The two back-to-back audiences left Cheng Shi even more confused.
[mory] clearly had not retained His mories. Even though He had managed to sketch a collection piece in His hall the instant He perceived the universe's truth, [Ti]'s power had scrubbed it clean.
But [Birth] was different — He had not only retained mories but even held onto the Authority!
How was this possible?
Could [Ti]'s regression discriminate — not between people, but between gods?
Whoever He wanted to keep mories, kept them?
Hiss—
This discovery sent a jolt through Cheng Shi's heart, followed by a surge of excitent. [Ti] was, after all, a mber of the Fear Faction. If even a world-level regression could be fine-tuned, this was an incomparably powerful tool for the Faction's scheming!
He just didn't know what price such a "perfect" technique demanded. Surely a world reset couldn't be that simple.
But if mories could be preserved, which other gods had learned the universe's truth during this incident?
And would the Fun God use the sa thod to recruit new mbers for the Fear Faction?
Cheng Shi frowned in silence, ntally reviewing the remaining gods. After running through them all, he realized the Fear Faction didn't seem to have many potential new allies.
Among the gods, they were either devoutly in the Approach Faction, or already secretly allied with the Fear Faction. The Neutral Faction had barely anyone left.
[Decay] counted, technically — but He'd be equally useless no matter which side He joined. No god would bother with Him, and He wouldn't bother with any god.
[Birth]...
Forget it. If gods from opposing factions could unanimously cast their votes for [Birth], that ant He was like [Decay] — purely a mascot.
As long as He could still give birth, this prelude to [Life] wouldn't pose any threat to the universe.
But at this very mont, Cheng Shi himself was under threat.
Why was he the one cleaning up after the Fun God's broken promises?
Having a Benefactor like this was utterly exhausting. Then again, the Fun God hadn't technically broken the deal — it was just that the two deities had different understandings of what "coming ho" ant.
Cheng Shi sighed helplessly. He knew he couldn't possibly convince Lu Xia to return, so he tactfully relayed what Hu Xuan had said about Lu Xia's wishes before the trial ended, adding so flattery:
"Great God of [Birth], there is no need for worry.
Lu Xia is fervently spreading Your will across the world. I know You feel the universe isn't safe — that having Your child nearby gives You peace of mind.
But the truth is — and forgive the disrespect — the reality we face is too heavy. If the day You fear truly cos, even with Lu Xia at Your side, You probably couldn't protect Him.
Because the danger cos from..."
Cheng Shi pointed solemnly upward, leaving the na unspoken.
"...So why not let Your child be himself during this 'last stretch of ti'?
He may seem rebellious, but it's actually devotion and love — because what he cares about is still Your will.
Of course, I may be painting too bleak a picture, but I trust You understand what I an..."
Cheng Shi's words were genuinely sincere, and [Birth] truly took them to heart.
The thick Divine Pillar stopped its lashing, swaying pensively for a mont. Then He addressed Cheng Shi:
"Do not attempt to pull
into your faction —
I have never feared 'Him' — I simply do not want my children — scattered and lost —
You — just like your Benefactor — born to beguile hearts —
Stay away from my children — do not fill their heads with the will of [Deceit] —
I will not summon you again —"
"..."
Cheng Shi pursed his lips. Shut out by [Birth]...
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, he couldn't say.
Indeed, Cheng Shi had hidden a motive in his rhetoric. If [Ti] had left [Birth] with mories, that ant the Fear Faction had designs on [Birth].
As a mber of the Fear Faction, he had to at least try. That was why he'd painted such a pessimistic picture — to provoke this deity into moving closer to the Fear Faction for the sake of protecting His children.
But [Birth] was impervious.
Cheng Shi was out of options. He wanted to ask: since You've witnessed Origin's terror and the universe's true nature, why aren't You afraid?
But he knew that question would lead nowhere.
Fine.
Even if recruitnt failed, at least he'd shaken off the burden of bringing Lu Xia ho, right?
That counted as a win.
[Birth], who despised [Deceit], swatted His follower away with a single lash. Cheng Shi — long accustod to this sort of treatnt — closed his eyes and waited to land back in reality.
But today, reality seed far away. He fell for a long ti without touching solid ground. So he opened his eyes, looked at the Void around him, and sighed wearily:
"Had enough fun yet, Benefactor?"
"Hee~
Not yet."
With that playful giggle, the eyes of starlight and spirals opened once more above Cheng Shi's head.
The Fun God had arrived, and He appeared to be in a great mood.
[Truth]'s Authority was in His pocket. The world hadn't attracted Origin's attention. Even [Truth]'s own creation was now in His follower's hands. With such a "total victory," He was clearly the biggest winner.
So the mont Cheng Shi laid eyes on the Fun God, he cut straight to the point:
"You foresaw all of this?"
Those eyes blinked and blinked, playing dumb: "All of what?"
Cheng Shi pursed his lips, steadied himself in the Void, and repeated the question. This ti the Fun God answered — though the response was unexpected.
"Of course not.
Nobody can foresee everything — not even [Fate], who claims to perceive the universe's true nature.
It really was an accident.
I'll admit — [Truth] had impeccable timing. He launched this experint at the mont when my guard was lowest and caught
completely off guard. [War]'s betrayal only compounded the chaos, throwing my plans into total disarray."
"?"
'Why does this sound like bragging?'
'If You were truly caught off guard and scrambling, how did You end up with such a bountiful harvest?'
Cheng Shi's lip curled in disdain, thoroughly unimpressed.
Those eyes clearly read his thoughts and snorted in amusent:
"What — you think I made out like a bandit from this experint?"
"[Truth]'s Authority changed hands. If I'm not mistaken, the Convention's voting rights were probably preserved too. That ans everything [Truth] lost went straight to You. How is that not a windfall?"
"Tch—
If you only look at what's in front of you, all you'll ever see is the surface.
Even as my follower, you mustn't settle for appearances.
If I could choose, I'd rather not have this Authority.
You should know — [Truth]'s Authority is rely compensation for propping up a collapsing building. It's not a trophy.
I took a massive loss. But...
At least I saved this world.
So — do you believe now that I was saving the world?"
"..."
Cheng Shi was quick on the uptake. His expression tightened and he imdiately asked: "What was the price?"
Those eyes turned coy: "You don't need to know. You only need to know that [Truth]'s Authority doesn't even co close to offsetting what saving the world cost."
Was the Fun God really the savior?
No — Cheng Shi didn't believe that. Even if the Fun God's hand had been visible in this rescue, Cheng Shi sensed that He had saved the world not to preserve it permanently, but to ensure it didn't collapse midway — so it would instead collapse at the endpoint He had chosen.
What the Fun God was planning had to be a rebellion against Origin. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of His [Deceit] will.
But Cheng Shi saw no need to call this out. The Fear Faction couldn't afford nested layers of fear within its own ranks. He thought carefully for a mont. If the Fun God hadn't been lying, then the regression concealed many more secrets.
For instance, His phrase "if I could choose" — but wasn't [Ti]'s regression the result of choices made by Him and [Ti]? Otherwise, why did so gods retain their mories while others didn't?
Could there be more to this story?
...
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