Just as the five members of the group left and prepared to start a new day, Yin Luna, yawning in the morning light, also followed her team to the western district of Tobesk, near the warehouse under the sky covered with abnormal black clouds.
Of course the church noticed the anomaly in the sky last night, and the results of the investigation showed that there were suspected angel-level relics in the urban area. Therefore, even the fully staffed team that Yin Luna was in was still only responsible for basic investigation work such as dressing up as police officers to ask people nearby about what happened last night. The ones who actually handled the core area were the twelve-ring and two thirteen-ring warlocks.
However, the team's investigation had not been going on for long before Yin Luna was called away and brought to the empty warehouse.
If Xia De were still here, he would be surprised that the warehouse has not collapsed even though such a large area of load-bearing walls was lost.
“It’s a serious problem.”
The 17-year-old girl sighed softly as she looked at the street scene near the warehouse that looked like it had been erased by an eraser. She looked around as she walked, and she didn't feel that this place was dangerous at all, because she knew that this was related to the actions of the Shade Group last night.
This warehouse area is closest to the church of the Church of Creation and Destruction, so Mr. Sari Pirot, the thirteenth ring warlock of the Church of Creation and the "Iron Right Hand", is in charge of the investigation. As for why the investigation led by the Mechanicus Church allowed the team of the Church of the Sun to conduct peripheral inquiries, it is because it involves angel-level relics, and according to regulations, no church can conduct an independent investigation.
"Ms. Beas, good morning, this way!"
Mr. Pirot was a tall, easy-going middle-aged man, but Yin Luna knew that the arm hidden in his right sleeve was unusual.
The thirteenth ring warlock stood in the warehouse and exchanged a few words with Yin Luna, and then explained that he wanted her to try to sense what was happening in this area. The chaotic spirits and restless whispering elements had not subsided until dawn. If an ordinary person entered the current warehouse, his body would probably change immediately.
"Divination is definitely useless. The investigation of the traces at the scene can only show that there were no less than three people here. Investigating the carriages or other traces in the vicinity last night, only the carriages of the royal family, MI6 and the police passed by, but they all had normal reasons. However, a nearby worker reported that he saw a skeleton horse pulling a pumpkin carriage. We can't be sure whether this is due to excessive fatigue and fainting."
Mr. Pirot explained, and Yin Luna nodded in understanding:
"Let me give it a try."
She summoned the Life Ring, and in front of the people's awed eyes, she turned it into a dark golden scale. Then, holding the glowing scale in both hands, she closed her eyes as the ends of her hair rose slightly.
After a long while, Yin Luna finally gave the answer:
"I feel the power of 'nothingness', which represents the power of emptiness and disappearance... It is very similar to the sage-level relic, the Ancient Sage's Smear Pen, which I came into contact with during my training in the Church, but it is more powerful."
The brown-haired girl who was assigned to work early in the morning completed her work diligently:
"It is indeed an angel-level relic, and a stronger one at that. I cannot track such chaotic elements, but I can try to use the talent of 'balance' to make the element levels here more normal. However, I will not completely erase the traces. I still suggest sealing this place off and it can only be used by ordinary people after at least half a year."
Mr. Pirot also supported Yin Luna's opinion, so Yin Luna continued to hold the dark golden scale and adjusted the restless whispering element to a relatively balanced state with the enlightenment element. Afterwards, she inquired about other investigation results, and after confirming that there was no progress, she prepared to find her team to continue the investigation:
"What on earth did Shade and Luvia experience last night? Is their group mission so dangerous? Isn't Saint Byrons too strict on correspondence students?"
She thought to herself and left from the warehouse door.
The police had cordoned off both sides of the street, and the ring wizards of the Church of Creation were standing at the street corners in police uniforms to prevent anyone from breaking in. As for the real police, they were searching the city for the carriage that left the ruts on the ground, but the carriage that carried the coffin had been eliminated by the relics, so they couldn't even divine the specific information. After Dorothy's pumpkin carriage turned back into a pumpkin at the dock, it was turned into a toy by Shade and then burned with fire.
Therefore, this investigation is unlikely to produce any results.
"Shad and Luvia, I think they weren't injured in what happened last night?"
Although she had confidence in them, she was still a little worried. At the same time, Yin Luna had already entered the alley in front of the warehouse gate, intending to take a shortcut back. This alley was also blocked, and the ring warlock in charge of guarding this place was on the street at the other end of the alley, after all, the view there was very open.
The alley is short, and if there is no garbage in the way, it only takes two or three minutes to walk through it. As for the garbage, it is not rotten food or dirty daily necessities, but metal products discarded by nearby factories. Including but not limited to scrapped steam cylinders, sawed-off steam pipes, and metal cabinets with missing cabinet doors.
When Yin Luna passed the metal cabinet against the wall, she saw a figure behind her side and the cabinet. She turned around subconsciously to defend herself, but then she saw that the figure behind the cabinet had no intention of attacking her.
It was a blond man in a white robe, holding a rolled-up parchment scroll in his hand, and looking at her with a mysterious expression that made him say only half of what he said. This man's appearance was not only out of place in this alley, but also out of place in this era.
When Yin Luna was training in the Vatican, she had only seen cryptic scholars, priests, and secret keepers wearing similar styles of clothing.
She frowned slightly, and her alert expression not only did not disappear, but became even stronger. The stranger in front of her looked normal at first, but gradually she could sense the whispering elements that were getting stronger and stronger. The parchment in his hand and his two eyes gave Yin Luna the feeling that he was clearly Luvia who was doing a special divination.
Carefully feeling the essence of the humanoid creature in front of him, for a moment he even felt that he had touched his true destiny. The future seemed to be concentrated in the hands of this humanoid creature, and the single point branched in his hands, extending into thousands of possibilities.
"Angel level? You are in the warehouse..."
After saying that, he felt something was wrong. There was clearly a power in the warehouse that could erase everything, and what was in front of him was fate.
Yin Luna subconsciously took a step back, and then she felt that her back had been soaked without her knowing when. The sunshine in the early morning of spring was not warm at all. On the contrary, she felt the coldness of the sun in her dizzy head:
"What if?"
His eyes suddenly widened, he couldn't believe that he had encountered this rumored unknowable level (level 0) relic.
"Yes."
The man nodded and said, seeing Yin Luna looking towards the alley entrance and wanting to call for help, he reminded her:
"Our conversation will not be known by anyone, nor will it be interrupted by anyone. I still have this basic ability. Dear Chosen Hero, I have no ill intentions. I just want to play three games with you."
"game?"
Yin Luna asked suspiciously, and then suddenly threw the Sunlight Gun upwards. Golden thunder exploded above the alley, but after waiting for a long time, no one came in to check the situation.
"If" shook his head:
"The chosen one of balance, the chosen hero, you don't have to be afraid of me. This is just a game."
As he spoke, he unfolded the parchment scroll and faced himself:
“If, and if. Although the future is uncertain, we all know that different choices will lead to different results, but people cannot be sure what the outcome of a certain choice will be.”
He looked past the parchment and towards Yin Luna:
"And this game called What If begins with you proposing a choice for the future, and I will simulate everything that happens next. This is not about predicting the future, nor is it about splitting the timeline to create a parallel space-time. This is just a game of What If."
Yin Luna did not relax her vigilance because of the other party's respectful title for her. She frowned, and the dark golden scale transformed by the life ring floated behind her:
"What if I refuse? I don't want to know about things that haven't happened yet. I want to witness the future I create with my own eyes."
"God's chosen hero, the protagonist of the stage, please forgive my rudeness, but please don't reject me. Please tell me, what choice will you make, and what will you do when you finish your work this morning?"
The man asked gently, and when Yin Luna still didn't speak, he asked again:
"Then answer me another question: If you have to sacrifice the person you love for the safety of this world, would you choose to do so?"
"Of course not."
Yin Luna answered without thinking, there was no need to think about it:
"Although people always think of me as a hero, I never think of myself as such. Between good and evil, I stand in the middle. Yes, maybe I am not so neutral, but more inclined to kindness, but I will never sacrifice the people I love... ... I am not a purely good and lawful ring sorcerer, otherwise I would have reported Xia... ... those things that harmed the interests of the church."
She answered smoothly:
"Maybe there are people who are willing to sacrifice everything for the world, but I won't do such extreme behavior. Good and evil are in my heart, and all I do is to find a balance. Your question is ridiculous. If you ask me if it is worth killing 10,000 people to save one person, I tell you, it is worth it."
Among all the first candidates for the election, except Yin Luna, everyone else has strange paranoia and ideas. In fact, Yin Luna does have "unique" ideas, but she met Xia De and Luvia, and the two never forced her to make any choices or decisions.
The man holding the parchment scroll smiled, seeming satisfied with the answer:
"The way of balance is indeed suitable for you. So what if I tell you that you can use 'what if' to peek into the tragedies that might happen and avoid them? This is not playing with time and fate, because this is really just a game."
Yin Luna still shook her head:
"I won't believe the unknowable relic. The future is in my hands. I don't need games."
"Okay then—you can't leave without playing a game."
The man continued to talk with a smile.
"If you had said so earlier, wouldn't we have saved time? Next, I'm going to number six St. Teresa's Square to find Shad Suellen Hamilton."
According to the experience of "Dice Story Collection", when encountering something that you cannot handle by yourself, the best option is to ask Shade for help.
The man nodded, looked at the unrolled parchment in his hand, and read the words on it. As he spoke, the golden thread in the air between the two of them outlined the contents of the reading in beautiful cursive Delarian letters:
You are Yin Luna Emilia Bei Si, the chosen hero, the chosen one of balance, the protagonist of the stage.
This morning, you were awakened by a knock on the door and participated in a unique investigative mission organized by the church.
You have completed your investigation of the warehouse district, and you have learned that there were unusual cat noises in the neighborhood last night, but this does not identify any individual;
You concealed all the truths you knew and applied for a vacation from your captain. The captain understood your busy schedule and agreed to your application.
You took a carriage to number six, Place Sainte-Teresa, and your conversation with the coachman informed you of his miserable life, and your mood became low;
You saw the shabby door of number 6 Saint Teresa's Place and were puzzled by its shabby appearance and the boarded-up windows;
You ask a kind person walking his dog near the square about the situation and learn that this is a famous haunted house in the local area;
You still knocked on the door, and it was opened. The gatekeeper of doomsday, the caretaker of the shelter, the undead of eternal humanity, and the bound gray-headed eagle received you.
"Wait? Who are these four people in Shade's family?"
Yin Luna widened her eyes in surprise, suspecting that Xia De's house had been mysteriously invaded.
"No, these are not four people, these are four titles for the same person."
"What if" reminded Yin Luna, she blinked and saw the golden thread in front of her continued to flow, weaving new content:
The soul that opened the door asked: The end has not yet come, chosen hero, how did you find this place? Did the Daughter of Destruction Time, who broke into this place several times, give you a hint? No, she has not defeated me yet, she cannot use this place at will.
Yin Luna could no longer understand this situation, but at least she remembered that Shade had said that the "Grey Eagle" was Sparrow Hamilton.
"I... ... "
You cannot answer the soul's questions, but you know you should not be here at this point in time;
The gatekeepers have launched an attack on you;
You are dead.
"ah!"
Yin Luna screamed in surprise, and then watched the golden thread in front of her explode into dots of light. She covered her head, feeling as if it had been hit hard by a hammer, and then touched her nose, where the blood slowly flowed to her lips. The smell of blood did not panic her, but the fact she had just learned made her panic:
"Spyro Hamilton's soul has already reached its end, how could it appear in... Wait! The dilapidated number six St. Teresa's Square? The nailed window? He said I shouldn't come at this time? The Daughter of Destruction Time who guided me? I understand, I understand, I understand, there is only one truth—"
In her aching head, her thoughts became clearer than ever before. Yin Luna gritted her teeth and looked at the other person, at the parchment:
"What if... What if... In the future you simulated, Shade didn't exist at all! This is a future without Shade!"