Cheng Shi's current predicant: no clue about the Nose of Verification, no leverage over the Eyes of Mockery.
He quietly stowed all the mask's sensory organs and produced the [Oblivion] container that Herobos had reluctantly gifted him.
Honestly, the container's form surprised him. It wasn't constantly collapsing and disintegrating like [Oblivion]'s eyes. Instead, one half was undergoing violent destruction — ash drifting away — while that very ash recongealed in the other half, forming a brand-new hourglass bulb.
When the crumbling half vanished entirely, the newly born half would begin its own destruction. The cycle repeated endlessly — death and rebirth, alternating without pause.
The container's behavior made it clear that [Oblivion] truly held the will to bring the universe new life. Unfortunately, in Origin's eyes, what followed [Descent] wasn't the new world [Oblivion] hoped to create under His own lead — but the descent of [Civilization], held by [Order].
Cheng Shi kept sensing the aura radiating from the [Oblivion] container. The "hope" that burst from the interplay of destruction and rebirth was unexpectedly captivating. A spark of inspiration hit: if [Oblivion] could "forge" new life, then given the right "tool" for shaping... could it actually forge a "world"?
Like how the Curtain Call Ball could reproduce a corner of reality, perhaps the [Oblivion] container could reproduce sothing even grander?
Driven by this idea, he thought for a mont and drew out a servant god–level item he'd never used before: the Ritual of Truth!
The Ritual of Truth could deconstruct the truth of all things and use [Truth]'s power to reconstruct everything. The [Oblivion] container, anwhile, carried the force of rebirth through destruction. Combine the two — could they spark sothing new?
The answer: yes!
And the spark was quite literally big!
Cheng Shi held the Ritual in one hand and the container in the other, rubbing them together like primitive fire-starting — until actual sparks flew — and still nothing happened.
He was starting to think it had been pure delusion when the Eyes of Mockery suddenly spoke up:
"Tsk—
I've seen experinters who lacked materials and had to improvise with substitutes. But I've never seen an idiot with no materials at all, just sitting there fiddling with two pieces of lab equipnt.
You're pressing them together that hard and rubbing that fast — are you trying to get them pregnant so you can steal [Birth]'s authority?
Truly, you break new records of stupidity every passing second."
"I—"
Though he'd been roasted, Cheng Shi wasn't the least bit annoyed this ti. He was, in fact, delighted — because he'd finally figured out one use of the Eyes of Mockery. When you couldn't understand sothing, just try the dumbest approach possible. That way, Eye Bro — who couldn't tolerate even a speck of stupidity — would "enlighten" you through contempt, telling you which path was wrong.
If you were lucky, there might even be a nugget of useful information buried in the insult.
Like "lab equipnt"!
What kind of experint could the [Oblivion] container and the Ritual of Truth serve as equipnt for?
Cheng Shi desperately wanted to ask, but held back. He knew that pressing further would only invite more contempt, not answers.
But this was enough. At least the spare container wasn't junk.
The [Oblivion] container was different from other containers. This faction had virtually no friends of Cheng Shi's. He couldn't use it for strategic positioning, nor could he reasonably compete with Herobos — stuck in the indefinitely postponed petition — for [Oblivion]'s throne.
Liars had to protect their reputation. Once your na was mud, you could never con anyone again.
Even if he planned to "burn bridges," he'd wait until the day reputation no longer mattered.
Cheng Shi set the container and Ritual on the ground, letting his thoughts wander to the road ahead.
The Fear Faction held overwhelming divine "power." The universe's drift from Origin's will was becoming increasingly obvious. [Fate], desperate to ensure Fixed Destiny held, was spreading His faith far and wide, accelerating the Destined.
But the Fun God's sches were also tied to Fixed Destiny. So at least regarding acceleration, [Void]'s two sovereigns and their servant walked the sa road.
If [Fate] wasn't lying — if Fixed Destiny truly related to Origin — then as the person at the center of it all, Cheng Shi's most logical guess was that he was being shaped into a sacrifice imbued with "Origin's aura."
This "Origin's aura" didn't an creating a force similar to Origin's. The gods probably couldn't produce such a thing. [Void] most likely wanted to unify the gods' wills in a single body, simulating the Creator's will.
And the thod for that unification, it now seed, was likely finding a "faithless" vessel whose will aligned to so extent with every god's, then "dressing" it in containers or authorities bearing those divine wills — transforming it into a sacrifice.
As for why it had to be faithless...
When soone devotedly approached any one of the sixteen thrones, their will inevitably skewed toward that specific deity. That would contradict Origin's will — because He had never favored anyone. He was the aggregate of all wills, balanced and unified.
Was that the reason [Void] had chosen him?
Cheng Shi wasn't sure. But thinking about how his constant casual blasphemy might end up strapping him to a stake piled high with kindling... he wished he could slap himself.
Too late for regrets, though. Compared to players who hadn't been selected as sacrifices, his path ahead was steeper and more perilous — but he still held a sliver of agency.
Leveraging his identity as the sacrifice, before the [Void] Era's curtain fell, what he could see and what he could do far outstripped the countless mortals blindly struggling through the Faith Ga.
That was probably the source of every slice-universe Cheng Shi's courage to face Origin head-on. At least he wasn't walking alone — there were countless companions, behind and ahead.
With that thought, his wandering mind narrowed to focus. A mont later he snapped back to the present, rembering the Destined Ones' eting needed to happen. It was ti to give these Destined sothing to do. Since everyone enjoyed [Fate]'s protection, they might as well help speed things along on the Destined path.
He dialed Big Cat. Her boisterous voice ca through almost instantly.
"Today?"
Cheng Shi smiled and nodded: "Today. Rally the people. Get
in touch with An Shenxuan and soone called Li Wufang — a follower of [Order]. I'll handle the rest.
I've decided to tear open this world's script and lay it out for everyone. So they all know how this ga really works."
Hong Lin's voice caught, stunned:
"Ming Yu really is in there?
Li Wufang... I know him, actually. But — you're going to show your hand to the Destined Ones?
Cheng Shi. When soone's strength isn't enough to carry the weight of that much information and that much pressure, knowing more only breeds more fear. That doesn't help them move forward.
Even knowing the Destined Ones are the elite of this ga — don't forget, from the Faith Ga's descent until now, the only person who's sat at the gods' table to gamble is you. Everyone else is a chess piece.
They can see the board clearly. The wisest among them might see two or three moves ahead. But if you want them to look up and see the players moving the pieces...
Can they handle it?"
Cheng Shi was quiet for a mont. Then he nodded:
"They can.
I believe in them — the sa way I believe in fear."
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