Despite their differing stances on the Fear Faction, the mortal and the god had at least reached a consensus: whether it was the Torchbearers or Cheng Shi himself, surviving this experint required accelerating the accumulation of power.
Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Shi brought up his plan to venture into the Real Universe and collect scattered authorities.
He shared the plan without hesitation—and only after the words had left his mouth did he catch himself with a start, realizing he'd been a bit too forthcoming today.
There seed to be so ineffable power about the Fla of Hope that made him trust unconditionally.
When the Candle Man noticed Cheng Shi's reaction, he smiled:
"You're perceptive."
"This is one of my abilities, but your sincerity wasn't forced—it's because the hope in your heart is naturally drawing closer to my will."
"The survival instinct drives the helpless to huddle together for warmth, and I am the faint fla that warms them. So as long as you truly carry hope in your heart, you will inevitably be drawn to ."
"Qing-Qing is like this, Xin-Xin is like this, and you... are no different."
"..."
'What's with all these cutesy nicknas? Gross.'
Cheng Shi nodded silently, accepting the explanation, but he made a ntal note to look more carefully into the Fla of Hope's true identity later.
Everything he trusted about the Fla of Hope was built on a foundation laid by the Fun God. Yet the Fla of Hope was now warning him to be wary of the Fun God. Cheng Shi knew he should be cautious—but knowing wasn't the sa as being able to act on it.
He was already in too deep to pull out.
After a brief silence, the Fla of Hope's fires swayed:
"Through the Prophet's conversations with Xin-Xin, I've already learned a few things about Civilization. Looking at it now, that was probably you passing information to the Torchbearers, wasn't it, Yu Xi?"
"..."
Being called Yu Xi was one thing, but what was this "Prophet" business about?
Fang Shiqing was "Qing-Qing," Qin Xin was "Xin-Xin," but when it ca to An Mingyu, she just got her job title?
'Hold on—isn't the Blind One also a Torchbearer? Why the double standard?'
The Candle Man noticed the confusion in Cheng Shi's eyes and said in an inscrutable tone:
"I noticed long ago that the Prophet was different from the girl she used to be. At first, I assud she'd simply taken a blow from Fate—our Benefactor is rather cold-hearted, after all. Beyond Fixed Destiny, He rarely concerns Himself with anything else."
"But now I understand. She really did change—into a different her."
"I should have realized sooner. Every trace of Change brings new turning points, and the truth about the universe was right in front of
the whole ti, yet I still missed it..."
"In the end, I'm not the complete Change..."
"And Xin-Xin too—hiding this from . But then again, that's classic Xin-Xin."
"A Xin-Xin who protects the Prophet is a true Torchbearer."
"..."
'The Chosen One of Fate really gets the short end of the stick. Abandoned by her own Benefactor was bad enough, but now she's being treated as an outsider even by the Fla of Hope. If she ever found out...'
'Hmm?'
'Wait, that doesn't add up. The Fla of Hope is supposed to embody the will of the smallest minority. Doesn't An Mingyu qualify as one of the smallest minority?'
Though being called "Prophet" wasn't inherently malicious, why was the Fla of Hope treating the Chosen One of Fate differently?
Just because she was a devout follower of Fate?
But her circumstances were the sa as the Fla of Hope's—both had been discarded. Shouldn't they be huddling together for warmth?
The Fla of Hope himself didn't seem to notice this inconsistency. He continued:
"Xin-Xin is a follower of War and the best candidate. But given your insistence on keeping your distance from the Torchbearers..."
"Never mind, I'll figure out a way. When you're ready to set out, rember to use this mirror to contact . I'll find an excuse to send Xin-Xin away so he can 'coincidentally' et you in the Real Universe."
"However, the thod for breaking through the spaceti barrier will have to co from you. I'm confined to this little corner and can't help you with that."
Cheng Shi naturally knew Qin Xin was the ideal choice. If this could work, it would add another layer of probability to the authority retrieval mission.
Even if, for whatever reason, Qin Xin couldn't make it, Cheng Shi had backups. Mo Li, who had switched from Order to War, or Hu Wei, who used a body of Chaos to continuously impersonate a War follower—either would likely suffice.
With that matter settled, the mortal and the god spent a while discussing the current state of the pantheon. Cheng Shi didn't reveal everything, only providing a vague update on the gods' various wills. The Fla of Hope, in turn, gave Cheng Shi a rundown of potential power sources for accelerating toward Fixed Destiny. Then they parted ways.
Not because they'd run out of things to discuss—but because Qin Xin had returned.
Upon hearing footsteps outside the room, the Candle Man froze and glanced at Cheng Shi. Cheng Shi shook his head, smiled, and waved farewell to the Fla of Hope. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he transported himself back to the void where he'd had his audience with Deceit.
Ti within the mirror didn't count toward reality, so from the mont the Fun God had thrown him in to now, only the duration of a single conversation had passed.
Such a brief window ant Shadow Cheng Shi could easily return to his original position using his talent. As for the main body... he was still working on that.
But just as Cheng Shi was contemplating whether to retrace his path through the Dreamless Mirror to return to the void, his vision went black. An invisible force yanked him out of That Dream My Nightmare.
Before his consciousness scattered, he caught a fleeting glimpse of an enormous shadow—a turbid, yellowed giant hand—flashing past. When he ca to, the first thing he saw was Kataro's smiling face.
Kataro gently helped Cheng Shi to his feet and said respectfully: "You're awake, my lord."
"Is this the temple? He sent
back again?"
Cheng Shi blinked, looking around. Only Kataro and himself were present—Dragon King and the mirror had vanished, and the Fun God was nowhere to be seen.
He glanced down and found that his shadow had already safely rerged. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where's our Benefactor? Has He left?"
Kataro nodded with a smile: "Yes. He returned you to the temple and then went straight to His next audience."
"Who is He eting?"
Kataro's expression shifted. He hesitated a mont, carefully scanned their surroundings, then lowered his head and whispered uncertainly: "I don't know, but it's probably not a player."
"?"
'Not a player?'
Cheng Shi blinked. 'If it's not a player, what kind of "audience" would it be?'
'He couldn't be eting another god's Envoy, could he?'
'Which Envoy would be blind enough to request an audience with the Fun God? Did they want to beco the entertainnt?'
While Cheng Shi was puzzling over this, Kataro bowed again: "My lord, your own audience should begin as well. The believers are already waiting at the foot of the divine steps outside the hall."
'Huh?'
"Whose believers?"
"The followers of Chaos..."
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