“It is indeed a closed loop, including my previous experiences…”
Xia De nodded and looked at the silent black-robed god across the table:
"Before you declare the bet officially over, may I ask a few questions?"
He tried his best to be respectful, but the god still did not speak, so Shade could only try to ask directly:
“About the impermanence of things…”
“They come from the beginning, the beginning of the beginning, the origin of everything, and will move towards the focus of everything.”
The black-robed god beside the table seemed to be able to say only "yes", and these words were spoken by the corpses in varying degrees of decay against the wall.
"initial?"
Shade looked at the bodies on the wall one by one, and Mr. Riddle asked curiously:
"What first?"
"Can't you hear me? Oh, okay then."
Since the gods didn't want Mr. Riddle to hear it, he didn't explain.
"Future man, have you ever thought about it?"
The skeleton asked the question. Beside him was a rusty one-handed sword, and no one knew how many years it had been lying there.
"Why are the rules of the Vientiane Impermanence card that you saw based on a point-competition rule?"
This was the question asked by the highly decomposed female corpse. All the jewelry on her body had decayed, except for the jewel brooch in front of her heart, which seemed to have merged with her flesh and blood.
"Why?"
"The events of the Sixth Epoch haven't happened yet, so I don't know."
Said the corpse of a man wearing a yellow cap who looked like he had just died.
Shad looked at its closed eyes again. He was sure that God must know the reason. The innocent creator once said that He did not know what would happen in the future, but in fact, everything was still going on according to His arrangement until He had been gone for a long time.
"Could it be that... the rule of the Vientiane Card is to compete for points, and this is only the case in the Sixth Era? In the older times, the rules on the Vientiane Card were not the same as the rules of the Rhodes Card? Instead, they were rules such as the venue turning into night when entering?"
He got no answer, but the silence itself was an attitude.
"But why? What is the purpose of these cards, these games?"
He wondered, but still couldn't get an answer.
Twenty minutes were about to end, and seeing that the god was unwilling to give more hints, Shade could only give up asking. The kindness of the innocent creator came from Shade's help and his identity as a "child", and the kindness of the Yaobian Gate came from Shade's relationship with the father of the infinite tree.
Not all gods would be willing to help, and Shade had known this a long time ago. The only pity was that he had actually thought that if he had enough time, he could gamble with the gods on Rhodes cards, which would be very interesting, but there was not enough time.
Just as the thought of "betting Rhodes with God" came to mind, the black robe opposite Mr. Riddle suddenly moved. The hand in the sleeve seemed to shake, and the only unbroken card on the table, the man of the future, flew in front of God.
Then, some light particles floated out from the other sixteen cards, forming two new cards together. One card had a witch on it, and the other had a full-length portrait of Mr. Riddle on it. The three cards were arranged side by side, with their backs facing up. Black Card swept his sleeves, and the blank card backs became the holy emblem of the god of gambling.
They changed positions so quickly that the naked eye could not tell, and then suddenly stopped. Now, even Mr. Riddle knew that the god wanted Shade to guess which card the man of the future was.
"Try it now."
Mr. Riddle urged with anticipation because he knew he could go home now and had no burden.
"Which one?"
Xia De asked in his heart.
I don't know, that's not an ordinary exchange of positions. All you can rely on is your luck.
Hesitated for a moment, his eyes lingered on the three cards:
"Right one."
He pointed to the right, and then leaned over to look at the same time as Mr. Riddle. The first card on the right was turned over, and it was the person of the future.
"It seems you are really lucky."
Mr. Riddle praised with a smile.
The two cards that were not selected turned into light and flew towards Shad. Shad did not stop them and let them enter his body through his forehead.
First up is the card with the Witch on it:
Stranger, you feel the "miracle".
You have been blessed.
If you get lucky once, you will definitely get the best luck the next time you engage in gambling-related activities.
Those witches who appeared in the "Gamble of Life" should all believe in this god. This blessing represents a help given by God to Shade.
Next came the card with "Mr. Riddle" on it:
Stranger, you feel the "miracle".
You have been blessed.
Mortal luck, from now on, you can show extraordinary luck in any gambling game.
Mr. Riddle could indeed be said to be the luckiest mortal that Shad knew, a trait that would probably make Dr. Schneider, who was not very lucky, very envious.
"But, 'this moment' means now?"
Shad pointed to himself.
"Or now?"
Shad pointed to the ground again.
"This is a reward for your courage."
The voice came from across the table, and Shad looked up in disbelief. This time it was Him who was speaking, and he was using the common language of Draerion from the Sixth Epoch.
To be honest, Shade had suspected that the person playing the game of life with the two of them was actually just a robe, but this sentence undoubtedly showed that "He" was always there. The power of the sound, space and time seemed to condense at this moment.
Across the table is God, who is really involved in the game.
"If you were from the same era as me, I would be happy to have you become my favored one."
He said it softly, as if stating a fact. Mr. Riddle still couldn't hear what he said, so he was very surprised that Shade's expression changed several times in just half a minute.
"Then everything is impermanent..."
"This is the deepest secret of the ancient gods, even more important than the world itself. It concerns everything. Go collect them, unexpected person. When you get all thirteen cards of the impermanence of all things, even when you face the most terrible ending in the end, it can at least give you the final comfort."
"but... ... "
"The game of life is over!"
The corpses by the wall announced in unison, in a tone like the finale of an opera:
"Sledge Riddle wins!"
The 16 broken cards on the gambling table turned into star-like lights that penetrated into Mr. Riddle's body. He seemed unable to see these lights, but Shade could feel that they were the purest spirits.
If you are a witch or a ring sorcerer, you can use this power to increase the upper limit of your spirit and elemental capacity without obtaining the spirit rune. Ordinary people can also rely on this purest power to purify their bodies, prolong their lifespan, expel curses, and clear their souls when the spirit enters their bodies.
This is the reward for beating the gods in gambling. The influence of everything here on Mr. Riddle will surely go away because of this.
As for the only card that had not been broken, the one representing the future man that would have met Shad and Mr. Riddle, it flew from in front of the god to Shad.
Xia De reached out and pinched it, and found that although this card was the same size as the Rhodes card, it was made of a very light and strange metal. Feeling it carefully, the metal card did not have any extraordinary power. Although it was exquisite, it was just an ordinary item.
"Souvenir, you guys played pretty well."
The god under the black robe said, and Shade smiled and put the metal card into his pocket. Although this souvenir is not as useful as Miss Feliana's notes, it is still a gift from the gods anyway.
At the same time, an unidentified light replaced the oil lamp and candlesticks on the table, completely illuminating the room. The depressing atmosphere disappeared, indicating the complete end of the gambling game.
Behind the god, in the dark corner that had always been behind him, another door appeared opposite the door that Shade had entered. This door should be the passage for Mr. Riddle to leave the Dreadfort.
The official end of the gambling game also meant that Xia De would bid farewell to this era forever. He felt the pull from behind, and white mist was seeping out from behind him.
"Mr. Riddle, may Mr. Tamaki and the Father of the Infinite Tree protect you and me."
Xia De grabbed the ancient prophet's hand again and shook it gently. The latter asked in surprise:
"what are you up to?"
He saw that Shade seemed to be saying goodbye:
"Are you leaving too?"
“I’m going to face my fear.”
Xia De looked at the door he came from, with a smile on his face:
"I have one more thing I need to take care of, Mr. Riddle, please leave here. I'm not sure if what's behind the door will affect you if I open it."
Although the Dark Box is not in his hands, Shade still wants to try to face the extreme fear, maybe it will be useful.
"Well, I am really glad to have met you, sir. I wish you all the best in your time, and may God bless us all."
He gave Shade a hug, and after a final nod to each other, Mr. Riddle hurried around the stone table to the other side of the room.
Xia De also turned around and ran towards the door, because the pulling feeling of the white mist behind him was getting stronger and stronger.
The light in the room gradually weakened with the ancient stone table with twenty grooves as the center. The candles and oil lamps were extinguished at the same time, and the gods disappeared silently in the darkness. As the darkness spread from the center of the room to the surroundings, the area near the wall was the brightest.
Mr. Shade and Mr. Riddle approached the doors on either side of the room, and at the last moment turned back to look at the friend they had been with for an hour:
"Goodbye, Mr. Riddle."
“I wish you good luck in your life.”
Before the darkness encroached on the edge of the room, they said their final goodbyes and then opened the doors in front of them. Behind Mr. Riddle's door was a white light, and he rushed in without hesitation. Shade could vaguely hear the sound of wind blowing through the treetops, water hitting the rocks, and birds singing softly.
This gentleman has finally completed another important adventure in his life. In the next twenty years, he will experience more stories.
When Shade rushed out of another door, he saw the old corridor with flickering candlelight. At the last moment before the white mist behind him swallowed him, he finally saw what was patrolling in the corridor and guarding the Dreadfort.