Who could have imagined that the Fla of Hope would transform into a Container upon death?
No one — except the Fla of Hope himself.
From the mont He learned of His identity as a Servant God, He knew He must hold a Container of Fate within himself. Yet He could never produce it. That was when He guessed — the Container was most likely His own body.
Only when hope was truly extinguished could the Change abandoned by Fate return to destiny's true path, accepted by Fate once more and reborn as the Container of Fate.
And this was the last shred of help He could offer Cheng Shi.
Faced with that impossible dilemma, the Fla of Hope gave His answer. Between Cheng Shi and the world, He chose Cheng Shi.
No — more accurately, He had never chosen a single individual. He chose the spark that had resisted fate from beginning to end, the kindling that had held onto hope through everything!
Just like Himself — discarded by Fate, yet brimming with hope until the very end!
Cheng Shi stared at the Container of Fate floating before him, tears streaming down his face.
He understood what the Candle Man intended. He wanted Cheng Shi to take this Container and, in his capacity as Fixed Destiny, petition the Pact of Gods to inherit the Authority of Fate.
Compared to the counterfeit Deceit, this world's Fate was unquestionably the god who had most believed in Cheng Shi.
But whether that belief could earn the Pact's recognition and beco true Authority in Cheng Shi's hands... that remained unknown.
Yet even with the road ahead shrouded in darkness, the Fla of Hope had unhesitatingly placed this final ember of hope into Cheng Shi's hands. It was proof enough that every being connected to Fate loved a gamble — and right now, this was the ultimate roll of the dice, the last desperate throw on which life and death hinged!
From the Fla of Hope's appearance to His dissolution, He never once looked at the Outer God. He ignored the Fate that did not belong to this world. And the Outer God Fate said nothing in return — silently watching everything unfold, neither interfering nor comnting.
His cold eyes showed no change. The spirals continued to swirl. His apathy was the sa as always — as though He were certain that everything they did was aningless.
But even so — even with not a glimr of hope in sight — Cheng Shi refused to let the Fla of Hope die in vain. He could not keep betraying everyone's goodwill, and above all, he could not keep betraying their lives. His gaze hardened with absolute resolve. He seized the Container of Fate, felt the surging pulse of Fate's power thrumming against his palm — a sensation he had never known — and spoke those words into the Void once more.
Only this ti, Deceit was replaced by Fate.
"I — Walker of the Void, Fixed Destiny of Fate — Cheng Shi — request, under the witness of Justice, to inherit the Authority of the fallen god... Fate!"
It was not a scream this ti. There was no hysteria. Cheng Shi's voice was flat — as flat as if he had spotted sothing he had dropped on the roadside and simply bent down to pick it up. Nothing more.
In response, the Outer God Fate's gaze grew colder still.
He knew why Fate had died. He was certain that Fixed Destiny could not inherit the Authority of Fate. Moreover, this world's Fate had also championed Fixed Destiny. Even if He retained lingering will after death, that will should have been to preserve the sacrifice's purity — not to use His own Authority to help Fixed Destiny escape Fixed Destiny!
"Do not struggle in vain. Fate is dead. He can no longer shelter you.
You were never Fate's Envoy. The Fla of Hope may have had a chance to inherit all that Fate left behind — but He chose to give that hope to you...
A pity. His hope is shattered — just like his life.
And you, my follower — accept reality. Walking the path you were ant to walk is the truest way to honor them.
Otherwise, the era's curtain will only grow more vivid, and you will be left to chew on this pain alone upon the Predestined Path."
As He spoke, those icy eyes turned toward An Mingyu at Cheng Shi's side. Clearly, this prophet who had been discarded by Fate ti and again was about to et the prophecy's final chapter.
Cheng Shi's fury blazed. He gripped the Container tight and spoke through clenched teeth: "Justice has not spoken! Whether I can inherit the Authority — you do not get to decide!"
"Perhaps I don't. But does He?
He personally shattered the rules of the Pact. He used a grandiose excuse to convene a farcical Assembly of Gods Convention. Does He truly think that because He is the frawork of the Pact, He can ignore the Pact and tip the scales of justice?
He cannot co. He may not even survive much longer!"
The words had barely faded when the Void shifted!
"!!!"
Before the colossal skull's stunned gaze, before the Outer God's startled eyes, amid Cheng Shi's ecstatic anticipation — a pair of Scales wrought from starlight and flowing radiance materialized before them all.
The voice of Order resounded through the universe once more, and the prismatic light of the stars painted the Void in brilliant splendor.
Justice had co — bearing divine Authority, answering the call!
The spirals in the Outer God Fate's eyes spun wildly. He could not understand why Justice would descend here. Even if Cheng Shi was Fixed Destiny, even if this world's Fate had unreasonably favored Cheng Shi — Cheng Shi was not an Envoy. He had no right to inherit Authority!
The Outer God could only conclude that Justice had co to reclaim the universe's last shred of dignity — to retaliate for His manipulation of Chaos into masquerading as Order — and was willing to defy the Pact's rules in a desperate gamble to force Authority onto Fixed Destiny's head.
This lose-lose scenario of contaminating the sacrifice was sothing He absolutely could not accept. In an instant, the Void boiled and storms raged.
Frigid winds from the deepest layers of nothingness froze everything in sight. The dimming iridescent light bore down, physically bending the gleaming Scales' crossbar and locking them in the Void's blackness.
Yet even so, Justice still issued the resounding decree that commanded the stars to hold their order:
"I co to deliver the Authority of a true god to the Successor.
This act conforms to the rules and is protected by the Pact. No god may defy it!"
The Void winds intensified. The Outer God Fate spoke coldly:
"Rules?
Which rule ever recognized Fixed Destiny as an Envoy of Fate?
The Iron Law of Order was Chaos in disguise — are you Chaos as well?!
Justice, what are you struggling for?
The mont you defy the Pact and act unilaterally, the Pact will kill you. After that, the Pact will dissolve, and there will be no rule in the universe to restrain . When that ti cos, Fixed Destiny will still be Fixed Destiny — and you...
You probably won't live to see the end of this era.
Do you still insist on crowning Fixed Destiny with an Authority that the Void will devour at any mont?"
The Flowing Light Scales were gradually engulfed by darkness — yet the voice of Order still pierced through the Void, broadcasting across the universe:
"I co to deliver Authority to the Successor — but I never said I bring the Authority of Fate!"
"What?!"
Not just the Outer God Fate — even Cheng Shi froze.
The voice of Order echoed through the Void:
"I bring War's Final Oracle. He bequeathed His entire Authority to... a mortal.
The Pact has never restricted the gifting of Authority. A Final Oracle, above all, cannot be defied. War had only just ascended, yet He left a Final Oracle before His death. I co in accordance with that Oracle — and I break no rules!"
"!!!"
In that instant, the Void shifted colors, and Cheng Shi lost his voice.
Qin Xin!
Even in death, this Torchbearer had left his hope for Cheng Shi!
He knew that bequeathing his Authority to Cheng Shi was effectively sentencing the entire world to death. Without Fixed Destiny, the universe would have no answer. In this grand experint of the Creator, this world could only march toward annihilation. And yet he did it anyway — using his last drop of blood to defend his conviction of protecting what was good and beautiful.
"Torchbearers will never sacrifice their friends or their ideals to preserve an 'old' world. Not before. Not now. Not ever."
He had said it. And so he had done it.
In that mont, War's flas — long since extinguished — erupted once more before the world!
Pass the torch! Pass the torch!
Who could have imagined that what Qin Xin passed on was the fire of War itself!
Everything had happened too suddenly. Cheng Shi was so deeply shaken that for a single heartbeat, his mind went blank. And in that instant, the Void — saturated with the thick power of Fate — suddenly turned dry.
The friction of the howling winds sparked tiny embers, flashing for an instant before the gale carried them toward Cheng Shi.
Cheng Shi felt his blood answer so invisible call, boiling in a single heartbeat. His hair, his sideburns, his brows and lashes — all caught fla, blazing into windswept wildfire, erupting in the world's last searing white!
How do we survive? With blood — and fire!
In this very mont, under the witness of Justice, in the silence of the Outer God Fate — faith was contaminated at last, and Fixed Destiny was broken as he had wished!
Cheng Shi looked at the crimson inferno engulfing his body, his gaze sharpening to a razor's edge. In the sa breath, he sared the Container of Fate with blood and fire and hurled it straight at those cold, cold eyes.
"Now you can kill
— bitch!"
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