[Corruption] had three Envoys:
Drasilco, Aph Ros, and Tria.
This was information the Dragon King had once provided.
Had Aph Ros not ntioned Tria again today, Cheng Shi would have nearly forgotten such a person existed.
But what had Aph Ros said?
Tria's container?
That [Corruption] container had clearly dropped from Le Le'er's body. How could it be Tria's...
Wait!
Why wasn't Le Le'er listed among the Dragon King's three [Corruption] Envoys?
Cheng Shi was suddenly dumbfounded. He recalled his first confrontation with the Dragon King — the man's certain tone had clearly stated that [Corruption] had only these three Envoys. So where was Le Le'er?
As [Prosperity]'s daughter who'd betrayed Her and plunged into the Sea of Desire, as the Mother Tree of Fear who absorbed the universe's terror for the Sea — how could She not be a [Corruption] Envoy?
That's right! Le Le'er had said She didn't jump willingly. So unknown force had pushed Her into the Sea of Desire!
Could it be that Her "desire" hadn't been recognized by the Sea, and Her status had never been accepted by [Corruption]?
Cheng Shi looked at Aph Ros in bewildernt and voiced his greatest confusion:
"The Mother Tree of Fear, Le Le'er — is She not an Envoy of [Corruption]?"
Aph Ros was equally taken aback: "Who told you that [Prosperity]'s daughter was a servant of my Master?"
"...?"
'This is bad. Sothing's seriously wrong.'
Cheng Shi suddenly realized he'd been mistaken about sothing all along. Not all Envoys who switched faiths automatically retained their status.
Previously, influenced by the cases of Dizel and the Wrath of Abomination, he'd always assud an Envoy who changed faith remained an Envoy. But now it was clear — Le Le'er's case was entirely different!
She'd beco the Mother Tree of Fear against Her will, so Her devotion had never been recognized!
Then what was Her actual situation?!
And what about the [Corruption] container that had dropped from Her body? He'd never even t Tria — how had it beco Tria's container?
Still dazed, Cheng Shi pulled out the [Corruption] container. When Aph Ros saw it, His expression grew solemn once more.
"Tria is dead. Otherwise, She would never have relinquished this honor that was rightfully Hers."
Cheng Shi was silent a mont, then said only five words:
"I didn't kill Her."
"Mm. I believe you, my brother.
From what I can see today, you've clearly never t Her. And I find it hard to believe anyone in this world could 'bear' to kill Her."
That only piqued Cheng Shi's curiosity more. He asked:
"You know I've lost my mories. But even without them, I can't recall hearing about Her from anyone else.
An Envoy worthy of such praise from you — what kind of deity... was She?"
"She..."
Aph Ros grew uncharacteristically serious, lowering His head in thought.
"Was a girl who carried compassion in her heart.
Tria was born in the Descent Era. In that age, desire ran rampant and [Corruption]'s influence overflowed — even I was shaped by it, becoming the Aph Ros you see today.
She, however, was the continuation of my Master's radiance in that era.
At the start of the Descent Era, after the initial [Life] phase concluded, my Master began spreading His will.
She was born in a territory held by an alliance that worshipped our Master. Raised amid boundless desire, she naturally grew into one of His followers.
At that ti, people wildly indulged their desires and ambitions to catch the Benefactor's eye. They'd do anything for power — and followers in that territory died senseless deaths every day.
Tria grew up in that environnt, witnessing the scheming and killing. Yet she despised all of it.
She often said: 'No matter how swollen one's own desire may grow, there's no need to crush another's. We're all the Benefactor's followers — why can't we live in harmony and bask in the Sea of Desire together?'
Guided by that conviction, she treated everyone with 'kindness' and forgave with 'generosity.' She never hard a soul, bringing only pleasure to others.
Perhaps her joy moved their hearts, or perhaps they saw her as utterly harmless. In any case, during an election for alliance lord, those power-hungry ambitionists refused to withdraw yet knew they couldn't win — so they threw their votes at Tria, treating them as throwaway ballots.
Unexpectedly, when enough votes went to Tria, the lordship itself seed to walk to her feet.
But the result caused an uproar across the temple. The disenfranchised cried it was a mockery of desire. The bystanders insisted it was divine guidance. The two sides scread at each other until it ca to blows.
To quell her compatriots' fury, Tria smiled and immolated herself.
In the flas, she said:
'All people deserve pleasure, not suffering.'
'When suffering cos, I am willing to dissolve it for the world. That is my desire.'
'Since the world takes no pleasure in , I shall vanish from it and yield to soone worthy. Thus, the suffering I have caused shall evaporate at once.'
She was that resolute — not a mont of hesitation. Unfortunately, amid the surge of desire, no one could comprehend her will.
But what no one expected was this: the very instant the [Corruption] follower Tria burned away her last shred of flesh, the [Corruption] Envoy Tria was reborn from the flas.
The people saw divine light descend upon the world. They fell to their knees, prostrated, chanting Her na. And they called Her... the rcy Lord."
"Huh?"
Cheng Shi was stupefied. He'd never imagined that [Corruption]'s priest class — the rcy Lord — was actually a Servant God's Divine Na.
And this Tria — beyond the the of pleasure, what part of Her actions remotely resembled [Corruption]?
Performing acts of rcy with a compassionate heart — that alone made Her better than eighty percent of people in the current world.
Then again, saintly was saintly. At the end of the day, anything linked to [Corruption], even on the straight path, could never be fully righteous.
The endpoint of desire was always the abyss — Old Jia had taught him that, and it was the real truth.
Cheng Shi's thoughts churned. He digested this information and furrowed his brow once more.
Whose hand could have killed Tria?
Or rather — which god would dare provoke [Corruption] by slaying His Envoy?
The culprit had to be one of the true gods sitting on those sixteen Divine Thrones. Mortals couldn't kill a Servant God unaffected by the erosion of eras.
What was the connection between Her death and Le Le'er?
Was the container dropping a coincidence, or had he stumbled into so kind of cri scene?
Le Le'er had never ntioned Tria before Her death. Had She even known Tria's relic had ended up near Her?
Too many questions, and not a single lead. Cheng Shi thought it over fruitlessly, then shook the tangle from his head. Seizing the mont, he asked about another topic that interested him:
"Drasilco...
I seem to have no mories of this [Corruption] Envoy either."
...
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