Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 519: Ring

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Mr. Riddle, in exchange for three segments of his life experience that he could not account for, obtained three items whose effects required the payment of lifespan. Shard guessed that the cost was "paying with lifespan," likely because he was merely an ordinary man. If it were a witch or a Circle Sorcerer engaged in the gamble, it's highly probable that they would pay with Spirit.

Therefore, although the Impermanence Card can indeed play a significant role in the game, considering that each player only has ten slots in the game, using function cards that require the payment of lifespan excessively, like now, is actually not the optimal solution to winning the gamble.

It was just that Shard and Mr. Riddle had no other choice.

"It's gone, and even if it weren't, I couldn't give it to you."

Shard said. Right now, both sides were evenly matched, but if the last card were still Impermanence, it would mean that the side of the Black-robed Gambling God would spontaneously gain an extra combatant. For Mr. Riddle to win, he would have to pay with his lifespan once again.

"So the last slot…"

"This is your gamble, Mr. Riddle, so you need to end it with your own experiences."

Shard placed his hand on the other man's shoulder again.

"But experiences from Horror Fortress can't form a card, this card game is part of the Horror Fortress adventure, the table has rules, and the game itself can't be used as an experience on the table, so Horror Fortress doesn't count."

Mr. Riddle said, but Shard shook his head:

"What I'm talking about is indeed related to your current experiences, but not your adventure in Horror Fortress, rather this."

Mr. Riddle turned his head and saw Shard pointing at himself:

"It's your encounter with me."

The middle-aged man's eyes widened slightly.

"In the final moments of life and death, you met me. You don't know who I am, human, a ghost of Horror Fortress, or a messenger from the gods. You don't even know if I truly exist or am just a figment of your dying imagination. But with my help, you've gambled with a deity and have come this far. Mr. Riddle, I think your encounter with me could also be considered an important experience in your life, right?"

Shard asked quietly, and Mr. Riddle nodded numbly:

"Yes, even if I forget all that happened here after leaving Horror Fortress, this experience will be eternally engraved in my soul, undiminished even as I march toward madness and death."

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He extended his hand into the last slot on the table and after a long time, he withdrew it, and sure enough, a new card appeared.

On the card, the upper body of Mr. Riddle appeared from a perspective looking up from the table, with the card's Mr. Riddle looking upwards, while the real Mr. Riddle looked down.

Shard's face did not appear on the card, only his hand resting on Mr. Riddle's shoulder. He could be certain it was his own hand because it was covered in golden cracks like the embers of a fire.

The embossed letters, flowing like molten gold, began to slowly appear from the top of the card. The card's name was [Man of the Future].

"So you are…"

Mr. Riddle turned sharply to look at Shard, but in the end, he didn't voice his realization:

"Indeed, you truly exist."

The many words he'd could have said were ultimately condensed into this single phrase; he sat up straight, ready to face the end of the gamble.

The card shimmered with the glow of the Silvermoon, and after a moment, Shard's figure indeed appeared fully on the card. This was Shard's current appearance, covered in the cracks of Divine Afterglow.

This relieved the real Shard at the table, who had been concerned that the normal Second Ring version of himself might appear. In such a case, without deploying those lifespan-consuming items, Mr. Riddle's side would have lost the gamble.

The deity's last card was still a witch, only it was a witch shrouded in a black veil, dressed in a black tulle dress, with a somewhat terrifying demeanor.

Shard's phantom stood alongside devils, dragons, and sea monsters, and as twenty dazzling streams of light flowed along the table's grooves towards the center of the table, all the movable phantoms on the table rushed towards the middle of the gamble table.

This was the most genuine and terrifying battle to date. Although in the nine previous encounters there were victories and defeats, the phantoms summoned by the cards did not sustain real wounds to their images despite being injured.

But now, as all twenty cards were placed, the gamble seemed to truly coalesce at this moment. The fierce collisions between the sides were taking place. The witch's flesh and limbs, along with the bodies of dragons, devils, and sea monsters, were torn apart amidst the flashes of Spiritual Light and the thunderous explosions, even flying outside the table itself.

The table, due to the actual effects of Supernatural Power, started to crack, and the scorching air and violent wind pressure made it almost impossible for Mr. Riddle at the table's edge to breathe. And whenever a character or monster corresponding to a card was injured, the card in the slot on the table would also crack.

Even now, both sides could attack the Holy Altar, Temple, House of Cannibals, and the devil's Rune Sword, causing all the cards to exhibit varying degrees of cracks.

Shard had never witnessed such a ruthless and desperate melee, resembling a meat grinder.

He shifted his gaze towards the back of Mr. Riddle's side of the table and noticed that his own avatar wasn't joining the fight but was instead approaching those three Impermanence cards.

He waved his hand at the Holy Silver Moon floating above the [Impermanence: Silver Moon], and astoundingly, the table item that only Mr. Riddle could touch flew towards Shard's phantom.

"I've lost ownership of the gamble table item! It's become similar to the Rune Sword equipment!"

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Mr. Riddle was even more astonished than Shard.

Shard, holding Silvermoon aloft, walked towards the center of the battling table but still did not join the fight. Suddenly, he raised his right hand behind the comparatively enormous body of the sea monster, positioning the silver moon above his head.

Originally only emitting a faint glimmer, the brightness of Silvermoon surged unexpectedly. Before Mr. Riddle could react to what was happening, Shard suddenly felt an extremely bad sensation:

"Not good! Dodge!"

Mr. Riddle, already feeling the danger of the miniature real fight, instantly ducked under the table the moment Shard issued the warning. Of course, his hand didn't forget to stay on the chair to prevent being disqualified from the gambling match by leaving the table.

Because there was no other place to evade inside the room, Shard also squatted down quickly. Neither of them looked upwards, but their eyes still caught the next second's silver moonlight sweeping across from the center of the table like a solar explosion.

Even Shard took several seconds to feel the stinging sensation in his eyes fade.

Mr. Riddle, covering his eyes, groaned and took a full minute before he could remove his hands, but Shard still saw his eyes swollen and tearing.

After administering healing to Mr. Riddle, and with no further movement from above, the battle seemed to have ended, Shard and Mr. Riddle cautiously peeked out from under the table:

"Is this... over?"

The table had returned to calmness, all the phantoms had vanished, with only the streams of light flowing along the grooves still releasing glimmers.

Mr. Riddle carefully reseated himself on the stone chair, and Shard slapped the dust off his body and stood up.

Of the twenty cards from both sides, three Impermanence Cards had been automatically ejected from the slots and lay scattered on the table. Among the remaining seventeen, the Man of the Future remained whole, while all the other cards were shattered into pieces.

It seemed that the burst of moonlight from Shard's phantom had indiscriminately damaged everything on the table except itself.

"May I ask, deity, have I won?"

Mr. Riddle asked cautiously, and Shard waved his hand, the three cards automatically flying into his palm.

"Yes."

This was the first time the black-robed deity across the table had spoken since Shard had seen Them. They used the same language as Mr. Riddle, with a man's voice. Since only a two-syllable word was spoken, it was impossible to deduce more information from the voice.

"You said that if I won the game, I could make a wish?"

"Yes."

The voice still came from beneath the black robe.

"I want to leave this place! With all memories intact!"

"Choose one. Leave this place, or keep the memories."

This wasn't the voice from under the black robe, but instead, the cadaverous bodies leaning against the wall, in varying states of decay, spoke in unison, providing the answer.

When Shard first came here, they had also announced the vague rules of the "Game of Life" in this manner.

"Well then, I choose to leave this place."

Mr. Riddle said somewhat dejectedly, turning his head to look at Shard:

"Sir, I am truly glad, truly glad to have met you here."

He formally reached out his hand to Shard, and Shard took it with relief, although somewhat baffled, the game had finally ended:

"Mr. Riddle, to meet you across a span of a thousand years and complete this gamble together is an honor for me as well. I admire you, for your wisdom, for your experiences."

He did not say much, not even introducing himself.

"Compared to wisdom, I think courage is more important."

The Ancient Prophet spoke softly, looking seriously at Shard as if trying to imprint his image into his own soul:

"I do not know your purpose for appearing here, nor what the future holds. But I will try to remember everything about this place, and if possible, I will study the Impermanence Card, hoping it will be of some help to you, as a token of my humble gratitude."

"Don't worry, from my perspective, you really did it."

Shard said, and Mr. Riddle paused before a smile spread across his face:

"See, I knew I could do it. You informed me, and I reminded you, this too is a kind of 'circle.' This is the blessing of my lord, Mr. Ring!"