David didn’t hesitate in the slightest, taking the contract and signing his name right away. Victor, on the other hand, picked his up and looked it over a few times. Finding that the terms were just as War Freya had described—without too many restrictions—he felt that, for a mysterious extraordinary organization, such clauses were entirely reasonable.
Setting pen to paper, Victor signed as well. As soon as he finished, both contracts radiated a faint golden light, seemingly dissolving into the air as they vanished before their eyes. War Freya then produced two rings and said, “Alright, allow me to welcome you both to the Wheel of Destiny. These are the keys to enter the Wheel of Destiny. Simply wear one on your finger and give it a gentle rub to activate it.”
“Of course, that’s assuming you find a safe and secluded spot first.”
David and Victor exchanged a glance, asking almost in unison, “Then should we head out first?”
War Freya nodded. “Let’s say in half an hour. In thirty minutes, I’ll wait for you inside the Wheel of Destiny to give you a tour.”
Hearing this, David and Victor stood up like soldiers who had just received orders and hurried straight back to David’s home. On the way, David couldn’t help looking down at the ring in his hand. “Just a rub to enter the Wheel of Destiny? That’s incredible! But how do we actually get in? Does a portal appear out of thin air, or something else?”
“We’ll find out once we try it in a bit,” Victor said.
Soon enough, the two arrived at David’s home. Seeing his son and the bodyguard he’d hired acting so suspiciously, scurrying straight for the bedroom, David’s father couldn’t help giving them a baffled look.
What were those two doing?
Oh well, as long as David didn’t dabble in the extraordinary or step into that dangerous world, he didn’t care what the boy did.
Inside David’s bedroom, the two first straightened their clothes and hair, took a deep breath, and then David spoke up first. “I’m ready! Should I rub it?”
Victor nodded without saying a word. But... after a moment, David still hadn’t made a move. He continued, “Are you ready? I’m really going to rub it, okay?”
Victor snapped, “Just hurry the hell up and rub it!”
David raised his finger, then lowered it again. “How about... you go first?”
Victor said exasperatedly, “What are you dragging your feet for? I’ll count to three, and we do it together, got it?”
“Deal!” David replied.
“Three... two... one!” Victor counted.
David took another deep breath, finally rubbing the ring on his finger.
Thud~
Because the Wheel of Destiny was in essence a 【collective dream】, the moment the ring took effect, David naturally fell asleep in a split second. Having assumed a portal would appear, he had been standing upright in the middle of the bedroom floor; as a result, the instant he nodded off, he faceplanted straight onto the floor.
Looking down at David snoring away by his feet, Victor wore a thoughtful expression. He then stepped over him, lay down on the bed, and only then rubbed his own ring.
In the blink of an eye, Victor felt as if he had been lying in the bedroom just a second ago, only to appear in an ancient hall the very next moment.
Surrounding him were twelve massive stone pillars situated throughout the hall, each carved with ornate, intricate patterns. Some appeared to depict certain animals, while others resembled peculiar symbols; in any case, after examining half of them, Victor realized he couldn’t make sense of a single one.
In the center of the hall stood a long rectangular table. Victor could see six chairs arranged around it, and following his and David’s arrival, the illusory outlines of two new chairs emerged, slowly coalescing into solid form.
Carved onto the chair backs were their respective names: 【David Lancaster】 and 【Victor Sterling】.
In truth, Freya and Euphy had debated for quite a while over whether to hold 【real-name meetings】. In the end, Freya had chosen to go with real names, finding it far too troublesome to invent codenames for every single member of the Wheel of Destiny and each of her alternate identities.
Besides, anyone permitted to join was bound to be someone Freya trusted, so there was little reason to bother with codenames—it felt utterly redundant.
David was instinctively rubbing the back of his head by this point. Looking over at Victor, he asked, “Did you show up a little later than me?”
Victor replied without missing a beat, “Not at all. You must be seeing things.”
“Uh, alright. Was it just my imagination?” David muttered.
Meanwhile, Victor was circling the long table, reading the names inscribed on the other six chairs: 【Nicadori】 and 【Freya Russell】—both of whom he recognized.
As for the remaining four, they were 【Columbina】, 【Aglaea】, 【Kelydla Lawrence】, and 【Euphemia M. Holmes】.
Victor had no idea who the first two were, but when he saw the last two names—especially the surnames 【Lawrence】 and 【Holmes】—he froze in place.
“Wait, if I remember correctly... one of those surnames belongs to the royal family, and the other to the Four Great Dukes, right?”
At that moment, David chimed in, “Kelydla... I think... isn’t that Her Majesty the Queen, who was crowned not long ago?!”
Unlike Victor, David was a noble after all; though of modest standing, he certainly kept up with such basic intelligence, which naturally included the name of the new queen, Kelydla.
Hearing this, Victor was completely dumbfounded. “Huh? You mean to tell me Her Majesty the Queen of our own kingdom is a member of this organization too?!”
While the Wheel of Destiny had already possessed immense prestige in Victor’s eyes, Kelydla’s presence elevated that prestige to an entirely new echelon.
Even the ruler of an entire nation was merely a member of this organization?!
Just then, another figure materialized out of thin air—War Freya herself. She said, “That’s right. Her Majesty Kelydla is indeed one of our members. Or rather, she was already a member before she ever became Queen.”
Victor and David swallowed hard in unison. David asked, “Does that mean we’ll be interacting with Her Majesty frequently from now on?”
War Freya nodded. “Of course. But there’s no need to worry—everyone is equal here, so just communicate normally.”
War Freya continued, “Alright, next I’ll give you a detailed breakdown of the Wheel of Destiny’s internal setup.”
...
Rate on N.U.
