningless at all.Because as long as you walk a few more laps in the universe of gods, you can encounter countless gods and worlds, which are all complicated and profound things.

these concepts,