"You don't trust ?"
Cheng Shi's tone carried equal parts sha and fury. He stepped forward, jabbing a finger at himself as he exclaid:
"It was I who chose not to expose the fact that [Order] had been replaced — preserving [Order]'s last shred of dignity!
It was I who uncovered the past within the Sea of Desire and personally sent the [War] that had torn [Order] apart to a battlefield of certain death!
It was I who stopped [Oblivion] from throwing the Assembly of Gods Convention into chaos — safeguarding [Order]'s final asure of honor!
And it was I who spared no effort running everywhere to protect the universe's last remaining order — even risking discovery by my own Benefactor to bring [Order]'s follower here to see You!
And yet You would bestow this Authority upon Your follower?!
Is this right? Is this reasonable? Is this fair?!
Is [Order]'s so-called fairness nothing more than denying all effort and judging a person's devotion solely by how close their faith happens to be?
Hmph.
Then I must say — [Order]'s decline is well deserved!
This kind of order no longer rits my service."
With that, Cheng Shi flung his hand dismissively, shot the codex an ice-cold glance, and walked away.
Kataro looked left, looked right, his expression a masterpiece — then hurried after him. Only a shell-shocked Li Wufang was left standing alone before the endlessly turning pages of the codex, lost and bewildered.
The two left the temple one after the other. The instant they were out of [Order]'s line of sight, Kataro deftly summoned the yellow mist of chaos to envelop their forms, and together with Cheng Shi, they hid within the fog, peering back into the temple to watch what would unfold.
He was nervous. After a long internal debate, he finally couldn't hold back: "My lord, your performance was a bit..."
"Over the top?" Cheng Shi snorted a laugh.
Kataro paused, then relaxed considerably:
"So this was also part of your calculation. Kataro worried for nothing.
I assud that since even I could tell you were acting, [Pride (Order)] would surely see through it. I never imagined you had deeper intentions. As expected of Lord Cheng Shi."
"..."
Cheng Shi shot Kataro an odd look: "You've been laying it on pretty thick lately. Did you ss sothing up?"
"Kataro would never dare!" The servant of [Void] went white as a sheet.
"Good.
There wasn't any deep aning behind it. I simply wanted to vent.
I've been getting chewed out by everyone lately, and I had a bit of an epiphany — sotis giving soone else a good scolding feels pretty great."
"..." Kataro's expression froze. Confused, he asked: "Then your plan..."
Cheng Shi chuckled softly:
"[Pride (Order)] probably saw through my sche, so to prevent any further surprises, I had to leave the stage imdiately.
Now Its choices are limited again.
Wufang is an honest man. The only ti he ever deceives is to spread [Fate]'s faith. In here, he doesn't need to lie — all he has to do is tell his Benefactor what he knows, and It will see for Itself just how far universal order has fallen.
The Fun God will never release It, because [Pride (Order)] doesn't carry the Fear Faction's blood in its veins.
But Wufang is different. As long as he inherits everything from [Order], the Fun God might tolerate a new [Order].
After all, [Chaos] sitting in that seat only ever stirred up trouble. Regardless of whatever partnership They once had, tis change — and so should the era."
Kataro listened in silence, head bowed in reverence. In that mont, he felt a faint but unmistakable echo — watching Lord Cheng Shi position his pieces on the board was strangely reminiscent of watching the Benefactor himself steer the fate of the universe. Both inspired the sa deep sense of awe.
Outside the temple, two furtive figures continued to spy. Inside, the heart-to-heart between [Order] and its follower had begun.
Just as Cheng Shi had predicted, Li Wufang answered every question [Pride (Order)] asked honestly — with the sole exception of what he had just learned at the Destined Ones' eting. Before long, the codex — imprisoned here for who knew how many ages — had a clear picture of everything transpiring in the current universe.
Though the perspective was colored by Li Wufang's subjectivity and the sources were limited, for a deity who knew every god inside and out, it was more than enough. It could piece together a complete picture of the current era from fragnts alone — and slowly ca to believe the things Cheng Shi had said.
The universe's order truly was reaching its final act. Even under the Convention's constraints, gods had begun to fall.
It knew this was not the end — but the beginning of order's collapse.
The codex fell silent. It hadn't expected the era's deterioration to be worse than Its projections. Yet this only deepened Its conviction that Its choice had been correct.
It gently turned a page, reining in Its pride, leveling Its tone as much as possible, and spoke to Li Wufang in the guise of a "benevolent" Benefactor:
"I have been imprisoned here by [Chaos] and [Deceit] for far too long. Their thods have long since drained
of all divine power.
Even if I wished to bestow my Authority upon you, I could not bypass Their blockade.
There is only one way for you to inherit everything I have. And that is...
Pull out the Mockery Spikes driven into my body. Tear apart the Chaos Chains binding . In the instant Their divine power destabilizes, I will be able to bestow my Authority upon you and recognize you as the Envoy that [Order] has elevated in this era — so that you may reclaim everything that belongs to [Order] at the Assembly of Gods Convention!
My follower, will you accept this great charge — and carry the last [Order] into the world?"
"!!!"
It wasn't just Li Wufang — even Cheng Shi and Kataro outside the temple held their breath.
Could it truly be that today, within this [Chaos] temple, a new Envoy would be born?
But if [Order] had no divine power, how had It bestowed the ring representing the Inquisitor's seat before?
He clearly rembered that the Mockery Spikes had loosened their hold, allowing [Pride (Order)]'s divine power to surge forth. Had the Fun God squeezed [Order] completely dry over ti?
Setting all that aside — could the asures left behind by the Fun God even be undone by a mortal?
Cheng Shi turned to Kataro, only to find Kataro equally baffled.
He knew the Benefactor had imprisoned [Pride (Order)] here, but whether It could be released, and how — the Benefactor had never given instructions on that.
Even if [Pride (Order)] had ulterior motives and was trying to use Li Wufang's hands to break free...
The question was: could Li Wufang actually do it?
A mortal, breaking through the Benefactor's cage?
No matter how absurd the era of [Void] might be, surely it couldn't be that absurd?
While Cheng Shi was suspicious and Kataro was confused, the Investigator also furrowed his brow cautiously and asked:
"Forgive my impudence, my Benefactor. I am but a mortal. How could I possibly pull out [Deceit]'s spikes or tear apart [Chaos]'s chains?"
The codex's page-turning ceased, and It let out a cold laugh.
"Perhaps this was an oversight on Their part. Or perhaps this was always part of [Deceit]'s calculation.
When They joined forces to imprison , They presumably never anticipated that many years later, a human would stand before . So while these spikes and chains may be formidable against gods, to a mortal they pose no threat whatsoever.
The last ti that Clown ca, I assud [Deceit] had given him the power to release . But his greed showed
everything I needed to know.
This ti, I trust only my follower.
Investigator — as my follower, you have no reason to stand still on [Order]'s road.
Your hesitation does not rit the right to wield my Authority. But I truly have no other choice.
[Civilization]'s fire rises. [Order] endures eternal!
For [Order] to endure, you must shoulder everything.
Pull out the spikes. Unchain the shackles. Beco my Envoy. Take my Authority.
In the era of [Void], [Order] must raise its voice — and that voice must ring with iron resolve!
Regardless of what [Deceit] and Its follower are scheming, do not let hesitation destroy [Order]'s path. And do not make
question my own choice.
Look into your heart and ask yourself: does this era still have order? Does this era still need order?!"
...
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