The Mockery and Jeering.
In that twisted River of Existence, a mirror drifted with the current, rising and falling amid kaleidoscopic tides.
This was the form Zhen Xin commonly used to represent herself—the appearance Deceit had bestowed upon her when she first entered the Mockery and Jeering. Though she could change her shape at will, she usually chose the mirror when she needed to declare her identity.
Of course, it was also Zhen Yi's preferred form—because that way she could bla every act of mischief committed in the Mockery and Jeering on her elder sister.
At this mont, the mirror faced a region of pure "nonexistence," bowing reverently:
"Praise be to Fate, may—"
Before she could finish, a voice cold as the abyss cut her off rcilessly.
"Since when does Fate need praise from a Deceit follower?"
"..."
Zhen Xin fell silent.
She could sense that Fate's condition was dire. This Void sovereign appeared to be imprisoned here, and the only being capable of imprisoning a god in this place was... the Fun God. There was no one else.
'As expected—He'd done all the groundwork long before showing His hand.'
Zhen Xin knew that Fate wouldn't welco anyone or anything associated with the Fun God right now. But she steeled herself, endured the crushing weight of that "nothingness" gaze, and spoke with deference:
"Deceit was the wrong turn at the start of the journey. The lost traveler awakened by a stroke of fortune, and so I've co to seek Fate's guidance—to find the road that lies ahead.
You are Void's very essence. Naturally, You can see the truth within my heart.
Even though, because of Ming Yu, I may harbor... feelings toward You... but I trust You can see clearly: at this mont, like my benefactor Deceit, I am a rebel.
I refuse to follow His guidance and let 'fixed destiny' be torn from this world. So I've co seeking Your help.
I beg You—keep him here and let
go. I... am willing to beco the world's second key, to fill the void of Deceit's designs upon this world..."
As these words ended, the mirror split into two. One half reflected a resolute Zhen Xin. The other showed the sleeping form of Zhen Yi, eyes closed.
Zhen Xin raised her hand, pointing at her sister in the opposite mirror, a touch of reluctance in her voice:
"I make this prayer on my sister's behalf. I beseech You to grant her a second faith—to make her a complete Void walker, one who can satisfy the world's need for 'the fixed' just as the Fate Weaver does.
I offer this as my bargaining chip—to keep the Fate Weaver in the present. While I..."
Zhen Xin's tone was profoundly humble. This, too, was sothing she'd learned from the Joker. In the past, when seeking a divine audience, she'd always been poised and unafraid—Deceit's attention had given her ample confidence.
But now, Deceit's confidence was the most offensive thing before Fate's eyes. She had no choice but to grovel like an ant, begging the god to grant her wish.
Amid the gods' war, this was the most "mature" solution a mortal could devise: satisfy Fate's obsession with the fixed, satisfy Deceit's covetous designs, preserve a world where Ming Yu could live—and let go of a self... already battered beyond repair.
She was tired. But for the sake of Ming Yu, she had to summon one last breath of fight.
Yet Fate was far more rciless than anyone imagined.
Imprisoned within the Mockery and Jeering, He suddenly thrashed violently. His wrathful aura crashed toward the two mirrors like a tsunami. Fortunately, the Mockery and Jeering surged and swelled, deflecting the fury. But even the tides couldn't block Fate's frigid gaze. He stared at the Deceit follower before Him—formless, invisible—yet it was as though He had opened those glacial eyes right there within this twisted Existence.
"Deceit follower—do you have any idea what you're saying!"
Zhen Xin pressed her lips together and nodded firmly: "I do."
"Utter nonsense!
There is only one Deceit in this world. Only one Fate... and only one world!
Given that, what is this talk of 'sending away' or 'keeping here'?
Deceit deceives Himself and others, packaging His rebellion as so absurd cosmic story—fooling the gods, fooling the people, and fooling you!
You call yourself a rebel like Him, yet you believe the lies He used to deceive the universe, and speak such utterly preposterous nonsense!"
"?"
Zhen Xin froze.
In the mirror, she didn't dare raise her head. Her expression was deadly grave.
For a fleeting instant, she wondered if she'd been wrong about everything. But she quickly realized the situation was more dire than she'd imagined. From what she was seeing, the one "deceiving themselves and others" might not be Deceit at all—it might be this "impotently raging" Fate.
He actually refused to believe that Deceit had co from beyond the world?
Why?
Fate had to know. Even if He couldn't be entirely certain, He must have guessed—otherwise, hearing her plea wouldn't have triggered such a breakdown.
So why was He rushing to deny it all? She'd offered the "most perfect" answer—surrender Zhen Yi, no one would be hard. Why wasn't that good enough?
No... it seed the issue wasn't "not good enough." It seed more like... "not possible."
An electric current exploded from her scalp and surged through her entire body. Her pupils contracted violently. She snapped her head up, staring into the formless Mockery and Jeering, and gasped in shock:
"'Fixed destiny' isn't a concept—it's... Cheng Shi himself!?"
Ever since she'd first encountered Cheng Shi in her sister's mories, Zhen Xin had been tracking this player who'd outwitted Zhen Yi. When she learned he was a Void walker, she'd simply assud he was the second lucky person chosen by Deceit after Zhen Yi had made the "wrong" choice.
She'd always believed it was Zhen Yi's "instinctive" evasion of "responsibility" that had created Cheng Shi's current predicant.
Not that she felt she owed Cheng Shi—she simply believed he wasn't "the only one." After all, she'd experienced that divine selection before Deceit herself, so she naturally interpreted it as nothing more than a god's pick.
But now, seeing Fate's reaction...
Could it be that the "fixed destiny" He championed had always been Cheng Shi from the very beginning!?
Zhen Xin's mind crashed. Her entire plan was built on the logical foundation of being Deceit's first collection—the belief that she could beco a second key. But now Fate was telling her it was impossible. There was only one key in this world, and it was the Fate Weaver nad Cheng Shi.
Now it was Zhen Xin's turn to ask that question: Why?
Why Cheng Shi?
Bewildered and shocked, she looked toward Fate. From the roiling Mockery and Jeering ca Fate's cold, direct voice:
"The fixed has always been fixed.
There is no reason. The only reason is that he was born as the fixed!"
Zhen Xin didn't understand, but she thought of Origin.
She spoke, trembling: "It's His will!?"
Fate gradually cald, His voice growing ever colder: "You need not know these things. Because you are not the fixed, nor can you ever beco the fixed."
"..."
That single sentence doused the fire within Zhen Xin, sealing it in ice. In the mirror, she collapsed, lips quivering, eyes unfocused.
And then, in the other mirror, the sleeping Zhen Yi suddenly opened her eyes. She looked at Fate and sneered:
"No wonder little Cheng always calls You a bitch. Truly cold-blooded and heartless.
You gods are about to exhaust every last shred of my patience.
Tch—
Whatever your 'fixed destiny,' whatever your 'covetous designs'—watch
kill little Cheng, and then you can fight over him all you want."
"Zhen Yi, shut your mouth!"
Zhen Xin glared furiously. Zhen Yi scoffed, about to taunt her sister further, but seeing her crestfallen state, she pursed her lips and swallowed the words.
The two sisters put on a scene of "sisterly devotion" right before Fate's eyes. Sensing the genuine feeling within it, Fate's aura suddenly hitched. Then, gradually, His voice began to thaw:
"What fine self-deception...
Deceit follower—though you cannot beco the fixed, you can still contribute to this world's fixed destiny.
I cannot guarantee your contribution will stop His plan. I can only tell you that, if you're willing..."
"Is there hope?" Zhen Xin blurted.
"...You will die." Fate pronounced the magician's ending without joy or sorrow.
Zhen Yi heard this, opened her eyes again, and snarled at Fate: "Bitch!"
Zhen Xin started, then broke into a radiant smile.
"What's so frightening about death? Isn't death just... release?"
...
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