"You seem to have figured sothing out. Interesting—care to share what's on your mind?"
"Is it related to the universal experint and the Real Universe you ntioned?"
"I can understand interpreting this era's Void ga as an experint, but this 'Real Universe' concept—I'll need you to explain that one yourself."
The Candle Man watched Cheng Shi with considerable curiosity, unaware of just how turbulent the Fate Weaver's thoughts had beco.
Cheng Shi didn't know where to begin, so he started with a question:
"Fla of Hope, what does the world look like from your perspective?"
The Fla of Hope raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with a smile: "I told you, this isn't a Q&A session. True cooperation isn't just one-sided taking. You—"
"This is important." Cheng Shi cut him off with absolute conviction. "Trust . Answer my question, and then you'll know everything I know."
"Including what answer I'm pursuing, and why I ended up here."
Seeing Cheng Shi's grave expression, the Fla of Hope's tone faltered, and his gaze turned deep.
He deliberated briefly, then decided to trust Cheng Shi once more.
"Eras shift, faiths change. The supre Creator made all things, then inscribed several full stops in His book of creation—and those full stops beca the gods of the universe."
"They represent the conclusion of each phase of faith, collectively anchoring the path of past beliefs for the Creator."
"So of Them are devout, others fearful. Their views of the Creator differ—the fearful ones keep their distance, while the devout ones wish they could serve at His side, even rge with Him entirely."
"Deceit is one of the fearful. And our Benefactor is the devout one who yearns to beco one with Him."
"When the era turned to Void, Fate sought to forge a sacrifice from the universe's power to please Him. Such an act would inevitably bring about the universe's collapse, because He is the aggregation of all faith—to draw close to Him requires draining every last drop of it."
"The gods regard their respective faiths as their very foundation, so they would never agree. Deceit, in particular, pushed the Convention among the gods to ensure His own authority remained intact."
"But none of this could deter our Benefactor's determination to march toward Fixed Destiny."
"A decisive battle awaits the universe. A final reckoning awaits the gods. When it's over, either Fate achieves Fixed Destiny, or the universe is dragged into Void by His misfortune..."
"As the Change that Fate discarded, I represent this world's tiniest minority of rebellious will. I am sworn to find a path of survival for this world—and that is why I protect the torch."
"Is that enough, Fate Weaver? These are my innermost convictions. Surely they're sufficient to earn your sincerity."
Cheng Shi nodded silently and began sharing everything he knew.
But the shock he delivered to the Fla of Hope was far more devastating than anything the Fla of Hope had anticipated.
His very first sentence rooted the Candle Man to the spot.
"The Creator isn't a creator—He's an Experint Master."
"What I called the 'universal experint' is ant literally. The starry sky you and I see is this experint—or rather, one of its samples..."
"?"
The Candle Man blinked, seemingly unable to comprehend. But as Cheng Shi continued, the light in his eyes gradually dimd. Even the flas across his body lost their heat, and his entire being seed to wilt.
This ti, Cheng Shi held nothing back. He told the Fla of Hope everything—from Truth's experint to the bloody cessation, from the world's reset to the Convention's gambit. He laid it all bare, wanting to discover what secret the Fla of Hope harbored that was so important even Origin "must not see it."
After hearing everything, the Fla of Hope clearly sensed his own significance. He furrowed his brow and brooded for a long ti before recovering so of his vigor. His tone turned deeply solemn:
"This truth exceeds anything I'd imagined. My mind is still in turmoil."
"However... there are things I know that do align with your tiline, so I believe you. This shouldn't be a lie."
He let out a bitter laugh.
"Who would fabricate such an earth-shattering falsehood just to erode my hope?"
"If Deceit truly wanted the Fla of Hope extinguished, He could have acted long ago. He wouldn't even need to withdraw His protection—He could simply let
vanish in this world that our Benefactor refuses to accept."
"I think I understand what you're looking for now, and I can guess why He sent you to ."
"When you think about it, what you've co here seeking and the reason I chose you—they're really the sa thing."
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. He imdiately responded: "Godhood..."
"Exactly. Godhood."
"The sa principle applies: the status of a god is an admission ticket to the grand table. Only now it carries an additional aning—it's also the ticket to the Real Universe."
"Before a mortal achieves godhood, there's no point in even discussing how to escape His experint. After all, between you and Him stands an entire pantheon of beings that mortals consider omnipotent."
"So whether you want it or not, becoming a god is the only path forward."
The Candle Man seed to reignite. Perhaps it was the faint spark of determination in Cheng Shi's uncertainty that rekindled his own hope. He cracked a smile and regarded Cheng Shi appraisingly:
"But you're fortunate."
"I can't say how much good luck our Benefactor has wagered on you, but at the very least, on the road to godhood, you still have a choice."
"And even if you don't truly wish to beco a god, you can achieve your goal while simultaneously becoming one!"
"?"
That statent left Cheng Shi genuinely baffled.
"How can soone beco a god while not becoming a god at the sa ti?"
"Isn't that a paradox?"
"That's—"
'Wait!'
Cheng Shi seed to have guessed sothing. He shuddered, and the word burst from his lips: "Deceit?"
"Exactly! Deceit!" The Candle Man clapped his hands, his voice laden with aning. "Though I am rely the unpredictable fragnt of Change within Fate, I am still an Envoy of Fate, and I possess the ability to perceive essence."
"I've long wondered—our Benefactor created
even while discarding , so why has Deceit never elevated an Envoy to serve at His side?"
"Now I see it clearly. It's not that He was unwilling—He was waiting."
"He reserved that opportunity for His fear, and for those who share that sa fear."
"And that person..."
The Candle Man didn't say the na outright, but his gaze made it abundantly clear.
Cheng Shi's expression cycled through a spectacular range of emotions—and he couldn't argue, because he really had obtained Deceit's container.
Once the divinity belonging to Yu Xi filled to the brim and assembled itself, he would possess every qualification needed to wield Deceit's authority. All that would remain was Deceit's personal decree.
But the Fla of Hope clearly didn't know any of this. He was still explaining his theory of godhood to Cheng Shi.
"Deceit is deceit—it lies in the deceiving, and it lies in the fraud."
"I realized long ago what form His Envoy would take. Just as you're struggling right now—you want to seize a god's power, yet you don't want to be lumped in with what you understand gods to be."
"But the Envoy of Deceit is unlike any other Servant God. He doesn't need to possess a true divine status the way I do, because his status doesn't reside in himself—it resides in deception, in whether the world is fooled!"
"When the world is deceived into believing he is a god, then he is."
"When the world sees through the lie and believes he is not, then he is not."
"This is the Envoy of Deceit's path to godhood, and it is the secret I share with you today."
"!!!!!"
The instant he heard this thod of apotheosis, Cheng Shi's mind—
BOOM—
Exploded.
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