Monteria sat cross-legged beside the stone platform, leaning her head, staring at the chessboard on the platform, and slowly moving the chess pieces.
However, he was the only one next to the chessboard.
Every time he moves the chess piece, the timer beside the chessboard will automatically jump out of a crisp "click" sound, and then the chessboard rotates silently for a while, presenting the other side of the chess game in front of the chess player.
“—When I realized that Niya’s experiment failed, I wanted to seek your advice immediately, Professor.”
In the dim cave, Thomas sat silently behind the professor's side, most of his body was drowned in the shadow of the cave. In the background of the monotonous clicking of the timer, his voice seemed particularly depressing: "...I don't know what to do. But in the end, I restrained this idea. Because I knew that this trouble was caused by myself, I had to do the final decision. So I didn't tell anyone. In this way, at least I could control this matter...or, to control the trouble of this matter within my range."
When he spoke, he lowered his head and others couldn't see his expression clearly.
He placed a crow mask in his left hand, and two wide-mouth bottles were placed on his right hand. One wide-mouth bottle was stuffed with a transparent amber. In the center of the amber was a piece of fresh flesh the size of a thumb, and a blood bag was placed in the other wide-mouth bottle. Broken ice was piled around the blood bag, and light white water mist accumulated at the mouth of the bottle, as if it would burst out in the next second.
Click—
The timer rang again, and the chessboard rotated smoothly for a week. Professor Monteria picked up the black horse and thought for a long time, but finally did not fall into the chess piece in his hand: "...You mentioned 'control', do you know what control is?"
Thomas looked up and glanced at the professor who was playing chess.
He is very familiar with this way of conversation. The professors in the school all have this tone, so he knows that his answer is not important, and what the professor wants to say next is the key point.
“…it’s like playing chess.”
As expected, this thought flashed through the former assistant teacher's mind, but his ears became more and more straight.
"—The reason why most people think of 'control' is that chess players control the pieces on the board, but for truly powerful chess players, chess control means controlling the winning or losing of the board. And if you want to win chess and want to win chess all the time, the only way is to play chess with yourself."
As he said that, Professor Monteria dropped the horse and said softly: "——General."
The white chess queen sighed, took off her crown and threw it at the foot of the black horse. The black chess pieces on the chessboard cheered together, while the white chess pieces fell to the ground and burst into tears.
"——In this game, I am a black chess and I am a white chess."
The professor looked at the young witch who was a little lost: "I can win or lose. For me, winning or losing has nothing to do with the result, it is just a choice. Only enough time can I even play a win-win situation. Just like what Wallace Stevens said - I am the world I walk on, and what I see, hear and feel comes from myself - the only thing I need to pay attention to is not to pay too much attention to my identity. When your eyes are limited to one color, it is easy to ignore the pieces of another color."
"Then how should I play chess with myself?" Thomas couldn't help but speak.
Professor Monteria shook his head.
"In this game of chess in front of you, you and Gan Ning have already lost their identity as white chess."
He stretched out his hand and flicked it, and the pieces on the board immediately stopped cheering and crying, and were arranged neatly in the crisscrossing grid. The black knight's sword was sheathed, and the White Queen picked up the crown: "...but it is not entirely a disadvantage to only playing black chess. Black chess has the advantage of first move, and every step you make will attract the white chess to carefully deal with it.
Go back to this accident.
You are like a white piece on a chessboard. When both sides play, they suddenly become a black piece, approaching the White Queen, and caught everyone off guard. Then now you want to take this responsibility yourself, is it possible? White pieces will not put down their swords and guns and let other black pieces go because a black piece is willing to take responsibility; black pieces will not choose to live in peace with the White pieces because of an extra teammate. So, don’t say those childish words anymore, put on your mask and be a real crow.”
Thomas picked up the mask on his left hand.
Sighed softly.
The lonely and rhythmic sound of playing chess in my ears came from my ears.
When the timer 'clicked' again, Professor Monteria suddenly spoke: "Tom, do you know why I like crows?"
"Because they are often misunderstood as unknown," Thomas replied without hesitation.
“There is this reason, but not all.”
The professor nodded, then shook his head: "Because these lovely elves symbolize the harmony of wisdom, art, and magic and nature. They stand on Odin's two shoulders, one symbolizing thought and the other symbolizing memory. In that dark thousand years, they saved the world of Baiding, which is on the verge of collapse. Do you remember what I often say to you? Death turns us into angels, and makes us grow wings from our claws like crows.
I don't expect you to save the world.
But I hope you can maintain a balance between rules and freedom like the two crows on Odin's shoulders. I know, you think I have always been very strict and care about the rules in the laboratory, so this out of control makes you a little scared.
This emotion is unnecessary.
For real crows, it’s nothing wrong with doing whatever you want, as long as you know you’re still in pre-set rules. Just like these labs outside of school, all kinds of signs indicate they’re out of school rules, but you and me, and other crows, know that these experiments still follow our original rules.
So, don't blame yourself anymore.
Besides, this adventure is not without value. You sacrifice yourself to obtain the most valuable experimental materials you have long been looking forward to for us, which is of great significance to each of us.
If you want to learn something from my years of life experience, I would say that you are more likely to regret what you haven’t done at a certain point in time than what you have done.”
What the professor said in the last sentence was obviously another thing.
Thomas's mood was much better at this time, and when he heard this, he looked a little embarrassed: "...Don't you think we did something wrong?"
"In many choices, whether it is done right or wrong, it is better than not to do it." The professor moved the white elephant in his hand and glanced at the assistant teacher who was still embarrassed: "--Don't kneel here, go change your robe, and use a new robe to welcome the new world outside."