So they were called the Torchbearers!
The instant Long Jing heard the na, he understood what kind of organization this was. He simply hadn't expected Qin Xin to be its leader.
As Qin Xin entered the hall, the others gradually erged from the shadows.
Long Jing's expression stiffened. Seeing An Mingyu approach, he said sowhat awkwardly: "What a coincidence—we et again, Chosen An."
An Mingyu quickened her pace, her face anxious: "Is Xin Xin in that trial too?"
Seeing there was no point hiding anything, Long Jing could only nod. He gave a rapid retelling of the trial events, then explained that Cheng Shi had separately sought out mory, Decay, and the Fla of Hope. Hearing this, the Fla of Hope flickered:
"mory chose long ago to forget everything related to the Outer God. Whether He now sees through this or recovers those mories, He'll likely be unable to make a new choice—for that would be a denial of Himself, a double blasphemy against mory.
Decay... is singularly focused on decaying. He was already infinitely close to the state He sought. But if He learns that beyond this world, countless identical Decays are all awaiting Origin's rcy... would He have any compassion left for Yu Xi?
No. He would only accelerate His own decay.
Cheng Shi's choices weren't wrong. But unfortunately, none of them bore fruit..."
Silence fell. Two of three paths were dead ends. That ant the only road left lay with the Fla of Hope.
Everyone looked at the Fla of Hope with eyes full of expectation—and saw Him sigh as well.
Seeking survival in desperation was never easy. He understood what Qin Xin ant: stop overthinking, save first, and once everyone stood together again, work on the world-saving problem. But was it really that simple?
Once Cheng Shi was rescued, the world... might reach its end.
This had always been a trap. An unsolvable deadlock.
This trap wasn't set by the Outer God Deceit—it was bestowed by Origin. All despair stemd from that cosmic experint. The Outer God Deceit had simply maximized the experint's rules, trapping Cheng Shi in the cage of the "fixed."
Fate wanted to forge a sacrifice that would please Origin. To do so, the sacrifice's will had to align with Origin's: having no faith, yet embracing all faiths.
Cheng Shi was exactly that. Even though he bore the title of Deceit's envoy, it didn't compromise his "faithless" purity—because he'd obtained it through deceiving the world.
That was the brilliance of Deceit's master plan!
He'd even used this sche to fool the Fla of Hope, granting Cheng Shi an "empty check"—the envoy's na without the envoy's substance.
On the road to becoming Yu Xi, the clown had begun accepting the "fusion" of other faiths, gradually transforming into the fixed!
In other words, on the path of the fixed, the Outer God Deceit had contributed far more than Fate. He was the true mastermind behind Cheng Shi's transformation into the fixed.
Therefore, Cheng Shi's only way to break free was to shed his identity as the fixed. And the most direct, effective thod was faith contamination!
Ideally, becoming a true god—a complete "imbalance" in faith. Failing that, obtaining another faith's envoy title as a fallback—though that was less secure.
An envoy's status didn't require the Convention's approval—only a true god's acknowledgnt and the delegation of authority. But such faith contamination, revocable at any ti, was like tossing a sealed bottle of ink into a pool of clean water. Without the cap being opened, the water remained untouched.
So to reiterate: Cheng Shi had no real choice. He knew the forr was better, but the latter was obviously easier.
However, the envoy identity absolutely couldn't be sothing like Yu Xi or Ultraman. Yu Xi was ethereal and rootless; Ultraman did exist in historical record, but under the Outer God Deceit's deliberate obfuscation, this identity could easily be frad as an alias for Yu Xi. Moreover, there was still a Kataro in Chaos's temple—the Outer God's ruthless contingency for revoking the Ultraman title at any mont.
Only a genuine, authority-bearing, indisputable envoy identity could allow Cheng Shi to shed the "fixed" through faith contamination—creating a sliver of escape from both the Outer God and Fate.
This was also why Cheng Shi had sent the Doctor to Decay.
He'd wanted an envoy title. Decay understood his intent—but refused, for the sake of His great decay enterprise.
Yet even if Cheng Shi successfully contaminated his faith, this thod would cost him all of Void's attention—and very possibly make him the target of Void's wrath, erased entirely from this world...
Before the true ending arrived, the Fla of Hope couldn't reveal the full truth of the "fixed" to everyone. He had to preserve one wisp of "fla of hope" for this world. His considerations ran far deeper than anyone present.
The Torchbearers might gladly risk everything for a friend's sake—to protect what was precious. But once Cheng Shi's faith was contaminated and the fixed identity erased entirely, how would this world survive?
It was undeniable that Origin sought an answer from Its cosmic experint. Without that answer, every world would beco nothing more than a discarded, failed experint.
What was certain now was that Cheng Shi was that answer. And this tiny flicker of hope had beco the foundation of the Fla of Hope's will.
He stood behind Cheng Shi precisely to let the "fla of hope" spread—so that the few could win this world.
But now: save the world, and Cheng Shi's identity as sacrifice couldn't be contaminated. Save Cheng Shi, and the world marched toward a future without the fixed!
This was a choice that couldn't be made—not just for Cheng Shi, but for the Fla of Hope as well. Whichever path led to the sa shore: the shattering of the Fla of Hope's will.
For one fleeting instant, the Fla of Hope even felt as though He'd already died—perished in a future that held no hope.
He couldn't reveal the full truth. He could only lay out the stakes.
"Choosing to save Cheng Shi makes saving the world nearly impossible. Choosing to save the world makes saving Cheng Shi untenable.
He sent you to find
because he values the power of Change within . He wants
to use Change's perspective to find a third path.
I am indeed the Change that Fate discarded. But...
Compared to an Outer God who stirs storms across the universe, my fla is far too feeble. I fear it cannot illuminate the shadow He has cast."
The Fla of Hope's words clearly signaled that even He saw no way out.
Everyone could hear what He ant. The weight of 'one person versus the world'—this question alone was a mountain crushing down on every heart, stealing every breath!
But only Long Jing knew: Cheng Shi had probably never intended to survive. The clown's ideal ending was to die beneath this starry sky and be buried in the world where his heart could rest. Otherwise, he'd never have given Old Zhang that scalpel.
As for the world... 'I'm already dead. What do I care about the world?'
That he'd sent Long Jing to find the Fla of Hope at all was already the greatest goodwill a despairing clown could offer this world.
Unfortunately, the Fla of Hope was not omnipotent.
Putting himself in the clown's shoes, Long Jing felt the despair even more acutely. The clown had the will to resist but simply couldn't think of a way to do it.
The suffocating atmosphere spread. As a Fate follower, An Mingyu sensed Long Jing's shifting emotions. She read what was in his heart. Her expression softened with emotion:
"He's already fighting back. Struggling to escape the identity of Fate's fixed... that is his roar... and his plea."
At those words, every face grew heavier still. Even The Prisoner, for once, fell silent.
...
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