The Void — an unknown space.
While Fang Yuan was still lanting that his Road to Ascension score had indeed been docked, his consciousness was pulled into a stretch of infinite darkness.
Soon, the darkness gradually receded, and light rekindled across his vision.
The piercing brightness left him dazed for a mont. He looked around — and realized he seed to have arrived at...
Katouting?!
Wasn't this the Supre Court located in Katouting?!
Given where he was, there was no need to guess who had pulled him in.
[Order]!
Benefactor!
An audience!
Fang Yuan was overwheld by the honor.
Honestly, it wasn't that he'd never had an audience with a deity. He'd just never had one with his own Benefactor.
Whether it was because he exploited too many loopholes, [Order] had never once summoned him. But after making inquiries, he discovered that his Benefactor apparently hadn't summoned anyone else either. So he leaned toward a widely circulated theory among [Order] players:
Personal audiences would compromise the fairness of the entire faith faction. Therefore, [Order] never summoned followers.
So what was this audience for — a judgnt on his loophole-exploiting, or a special favor that broke the norms of collective fairness?!
Fang Yuan was deeply anxious. He didn't know how to face this absolutely "just" Benefactor.
But he understood the basics of proper praise and greeting. So he imdiately bowed his head and spoke with utmost devotion:
"Praise be to the great—"
But before he could finish, the codex placed high upon the Supre Court bench flipped its pages and spoke:
"What is [Order]?"
"?"
Fang Yuan froze. A tremor ran through his body as he lifted his gaze toward the codex, wondering if this was so kind of test.
But why did his Benefactor's tone sound so... lost?
Could it be that Mo Li had been right — [Order] had lost His order?!
...
The Void — an unknown space.
The mont Chen Yi felt himself being pulled into the Void, his reaction was unmistakably panic.
Because his Ladder of Ascent score had been docked — the first ti since the Faith Ga began. This ant he had forgotten important mories from the previous trial.
How was that possible!
He had morized everything! Why had there still been an omission?!
Where had the gap started?!
The Ti Battlefield?!
True, the Ti Battlefield could affect one's mories. But as long as you rembered the final overwritten version, there shouldn't have been a problem. Every previous trial involving a Ti Walker had gone smoothly. Why was this the one ti he'd been penalized?
Unable to make sense of it, Chen Yi poured all his grievance and fury onto [Truth].
It was all [Truth]'s fault!
If [Truth]'s trial hadn't been so hostile toward his relationship, how could his Benefactor have docked his score!
Did He... not like him anymore?
No — He liked him. He must. Why else would He pull him into the Void?
Deities wouldn't summon mortals they didn't care about!
Amid this turmoil of apprehension, anticipation, and nervousness, Chen Yi saw those eyes.
This was his first audience — no, his first date with his beloved.
In the privacy of the Void, they would finally bare their hearts to each other.
So when those divine eyes — steeped in the weight of history's millennia — opened above his head, the words spilled from his lips unbidden:
"I DO!!!"
"..."
Silence was the audience's answer.
It took those eyes a long ti before they finally looked down at their follower, devoid of joy or sorrow:
"Speak not in vain."
"!!!"
Chen Yi snapped back to reality. His expression changed instantly. He dropped to his knees, body shaking uncontrollably — whether from the afterglow of excitent or the regret of overstepping, he couldn't tell. He began shuffling forward on his knees, desperate to draw closer to his Benefactor and prove the purity of his love. But those eyes were far above him in the heavens — no amount of distance on the ground could bring him any closer.
"Benefactor, I... I..." Chen Yi was losing his mind. The usually silver-tongued version of himself had vanished. The man who passionately proclaid the beauty of human-divine love before other players now couldn't form a single sentence.
Fortunately, the awkwardness didn't last long. Those eyes glanced at him and spoke in a deep voice:
"Your mories — they've been obliterated."
"!!??"
Obliterated?
By whom?
[Oblivion]?!
Was it because of Him that his Ladder of Ascent score had been docked?!
But why? And which mories had been destroyed?!
Chen Yi was beside himself. In that instant, his hatred shifted from [Truth] directly to [Oblivion]. He wanted to ask his Benefactor why [Oblivion] had done this, but he was also afraid of wasting this precious ti together. And so, paralyzed by indecision, he watched helplessly as those eyes faded from the Void.
The mont he returned to the rest area, Chen Yi — his expression dark as a thundercloud — pulled out a dagger and carved two words deep into the floor: OBLIVION.
"Damn it — damn [Oblivion]!"
...
Reality — a private estate in an unknown city.
ng Youfang looked at himself in the mirror.
...
The Void — an unknown space.
A frigid voice echoed through the emptiness, stirring gusts of biting wind. Yet the summoned woman felt no chill whatsoever.
She gazed up at those star-filled eyes with a smile, watching the constellation points within them interweave and spiral, marveling at the wonder of [Void].
"You and fate have been entwined for a long ti.
A follower of [Fate] once rewrote your destiny. And now, you have helped guide a deviation back to the Fixed Destiny.
In the universe, every drink and every peck is destiny.
So, Hu Xuan — would you walk the path of [Fate] and beco one sheltered by [Fate]?"
"..."
Perhaps having anticipated this "invitation," Hu Xuan smiled brightly. But then she shook her head with firm resolve:
"Praise be to [Void]. Praise be to [Fate].
This humble one receives [Fate]'s grace with nothing but awe and gratitude.
But I have already devoted myself to [Birth]. My heart holds no room for another path. Though [Fate] is wonderful, it is not the road I wish to walk.
To have earned the Fate Weaver's regard is already the fortune of a lifeti. To covet [Fate]'s gaze on top of that would be Hu Xuan not knowing her place.
I have resolved to remain by my Lord's side. This stroke of luck — I can only let it slip through my fingers.
But since I've been granted the rare honor of this audience, Hu Xuan does have one small request."
The mont those words left her lips, the Void froze solid.
Now, for the first ti, the summoned woman felt the true cold of [Void]. A fine layer of frost crept across her brows, her eyes, her skin.
Yet Hu Xuan remained composed and unwavering — for in this mont, she represented not herself, but... [Birth].
The Eternal Sun had already been acknowledged. Any god who wished to erase her would effectively be declaring war on [Birth].
But [Fate] clearly didn't care about such things. He fixed Hu Xuan with eyes as cold as ice and spoke with utter detachnt:
"One who refuses to walk into [Void] dares to demand blessings?
Do you know what you're doing?
Mortal — even if you truly beco His child, in this Void, [Birth] cannot protect you!"
To claim she wasn't afraid would have been a lie. But Hu Xuan held steady. She forced a kind smile through her struggle, chose not to respond to [Fate]'s challenge, and spoke through gritted, trembling teeth:
"Great [Fate], I wish to beg You — please transfer this good fortune to Your follower, Fate Weaver Cheng Shi.
I wish to plead for a second gaze on his behalf from You.
May his road ahead be free of worry. May fortune follow him in all things."
The mont she finished, the biting wind vanished.
The entire Void fell still, leaving only a complex, lingering glance from [Fate].
"I sense your sincerity. But I must remind you — without fate's favor, your path will not be easy."
Hu Xuan smiled radiantly: "And will his path be easy?"
[Fate] said nothing more and departed in silence.
The Void lapsed once more into stillness.
...
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