Ring of Fate

Chapter 714 Choice
Because he was summoning his own messenger, Lumian did not hold a ceremony in the name of Mr. Fool. He simply and directly let the "Confessor" Bayinfer appear in front of him. He was wearing a black clergy robe, looked like a charred corpse, and had black fire stuck to some parts of his body.

"I want to sign another contract with you." Lumian made the request with a smile.

He briefly explained the power of fate, the special contract, the sharing of abilities, the possible costs, and the negative impacts in ancient Feysac language, and waited for Bayinfel to make his own decision.

Bayinfel was silent for a few seconds, and responded in a low voice:

“If you’re not worried about the negative impact, I have no problem with that.”

"What will the negative impact be?" Lumian asked cautiously.

In Bayinfer's hollow, dark eye sockets, the dark flames that served as pupils flickered twice:

“It depends on your choice.

"I can give you the final step of completing the contract. After you know the specific negative impacts, you can decide whether to make the contract come true."

Different choices, different negative effects? What choice? Lumian uttered the "secret language of fate" with curiosity and doubt, letting the silver-white and black symbols, words and patterns fall on the parchment, forming a short, powerful, mysterious and evil contract document.

With the help of the connection brought by the "Secret Language of Destiny", Lumian sensed Bayinfer's characteristics and abilities.

The power of this "Confessor" is closely related to shadows and darkness, but most of it seems to be immersed under the dark water. Lumian can sense their existence, but cannot tell what they are specifically.

The two abilities that float above the "surface" are "Shadow Activation" and "Spiritual Travel", and the trait is "Ancient Corpse".

There just happens to be "Shadow Activation"... This is probably something Bayinfer showed me specially... He is indeed very special, and is completely different from spiritual creatures such as the "Headless Bride", "Abscessed Hand", and "Human-Faced Mantis"... It is indeed much more convenient to be able to communicate in a true sense... Lumian sighed as he learned more about the ability of "Shadow Activation".

This is an active ability that can activate one's own and others' shadows. The former can be used to exchange positions with the original body and escape fatal damage when unable to dodge, while the latter will entangle the corresponding target and affect his actions, but it cannot cause too much damage and it is difficult to completely restrict the opponent.

The biggest advantage of this ability is that it can be activated quickly and produce effects instantly. Otherwise, it cannot be used to replace death or block injuries. The disadvantage is that only one shadow can be activated in the same period of time.

When acting as a Stand, if the animated shadow dies, Lumian needs to wait for the sun to rise or set before a new shadow will appear. However, the Shadowless Man is very afraid of sunlight and is instinctively afraid of it.

In the past, it was the instability of emotions and desires, and now it is the fear of sunlight? If I really encounter a mid-sequence Beyonder in the "Sun" field in the future, won't I dare not even open my eyes? Fortunately, this is a negative effect that will only appear after the shadow stand is lost, and it will not last forever... Lumian looked at Bayinfer and asked sincerely:
"What kind of sacrifice do you need? Or, what price do you want me to pay?"

So far, he still hasn't figured out what negative consequences there will be from signing a contract with Bayinfel.

The "Confessor" Bayinfer, with only a thin layer of burnt skin left on his bones, replied:

"Any magical item you have."

Any one... Is this what they call a choice? The magical item you choose to sacrifice is directly related to the negative impact you will get in the end? Lumian counted the magical items he owned in his mind with enlightenment.

His first reaction was the "Armor of Pride". After all, he couldn't make effective use of this sealed item now. But when he saw the charred appearance of "Bainfer", he felt that this was not a sacrifice, but an attempt to murder his messenger. Besides, he himself couldn't use the "Armor of Pride" for the time being, but Franka, Janna and Anthony had no problem, as Lumian had already taught them the corresponding usage techniques.

The core is one sentence:

Don't wear it, just use the negative effects and let the negative effects be triggered by the target!
As for the more advanced method of actively triggering negative effects in exchange for indiscriminate area damage, there is no way to teach it. This has to be performed on the spot according to the environmental conditions and the characteristics of the enemy. Anyway, witches should like this method very much. It is very effective for bullying targets without stand-like abilities!

"Peeping Glasses", "Torture" Gloves, "Eye of Truth", "Lie" Ear Clip, Mr. K's Fingers, "Melody of Hate" Bone Flute, "Rage of the Sea" Brooch, "Traveler's Bag", Omybella's Umbilical Cord Remains, Doomed Gold Coins and Unlucky Banknotes that had expired and turned into normal items, "Serial Killer" Extraordinary Characteristics... Lumian remembered these items one by one.

After ruling out things that were not magical items, and things that were very useful to him at the moment, Lumian finally decided to choose between the "Glasses of Mystery" and the "Eye of Truth".

There is some overlap in their abilities, so you only need to keep one.

After a brief consideration, Lumian chose to sacrifice the "Eye of Truth" to Bayinfer.

He felt that the negative impact of the "Secret Glasses" was smaller than that of the "Eye of Truth" under the condition of controlling the usage time. Moreover, the "Eye of Truth" only had the characteristic of seeing the truth, while the "Secret Glasses" could at least be used to draw pictures and makeup with extraordinary effects. After Lumian became an "Ascetic Monk", he could very effectively restrain the urge to paint caused by wearing the "Secret Glasses". He would only paint when necessary, and not paint at all when not necessary.

Lumian took out the peculiarly shaped "Eye of Truth" and handed it to Bayinfer.

As Bayinfer caught the glasses that looked like a tangled mass of flesh and blood vessels, Lumian suddenly sensed the negative impact of signing the contract:
In scenes closely related to Bayinfel's past, you will see the truth that you shouldn't see.

It’s fine that similar effects only occur in situations involving the mysterious background of this messenger. Otherwise, I would have to end today’s ceremony early and choose again when I find a suitable contract partner... To use the words that Aurore and Franka both said, seeing the truth that you shouldn’t see is equivalent to a sudden death... Lumian considered for a moment and responded to Bayinfer in a deep voice:

"The contract is valid."

As he finished speaking, the short and strange contract ignited without fire, transforming into silver-white and black symbols, words and patterns, which fell one after another on Lumian's arm.

Lumian lowered his head and looked at his own shadow, and saw that it was twisting on its own, as if doing a vigorous dance.

Lumian smiled.

After about ten seconds, his shadow calmed down.

Lumian thanked Bayinfer, ended the summons, and put away all the items on the altar.

"Successful?" Franca asked expectantly.

She didn't doubt that Lumian couldn't even handle his own messenger, but she was worried that his abilities didn't meet the requirements or had too much negative impact.

Lumian nodded and briefly explained the situation of "Shadow Activation".

As he walked towards the empty exit of the quarry, he said to Franca, Janna and Anthony:

“Now we can formulate a plan to deal with Moran Avni.

"Franka, contact the Black Witch. She said she will take action soon. However, in order not to disturb the family and secret forces behind Moran Avini, she is not needed to watch nearby for the time being. I just want her to give me an emergency help spell that can contact her through the mirror to prevent the Man in the Mirror from hiding helpers. Well, it's a good opportunity to test the Black Witch's attitude towards the Tamara family and the Man in the Mirror. Also, tell the person in the Eternal Sun Church to be ready to let them go.
"Janna, write a letter to Madam Judgment and inform her of our plan in case the Black Witch and the Man in the Mirror are in cahoots.

"Anthony..."

Lumian's mind raced, thinking about various details and assigning different tasks to his companions.

Franka, Janna and Anthony did not passively accept the task, but actively provided their own ideas to help Lumian find gaps and complete brainstorming.

After returning to Apartment 9, No. 702 Orosei Street, Anthony left early and continued to make his way to the Trier Psychologists' Guild, while Janna changed into a more somber black dress with a cape, seizing the opportunity to play the role of a "witch".

Soon, Lumian and Franca were the only ones left in the apartment's living room.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and a long silence echoed in the air.

Lumian broke the atmosphere as if nothing had happened:
"How is Jana's 'witch' potion being digested?"

"The progress is very good." Franca breathed a sigh of relief. "She has found a way to play the role of a 'witch'. If you go to the market area to ask, you will hear a legend that a witch appears late at night to punish those restless drunks. Some drunks claim that they fell into a stream with ice flowing, some woke up the next day with pain all over their bodies, and some had severe headaches in the evening and dared not drink anymore. What they have in common is that they met someone dressed as a witch. Well, some drunks disappeared from then on..."

Franka's voice became lower and lower, and she adopted the tone of telling a horror story.

"Is the missing one a drunkard who committed a serious crime? Are the others guilty of assaulting family members, bullying passers-by, molesting women, etc.?" Lumian made guesses with a smile based on his understanding of Janna.

"Yes." Franka nodded heavily with a bright smile.

“Aren’t you afraid that the Black Witch will hear about this rumor and send someone to investigate?” Lumian thought for a moment and said.

Franca became proud and pointed at herself and said:
"I, I, in the Witch Cult, am in charge of matters related to the market area!"

She then sighed:

"Janna is really talented. She figured out a mature role-playing plan in less than a month. Maybe she can finish digesting the 'Witch' potion before I advance to 'Pain'."

"If it weren't for those things, she would have been a very talented actress. Acting happens to be her strong point." Lumian agreed.

The two fell silent again.

After a few seconds, Franka said with a fearless attitude:

"Um, um, you must not tell Janna or anyone else about what I said and did in the mirror world and near the altar!"

Lumian asked back with a confused look on his face:
"Did you say anything abnormal or behave in an abnormal way?

"I don't remember..."

Franca was stunned at first, then showed an expression that said "I understand".

She stood up with a relaxed smile, walked to Lumian, patted his shoulder gratefully and said:
"Good brother!"

She thought all the embarrassment was over.

…………

A few days later, while Moran Avni was attending an inter-ministerial meeting, Lumian appeared around the villa provided for him by the government.

PS: There are still many chapters in this volume. Although it is expected to be completed this month, it will not be completed at the beginning of the month.

(End of this chapter)