Seeing Lan, Roland felt a little surprised, but also took it for granted, "Who are you?"
"A trapped person looking for help." Lan looked around, "I know you have a lot to ask me, we can sit down and talk slowly, just choose the seat by the window."
"You don't need to go to private room No. 302?" He watched helplessly as the other party chose a seat near the street and sat down.
"The agreed location is to avoid the eyes and ears. Since there are no other people here, naturally you can sit wherever you want." Lan said casually, "By the way, since it's a cafe, can you bring me an ice cream?"
"I thought the secret conversation was about a shocking secret, which made people nervous, and if it was leaked, it would lead to disaster."
"The value of a secret depends on the person who hears it. Not to mention staying underground all day long and guarding against the expansion of erosion, the nerves are already tense enough. After finally coming out, naturally it's better to relax." Lan replied slowly. Said, "A glass of ice cream, thank you."
Roland stared at her for a moment before he said, "I only have instant solubles here."
"It's okay."
Heck, he was clearly in his own territory, but it seemed like she was taking the guest back... He poured the coffee liquid and milk that had been brewed in the refrigerator into a cup, added two ice cubes, and brought it to the other side. During the whole process, his eyes never left Lan.
"Don't worry, I won't disappear out of thin air," Lan shrugged.
"That might be the case," Roland said without blinking his eyes. "I had contacted you with Garcia and visited Prism City twice, but at that time you seemed to have disappeared completely. Since you left a note behind. , why don't you talk to me directly?"
This time, Lan was silent for a long time before sighing in a low voice, "Because the time has not yet come, child."
Time... not yet? Roland paused, "You mean, let me discover that the red moon... is actually erosion, more credible than you tell me this?"
"Your response was quick, which made me expect a little more from you."
"Are you looking forward to helping you?" Roland couldn't help but snorted, "You don't look like someone in need of help at all."
"Then what kind of performance do you think will convince you? Impatiently begging? Holding your thigh and crying? Or promise a lot of rich rewards?" Lan shook her head, "No, even if I If you do, you won't easily believe that it will only make things worse."
How do you know the result if you don't do it? Roland wanted to reply half-jokingly, but he swallowed the words when they reached his lips. The other party is not a peer like Garcia. She is the chief disciple of the Martial Daoist Association, and Garcia's Master, the predecessor of his predecessors. If the time sigil seen in the Reflection Church is also included, then she is probably seven or eight hundred years old. Looking at the characters who seemed to have come out of history, he found that he couldn't help but restrain himself a lot.
"Okay..." Roland sat down opposite Lan and roughly sorted out the countless questions in his head, "You were a member of the Federation?"
"I have nothing to do with your world." Lan replied, "I was born here, and I will definitely sleep here, although this is an extremely long process."
"But I've seen your portrait in the Church of Reflection"
"It's not surprising that there are similarities in appearance," she interrupted, "not to mention that the records preserved in history have little reference value."
"It's a bit too coincidental." Roland frowned.
"If you stretch the timeline long enough, you'll find that any coincidence is just that. It's better to focus on the present rather than the past."
She might be unaware, or she might be hiding it on purpose, but Roland knew that without the assistance of Nightingale, he couldn't judge the authenticity of a few conversations with his level of observation. Since the other party answered like this, there is no point in tangling, so it is better to ask more questions.
"So... what exactly is magic?"
Lan raised the corner of his mouth, "You should have vaguely guessed that it is nothing. All existing systems can't explain it, because it doesn't belong to this world, just like low-dimensional creatures can't understand high-dimensional structures. At present, the only Knowing that, we can use it, so you can also describe it in a colloquial term: power acquired by chance."
Sure enough... just like the force of nature. Roland thought to himself, no, no... It's not accurate to say that, it's not that magic and nature are the same, but that they are the same thing. In order to explain to myself what magic is from another angle, the dream world has become what it is now. "Then the explanation you gave at the orientation meeting in Prism City... and the speculation in the book "Reason for Existence" are all... true?"
One is the origin and nature of erosion, and the other is the inference of the constant reincarnation of the battle of divine will, these two can be said to be the questions he most wants to figure out.
"It's not accurate, but you can think so." Lan replied unexpectedly cheerfully.
"I want to know the exact statement."
"That's beyond your comprehension ability, and you can't express it accurately in your writing system." She took a sip of coffee, "In addition, all my actions are under the supervision of the "God", and if I reveal it, it may endanger it. message, both worlds will be destroyed. So keep in mind that the only real answers are what you see for yourself. "
Roland couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth. Isn't that the same as saying bluntly, even if I lied, it's for you.
"It has the power to destroy the world?"
"That's why I use gods to refer to it. After all, this is the image in your consciousness that is the easiest to have this ability."
"What is the purpose of the gods?"
"Let the battle of divine will continue."
"Then what is your relationship with the gods?"
This time Lan didn't answer immediately, but hesitated, "I am the one who betrayed it."
"betray?"
"That's right, this kind of reincarnation will never end, and I don't want to be trapped in this inch of land forever. And reincarnation means wear and tear. One day, the gods will also disintegrate. At that time, no matter what world it is. It will become dead silent."
Roland scrutinized her for a while, "Then why you're looking for me..."
"I need your help, kid," Lan didn't avoid his eyes, "I need you to stop the battle of divine will and stop it completely."
"You mean, win the war?"
"No, that's just starting a new round of reincarnation," Lan shook his head, "If you want to stop this, you must replace the gods!"
Roland couldn't help being stunned, this answer... is really sensational.
He took a breath, "Sorry, please forgive me for refusing."
"Why?" Lan asked in confusion, and the expression on his face also changed somewhat from before.
"What you told me, I can't verify at all, not to mention that even you admit that you can only use ambiguous answers in order to avoid the supervision of the gods. Sometimes misleading often requires only one word, which means that I have You may have been cheated by you, and you are still counting the money for you. After all, you claim to betray the gods, wouldn’t it be easier to betray me?” Roland spread his hands, “Taking chestnuts out of fire is not something I am good at, so for such a great cause as replacing gods, you should still look for it. Someone else."
"If you can do it"
"Stop," Roland stretched out his hand. "Isn't it promised a lot of rich rewards? You said just now that this will only make things worse."
This time Lan stared at him for ten minutes, "No... I changed my mind."
"That's not very useful," Roland got up and poured himself a cup of coffee. "The short reward is like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey. It looks good, but it's meaningless if you don't eat it."
"You should at least listen to me."
"I said it before"
"You can bring the ashes back to the world."
"Crack!"
Roland was stunned for a moment, the cup in his hand slipped to the ground and shattered.