Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 815: Grasp the last hope?
"This effect is too fake!" Alice was so angry that her teeth itched: "Where is the fair duel you promised? It's not fair at all to play cards with fake cards!?"

In Alice's eyes, Steam God Alexander is an outright fake card. It has high attack and full resistance, but its effects are more and more outrageous. It either denies its own failure or erases the victory of the enemy. Anyway, as long as it is not the ending He wants to see, it is a wrong future that needs to be corrected. Moreover, every time the machine god Alexander is reborn from the wrong time and space line, he will exclude all cards in the opponent's hand, field and graveyard, leaving no means for the enemy to resist. After two evolutions, the perfect Alexander is even more excessive. He will even reduce your deck to only one card, and then ask you to defeat the god with this only card, but he still calls it hope.

This is clearly the worst kind of despair, right?
Using a card to defeat the steam engine god Alexander, who has evolved to a perfect form and can freely control the power of time and space, is a fantasy for Alice, not to mention others. What can a mere card do? Moreover, even if he really wins, what will happen? Perfect Alexander will still reverse time and space like before, correct all the wrong endings, and only keep the future that is beneficial to him.

If a probability of one in a billion is enough to be called hope, then under the gaze of the mechanical god who symbolizes absolute rationality and eternal order, even this one in a billion probability does not exist. In His eyes, the universe has only determined rules, like an efficiently running machine, rigorous, precise, and meticulous.

Therefore, hope is no longer enough to save the current situation, only... a miracle can do it.

Is Gloria a person who can perform miracles?

Everyone's eyes were focused on the gray-haired and gray-eyed girl at the same time. She pursed her lips and said nothing. Sweat gradually oozed out of her forehead and eyes. The shiny liquid was like the reflection of transparent glass, and it caused a piercing pain when it flowed across her cheeks. Her face was extremely pale, and her breathing became heavier. If you put your hand on her chest at this time, you will definitely hear the fragile little heart beating nervously in her chest.

Time and space seemed to be controlled by Alexander the God of Steam once again, and at this moment, they froze. The stars in the universe stopped moving, the shining light stopped spreading, and the dust in the air stopped moving... Even under the boiling river, the circles of undercurrents and whirlpools seemed to have stopped moving, falling into an irrepressible silence. The vast universe and the miniature city became the background of the girl at this moment, becoming distant and blurred to set off her next every action, like the background that is too bright or dim in the oil painting.

Only Tiantis seemed unaffected by this atmosphere. He still looked at Gloria from afar with a deep gaze. "Make a choice, girl. I have placed this despair in front of you, but I have also given you the power to grasp hope. If the despair is not deep enough, this hope will not seem so blazing. People's dreams are fleeting. A little hesitation will lead to lifelong regrets. Do you still have the courage to grasp it?"

Cards floated quietly in front of Gloria, all facing away from the girl, revealing only the dark vortex-like card backs, making it impossible to see through the darkness and see the words or patterns on the cards. After several rounds of fierce battles, Gloria had about twenty cards left in her deck. Now, she had to choose one of these twenty cards as her last hope.

It would be too harsh to force someone who has created two miracles to create a third one.

This was a difficult choice for anyone. Ling thought that even if he were in her current position, it would be difficult to make a decision easily, so her hesitation and wandering seemed understandable. No one could blame this girl, because she had created two miracles, defeating the Lord Alexander and the Supreme Alexander in two different ways, but He avoided the failure by using the power of time and space.

"Are you giving up?" she asked, "Miss Gloria?"

“Humans are creatures that create possibilities.”

She was talking to another self in her mind, and the content of the conversation was very simple, just one sentence -

After Tiantis finished speaking, he closed his mouth, pursed his lips gently, and said nothing. She could feel the gaze from behind her. Perfect Alexander slowly lowered his head, and his platinum eyes contained this small figure that was small enough to walk side by side with Him. The light flickered several times, interweaving the resonance of reason and divinity; she could also feel the gaze from the field. Midai and Dayang both looked back at the leader they followed, but they did not say anything and quickly retracted their gazes. Trust was written in their thin or tired backs.

"So, if you are still having trouble making a choice, you might as well calm down and think about what I just said to you: avoiding mistakes is not the right way. Only facing mistakes can lead to growth. You said that you would prove an ending that would save everyone without any sacrifice. In fact, I am also looking forward to that moment."

Finally, someone spoke up, but it wasn't the girl's companion, but Tiantis. Her hands had moved away from the duel disk and naturally fell to the sides of her body. Her tone was no longer cold and serious as before. If you ignore the perfect Alexander with the universe as the background behind her, you might think she was talking to her friend in private: "What is the so-called possibility? The firm belief that never gives up in the face of setbacks? The courage and awareness to continue on this path even if you make mistakes? I think this is an inconclusive matter, but a long time ago, Alexander saw the possibility of mankind from that war, so he chose to dissolve himself and pinned his hopes on a future without himself. Miss Gloria, I can see from your duel that you are a brave, kind, upright and determined girl. These qualities actually constitute part of the possibility, and are also the precious side of you that I see that is different from those mediocre people."

Deathly silence.

A hint of disappointment inevitably appeared on Tiantis's face.

Deep in her consciousness, Olvera uttered a soft "Ah". She didn't expect Gloria to make such a choice. Alice was even more anxious and angry. She yelled at Gloria not to give up easily. Ling believed that if she had a body, she would have jumped up and down. However, behind the scenes, the girl's lips were actually moving slightly, opening and closing, speaking silently.

Gloria suddenly lowered her head and took her hands off the duel disk. Her gray bangs fell lightly, covering her equally hazy eyes, making it impossible to see what expression was in her eyes.

Tiantis knew what their looks meant. Alexander saw through his true intention of warning the enemy. His rational side felt that this was unnecessary mercy, while his divine side believed that witnessing the glory of possibility was more important. He was the god of order and time and space, which were originally contradictory. Therefore, it was not surprising that he had such contradictory thoughts. Only he could accommodate the two contradictions in one body, so harmoniously and perfectly. As for Mida and Dayan, they did not see through the leader's intentions, but based on past experience, they naturally chose to believe it, because in their cognition, the leader would never do anything meaningless.

This sentence seemed a bit ambiguous from the enemy's point of view. Logically speaking, she was the one who most wanted Gloria to give up.

I'm afraid everyone has the same idea, so they didn't say anything to disturb her, for fear of affecting Gloria's mood. However, this silence is also another kind of pressure for the girl herself. Maybe at this moment she would rather someone speak up and make a choice for her.

Sorry, it seems I can only leave it to you.

As the girl spoke, she thought that her expression must be full of guilt, shame and helplessness. Because it seemed like it was always like this. Every time she encountered such a thing, she could only rely on the help of her other self. Without her, she would be unable to do anything. The last time she sneaked into the Witch Society to gather intelligence and was almost discovered, it was the same this time. As Tiandis said, maybe hope does exist, but she is not the one who can grasp it.

——Not surprising. She heard a cold voice in her mind: You are always so weak, incompetent, and want to give up easily, so you can't achieve anything. I wonder, if one day you lose me, will you really be unable to do anything?
Please don't say that. Gloria's lips opened and closed several times: You won't leave me, we've always been together, haven't we?
They had been together since they could remember, and had never been apart. As more and more memories were deposited, the relationship between them became closer and closer, almost to the point where they could not be separated. So, what the other party said, to Gloria, was more like a joke that was not funny.

The other party snorted coldly and did not continue on this topic. He just said: I really can't do anything about you, let me take over, the incompetent and useless Gloria.

She was always like this, unforgiving in words, but every time I begged, she would stand up without hesitation. I was really grateful to her, but it was a pity that I couldn't express my gratitude, because for some reason, she seemed to particularly hate the words "thank you".

So, what Gloria said took on another meaning: Please.

White nights.

……

The silence on the field lasted only a few seconds, and soon, the gray-haired girl raised her head again, but this time she seemed like a different person. Her misty eyes seemed to have solidified into two cold glass balls. The look in them was neither the solemnity and seriousness that one should have when facing a powerful enemy, nor the awareness and determination to fight hard in difficult situations, but a kind of pure indifference, as if this duel had no special meaning to her, and the reason she stood here was just to complete a task that had to be completed.

"Huh?" Ling Ge exclaimed. He could see the earth-shaking changes between the girl now and the girl just now. But before he could express his doubts, "Gloria" had already stretched out her hand and casually tapped a card in front of her. She said coldly: "I've made my choice. Keep this card."

"Oh?"

As an opponent, Tiandis may have felt this contrast even more strongly than Lingge. Looking at the girl whose temperament, expression and tone had changed dramatically, she suddenly understood something, and a subtle smile slowly appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Are you sure, Miss Gloria, don't you want to reconsider it? For you, this is your last hope, maybe it's better to be more cautious..."

"It's not necessary."

"Gloria" interrupted her kind reminder with a cold tone: "No matter what you choose, the result is the same. The outcome of this duel was determined from the beginning."

As soon as these words came out, even Alice, Olivia and others who hadn't noticed anything was wrong just now reacted, because if it was the previous Gloria, she would never say such...unconditional words.

Tiantis smiled and said nothing more. The next moment, the surging and fiery thunder had already descended from the sky, and the pure golden thunder fell on the black cards, instantly breaking them into particles smaller than dust, and thus blending into the shining and brilliant lightning. The only card left, the one chosen by "Gloria", flew lightly back to the deck area of ​​the duel disk, but at this time it was the only one left in the entire deck, and compared with the thick pile of cards before, it seemed lonely and thin.

"Due to the effect of Perfect Alexander, my next turn is skipped. Therefore, it is your turn again, Miss Gloria." Tiantis extended his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Let me see what kind of ending the hope you choose will create in the end."

The mecha god Alexander seemed to be expecting to witness something as well. The steam tower and gear set in his body roared at the same time. His huge and majestic body slowly rose from the ground, and with the help of the pair of platinum wings behind him that continuously spewed out light beams, he quietly floated against the backdrop of the universe. His mechanical head firmly locked onto the direction of "Gloria", and his brilliant mane woven from strands of light fluttered freely behind his head like a gorgeous and dazzling flag, making his existence even more majestic and magnificent. There was a shocking feeling that made people hold their breath.

The last...hope.

Gloria set her eyes on the only remaining card in the deck, then gently put her index and middle fingers together and pressed them on the cold back of the card. The next moment, she ignored Alice's voice in her mind, which was shouting, "Everything for a true duelist is inevitable, even the card drawing itself is determined by the duelist." She drew the card without hesitation, and her waving arm drew a perfect arc in the air: "My turn, draw a card."

At this moment, time seemed to freeze. Everyone held their breath and waited for the final result. Only "Gloria" herself seemed to be unconcerned and not nervous at all. Even the sound of her drawing the card was so steady and calm, without any trembling. She gently flipped the two fingers holding the card, and the last card appeared in her cold gray eyes.

her name is--

【Metien, the Apostle of Hope】.

"Ah."

An ambiguous sneer broke out from between the gray-haired girl's lips. It sounded neither complacent nor sarcastic. Perhaps it could be assumed that she simply wanted to laugh, so she laughed.

"It seems," the girl raised the card in her hand and looked at Tiandis coldly, "I have already grasped this so-called last hope."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)