"Uh... haha... You ca to work in person?"
Cheng Shi no longer knew what he was saying. All he knew was that he needed to put so distance between himself and the boss standing before him.
He retreated two steps like a toddler learning to walk, then two more, and two more after that... until his back pressed against the endlessly stretching pure white wall of the Collection Hall. Leaning against it and fighting to keep himself from collapsing, he squeezed out the fakest smile imaginable and greeted:
"When did you get here?"
The boss's eyes rolled white for an instant, as if reviewing the Collection Hall's stored mories, before he spoke with absolute gravity:
"If you think you said sothing blasphemous that I shouldn't have heard, and you're hoping I didn't catch it, then let
assure you — I heard everything.
No matter when I co here, the mories within are laid bare before .
Just as you said, this is my 'ho.'"
"..."
'Does the pressure really have to be this intense during a simple chat?'
'You're making
a little nervous here.'
Cheng Shi shrank back, let out a couple of dry laughs, and hurried to steer the conversation away from the topic of "blasphemy."
"Then you must have also heard why I ca here. Do you agree to this deal?"
The boss surveyed Cheng Shi with cold, appraising eyes and scoffed:
"I don't yet know the terms of the deal. How could I possibly agree?
Besides, you're a re mortal. What gives you the audacity to negotiate with ?"
The mont the conversation shifted to this kind of verbal sparring, Cheng Shi was in his elent. His gaze turned resolute in an instant, and the words flowed effortlessly:
"Great deity, if I may — my audacity stems from your own relentless pursuit of that one."
"Insolent!"
mory's brows shot up in fury, his eyes turning frigid:
"Do you know that reckless speculation about the Origin is a cri punishable by instant death?"
Boundless pressure surged from every direction, nearly pinning Cheng Shi into the corner of the Collection Hall. And yet, strangely, Cheng Shi wasn't as nervous anymore.
Perhaps he'd grown accustod to being judged, or perhaps pressure bred courage. Either way, Cheng Shi shed his earlier panic entirely, the corners of his lips curling into a grin.
He looked straight into the boss's terrifying eyes and said cheerfully:
"Setting aside the fact that you haven't actually killed
on the spot — I rely ntioned 'that one.' How does that constitute reckless speculation about the Origin?
I'm a re mortal, separated from Them by an insurmountable gulf. Just hearing Their exalted na fills
with dread. How could I dare speculate?
So I think the one whose mind was recklessly wandering toward Them... might actually be you, wouldn't it?"
"..."
Clearly, the standard divine intimidation no longer worked on Cheng Shi, who'd had frequent audiences with gods. mory cast a cold glance at Cheng Shi, offered no comnt on his retort, and didn't punish him for the "offense" either. After a long silence spent contemplating sothing, he spoke in a frigid tone:
"State your deal. You have one chance."
Cheng Shi's expression brightened, and he imdiately laid out his plan to dethrone Oblivion. He candidly explained that under a mortal's machinations, the downfall of a deity would certainly make for an extraordinarily compelling mory — one worthy of being enshrined and even offered to that existence.
Beyond that, Cheng Shi also admitted the proposal was partly self-serving. Oblivion's "departure" would benefit his own safety, and once he was safe, he could continue searching for mory's lost recollection.
Furthermore, he pledged to negotiate an agreent with the new Oblivion, specifically requesting that they reduce the frequency of mory annihilation upon assuming power, thereby preserving more mories for this world.
In short, casting this vote cost mory nothing and promised enormous returns. There was no reason not to lend support.
Of course, this was all persuasion from Cheng Shi's own perspective. As for what mory actually thought...
He contemplated for a long ti, his gaze drifting toward the audacious mortal before him — as defiant and rebellious as his own Benefactor — and neither refused nor accepted.
"If I refuse and annihilate the knowledge of Oblivion's crisis right here, wouldn't I gain a Descent ally while personally crafting another spectacular mory?
In that case, how would it differ from agreeing to your terms?"
"???"
Cheng Shi's mind raced, and a response ca to him within a heartbeat:
"Then you'd never be able to find the mories that interest you through !
And if I may be so shaless — right now, I'm quite the 'hot commodity' in the eyes of both Void Benefactors. Kill , and sure, you gain one Descent friend, but you'd instantly make two Void enemies!
That's not a good trade."
"Deceit has always opposed , and Void has never walked alongside Existence. Since we were already enemies, where's the bad bargain?"
Cheng Shi panicked.
'This is bad. He wouldn't actually kill , would he?'
Thinking fast, he countered with another argunt:
"Who says Void has never walked alongside Existence?
Fate's fusion with Ti is living proof that Void and Existence can travel the sa road!
Your own follower Li Jingming walking the path of Deceit is evidence that you and Deceit can advance hand in hand!
All Existence has aning, and if even opposing faiths can rge, then it proves this is the tide of the tis.
Perhaps this is exactly what They desire from Their lofty vantage. If you wish to draw closer to Them, Void won't be a stumbling block — it'll be a stairway to the heavens.
Climb those steps, and who knows what vista awaits at the top?
Even if Void is ultimately aningless, isn't aninglessness itself a kind of aning?
Just as nonexistence is a form of existence, perhaps Existence and Void were never ant to be so sharply divided.
Life birthed Descent, and Descent enriched Life;
Civilization spawned Chaos, and Chaos validated Civilization;
Now, Existence has extrapolated toward Void — but who can say that Void won't transform into Existence?
If you don't try walking in this direction, how will you know there aren't mories worth preserving ahead?"
The torrent of eloquence left mory silent.
'Nonexistence is a form of existence?'
He regarded Cheng Shi with an inscrutable look, shed his icy deanor, and smiled:
"Who taught you all of this?"
'Taught?'
'I made it all up on the spot!'
'If you were backed into a corner, you'd bullshit just as brilliantly!'
But the truth couldn't be spoken. Cheng Shi lowered his head slightly and replied with asured composure:
"After spending so long in the ga, looking back, one can't help but gain so insights."
mory raised an eyebrow and nodded:
"mory is not Ti. I cannot extrapolate — I can only record.
That is why Ti rarely feels regret when calculating, while mory sotis hesitates when collecting.
Back when I saw through Fate's sches, I should have been more forceful — pulled you directly into the Existence camp, rather than relying on so fusion with Ti that turned Existence into a tool for your Void machinations.
Never mind. What's past is past. Even if I've always lived in the past, it's ti I opened my eyes to the future.
Understood. You may leave."
With that, mory waved his hand and departed. The pristine white Collection Hall shattered with a thunderous crash, hurling a thoroughly bewildered Cheng Shi out of the void.
Cheng Shi was genuinely dumbfounded.
'Wait — what?!'
'Another "understood"?!'
'Every last one of you — just an "understood"? What the hell does that even an?'
'Is it so hard to let
"understand" sothing too?'
'At the very least, tell
whether you're casting your vote or not!'
'Is being a riddler really that fun?'
'Good grief, so this is what Fate's policy of embracing all faiths really ans — infecting the entire universe with the riddler disease?'
'If that's the case, then I have no choice but to praise Fate once more.'
"What a magnificent piece of work!"
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