"A deal?
You're giving
too much credit. I'm rely a servant god — how could I negotiate terms with a true god?
And even if there was sothing, the one you should ask isn't , but your Benefactor.
He's the mastermind behind all of this. I'm just a puppet pushed to the front of the stage — sa as you. Neither of us has much room to resist."
Drasilco gave a helpless smile, then added aningfully: "But I find you rather interesting. I've looked through your mories. You're quite the... pitiful soul."
Cheng Shi frowned. Having his mories known to a [Corruption] Envoy didn't seem like good news.
Drasilco appeared to read his concern. He smiled again:
"Relax. As long as desire still beats in your heart, my lips stay sealed.
Besides, in a sense, we're on the sa side, aren't we? Both of us — pieces on His board.
But I've said too much already. Speaking more will get
silenced, and I have no desire to end up like Tria — a handful of dust before this era's halfway point. I hope we et again, Clown."
With that, Drasilco's figure gradually faded, leaving Cheng Shi standing in place, brow furrowed in thought.
The [Corruption] follower clearly held a dim view of [Deceit]. He'd used words like "puppet" and "chess piece" more than once. Whether it was deliberate provocation or genuine sentint was hard to say — but either way, he wasn't wrong.
No matter how much Cheng Shi resisted, wasn't he still walking the so-called path of "Fixed Destiny"?
And now that he looked back, while the one who championed Fixed Destiny was [Fate], every past event that had been laid like stepping stones... had been arranged by [Deceit].
The Fear Faction's fear was not without reason.
Drasilco had also ntioned Tria. Combined with the mysterious Tria container in his possession, Cheng Shi couldn't help but wonder: had the Fun God killed her Envoy as part of his probe into [Corruption]?
If true, it was no wonder Drasilco felt poorly toward the Fun God. Even if he despised Tria, she was still a fellow [Corruption] adherent. The Fun God's actions would naturally chill his heart. And yet, there clearly was so kind of cooperation between the Fun God and Drasilco — the specifics of which remained unknown.
...
anwhile.
While [Deceit] and [Fate] were brawling again, [Truth] — yes, [Truth], or perhaps more accurately [Deceit], given His particular expertise — descended beside the Sea of Desire, listening to its tides with an inscrutable expression.
Before long, a hunched figure appeared beneath the Starlight Canon. He looked up at [Truth], puzzled for a mont, then understood:
"You're so eager to find my master because You want to make Him into a puppet like this [Truth]?"
The Starlight Canon scoffed:
"Only the scheming types enjoy controlling puppets. According to my philosophy of entertainnt, clowns should write their own scripts — that way the plays they put on are far more watchable.
I'm not talented enough to make your mysterious master serve . If I step into the Sea of Desire, not becoming his puppet would already be a win.
Besides, why do you say I'm the one eager to find Him?
You devoted Envoys are the ones who keep trying every trick to get closer. I'm simply being generous and lending you a hand."
Drasilco's face twitched. He lowered his head: "My devotion drives
ceaselessly onward. Let us hope this ti we can find His trail."
The Starlight Canon flipped a couple of pages and laughed strangely:
"I've searched high and low without finding any trace of His existence. Since when does your master hold the authority of 'hide and seek'?
Or — does your master simply not exist at all, and your 'devotion' is nothing but a heartfelt fantasy?"
Drasilco's expression sharpened: "Please don't jest about this, true god. Without my master, how could we exist?
In those days, beneath the Cathedral's scaffold, upon the rack — had my master not descended a container to save , there would be no Sin of Desirelessness today.
He pointed
toward my path. Perhaps being hidden away by You for so long cost
the privilege of my master's gaze, and now He no longer wishes to see ..."
"Oh? Blaming
now?
If I hadn't saved you lot when [Ti] was about to round you all up, right now you'd be trapped in your crumbling Cathedral like the Gate of Joyous Lust — endlessly falling through the past with no chance of ever seeing daylight again."
"..." Drasilco realized he'd misspoken and fell silent.
The Starlight Canon scoffed again:
"How amusing. His own followers He doesn't protect, yet I have to do it for Him.
Every god elevates Envoys by first summoning them, then bestowing a container. Only you three — He tosses a container and disappears. [Corruption]'s containers don't even require consent. This shadowy figure handing out containers from behind the curtain — is He necessarily [Corruption]?
Not many gods can pull off sothing so stealthy. Let's start by ruling
out, and then what's left...
Hee~
If we fish a certain foul-mouthed sobody out of the Sea of Desire today, I won't be the least bit surprised."
With that, the pair — one person, one book — faded at the edge of the Sea of Desire.
The sound of tides surged, drowning out all other noise.
...
The aftershocks of [Void]'s internal war eventually leaked through just enough to blast Cheng Shi from the void back into reality.
He'd returned to the final monts of the Trial. Watching the varied citizens of Redi Core hurry about, feeling the breath of [Folly] saturating the air, Cheng Shi gave a bitter smile and sighed.
Though he'd technically "won big" at the Assembly of Gods Convention, within this Trial itself... he'd co away with absolutely nothing.
'Worthy of His Trial. In the end, it was all one big foolish act.'
But at least he wasn't as foolish as the Historian or the Scavenger. One had recovered the Torchbearers' mories at the cost of his own life. The other had summoned an Envoy and ended up annihilating his own Benefactor...
He wondered how many points [Folly] would give their respective foolish acts. Hopefully his own score wasn't too high — otherwise, it would feel like being judged and mocked for no good reason.
With that thought, the world went dark, and the Trial ca to an end.
[Wish Trial (Round 12814229109141 of Folly — [Folly]) — Challenge Successful]
[Calculating score and rewards...]
[Player: Cheng Shi — Performance Score: B]
[Item acquired: Insight Mask (S) x1]
[Item acquired: Secret-Keeper Mask (S) x1]
[Item acquired: Awakening Mask (S) x1]
[Item acquired: Despair Mask (S) x1]
[Road to Ascension:
12]
[Ladder of Ascent:
3]
[Current Road to Ascension Score: 2313 | Global Rank: 276,703]
[Current Ladder of Ascent Score: 193 | Path Rank: 19]
[Trial complete. Exiting.]
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