Reality. Atop a mountain in an unknown province.
A small wooden puppet was fiddling with its wooden arms, writing and drawing on the earthen ground. What it wrote wasn't in any script from the real world or the Land of Hope — it was an entirely new alphabet.
It wrote as it murmured aloud:
"Cheng Shi. Yu Xi. A sacrifice from [Void]...
Makes sense, but [Void]'s sacrifice to Him would never be rely a newly elevated Envoy.
[Deceit] choosing him might have been a matter of temperant — full of randomness. But how do we explain [Fate] choosing him as well?
Two wills running in opposite directions, yet converging upon a single person. That can only an..."
The puppet paused in thought, erased several lines, then started a new row next to them:
"One of those wills is a fabrication.
So between [Void]'s surface and its essence — which one is the true essence, and which is the misleading illusion?
Judging from the recent explosion of [Fate] believers, [Fate]'s behavior has beco visibly more erratic. He's getting anxious. But why do the newest [Fate] followers describe their deity with two different appearances?
Is He using this to differentiate the sources of faith, or is so other god impersonating [Fate] to fish in troubled waters?
Is it [Deceit]?
Doesn't seem like it. [Deceit]'s focus lies elsewhere.
[Folly] once said [Deceit] is close to finding the answer. What answer?
Is it whatever [Ti] is busy with, or... the key to [Folly]'s own authority?
Insufficient data. Can't deduce further. I'll need more contact with them to find out.
Yu Xi, Yu Xi...
If your Benefactor is close to finding the answer, then are you, too, close to finding my master's authority?"
With that, the puppet stopped writing. It gazed toward the distant mountain range, gave a faint sigh, and produced several sheets of paper from its spatial inventory. Slowly tearing them apart, it scattered the fragnts into the air below.
Mountain wind scattered them like snow.
Between the drifting scraps, words like "idol" and "eyes" were barely legible. The puppet stood in the paper-snow, its eyes shifting subtly.
"I found you in the Trial. But what did you find in the Trial?
Eyes...
I recall Zhen Yi once obtained a tongue from Long Jing's possession — one that devours lies. And in San Dales, there were legends of the Secret Peeping Ear... All facial features. Could they be the sa thing?
Connected to [Deceit] — hmm? Masks?
So has [Folly] already lost to [Deceit]? Perhaps even surrendered His authority to Him?
Then why wouldn't [Deceit] know where that authority is?
Oh. I see.
[mory]!
It seems He played a critical role in all of this.
In that case, they appear to share a forgotten past. Interesting — can even [mory] forget His own mories?
And where would He hide such secrets?
In [mory]'s Collection Hall? Or within that Mask belonging to [Deceit]?
And what connection does that supposed Mask have with Yu Xi's path to godhood?"
The puppet fell into deep contemplation.
Atop the peak, there was nothing but the howl of wind.
...
The void. Location unknown.
A figure clad head to toe in heavy armor appeared, and the silent void finally stirred.
It was Qin Xin. He never expected that shortly after dispatching the Prisoner, the man had already dug up leads on that [Deceit] Envoy — Yu Xi — who was central to the God Creation Plan.
He was surprised. But what surprised him more was that during this eting, his normally garrulous secret Fire Seeker stood motionless, gazing at him with a complicated expression, saying absolutely nothing.
Qin Xin grew uneasy. Frankly, he worried this was the Prisoner's version of "charging his ultimate." He dreaded subjecting his exhausted brain to an unbearable symphony of chatter, so he cleared his throat twice — interrupting the "charge-up" — and asked as calmly as possible:
"What did you find?"
The Prisoner was in agony.
When he'd called for this eting, he'd already resolved not to reveal the truth. He would only say that his brother-in-law had a reliable way to et Yu Xi, and that the Torchbearers should get close to said brother-in-law — ideally recruit him.
But when he saw the weariness on Qin Xin's face, he wavered. Maybe it wasn't wrong to let this man — who had been running himself into the ground for humanity's hope — know the truth.
Even if it violated certain Torchbearer tenets, Qin Xin still had the Rembrance Needle, didn't he?
At worst, he could learn the full picture, plan accordingly, then erase his knowledge of the brother-in-law's true identity. That way, the Torchbearers might take fewer detours.
After all, knowing that Cheng Shi could et Yu Xi, versus knowing that Cheng Shi was Yu Xi, were two entirely different things. The forr would waste enormous manpower and resources; the latter only required keeping close to his brother-in-law. He was an expert at that. And he was confident his brother-in-law would welco his company.
Hence — the Prisoner's dilemma.
And Qin Xin, naturally, could tell that the man had discovered sothing he wasn't sure he should share. He gave a soft smile and patted the Prisoner's shoulder:
"I'm seeing you in a new light.
Honestly, when I first brought you into the Torchbearers, I wasn't sure you were the right fit.
Your childhood experiences moved , but they only proved your 'evil' had a cause — not that you possessed the desire to protect what's good, as I'd hoped.
Now I see you've grasped the true aning of passing fire.
The mont you hesitated, it proved that what you know can't be shared with . So don't agonize over it — just tell
what you can.
What you choose to keep is the goodness you're protecting. And that is what keeps us passing the fire."
Qin Xin's words were sincere and warming. But the Prisoner still struggled.
"Even if what I know could be useful for the path ahead?"
Qin Xin blinked, then smiled:
"Rember — the fire in our hearts is passed on willingly, torch by torch, person by person. It's never stolen fla from elsewhere, nor a wildfire set loose to take shortcuts.
Kindling that betrays our founding principle is like damp wood. It won't make the fire burn brighter — it'll only thicken the smoke."
The Prisoner fell silent again. After a mont, he nodded firmly:
"I understand. I did find a trail leading to Yu Xi — all the intel ca from my brother-in-law.
I believe he's our best window to get close to Yu Xi.
So my recomndation is this: I'll maintain contact with my brother-in-law and try to recruit him into the Torchbearers."
"..."
'Brother-in-law...'
A vein throbbed on Qin Xin's forehead. The corner of his mouth twitched: "Setting Cheng Shi aside — tell
about Yu Xi."
'How can I talk about Yu Xi without talking about my brother-in-law?'
The Prisoner looked pained but quickly laid out everything he knew — and that briefing took half a day.
There were only two people in the void, yet Qin Xin felt as if he'd just sat through a debriefing with several dozen attendees.
The useful information could have been sumd up in a few points. The useless tangents — "my sister," "my brother-in-law," "honey-trap tactics" — went on from start to finish.
Listening to those completely irrelevant suggestions, Qin Xin's head swelled to the size of a drum.
At that mont, he decided he'd given his "new light" assessnt a bit prematurely.
The Prisoner was still the Prisoner. So things never changed.
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