Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"The woman from the Truth Society is indeed crazy, but aren’t you just as crazy provoking the Church so openly?"

Mr. O’Connor from the Dawn Church asked, while the witch Bella Belindel was even more puzzled:

"It’s one thing for you to provoke the Church, but why drag me into this? Although we have some grudges, there’s no need to involve me in this matter, right?"

The woman in the black dress hesitated for a moment:

"Mr. Light Chaser suspects you are from the Witch Council."

Under the mist that no one could see through, the witch’s expression suddenly turned gloomy:

"Is that so."

"Mr. Light Chaser knows exactly what he wants to do; this time, he simply wants to invite the Church and this Madam Diviner. If you win, you can naturally capture us; if you lose, then I’m sorry, you’ll become hostages."

The shaft of sunlight made the stone table where the three sat especially bright, and Mr. York O’Connor slightly frowned:

"Wait a minute, I seem to recognize you, you... you’re Lana Finell from the Light Worshipper Training Association? They actually sent you to complete this task? What do you intend to do in Moon Bay?"

The woman in the black dress did not answer, she just threw the die in her hand onto the table with a clatter. A flood of intricate information about the specific rules of the game immediately surged into the minds of the three people through their "other selves" around the table.

Meanwhile, on the west side of the table which had no chairs, in the dark corner of the balcony that the sunlight could not reach, a black-robed figure walked to the table, as if he had been standing there all along, waiting for the three to prepare.

No one could see any physical features of it; the robe dragged along the ground, sleeves wrapped around arms and hands, the hood was pitch black.

Below the tower was the bustling city center of the City of Wealth—Moon Bay City, while within the completely enclosed space atop the tower, the eerie Whisper Element made everyone frown. Behind the woman in the black dress stood her companion, behind the witch were two maids, and behind Mr. York O’Connor of the Dawn Church stood two Inner Ring Sorcerers.

But only the three "players" around the table could effectively take action. The Great Witch of Destiny had once heard the Red-Haired Duchess speak of this game and had also carefully studied the rules afterward due to the artifact’s involvement with "fate." She did not dare say she understood the game well, much less claim she had the luck of the Chosen of Balance, but she trusted her ability to divine fate.

The black-robed figure at the west side of the table did not speak, only raising the right arm shrouded in the robe, as six ten-sided ivory dice rolled out of the sleeve and fell with a clatter, making everyone’s heart seem to beat with the sound.

The surroundings seemed to suddenly become colder, and the six dice automatically rolled towards the three on the table. Two for each person, one with numbers from 0 to 9, and the other with 00, 10, 20 to 90.

Every iteration of the "Dice Story Collection" always had slight differences in rules and details, but the meaning of the dice never changed. The woman in the black dress picked up the dice, eyeing this round’s opponents; the witch picked up the dice, and the maid behind her had already handed over a stack of divination cards; Mr. O’Connor from the Dawn Church picked up the dice, frowning in thought over the rules and utilization methods of the relic he had read:

"According to the rules, the three players must belong to opposing factions. They clearly could take up two positions, so why only sit in one chair? The incident in Tobesk was strictly confidential, I don’t know who the Chosen of Balance selected, but according to the data, choosing local people with pets seems very advantageous..."

The Black-robed person lifted both hands under the gaze of the crowd, and a hoarse yet ancient voice finally echoed from all around:

"Sixth Era, Common Era Calendar 1854, Dice Story Collection, Episode 1474—Blood Sorrow..."

Bam!

The woman in the black dress pressed a blue coin on the table:

"Pay a Coin of Wisdom to select an additional event, event selection is the theft of..."

"Pay a Compensation Coin for the selection of an additional random event."

An unexpected voice interrupted her words, "Lady Amethyst" pressed a gray coin on the table; though her expression was unseen, her tone clearly carried a sense of amusement:

"A Scribe Level Relic, the Compensation Coin, can be regarded as any other coin within ten meters. Although it cannot be seen as a High-Level coin relic, fortunately, the Coin of Wisdom is only Poet-Level."

Pausing for a moment, feeling fortunate to have brought the coin based on this morning’s divination:

"I’m curious, how did you dare drag a High Ring Diviner like me into this game? Are you deliberately seeking to lose?"

Finishing with a laugh, "reminding" once more:

"Play fair, let the Keeper of Secrets decide the story theme, no cheating by anyone. Or, you could offer more Coins of Wisdom to change the result. But if I remember the additional rules correctly, to change again, you’d have to pay more coins. Want to guess if I have other ways to stop you?"

The woman in the black dress exchanged a few whispered words with her companion behind her, ultimately choosing not to bring out the coin again.

Then, the black-robed person hosting the game formally announced the beginning of this story:

"Sixth Era, Common Era Calendar 1854, Dice Story Collection, Scene 1473 - Daylight Chase: Investigating the culprit who harmed Freeman Hawthorne. Storytellers: Priestess, Lady Amethyst, Priest. Only one person is allowed to win this story, and no alliance is permitted. The victor may make a wish concerning the loser."

The three people at the table frowned together. The story chosen by the Dice Story Collection must be something all three were aware of, and there was a high probability it involved supernatural power. On Friday afternoon, Freeman Hawthorne was injured at the Parsifal Club and woke up with a significant loss of memory, something clearly known among the trio.

However, this matter had not been publicly declared, and it made sense for the church’s side to know about it. Lady Amethyst was well-connected locally, and since the Hawthorne Family was involved, it was reasonable for her to know about this as well. As for the recently infiltrated Light Worship Church’s knowledge of this matter, that was truly baffling.

But now was not the right time to ponder this matter, for the game before them had officially begun.

"Please choose an ordinary human as a manipulated character, requiring the target to be someone you are familiar with, and currently active under the Belindel Big Bell."

The black-robed Keeper of Secrets raised his right hand again, revealing a silver hourglass with a thud on the table. The fine sand flowed down, representing the countdown for the selection time.

The "Priestess" Finell, in the black dress, unsurprisingly took out a coin once more:

"I pay a Coin of Wisdom to make an additional choice. I choose the First Ring Sorcerer George Pitt as my manipulated character, who is now under the Belindel Big Bell."

"I say, can’t you cultists ever stop using the same trick? Didn’t last year’s failures with the Truth Society and Misfortune Cult teach you a lesson?"

The witch mocked, while the woman in the black dress slightly shook her head:

"It is the choice of the honorable Light Chaser. The advantage is mine now, not yours."

Mr. York O’Connor, referred to as the "Priest," conferred with his companions behind him and quickly made a selection:

"I choose Officer Connelly Osborne, who is currently patrolling under the Belindel Big Bell."

Having a seat at the table meant they naturally had their own plans. Due to the matter in Tobesk, the rules of a relic such as the Dice Story Collection, known as an Angel-Level Relic, were already familiar to most. Therefore, with the right selection, even an ordinary person could, with a gun, defeat a Low Ring Sorcerer.

That officer and his squad had collaborated several times and matched the characteristics of the winner in Tobesk described in the records as "having weapons, combat capability, mental resilience, strong investigative skills, and sharp thinking." Officer Connelly Osborne was even aware of supernatural and Ring Sorcerers, lacking only the described "remarkable charm":

"The church has the most advanced data, so this selection is certainly not wrong. This time the advantage is mine!"

As for the Great Witch of Destiny, Miss Bella Belindel was not worried about not having a suitable choice. Her ordinary maidens were all in the Clock Tower, and quite a few of the young girls were incredibly inspired, though not as gifted as the great-grandniece of the Red-Haired Duchess, she still groomed them as reserve followers.

Even though she had a suitable candidate in her mind and believed the ordinary girl she chose would not lose to an awkward foreign Ring Sorcerer or an ordinary police officer, she still habitually reached for her divination cards.

After flipping the cards, both she and the two maids behind her saw the face of "Earth." Initially hesitant, the witch then suddenly recalled the name she heard on Friday night:

"Follower of the Witch of the Earth, Miss Charlotte?"

The "her" voice echoed in her ear:

[No problem, you can choose this target.]

It was a pity that she hadn’t been in Tobesk last autumn and winter, or she would have realized her present expression was nearly identical to Iluna’s back then:

"But aren’t we only supposed to choose ordinary people? And I don’t even know what she looks like, can this still be chosen? Wait, did Vanessa give her a precious relic that completely conceals her identity?"

Breaking through the rules of the Dice Story Collection, a top-tier Angel-Level Relic, would require at least a relic of the same level or the same origin. The Great Witch of Destiny could not imagine what her council colleague had given to "Miss Charlotte."

Though she was uncertain and apprehensive about such a result, she trusted her divination outcome:

"I choose Miss Charlotte."

She didn’t explain who the other was; the more she explained on her own turf, the more likely she was to expose herself:

"But can a Seven-Ring Sorcerer really be chosen? This truly is... my good fortune. This time the advantage is mine, Vanessa, you’d better not have been joking with me last night."■