Whispering Verse

Raindrops hit the stained glass of the chapel. Amidst the patter of rain, the two people, with an age gap of half a century, continued to talk.

Shade considered the direction of the topic and said:

"Speaking of which, I'm very curious as to why Mr. Watson was not buried with the rest of the Watson family, but by you..."

Shade paused just in time.

"When he wanted to marry me, the entire family opposed it. When we got married, old Earl Watson said that after my husband died, he would never enter the graveyard of the Watson family. In the summer of that year, the weather and It’s just as hot this year. He is the son of a count, and I am just a girl from the Tobesk slum. After so many years..."

The old woman's eyes widened and her eyes were a little moist. The ghost Mr. Watson had no expression on his face. Shade didn't know whether it was a lack of emotion caused by the loss of his soul, or whether he deliberately didn't show it.

The love story that took place nearly half a century ago between a young man and a young man was probably more thrilling than the murder case that followed. But no matter what, no matter how sweet love is, it will eventually deteriorate over time. Maybe some people can maintain love, but the old man in front of him cannot.

There are really too many stories in this strange world. What we saw this afternoon is just a glimpse into the world for outsiders. He cannot witness all the stories, nor can he evaluate this love. This is someone else's story.

"Do you dream about him?"

The stranger asked softly, and the old man, who was lost in memories and past events, nodded gently:

“Countless dreams, about us meeting on the street in summer, about that respectable wedding, about him taking his savings and working hard to open a factory with me, about... that rainy night .”

Shade, the ghost Mr. Mason and the ghost Mr. Watson all looked at the old man. She stopped talking, and then the two ghosts looked at Shade again. Shade said softly:

"Sorry, that rainy night?"

His voice was really soft, and he tilted his ears slightly to show that he was listening carefully. His eyes looked at the old woman's cloudy eyes, and he believed that Mrs. Watson could see her own old face in his eyes. (Note)

This is actually a hypnosis technique. Shade saw similar content when he first got Dr. Schneider's notebook. The doctor seemed to be very good at this.

The mental power of the Ring Warlock is extremely powerful. Although Shade is only one Ring, the so-called hypnosis is more like mental induction. But now he is talking to an old man who is old and frail and has great mental fluctuations, so this speaking technique is very useful.

"Yeah, that rainy night, those drinks, that quarrel..."

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

Although the murder was not mentioned, it was enough to prove that she had not forgotten what happened that night.

Even Xia De, an outsider, felt melancholy about the love and hatred that spanned more than thirty years. Then he turned to look at the two ghosts. The ghost Mr. Mason closed his eyes like his sister and kept shaking his head. Mr. Watson, the ghost, looked at his wife who killed him with a gentle smile on his face:

"For more than thirty years, she has kept this matter in her heart and has been living in that house. She must be very sad. She is also older and knows that she will not live for a few years before she can finally get me out of the basement. out from behind the wall. It was a relief for me and it was a relief for her."

Mrs. Watson couldn't hear this sentence, only Shade, the outsider, could hear it.

But in Shade's view, none of these three people can be freed. Mr. Watson was cheated and killed during marriage, Mrs. Watson saw her brother in jail keeping a secret for thirty years, and Mr. Mason is the most innocent and probably has no idea about the truth. Most unacceptable.

Thinking of this, Shade glanced at the church where they were. If Mr. Mason dares to become an evil spirit here because of his excessive emotional ups and downs, it will naturally learn the power of a true god without even having to take action from Shade.

But fortunately, this soul who deeply loved the old man in front of him did not change in the end. It opened its eyes and looked at its sister, stared at it for a few seconds, shook its head and turned towards the church door.

Shade sighed and stood up:

"Then I will take my leave for now, Mrs. Watson. I remember nothing of this conversation."

The old woman with her eyes closed and in tears ignored him, and Shade did not look at her again. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the church door with Mr. Watson's ghost, catching up with Mr. Mason's ghost.

Mrs. Watson's servant also prepared an umbrella for Shade and asked him if he wanted to return to the city with them. But Shade refused the kindness, held an umbrella, and walked into the rain in the cemetery with the two ghosts.

The winding stone road lies between the tombs on the ground like a flowing stream. The ghosts of Mr. Watson and Mr. Mason were getting fainter and fainter, and they were almost gone.

"What are your thoughts now?"

Shade asked curiously. To him, this is just someone else's story, but to the two ghosts, this is their life.

Walking along the stone road towards Park No. 3, it was raining and there was no one in the cemetery, but Shade really liked the sound of rain.

"She has loved me all her life, and I think, even now, she still loves me. I don't care if she kills me. Killing me actually hurts her. I hurt her all her life, really all her life."

"When I was alive, I also thought about whether Sister Greta really forgot what happened that night, and whether she really watched me go to jail for her. After I knew the answer after death, I regretted that I showed up today. Here. It would be great if I didn't show up."

Obviously the three of them were walking together, but only the sound of Shade's footsteps appeared, and only Shade's shadow swayed on the ground. The raindrops hit the umbrella surface and caused the leaves on the big trees nearby to sway. Turning left on the path ahead, the tombkeeper and his apprentice hurried over, greeted Shade, and then ran towards the church.

"Are you leaving?"

Shade stopped and looked at them, asking in the rain. He just witnessed this story. Although he was melancholy, he would not judge whether it was right or wrong.

"Yes, that's it."

Mr. Watson said, and the three of them stood on the path among the tombs and looked at the rain in the cemetery. After a while, Mr. Mason asked softly:

"Sir, thank you for everything you have done for us. Please allow me to greedily make one last request - I want to play a game of Rhodes with him."

It seemed that after the conversation between Shade and Mrs. Watson, both souls became more alive. Mr. Watson looked at his companion in surprise. Shade frowned and asked:

"Why?"

"We have loved a woman deeply throughout our lives, and because of this woman, we are reunited here after death. But I think this should be the end of the story. When we were young, we often played cards together. At this end, I want the final game to be the end of the story."

Mr. Mason said, and Mr. Watson stopped talking and looked at Shade with him.

Shade thought for a moment and nodded:

"Okay, I only have one deck of cards, and there are six special rules cards in the deck. I will draw the cards for you, and I will witness for you. The outcome will be decided in one round."

"Thank you, sir."

So they left the cemetery path together and came under the leafy trees. There was an area of ​​the ground here that was still dry.

Shade took out his Rhodes card and replaced the [Kasenlik Folklore·Moondance Festival] he had just received into the deck. The ghosts of Mr. Mason and Mr. Watson stood on both sides of Shade.

The rain was pattering, and Shade temporarily put the umbrella on the ground, holding the deck of cards in one hand, and with the other hand he pulled out the first card and showed it to Mr. Mason, and then pulled out the second card and showed it to Mr. Watson.

"continue."

"me too."

they said.

The second card for each person is the up card, Mr. Mason moons 7, and Mr. Watson spends 12.

"continue."

Mr. Mason said, and Mr. Watson thought about it:

"I'll continue too."

The third card is still an open card. Mr. Mason is Sun 10, which is [Original Steam Engine·Mark 9], but it did not successfully trigger the special rule that all cards are of the sun suit.

The card Mr Watson saw was the 5 of the Moon:

"I lost, it's 24 o'clock."

He looked at the cards in Shade's hand and shook his head regretfully amid the sound of rain.

But Mr. Mason also shook his head:

"Sir, continue dealing me cards."

"Your point is 18, you have won."

Shade reminded, but Mr. Mason continued to shake his head, the ghost's expression darkened:

"At that time, I voluntarily gave up my original life for what I thought was the best ending. Now that the story has really come to the end, I want to know what would have happened if I had not given up at that time."

The ghost of Mr. Watson, who blew up the card, did not speak. Shade shook his head and drew the next card, [Carsonlik Southern Folklore·Moon Dance Festival], Suit Sun 4.

18+4=22 points. I took a look at the card at the bottom of the deck. It was not the moon suit. Therefore, because the Moon suit in Mr. Mason's card is only Moon 7, it does not exceed 7 points. According to special rules, his point total is adjusted to 1.

Mr. Mason won, even though he already won.

"Have you ever regretted it?"

Looking at the Moon Dance Festival that originally belonged to him in Shade's hand, Mr. Watson's ghost asked his companions inquiringly.

Mr. Mason shook his head slightly and looked at Mr. Watson:

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore."

The ghosts' bodies quickly lost color, and the cold feeling coming from them also dissipated.

Under this big tree, in this rain, they waved to Shade together:

"Thank you, Mr. Hamilton, and wish you a safe life."

"Thank you, thank you for everything in the end, and I hope you can always draw the cards you want."

Shade blinked, and they disappeared quietly.

The wind is still blowing and the rain is still falling. Shade held the cards in his hand and looked quietly at the rain in the cemetery. For a long time, he didn't speak:

"This story...tell it to Miss Louisa and let her judge."

[Maybe you should look down. 】

So he lowered his head and looked at the deck. The [Kasenlik Folklore·Moon Dance Festival] card emitted a faint white light, and then gradually fell silent.

"What's this?"

[You can understand that this is a gift from two ghosts to you. Because they are too weak, they are useless. When you add this card to your deck, you can draw this card on top whenever you want, and only this card. The duration is only about a year, after all, they are too weak. 】

Shade looked at the cards in his hand blankly:

"They are not ring magicians, but they also have special powers?"

[There must be a special reason why the soul remains in the world after death. As for strength, didn’t you say so yourself? This is a mortal idea that can affect the real world. 】

Shade didn't know what to say. He stood under the tree shuffling the cards with his hands and raised his head to look at the rain that seemed to be unstoppable. After a while, he stopped shuffling the cards, holding the cards in his right hand, and resting his left hand on the first card:

"I want Moondance."

He strengthened this wish in his heart, and then turned over the first card——

Directly above the card is a three-round full moon. On the grass under the moon, people are surrounding a campfire and performing various strange movements.

[Kasenlik Southern Folklore·Moon Dance Festival], Colorful Sun 4.

Shaking his head, he put the cards back into his pocket, bent down to pick up the umbrella, and returned to the path.

He didn't look back, his back getting further and further away in the rain.

In this world, Shade has not yet encountered anything like those two ghosts that he would regret before his death. Likewise, he doesn't expect it to happen in the future. He was destined to go to the ruins tomorrow night, and he didn't want to regret his retreat after his death.

"Someone else's story is over."

[Outlander, your story is still very long. 】

The drizzle of rain falls from the sky, falls on the leaves, splashes onto the green grass on the ground, and then slides along the leaves to the earth. In the distance, Shade's retreating figure blurred until it completely disappeared.