Mystery: Lucky One

The rest of the journey was very quick. With Anderson's help, the Future bypassed two hidden whirlpools and the ruins of a palace floating on the sea.

Klein also played a huge role in this matter. He was mainly responsible for preventing Alice from running around.

Night came three hours later, and the first thing Alice did when she entered her dream was to look for Heath Doyle to see if he had any sudden seizure.

In a shadow of discord, Alice discovered Heath Doyle, who still retained the ability to stay awake in his dreams, but he remembered his experience when the last night came and had no desire to explore his dreams.

It seems that he is awake... Alice blinked, her eyes turned around and found the figure of Anderson Hood.

Unlike Heath Doyle who hid in the shadows and dared not see anyone, Anderson was sitting on the ground generously, holding up a bottle of wine and drinking with Nina.

"Would you like to join us?" he invited Alice who was wandering around.

The smell of alcohol wafted into Alice's nose, reminding her of the strong liquor she had tasted in the "Lodar" bar - it was not a pleasant experience at all.

So Alice shook her head and rejected the invitation with a perfectly reasonable reason:
"Underage people can't drink."

This was an unexpected answer for Anderson, and he also gave a courageous response:

"Are you afraid that your parents will find out?

"You are an angel, why are you afraid of this?"

Alice gave a false smile and replied:

"I think if your parents were real gods, you would be afraid too."

Anderson froze in place, watching Alice leave.

Under a huge rock, Alice began her last unsuccessful attempt - she prepared to sleep in this dream.

This was a very wonderful experience. Alice didn't know if anyone had ever tried this before. She just felt like she had turned into a small boat, floating on the sea.

The uneasy feeling made her extremely uncomfortable. She endured it again and again, but finally couldn't bear it anymore. She struggled to wake up from the dream, only to find that the scene in front of her was no longer the familiar one.

This is a storage room. There is a full-length mirror on the right side, and a figure in a linen robe is huddled next to the mirror.

Alice suddenly appeared and caught his attention. The figure in the linen robe raised her head from the corner and asked in a short and urgent voice:
"Who?"

In the darkness, the man's weather-beaten face appeared before Alice. There were deep wrinkles on his forehead, corners of his eyes and around his mouth, but his hair was black and shiny.

His eyes were a rare pure black, and his expression was distorted by pain. He seemed to see Alice's face clearly through the lightless darkness, and asked in surprise:

“A little girl?

"Why are you here?"

After a moment, he seemed to remember something, his expression became panicked, and he said to Alice hurriedly:
“Quick, run!
"Before that demon notices you!"

His voice was urgent but low, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.

Devil? Alice blinked in confusion, and a picture appeared with her thoughts.

He was a knight wearing heavy black armor. In his hand was a long, straight black heavy sword. There was a red light in his eyes. Under the visor was a face with deep wrinkles, exactly the same as the figure in front of him.

Alice watched the black-armored knight carrying a heavy sword and walking in an area that looked like a prison cell, opening each cell and checking. She vaguely realized one thing - he was looking for another self.

The image faded, and Alice looked back at the figure in the linen robe.

I seem to have accidentally stumbled into some strange place... Hmm, does the location randomly refresh when you wake up from a dream? Or is it just me...

Hey, don't think about that, we should think about what to do first... Hmm, how about...

Alice suddenly had a good idea.

She took a step forward, and the robe she named Apollo was draped over her. A dawn-like light emanated from her, expanding and sweeping across the entire room, and was firmly bound within the room by an invisible force as it spread to the edges of the room.

As the figure in the linen robe looked at her, Alice chuckled and said to him with lowered eyes:

"take it easy.

"I saw through fate that you were being hunted by the devil, and I came here under the guidance of fate.

“I came to save you.

"But before that, maybe you wouldn't mind giving me a name? You know, a name should always be said in person, so it's more ceremonial.

"Oh yeah, you can call me...

"Miss Destiny."

Alice walked in the morning light to the figure in the linen robe and stretched out a hand to him.

Such a scene seemed extremely deceptive. The figure in the linen robe subconsciously reached out his hand, took Alice's hand and stood up from the ground. Then, an extremely embarrassing scene took place.

——The man curled up on the ground was nearly two meters and five meters tall. When he stood up completely, Alice was only just above his waist and not even up to his chest.

Alice raised her head and stared at the exceptionally tall figure, lost in thought.

...Why is he so tall?
The figure in the linen robe had no idea how devastated Alice was, even though she looked calm. He didn't seem to believe what Alice said completely, but he still leaned over and said to her gently:
“Hello, Miss Destiny.

“My name is Leo Master, an ascetic from a religious order.

"I still recommend that you leave here as soon as possible, after all..."

Alice looked up expressionlessly. From her perspective, Leo Master seemed like a gentle, kind...parent.

In pretending to be a charlatan, Alice encountered failure for the first time due to force majeure.

I should say something... Never mind, since it's already like this, why don't I just let him sit down? After all, tilting your head back for too long is not good for your cervical spine...

With this thought in mind, Alice stretched her neck and said to Leo Master, who was trying to persuade her to leave:
“Can you sit down or squat down first?
"You're too tall... It's tiring for me to look up at you like this."

Leo Master's voice was stuck for a moment. After several seconds, he finally found his lost voice and said in a low voice:
"Okay, okay."

He half squatted down.

Alice finally didn't have to look up at him anymore. No longer needing to maintain her image, Alice stretched out her hand and made a "hush" gesture, then tiptoed to the door and put her ear against it. This was just a ritualistic action. Alice was certainly not really listening to the sound outside the door. She closed her eyes, and the figure of the black-armored knight with a sword appeared.

With heavy footsteps, the black-armored knight pushed open another cell. Alice's focus was not here. As she shifted her attention, a long corridor opened in front of her, revealing the outside world.

Alice opened her eyes again, smiled, and jumped in front of Liamast, saying with a smile:
"Don't worry, the guy outside will be here for a while.

"Hey, do you know who he is?"

She lowered her voice, imitating Leo Master.

After two failures, Leo Master stopped trying to persuade Alice to leave. When he heard Alice's question, he answered without hesitation:

"Him? I don't know his exact name, but many pilgrims seem to know him and call him 'the Black Saint'."

The Black Saint?
Alice immediately realized from the title that the person wandering outside was a demigod at the saint level, and she relaxed a little - in fact, she was not nervous at all.

In front of Leo Master, Alice waved her hand and said:

“Saint…then you can rest assured.

"I'm an angel!"

"Ah?" Leo Master looked like he had no faith in this statement.

Alice wanted to jump up and argue on the spot, but when she opened her mouth, she realized their current situation and silently swallowed the words in her mouth, mumbling:
"Do I look that unlikeable...why do all of you have this expression?"

After saying that, without waiting for Leo Master's response, Alice asked again as if she remembered something:
"Who do you believe in? A religious organization... This kind of talk, are you not a member of the Church of the Seven? Um, a pilgrim... Are you here for a pilgrimage?"

In response to this question, Leo Master was silent for a moment, then laughed at himself and said:

"Yes, I worship the original creator. He is the omniscient and omnipotent being, the source of all greatness. He is the beginning and the end. He is the God of gods!"

"Ah?" Alice's eyes became blank. "So you came here for a pilgrimage... uh, you came here for a pilgrimage, right? How... how did you get targeted by that 'Black Saint' outside?"

Leo Master hesitated and said:

"The easternmost part of the Sonia Sea is where my Lord sleeps. His holy mountain is hidden somewhere here. I led a pilgrim team here, trying to witness the miracle and redeem myself.

“Perhaps it was an inevitable test. We were caught by the devil and died one after another.

"Later, I seized the opportunity, escaped from the cell, and hid here, waiting for the devil to leave."

Alice nodded thoughtfully, then asked curiously:
"I see... But there are so many religious organizations that believe in the original Creator. What is your organization called? Maybe I've heard of it before?"

Although the belief in the original creator is not an open belief, Alice has the impression that there seem to be quite a few secret organizations that believe in this creator, and there are quite a few people in all the large and small organizations combined.

However, whether one truly believes in the original creator or in some disguised god is not certain. The best example is...

"Aurora Society." Leo Master said what Alice was thinking at the right time.

After being stunned for two seconds, Alice suddenly realized that Leo Master was not a mind reader. He was just answering her question. She looked up in surprise and asked in a lost voice:

"Are you from the Aurora Society?!"

Alice's voice was surprised and suppressed. She wanted to scream out of habit, but if the "Black Saint" outside was attracted, she might not be in danger, but she would definitely not be able to continue chatting with Leo Master like this.

Hey, wait...

The Black Saint... should also be a Saint of the Aurora Society, right? The two of them... just look exactly the same, is it that simple?

Alice's gaze finally fell on the mirror next to Leo Master.

In the morning light, the figures of Leo Master and Alice were clearly reflected in the mirror. Alice blinked and smiled at the mirror.

She showed the same smile in the mirror. They were both wearing silver-gray, radiant robes. They both had bright blonde hair and clear blue eyes.

Alice tilted her head thoughtfully, put her right hand behind her back and said:
"rock-paper-scissors!"

She in the mirror also put her right hand behind her back, her lips opened and closed, and then they all stretched out their hidden right hands - they were all stones.

Alice sighed in disappointment, and her reflection in the mirror sighed in disappointment as well.

Unwilling to give up, Alice once again put her right hand behind her back, shouted "Rock, Paper, Scissors", and then suddenly stretched out her right hand - this time, they both drew scissors.

Alice frowned and retracted her hand, then recited "Rock, Paper, Scissors" for the third time and stretched out her right hand - the good news was, she won.

"I win!" Alice, who still had the scissors, looked at the cloth in the mirror and shouted happily to Leo Master, but found that Leo Master's face had already turned pale.

"Why are you so scared...huh?" Alice turned her head as if she had sensed something.

The mirror seemed to ripple, and Alice saw her hand reaching out from the mirror. She just blinked, and another self emerged from the mirror.

It's broken... Although she didn't know what was going on, Alice's choice was still straightforward and decisive. After throwing a little luck on Leo Master, Alice reached out and opened the door behind her, letting out a scream:
"what!"

She stopped where she was in the mirror, and heavy footsteps were heard. It was obvious that the "Black Saint" wandering outside was attracted by the scream.

Hey, it's time to give up... Just as Alice was thinking this, her other self suddenly pounced on her, transforming into a giant white, scaleless snake in the process.

“Ahhhh why are you doing this by yourself!” Alice screamed as she dodged the fate of being trapped by the giant snake.

Alice dodged and made a quick and decisive decision when facing her other self. She recited a passage of ancient Hermes language that she was so familiar with:

"Higher than the stars, the goddess of night, longer than eternity,
"You are the Crimson Lord, the Mother of Secrets,

"Queen of trouble and terror, lord of sleep and silence,

"I pray for your attention,

"I beg you to hear me,

"Help me, goddess mom, someone is trying to kill me!"

Oh, yes, faced with a problem she couldn't solve, Alice chose to call her parents. (End of this chapter)