"I..."
Even though he had puzzled everything out, Cheng Shi remained confused.
All this ti, he had believed Justice was an obstacle to be overco. The rigid Pact had constrained the Fear Faction's ambitions for the Divine Thrones. He had sched endlessly to circumvent the rules and exploit loopholes — never imagining that, at this juncture, he and his supposed adversary would end up standing on the sa side...
But why was Justice afraid?
Every scrap of history concerning Order told Cheng Shi that Order was a resolute mber of the Approach Faction. Yet Justice had just said that midway through the era, He had already grasped the significance of Deceit's Pact.
That ant even before the Faith Ga descended upon reality — back in the Civilization Era — Order had already fallen into fear.
So where had His fear co from?
What had happened at that ti?
Cheng Shi racked his brain and ca up empty. Since he couldn't answer that question, he didn't dare take the so-called "replacent" at face value.
And yet, the Justice who had just been explaining everything suddenly went silent on this point. He only let out a long sigh, tinged with sorrow:
"Terror — the Order aspect — has already fallen.
After the Audience eting, the Faith Ga began exhibiting anomalies due to the absence of Order's Will. I seized upon His death as a pretext, exploiting the technicality to hijack the Pact's rules and temporarily suspend the granting of Trials — thereby reducing the Faith Ga's impact on reality.
And the streamlining of rules, the shortcutting of procedures... all of that was also to resist the Pact!
The Pact is the aggregate of all gods' Wills. It cannot be defied. So long as it remains intact, I, as its Will's Proxy, cannot die.
But I must die!
Therefore, I can only fight the Pact itself.
The Pact contains a provision: when the Proxy loses his fairness and is challenged by the gods, a challenger need only submit a motion and have it pass with more than two-thirds of all votes to elect a new Pact Proxy.
Now all conditions are t. I have lost my fairness. You hold more than two-thirds of all divine votes. For the Universe's future, a challenger must be selected to imdiately propose My replacent and fulfill the ultimate Fixed Destiny."
'Two-thirds of votes...' Cheng Shi ran the numbers. The nine ironclad votes plus Void's two did indeed reach two-thirds of the total. But was even that calculated?
Had He already predicted that Cheng Shi would reclaim Void's voting rights?
Otherwise, why had everything proceeded so smoothly?
Justice continued:
"I imagine you already know what it ans to be Fixed Destiny.
I do not know how Deceit defines the road ahead. I know only this: if Order was never truly Order, the world deserves a new order.
Order's existence was never ant to exploit faith or construct hierarchies. It was ant so that the followers I sheltered — the children I illuminated — could live independently, equally, freely, and unshackled.
Every life deserves respect. Every consciousness has the right to be acknowledged. They are independent individuals — not puppets manipulated by gods for amusent.
True Order never looks down from on high. It is the scales that living beings use to asure each other's dignity.
The old world's scales have long since lost their balance... Unfortunately, I will not live to see the new world's equality.
Cheng Shi — challenge . Replace . Fight for this world's future, and infuse this starry sky with a new order.
This is not only the answer Deceit prepared for the era. It is also the hope that Pride — the true Order — once placed in you.
Act quickly. I have little ti left."
"..."
The version of Order's Will that Justice articulated was one Cheng Shi had never heard before. It was clearly purer and nobler than the Order the world currently understood.
But that was hardly surprising. The true Order had long since splintered, and the one occupying Order's Divine Throne had been swapped in by Deceit.
When Chaos sat upon Order's throne, how could this chaotic world possibly possess true order?
Cheng Shi was deeply stirred. He had finally co to understand. The thod for replacing Origin's gaze was perhaps exactly this — becoming the Pact's Proxy.
Yet the question remained: why was Justice choosing this mont, this thod, to "force" him into the role?
Deceit happened to be absent, making verification impossible. The Boss knew nothing of Deceit's plan. And now a Fear Faction ally materialized out of thin air, claiming Deceit's plan had always been this... It was hard for Cheng Shi not to panic.
Even though every piece of logic fit, he couldn't afford to be wrong at a mont like this.
So Cheng Shi pulled back carefully, fighting to stay rational. His mind raced, sorting through everything he knew. After a mont, sothing clicked. He looked up at the Scales — now tilted almost vertical — with a complex expression and asked:
"You discovered the Universe's truth long ago — that all of this is rely an experint by the Creator. Correct?
His indifference ran directly counter to your Will. That's where your fear ca from. Correct?
But you weren't originally part of the Fear Faction, because you said you didn't realize Deceit's sche until midway through the era. That also ans you didn't learn the truth from Deceit... You discovered it yourself.
Yet by then you had already been installed into the Pact, becoming its new Proxy, losing any chance to leave the Universe. So how could you possibly have learned there were other universes beyond this one?
Your sudden awakening is deeply strange. I can find no logical foothold to accept any of this, and on this point, you've been evasive. The only thing I can connect these anomalies to... is one thing."
A grave light flared in Cheng Shi's eyes. He spoke in a low voice: "It was because of the Sea of Desire, wasn't it?"
"..."
The Scales trembled faintly. Still no response.
But in Cheng Shi's eyes, that was already a response!
His pupils contracted. He pressed on with his conjecture:
"The Sea of Desire is the problem!
Yes — everyone knows the Sea of Desire is a problem. But the problem I'm talking about is nothing as simple as the stirring of desire. It's the sa kind of problem as Deceit, as Drasilco!
You were contaminated. Weren't you?!
And not just you — every god who entered the Sea of Desire developed the sa issue!
The world was fooled by the spectacle of Order's split. If you simply extract the cause and the conclusion — ignoring the ssy middle — you'll find that every deity who ever entered the Sea of Desire ultimately...
Couldn't escape death?"
Halfway through, Cheng Shi's voice warped. His eyes flew wide:
"Order fractured into three, and to this day, every fragnt except you has fallen — and you're desperately seeking death yourself.
War died long ago — He fell on the charge toward the Creator.
Drasilco died too — He declared Corruption aningless and destroyed Himself at the edge of the Sea of Desire, in the Sinking Land.
And then Deceit...
No — no, no, no!!"
Cheng Shi stopped abruptly. He seed unwilling to accept the truth.
If his guess was right, then regardless of whether Deceit found an answer in the Real Universe, the fate awaiting Him would be...
"No!" Cheng Shi clenched his fists until his knuckles went white. He looked at Justice, refusing to believe. "Tell
this isn't real.
Sothing hidden in the Sea of Desire contaminated you all, giving you no choice but to die...
No — I'm wrong. Tell
I'm wrong. This isn't true!"
"..."
Justice said nothing for a long ti. No matter how twisted Cheng Shi's expression beca, He offered no reply — only words:
"Challenge . Replace . I have little ti left.
An imbalanced Justice can no longer resist the Pact's erosion. Should I fall before you replace , the Pact will automatically select a deity to beco the new Proxy.
Before that 'lucky one' loses His own balance, you will lose every ans of replacing Him.
True, those whose will opposes fear are few in this Universe. But every additional Change introduces another risk.
The Universe cannot afford to gamble. Void cannot afford to gamble. Order cannot afford to gamble. And you... cannot afford to gamble either.
The old world should have been destroyed long ago. Only from ruins can new life be born.
Begin, Cheng Shi. We are out of ti."
...
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