Mystery: Lucky One

Alice, exuding an air of dislike for studying, left the Golden Dream with the box in her arms.

Mythical creatures are the evolution of the life level, an all-round improvement. Although IQ is difficult to define, at least their memory has been improved.

What's more, the path of "fate" does not actually involve the question of whether or not you can remember it...

Returning to Backlund, sitting in the study, Alice opened the box according to Edwina's instructions.

According to Edwina, this box has double insurance. Even if the box is opened, when you reach out to take the feather pen, you will feel a biting cold.

This is a second reminder to prevent someone from accidentally holding the quill just by opening the box to check the condition.

However, Alice felt that this hasty sealing method should not be used within the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. It should be a temporary container taken into consideration for Edwina's safety.

As for whether she was taken into consideration - it's hard to say, and it doesn't matter.

After listening to Edwina's description of the effects and side effects of "0-34", Alice had a bad feeling.

If "0-34" really comes from the extraordinary characteristics of the prophet, then the "picture of the future" it draws is probably not the real "picture of the future", but people think it is the "picture of the future", so it becomes the real "picture of the future".

Therefore, the dead end depicted in the first painting is probably not a real dead end.

And if this is true, Alice has to doubt one thing - the God of knowledge and wisdom, the symbol of "omniscience" in the "omniscient and omnipotent creator", could He not know about this?
This is difficult to define, because with Edwina's authority, it is definitely not enough to know the true function of "0-34", and she can see... no, wait, she can see it!

The major churches have a tradition of informing each other of "0" and "1" level sealed objects. Although the notification content only includes the number and does not contain specific effects and side effects, since the things have been given to her, she can apply to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom to retrieve the information.

…That should be possible, right?

…Go back to the church and ask.

This was one of the rare things Alice wanted to know urgently, because whether the God of Knowledge and Wisdom knew about it would determine whether she had done it or not - no matter how she calculated, she didn't think she could hide it from a true God who symbolized "omniscience".

Just like before, Alice had wondered how Emperor Roselle created the "Card of Blasphemy" that could deceive the true God?

Indeed, until today, Alice already knew that Emperor Roselle was promoted to the Sequence 1 "Emperor of Knowledge", and the "Card of Blasphemy" was most likely his work after being promoted to the "Emperor of Knowledge".

In other words, Emperor Roselle, through the authority of the "Emperor of Knowledge", used the powerful knowledge to complete the creation of the "Card of Blasphemy".

This makes sense. This is not what Alice cares about. What she really cares about has always been the same - how could Sequence 1 Roselle hide the truth from the true God?
You know, Emperor Roselle didn't even accommodate the "Hidden Sage" - he shouldn't have.

As for what can be made after accommodating the "uniqueness" of other pathways, that's even more impossible. After all, the adjacent pathways of the "Secret Peeper" pathway have been occupied by the God of Steam and Machinery, and if you want to jump to an unrelated pathway...

Alice never believed that Russell was a madman when he made the "blasphemy card".

Speaking of which...

If Emperor Roselle really jumped to another path and became a god, then the final assassination... couldn't it be that he arranged it himself?
...He can't really crawl out of the grave?!
Alice thought of the two diary entries she had continued to write and swallowed in horror.

She shook her head, hurriedly clearing away the messy thoughts in her mind, and reached out to touch the feather pen.

When Alice put her fingers into the box, she really felt a biting coldness just as Edwina said.

The cold couldn't actually hurt her, but Alice quickly withdrew her hand and shook her body.

This is a habit of being a human being.

Alice, who still retained these habits, took a deep breath and reached out her hand again after preparing herself mentally.

Braving the cold, she took "0-34" out of the box and held the quill.

——Although Alice had basically determined that the "future picture" was a false prophecy before verifying the information, she was still curious about her own "dead end".

After all, she was going to die once, and if she knew how she would die, or even the time and place of her death, she would be able to replicate that scene.

She looked at the quill, did not resist, and followed the guidance of the quill to draw a picture on the paper.

This was a very magical scene. She obviously did not dip the brush into ink, let alone paint, but the painting flowed out from her pen like a river, and it was even colorful.

"0-34" first guided her to leave a gloomy and dark environment on the paper. Alice thought it was indoors and should be the background. She felt somewhat familiar with it, but she couldn't remember where it was for the time being.

On top of the slightly pointed roof, a giant white, scaleless snake appeared, hovering. Its pupils were a cold and ruthless red, and its open mouth had no teeth, only a glaring blood red.

Alice was stunned for a moment, and then she saw a blonde girl in a white robe, looking up at the top of the tower.

The paintbrush stopped at this moment, and Alice's eyes successfully turned cold.

This result was not too surprising, as she had even dreamt of the scene in the picture before - this was exactly the dream that the three of them had shared.

What shocked Alice was actually something she had not noticed before.

Before, she had thought that this dream was a revelation, indicating that as long as she experienced death and then came back again, this would be her chance to become a god.

At this moment, Alice suddenly discovered something.

Just like what "Sun" Derrick had asked her when she mentioned this matter at the Tarot Club, in this dream, she actually only saw her future death, but did not see the possibility of returning.

The reason why she didn't think of it until today was entirely because of Klein's reminder. It seemed like someone had forced the answer into her mind.

Even her current doubts seemed to be - after all, she had never doubted before, right?
When it comes to problems that she can't figure out, Alice has always made decisive choices. She chose to give up.

Alice dropped "0-34" back into the box and sealed it again, then turned her attention to the painting.

After staring at the picture for more than ten seconds, Alice finally couldn't help but glanced at the sealed box in confusion, then looked back at the painting and murmured in a low voice:

"How does a quill pen create watercolors..."

Unable to understand, Alice shook her head, took out a match, and burned the painting. She certainly would not leave behind the prophecy of her own death.

But this painting did serve as a reminder to Alice. As she watched the blazing flames devour the "picture of the future" bit by bit, she let go of the burning paper as the flames crackled restlessly.

"Maybe, I should spread the prophecy of my return after death... Damn it!"

The flame went out before it touched the ground because it lost its attachment. The ashes from the burnt paper spread out on the ground, causing Alice, who was originally in a trance, to jump up suddenly.

In the blink of an eye, as if time had gone back, the dust on the ground rekindled its flames, floated in the air, and pieced together the paper bit by bit.

Soon the painting reappeared in Alice's hand, and in her other hand she held a box of matches.

Alice shook her head, walked over to the trash can, and relit the painting.

This time, everything went smoothly. Every bit of ash from the burnt paper fell into the trash can, and not a single bit was left outside.

After doing all this, Alice stepped into St. Samuel's Cathedral carrying the box containing "0-34".

Archbishop Anthony had long been accustomed to Alice's sudden arrival. He was not surprised by the extra person in the room. He just calmly put down the pen in his hand, raised his head from the desk piled with documents, and asked in a gentle voice:
"What's wrong?"

Strictly speaking, this was not the first time Alice had encountered such a scene, but after listening to the description of the work of the saints by the protagonist Anthony last time, she couldn't help but scan the documents and measure their height in her mind.

She didn't say anything, so the atmosphere around her became quiet, until there was a knock on the door. Alice came to her senses and looked at Anthony hesitantly.

She instinctively thought that she should avoid it, even though her identity no longer had much hidden meaning at this moment, but her confidentiality level was not high enough.

Anthony smiled and waved his hand at her, indicating that she didn't need to do anything, and then raised his voice and said:

"Please come in."

Someone pushed the door open, and Alice turned her head to look over, frowning at first sight.

The man was wearing a black windbreaker and a pair of red gloves. He looked to be in his forties, with soft features and long dark hair.

Alice didn't know this man, but the black cane inlaid with gold in his hand and the exaggerated hat on his head made Alice doubt his aesthetic level.

The man noticed Alice's presence almost as soon as he came in. He closed the door and glanced at Alice, but did not ask any questions. Instead, he looked at Archbishop Anthony with a questioning look in his eyes.

Alice saw Anthony nodded and said nothing, so the man seemed to understand something and started reporting his work.

Alice began to feel sleepy as she listened. She looked around and carefully moved towards the wall closest to her. Archbishop Anthony seemed to have noticed and turned his head to look at her, which successfully made her stop and stand straight.

This also made the ostentatious man look at Alice. Alice noticed that his gaze stayed on her face for a moment, and there seemed to be a flash of doubt in his eyes, but he didn't ask anything in the end, turned around and continued to tell the story.

Unable to run away, Alice tried to focus on what the man said. Soon she understood what he said. It seemed to be about a "devil" case. They had temporarily used several sealed objects during the investigation and arrest, and now they were re-storing them.

Alice suddenly remembered her purpose. She wanted to speak, but she felt it was not nice to interrupt others, so she could only stand there and endure it.

Alice lowered her head and regarded the floor beneath her feet as her enemy. After fighting with the floor for hundreds of rounds, she finally heard a voice that made her feel as if she had been granted amnesty:

"Okay, no problem."

Alice raised her head excitedly, looked at Anthony with a grateful look, then looked at the strange man, successfully making the man look at her hesitantly and then look away, and said to Archbishop Anthony with a hint of impatience:

"In that case, I'll leave first."

Anthony did not let him leave immediately, but said gently:
“I think I should introduce her to you, otherwise you might keep thinking about this problem when you go back today and then you won’t be able to sleep…even though you don’t really need sleep.

"This is the church's newly ordained saint, Her Excellency Alice Kingsley."

The ostentatiously dressed man immediately looked at Alice, with surprise and realization flashing across his eyes, but there was still a hint of unresolved doubt.

Anthony didn't care. He looked at Alice again and said to her:
"This is the captain of the Red Gloves team currently in Backlund.

"His name is Soest, and he is a 'Requiem Master'... maybe he will soon be a 'Spiritual Wizard'."

Alice successfully remembered the second thing she came to the church for - about the digestion of the potion of the "Mage of Doom".

She did not mention these two things immediately, but first looked at Soest, raised her hand tentatively and shook it twice, greeting him:

"Hello?"

This action is too inappropriate for adults, and it exudes a childish tone overall - the greeting between adults at this moment should be a handshake.

But this behavior is very suitable for Alice's age. Soest's eyes did not look too strange. Instead, he smiled gently in realization and waved his hand.

"Hello, sir."

He didn't address Alice specifically, but simply called her "Your Excellency" because he wasn't sure what to address her.

After they finished greeting each other, Anthony said to Soest at the right time:
"You go back first."

Then, Soest tactfully left the room. After he closed the door, Anthony looked at Alice and asked:
"what happened?"

Alice immediately turned her attention back and told the purpose of her visit:

“I, I came here to ask for help.

"Well... first of all, is the relationship between the church and the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom good?"

(End of this chapter)