Chapter 17: Las Vegas

The car came to a halt on the outskirts of Las Vegas, stopping beneath the sign that read "Las Vegas" in Spanish.

This was a city that had blossomed from the desert; even here, mere steps from the urban sprawl, the landscape was nothing but raw, primordial wilderness. If left unmaintained for just a few years, the desert would inevitably swallow the city whole.

"Ah, what a beautiful day."

It was already early morning. Shang Luo had taken the overnight bus that departed at dusk and arrived at dawn; it was now seven o'clock.

"First time spending the night on a bus, and it wasn't half bad. Truly, after being bathed in the King’s civilizing influence, everyone’s manners are quite excellent. Thanks." He stepped off the bus and nodded to the driver.

The driver nodded back frantically: "Did you gather all your luggage?"

"I don't have any luggage; it's all in my pockets. Do you have a schedule for your buses back from Las Vegas? I’d like to catch your line again when I return..."

The driver floored the accelerator and sped off toward the next stop, not even bothering to close the bus doors.

"Tch, what is there to be afraid of?"

[Think about it from their perspective. If I had an Imperial Guard sitting on my bus, I’d be terrified too.]

"Never mind that. Now I have something very practical, yet absolutely necessary to do..."

[What is it?]

"I need to use the restroom... could you look away?"

[Look away? Are you planning on throwing me out?]

"No, I mean, could you perhaps withdraw your consciousness? It’s rather uncomfortable to be stared at while doing such things."

[Why are you so difficult?]

"It’s not just about using the restroom. We need to have some personal space, don't we?"

[Fine.] Apollonia sighed in resignation. [Take out the music box and look; you’ll understand.]

The music box was in his pocket. He reached in, pulled it out, and flipped open the lid.

"Hm?" He paused, stunned. The contents had changed. Originally, the music box contained parts—what Senator Jefferson had referred to as the "Divine Body." Shang Luo still remembered what it looked like: a dizzying, skin-crawling mass of non-standard components, with a bullet hole in the casing from before that "one hammer blow."

Yet now, the music box was empty. But within the dark interior, something was flickering with a golden light. It was a tiny golden sphere, no larger than a fingernail, resting quietly inside.

"Hey? Where is your body? Isn't it inside the music box?"

No sound came back. Apollonia had ceased to respond.

He tilted the music box, pouring the small sphere into his hand. The moment it made contact with his skin, he felt a tingling sensation like an electric shock. Instinctively, he jerked his hand, and the tiny sphere went flying.

[See, just like th—ah!!!]

Apollonia had barely uttered a few words when her voice vanished along with the sphere. A lingering "Ah————" echoed in his head.

The next moment, absolute silence.

It wasn't that there were no sounds. He was standing on the highway at the gates of Las Vegas, surrounded by sandy terrain. There was the howling wind, the cries of vultures, and the roar of engines from passing vehicles. Yet, there was no sound from Apollonia.

In that instant, he felt like a kite with a snapped string. Though he felt no physical discomfort, the loss of control over his future brought on a suffocating sensation, not unlike drowning.

A hot wind laced with grit blew by, tousling his hair, which remained unadorned by any crown.

"That gold bead..."

He realized the crux of the problem. After the bead was flung away, Apollonia had "disappeared."

"The gold bead... where did it go?" He looked down, searching. In the vastness of the desert, even the highway was covered in sand. The color of the bead was too similar to the desert under the sun; finding it would not be easy.

He anxiously bent down to search. Fortunately, the bead was lying right by his feet; it hadn't rolled far at all.

"Phew... thank goodness." He let out a sigh of relief and reached out to pick it up.

This time, he was prepared. The tingling sensation of an electric shock returned to his fingertips the moment he touched the bead—

Apollonia’s voice reconnected.

[What are you doing! You scared me to death! Why did you throw me away!]

Once reconnected, Apollonia’s voice was filled with rage—yet it was also laced with a trace of panic and fright, as if she were even more rattled than Shang Luo.

"Who knew you’d give off a static shock?"

[I don’t give off static shocks at all. That’s just your imagination.]

"Yes, yes, it’s my fault."

[... ]

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

[Next time, whatever you do, don’t throw me away. Only you can hear me; there is no one else. If you cast me aside again, what awaits the Infinite Divine Machine 'Apollonia' will not be infinite possibilities, but infinite solitary confinement.]

"Understood." Shang Luo nodded, saying nothing more.

When he looked up again, he felt the air begin to flow once more, and that suffocating sense of having lost control over his destiny finally dissipated.

With one hand tucked in his pocket, he kept his fingertip in constant contact with the "gold bead." There was indeed no electrical current, but every time Apollonia spoke, he felt a strange sensation in his fingertip.

It felt as if someone were pointing a finger directly at the center of his forehead. Even without physical contact, it created a sour, bloated sensation of a foreign object right between his brows. Now, that same sensation was originating from his fingertip, crawling upward, passing through his heart, and traveling all the way to his mind.

To be honest, it wasn't particularly comfortable. But to maintain their connection, he supposed he could get used to it.

"By the way, where exactly is a restroom? Can you look it up for me?"

[I’m not a navigation app, how am I supposed to look that up for you... Why don't I divine it for you? You’ll have to draw a card first.]

"I can't just divine everything, can I? Am I supposed to divine whether I should step with my left or right foot before leaving the house? Besides, what kind of diviner spends all day divining their own future? Won't that shorten my lifespan?"

[Is that really a thing?]

"You didn't know? If you didn't, then never mind."

[No... your perspective is important. Perhaps the reason I always have such bad luck is because I’m always trying to peek into my own fate. It's better to save it for critical moments; using it for trivialities is never a good thing. Just like how Odin knew Ragnarök was inevitable and tried to avert the fate of the gods' defeat, yet his struggles only brought Ragnarök closer.]

"So if I keep divining the location of the restroom..."

[Although I don't know why, I have a feeling you might end up with the bizarre result of 'never being able to find a public restroom.']

"That’s a curse! If I could never find a public restroom, my range of activity would be limited to my own home and the homes of others!"

[Exactly. That’s why a divination that cannot change the outcome is no different from a curse. You're right; let's not divine trivial matters like which foot to step with first. Who knows what kind of 'surprise' that might bring you. You'll have to find it yourself.]