The sisters swapped identities once more. Just as Zhen Xin had anticipated, Zhen Yi did not refuse the Divine Throne of Deceit, and so the Will of Deceit was finally carried on.
But Cheng Shi wasn't in any rush to hand over the Divine Throne. Whether clinging to one last sliver of hope or simply for the sake of absolute steadiness, he wanted to wait a little longer.
With the new Deceit confird, a successor for Ti naturally followed. Long Jing — the Pointer Knight who had only partway through his journey under Deceit set foot upon the path of Ti — took the Pointer from Cheng Shi's hand and beca the new god of Ti.
And the mont he reclaid the Authority of Ti, he stared at Cheng Shi's finger in shock, disbelief written across his face.
"That... that's..."
Cheng Shi blinked, raising his hand to look at the ring on his finger.
The Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt.
It was the only ring he still possessed — a gift once bestowed by Ti.
"What about the ring?" Cheng Shi frowned.
Long Jing seed to have realized sothing, as though struck by a revelation, his expression brimming with emotion.
"We searched for it for so long, yet it turns out Ti had hidden it right here all along.
I can see the knotted ti on this ring, and I can see the aning buried beneath it. Those intertwining loops of ti — don't you think they look like sothing?"
"?"
Look like what?
Cheng Shi removed the ring with a puzzled look and held it up in the air. He rely shifted the angle in front of him, and suddenly realized that those parallel loops of the ring looked exactly like a pair of... nostrils?
"!!!!!"
The Nose of Verification?!
The na flashed through every Joker's mind almost simultaneously.
The Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt was the Nose of Verification?
Was that even possible? One was a faith artifact bestowed by Ti, the other a secret puzzle piece connected to Deceit — no matter how you looked at it, these two things couldn't be linked.
But lest anyone forget — Deceit steals everything. Just as the Secret Peeping Ear was close to Silence, and the Eye of Mockery was close to Folly, then as another pillar of the Fear Faction, the Nose of Verification being close to Ti didn't seem so incomprehensible after all.
Besides, Deceit does not distinguish true from false, and only Existence truly cares about truth and falsehood. They refused to pass off lies as truth, and they had no desire to twist reality. Thinking of it that way, the Nose of Verification really could be the Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt!
So the nose had been on him this entire ti?!
No wonder the mask began assembling itself the mont he entered the Mockery and Jeering — it had been showing him the answer all along. The Clown simply hadn't realized it...
Cheng Shi stood dazed for a mont, then his expression tightened. He imdiately sealed off the universe and pulled out the Tongue of Eating Lies, the Eye of Mockery, and the Secret Peeping Ear. He laid all the pieces before him and asked Brother Mouth in his mind:
"Is it the one, Brother Mouth?"
The Fool's Lips hadn't made a sound in a long ti. Ever since Deceit's departure, it seed to have sunk into silence as well.
Now, with all its "siblings" gathered, sensing the faint yet familiar presence emanating from the Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt, the Fool's Lips replied with so uncertainty:
"I can't say for sure. There's a layer of Ti's power concealing it..."
Before they could finish their exchange, Long Jing extended his hand and channeled the surrounding power of Ti, peeling away the Ti seals on the Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt one by one. The instant the last seal faded, a very real mask-nose materialized before everyone's eyes.
The Nose of Verification!
It was the one!
At that sa mont, every fragnt of the mask except the Fool's Lips began to vibrate, resonating in unison, drawing closer and closer to one another. Seeing this, Cheng Shi knew he should throw Brother Mouth in as well — to unlock the greatest riddle Deceit had left for him.
Yet when the mont truly arrived, he hesitated.
Fixed Destiny had already lost so much. Now, was even Brother Mouth going to leave?
"Brother Mouth..."
Cheng Shi's expression darkened. Before he could even say a word, his own mouth moved on its own.
"Idiot. I'm just detaching from your body to rge into the mask. I'm not dying. Can you hurry it up? I want to know what He left behind too."
"..."
Of course. It was still the sa old Brother Mouth.
Cheng Shi knew this was a Fool's Lips-style attempt at comfort, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to smile at all.
Beyond the tension and apprehension of approaching a secret, there was also a fog of confusion and fear over an uncertain future.
But Cheng Shi knew everyone was watching him, everyone was waiting for him. So he gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and tore at his own mouth.
He'd used this move once before on the snowfield against Su Yida — back then the heavens and earth had shifted color, and the detached Brother Mouth had beco his trump card for intimidating the Master of Trickery.
But now, no Benefactor remained who could rage on its behalf. Cheng Shi simply tore away the Fool's Lips that had accompanied him through the entire ga, rging it completely with the other fragnts.
"Hummm—"
"Bang!"
The resonating pieces slamd together, erupting in a circus-like burst of dazzling smoke. When the dust settled, a pure white mask hovered before them all. The mask no longer carried the vitality of its fragnts — it drifted silently, like a key.
The Dragon King understood at once. He summoned the Collection Hall of mory before the group. Cheng Shi, his heart a tempest of emotions, took the "key" and gently pressed it against the sealed Collection.
The next second, a swirl of intertwined divine power — including that of Deceit — rose from Cheng Shi's fingertips, coiled along his arm like a viscous pull, and dragged him straight into the Collection.
"Whoosh—"
Watching Cheng Shi vanish into the Collection Hall, the remaining few exchanged glances, curiosity burning.
"What do you think is hidden in there?"
"Deceit's contingency plan. The future of the universe. Or perhaps... the past of the gods.
Who knows? When the Fate Weaver cos out, we'll find out soon enough."
"What if it's a trap?
What if the Benefactor is destroying the world's hope at the most promising crossroads — as an act of defiance against the Origin?"
"President Gong, you're a god now. Act like it. Even Zhen Yi is more mature than you."
"???"
'I fought and bled for this world — how am I not mature?!'
Long Jing was about to retort, but Cheng Shi — who had only just been pulled into the Collection — was already walking back out. His expression was grave, and he didn't look the least bit pleased, as though he hadn't gained anything at all.
"What was inside...?"
Cheng Shi's eyes — laden with more emotions than anyone could na — swept across the gods present. He spoke in a tone beyond description, his voice a near-sigh:
"I saw the future. And I saw the past.
We were all wrong. This isn't a mask — it's a pact forged by several gods at the dawn of the era.
It predates even the Convention. It was drawn up so early that by the ti Fate fell, a sche spanning an entire era had already begun.
After seeing all of this, I know I have no choice.
Everyone — it seems you'll have to follow
down this road of Fixed Destiny to the very end.
I'm sorry. For certain reasons, I cannot reveal the secrets contained within. But please, trust
— I am doing everything in my power to give this world a future."
The greatest secret of the universe had just been swallowed whole. Normally, no one would accept that.
And yet, not a single Joker present voiced any objection. The Dragon King even smiled and quipped:
"Should we take the Collection off the shelves? If nobody can know about it, it's probably better to keep it hidden."
Cheng Shi shook his head slightly, holding the mask in his hand.
"The key is with . I'll inform each of you of what you need to know when the ti is right.
For now, I need to finalize all the Divine Thrones as quickly as possible, and then attempt to realize the vision of the Fear Faction.
The Void Era is drawing to a close. Everyone — prepare to welco the 'future.'"
...
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