When [Deceit] saw [War]'s figure appear in the real universe so far ahead of schedule, His expression turned undeniably grim.
But since the deed was done, He could only respond to all changes by remaining unchanged — standing at the edge of the Existence Rift alongside the other gods, supporting that corner of the Void while gazing up at [War] and bearing witness to this battle that would surely be recorded in history.
[Deceit] might have been calm, but the other gods were anything but — especially those who had never heard that beyond their world lay countless others not derived from [Ti]'s projections. Having seen the universe's truth with their own eyes, they stood rooted in stunned silence.
"So beyond the universe... there are indeed... others who share my visage... It seems... the path of decay... is far less simple... than I imagined..."
"This is impossible! I am a deity! A true god anointed and nad by Origin! An avatar of the era who wields Authority! The destination of faith for billions of followers! How is it possible that I am nothing more than a tiny corner of this vast universe?!!"
"So this... is the new order?
Then what aning does the order I have upheld all along truly hold?"
"The fool finally learns what foolishness ans.
Ha — what a splendid act of folly."
"..."
"So what you have been watching all this ti were other worlds — they occupied your ti and kept you so busy?
Hmm, to commit this mont to mory is itself a mory.
Let others walk their paths; I have my own."
"You... knew all along, didn't you?
The mory I sealed away — it was this truth, wasn't it?"
[Fate]'s voice seed to have lost its customary coldness, replaced by an infinite hollowness. In this mont, He finally revealed to the world what true [Void] looked like.
[Deceit] let out a derisive snort and glanced at the sibling beside Him, wearing a half-smile:
"Though the one who unveiled the truth for you was [War], I'm afraid you can't seek compensation from Him anymore.
Go ask [mory] — after all, rediscovering the truth is itself the breaking of mory's seal.
But tell , dear sister — do you still believe your Fixed Destiny is truly fixed?
Look at all these worlds before you. If a Fixed Destiny does exist, then isn't this predetermined fate... a bit too nurous?"
It was a killing blow aid straight at the heart.
[Deceit]'s mockery cut into [Fate] like a knife. Yet after a single instant of confusion, [Fate]'s gaze grew only more resolute.
That ancient, unchanging coldness returned to His eyes. With neither joy nor sorrow, He gazed upon this real universe that had exceeded all expectations, and intoned:
"The Fixed Destiny does not depend on quantity, but on truth and falsehood.
I bear the divine na of [Fate]. I wield the Authority of [Fate]. I perceive the universe's true nature. Naturally, I can discern which is the genuine Fixed Destiny."
"Tch—
You think they're all illusions?
How interesting. Have you considered that at this very mont, they look at you and think you are the illusion?"
"Fate has never cared for the gaze of others, nor heeded the slander of the world.
All is predetermined. Divergent paths will return to the true course.
Even if these countless worlds tell
that the universe is nothing more than a preposterous experint — what 'He' anticipates must be the offering that cos from .
This is the Fixed Destiny."
"...Utter fool!"
[Deceit] erupted — those eyes burning with the frustration of watching soone refuse to fight for themselves. He wanted nothing more than to shake this sibling awake on the spot, but He restrained Himself. With a deep furrow of His brow, He let out another mordant snort:
"Keep dreaming. What you want — that can only exist in dreams."
He turned away from the obsessed [Fate] and lifted His gaze toward [War] in the real universe.
There, in the Existence Rifts far removed from the world, countless pillars of skyward fla continued to surge higher — strand by strand, beam by beam — each carrying unshakable conviction, each racing to be first.
Firelight blazed through the darkness, leaving footprints of blood in its wake.
Without question, as the [Wars] from countless slice universes broke free of their "shackles" and illuminated the real universe, the entity above the cosmos had long since been revealed to the gods of every world.
Though they could not make out His form or state — perceiving only His location through sheer instinct — the reverence and devotion rooted in the very essence of their Authority told them: that was Origin, and could only be Origin!
And [War]'s target was Him!
However, the [Wars] and Origin were still separated by an imnse gulf — a void of uncertain substance, of darkness that had to be crossed.
A single god's power was ultimately finite. That darkness stood like an unbridgeable chasm, blocking every fla that tried to illuminate it.
And so, as countless trails of fire reached the limits of their strength, they changed course. Rather than pressing deeper, they connected — left joining right — "fusing" with their countless selves into one.
Blood and fire converged. Battle spirit soared.
High above, boiling blood burst forth and raging fla roared in spirals. A terrifying storm of blood and fire erupted, devouring the darkness at a maddening pace, howling toward Origin's domain.
Even the iridescent Existence Rifts warped under the pressure of this frenzied fighting spirit, and in that instant, the entire universe boiled.
"How do we survive?
Through! Blood! And! Fire!"
The real universe rang with the synchronized prayer of every [War], its fervent cadence igniting every god who watched. Though the gods held Origin in fearful awe, the contagious power of that cry for survival birthed within them the audacious notion that perhaps they, too, could fight!
This was [War]!
To fight, to strive — regardless of victory or defeat — never retreating!
Blazing fla scorched the heavens, a rain of blood veiled every eye. Under this terrifying display of power, the gods fell as silent as cicadas in winter.
In that mont, even the cosmic terror was seared away by [War]'s inferno. Every being — mortal or divine — who witnessed this scene beca utterly convinced: this would be a victorious battle.
The searing fury forged from the gathered fire of countless worlds would drag the lofty Origin down from His Creator's throne and burn through this horrifying slice-universe experint once and for all.
The universe could hardly wait to welco a world without Origin. Gods and mortals alike gazed upward, cheering for [War]'s audacity — and for the victory that was about to co.
But then — at the very instant the heavens-scorching flas crossed that dark expanse and were about to illuminate one corner of Origin's throne—
Snap.
A single crisp sound reverberated across the universe.
Was it... a snap of fingers?
No — an illusion!
No one could describe what kind of sound it actually was. It might have been the muffled toll of a bell, or an abrupt whistle, or a rumbling peal of thunder.
But regardless of what it was, after that sound — the real universe went dark.
The flas, the blood rain, the sweeping advance, the fighting spirit...
Gone in an instant!
The dark void returned to its original state. The Existence Rifts were no longer warped. Everything — all of it — settled into silence, as though none of it had ever happened.
In an instant, blood dried, fire died, and the universe fell silent.
"!!!!!"
The gods who had witnessed this with their own eyes felt their pupils contract to pinpoints. If not for the parallel worlds still arrayed before them and the universe's ongoing collapse, they might have believed they'd imagined the whole thing.
Gone?
Just like that... gone?
Where was [War]?
In that mont, the fear that [War]'s fire had burned away ca flooding back — doubled, tripled over what it had been. A tidal wave of terror swallowed gods and mortals alike without discrimination, just as [War] had said:
In all the universe, every being now knew fear.
It was a terror rising from the deepest reaches of the soul, forcing the billions of lives in this experint — no, billions of variables — to their knees, prostrate and trembling.
Cheng Shi's world was hit hardest. Had he not sensed the danger and drawn out [Corruption]'s Container in ti, this mont might have frightened him and Hong Lin to death beneath this overburdened starry sky.
Even with [Corruption]'s Container absorbing their fear, the dread did not stop spreading.
Big Cat's limbs went weak, her voice quaking: "This is..."
Cheng Shi's face was ashen, jaw clenched: "...Origin."
At that sa mont, while the gods around Him bowed their heads in dread and murmured repentant prayers, [Deceit] looked upward against the current, staring fixedly at where Origin dwelt, His pupils shrunk to pinpricks.
The corners of His eyes no longer curved upward. The grin had vanished from His face.
[War]'s extinction had forced Him to confront a single inescapable truth:
All His sches and machinations were a joke — nothing more than a self-amusing farce.
To this Creator who presided over the cosmic experint, gods were rely variables that could be erased with a casual wave of the hand.
Utterly beneath ntion.
...
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