“So, Xia De, this is why you came to me?”
It was still a seemingly ordinary Saturday after the disaster, and the time had already reached eleven in the morning. Inside the Diviner’s room on the second floor of the Prophet Association on Silver Cross Avenue, Xia De sat facing Luvia, holding his well-behaved cat.
The association was very cool. The purple-eyed Diviner had a teacup in front of him and held the divination commission that Xia De had just filled out at the front desk. He asked with considerable annoyance:
“Do I need to emphasize it again? Xia De, I already told you last time, your cat is really a normal cat.”
“Meow!”
The soft orange cat wiggled happily in Xia De’s arms. It liked being held by Xia De, especially when going out.
“No, divining Mia is still an excuse.”
Xia De, who seemed a bit troubled, shook his head.
“Then why did you come to me? I thought after shooting the city’s police chief, you would choose to go home and hide for a few hours.”
Luvia joked, putting down the paper in her hand.
“Two things. First, the doctor asked me to inform you that the study group will be suspended for a week. You know, the doctor’s Gluttony patient became a vessel for an Old God. Now the doctor is under investigation, so the study group is suspended.”
Luvia nodded, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear:
“I’m glad the doctor’s actions this time went smoothly. It was indeed the right decision to have you follow him. Now go and inform the others. Seeing your troubled expression just now, I thought you had learned about something similar to an Old God again.”
The Prophet Association is also very busy now. As an official Ring術士 organization cooperating with the Five Gods Church, the Prophet Association is also involved in the investigation of the “Second Old God Descent Event in the Summer of common era 1853,” because they have the most and best Diviners.
Now Luvia is very busy. The association has given her some work that doesn't need to appear before the Orthodox Church. She is much busier than Xia De, who is nominally a Detective but more like a “freelancer.”
“Don’t joke, Luvia. You also know that I just left Queen Mary Street before seeing you.”
“What, does killing make you feel guilty, or does setting fires make you uneasy? Do you need me to comfort you?”
The purple-eyed Diviner smiled and joked.
“Oh, Luvia, what kind of person do you think I am? It’s like this...”
Xia De waved his hand, took 【Genesis · Balance】 from his pocket, then knocked away the cat’s outstretched paw, and mixed the card into his rhode cards deck. After letting the puzzled Luvia help shuffle the cards, his finger tapped the first card, and then he suddenly flipped it over. It was indeed 【Genesis · Balance】.
Luvia frowned:
“You encountered a ghost with a story again?”
The Diviner, who had heard about the Moon Dance Festival cards, asked, then shook his head and added:
“This time it’s not a joke.”
“I didn’t encounter a ghost; I suddenly gained this ability. And...”
He held 【Genesis · Balance】 in his left hand. The card suddenly flew from his fingertips, flying up and down in the room, then drawing an infinite symbol around the two of them with difficult movements. Then it flew back into Xia De’s hand. The whole process was very smooth, as if the card itself had intelligence:
“This isn’t Moving Objects with a spell; it’s that I’ve gained the ability to manipulate this card. It’s like a physical instinct. I can control myself to raise my hand and foot, I can control myself to speak, and I can also control this card to move around.”
The Diviner looked at him hesitantly:
“Xia De, you actually found a way to use the all things are impermanent card? How did you do it?”
“Of course not, I don’t know what’s going on either... Listen, Luvia.”
Xia De looked very seriously at the purple-eyed Diviner. The latter, being looked at by Xia De, blushed slightly, seeming a little embarrassed:
“You say.”
She brushed her hair behind her ear again. The cat, placed on Xia De’s lap, looked at her hair, seemingly wanting to reach out a paw and touch it.
“Luvia, what are the conditions for The Chosen of ‘Balance’?”
“Three conditions: comprehending Balance, possessing an artifact with Old God power, and completing the inverted judgment ritual of sacrificing an eye.”
She said softly, not knowing what Xia De wanted to express.
Xia De asked again:
“Then on Thursday night, the night of the divine descent. Do you still remember what the white-robed god, oh, that is, this body of mine, did?”
“Of course not, I cannot look directly at a god. Everything I know is what you told me, but your vagueness is too much of an omission.”
The female Diviner immediately replied.
“Alright then.”
So Xia De once again described his experience when he transformed into a god, of course, using a third-person perspective. In summary, the god that night happened to have 【Genesis · Balance】, a card with Old God power, on him, and performed actions that fully met the requirements of “praying to an Old God, voluntarily offering one eye. In an inverted posture, fairly judging a fated enemy in the presence of people with special destinies”:
“So, is it possible that I...”
After speaking, Xia De hesitantly pointed to himself, and then to the card.
Luvia shook her head and laughed:
“Impossible. One identity corresponds to only one The Chosen. Moreover, someone like you, who comes from outside of fate, can never be chosen... According to your statement, the god you summoned from the past used all things are impermanent - Balance. Perhaps it is for this reason that you can borrow a little power from this card.”
But this was impossible, because Xia De also used 【Founding · Silver Moon】. He told Luvia his thoughts, and she insisted that Xia De could absolutely not become The Chosen. Although the current situation was inexplicable, it must have nothing to do with the great prophecy of the whispering chapters.
“You’ve also witnessed the power of The Chosen. What kind of power did Iluna gain? What kind of power did you gain? If the power of The Chosen is just manipulating a card, can you believe it? Xia De, the current situation, I think, is because your body was once a divine vessel, so anything that happens can be understood.”
Luvia spoke, stood up, and after confirming that Xia De only had these things to ask, she prepared to leave:
“If you don’t need me to divine your cat again, I will leave. These few days, we will be very busy.”
Xia De also thought Luvia’s explanation made sense. He probably really overthought it, but he did have one more thing:
“Oh, I also want to ask you to search the Prophet Association’s archives for information on an Old God called 【yaobian gate】. Here’s a book list, all ancient books. If you have time, please help me find them.”
So he handed over the translated book list. Xia De, of course, hadn't forgotten that Felianna and the other two were still waiting for him in the Thousand Tree Forest.
“No problem. Once I find the information, I’ll send it directly to you.”
“Then farewell, Luvia. You go first, I’ll leave after finishing my tea.”
“Goodbye, Xia De, I wish you all the best today. A reminder, it’s already the weekend of the third week of this month, please don’t forget that next week is exam week.”
After saying that, she indeed left in a hurry.