Let's rewind a little — back to before [Fate]'s arrival, after the audience with [Deceit].
When the battle that erupted in the depths of the Void had concluded, [Fate] — on the way back from the [Chaos] temple — encountered a familiar face.
Two identical pairs of eyes locked gazes in the Void, neither yielding an inch.
A déjà vu scene. One pair with playfully upturned corners; the other, cold as death.
"Hee~
The sll of [Chaos]. I was wondering who was stirring up the Void — turns out you two had a little brawl. So? Did you make Him angry?"
"Hmph. The era of [Chaos] ended long ago. Just a pitiful creature clinging to futile delusions. I rely helped Him face reality."
"Oh? So you won?"
The cold eyes twitched at the corner. The tone grew icier still:
"Why are you here?"
"Just happened to pass by.
Thought I'd remind you — our little wager has a result. Looks like you lost.
[Fate]'s favored little player never once abandoned his lies throughout that trial. Seems his confidence in [Fate]... just isn't quite enough.
Oh~ I see. Don't tell
you got angry from embarrassnt and took it out on [Chaos] for hosting the trial?
Hee~
This is a [Void] wager. Don't go dragging other gods into it."
The playful eyes grew more playful. The frigid eyes turned ever colder.
He looked at this sibling god of [Void] and spoke, word by word:
"You had a prior arrangent with [Chaos]. He must have helped you circumvent the Convention to orchestrate everything within the trial.
Therefore, you violated the terms of the wager. This round is void."
"Really? Where's your proof?
[Fate] sees through all things — naturally You'd know the exact mont I intervened. Point it out, and I'll concede this round is invalid."
"..."
[Fate] choked — as if a hand had seized His throat.
He truly hadn't detected any irregularities. That was precisely why He'd visited the [Chaos] temple.
"Oh~ so You have no proof. That's fine — I do." [Deceit] laughed rrily. "You forcibly interfered with a player's fate, ddling in [Chaos]'s trial, stripping His envoy of the chance to birth his own divinity. By that logic, even if he did abandon his lies — You still lost.
Because You violated the wager's non-interference clause.
Am I right? Great [Fate]?"
"...What do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just do what the wager stipulates.
Let
recall what our wager actually says... mm, allow
to refresh Your mory.
If [Fate]'s favored child abandons his lies in the next trial, then the original [Void] agreent shall be torn up and voided — and I shall no longer recognize him as one of my Collection.
Conversely — if [Fate]'s favored child does not abandon his lies, then the [Void] agreent originally set to take effect in the future shall take imdiate effect. And the loser — that being You, my dear sister, the great [Fate] — shall personally restore my Collection's inalienable power of [Deceit].
Of course, I have so many items in my Collection. He's just one among many. Even if he walks [Fate]'s road alone, it matters little.
But I respect all agreents and contracts, just as I respect the Convention. And I trust You do as well.
So — the Collection must be returned to its proper place.
However, considering that Your followers don't have the advantage in their rivalry against [Ti]'s followers, I feel I shouldn't be too harsh. Since our little trickster doesn't reject [Fate]'s favor, then...
I happen to have another thod — a thod that 'satisfies both sides.' I wonder, great God of [Fate] — would You care to hear it?"
A terrifying gale erupted in the Void. Even the pitch blackness representing nothingness was frosted white by the biting wind.
"So you planned this from the start. That ans the wager I personally agreed to was likely already tampered with the mont I accepted it!"
The cold eyes focused, thinking of one God — [Chaos], who had just fought with Him!
[Deceit] and [Chaos] seed to be on rather good terms!
In that case, He might indeed have made a promise to [Deceit] and tampered with things accordingly.
'That beating just now — I went too easy.'
"Careful with your words, or I'll report you for defamation."
"Hmph. Report to whom? [Order]? You think He dares sanction ?"
"Hee~
Never mind who. You just need to tell
whether you'll honor the wager or not."
The gale still raged. The temperature kept dropping. But in the Void, none of it mattered — because both supre beings of [Void] were present. They were, by nature, the embodint of aninglessness.
"I will honor the agreent. But I must remind you:
[Chaos] is not a wise choice."
"Oh? Then who is?
[Truth], whom You so often spar with?
Or [Folly], who deigns to cooperate with no one?
You're fishing. So am I. We're using the sa bait. On what grounds do You claim my catch is inferior to Yours?"
"Because I have already seen the ending — the fish's ending, and the bait's!
No matter how you ddle with his fate, it will be futile.
Fixed Destiny is called Fixed for a reason — all endings were written long ago. You can alter the process, but you cannot alter the Fixed destination."
"We'll see. Who knows what the future holds?
[Fate] isn't only about the Fixed, now is it?
Well then — I have things to do. No need to see
off."
With that, the playful eyes dissolved into nothing.
The cold eyes watched the place where He had vanished. After a long silence, a frigid whisper:
"This, too, is fate."
...
Far across the Void — outside the pale-white Fishbone Hall.
A colossal skull materialized before the Fishbone Hall's entrance. He stared at the endlessly extending staircase of white bones and grumbled:
"Old Bones, is this how you treat your guests?"
"You. Are not. A guest."
"Hee~
You already consider
family?
Well, while [Void] has no intention of partnering with [Life], given the grand reception you've prepared, I can represent [Void] and... spend more quality ti with you, Old Bones."
"No need. I. Do not. Like. You."
"Dead n really do speak coldly." The skull bounced twice, failed to hop up the stairs, and gave up. He "squatted" on the bone staircase, watching countless living beings leap from the cliff of white bones only to be scoured by the Void into countless new skulls — an endless cycle. Boring, but He didn't speak either.
After a while, the real skull couldn't take it anymore. He sighed:
"Why. Have you. Co?"
"Playing dumb, Old Bones?
My follower finally managed to get his hands on a tiny bit of New Authority Divinity — sothing not bound by the Convention — and you went and snatched it! That's the big bullying the small, the old exploiting seniority!
Hand it over. Hand it over and I'll let it go."
But this ti, [Death] did not yield.
"Do you. Know. That was. The New Authority. Of [Corruption]?"
"Obviously. Fear, right? It's not like I've never seen it."
"Then you. Should not. Have forgotten. How [Order]. Was split apart!"
The skull on the stairs grew uncharacteristically quiet. He seed to be rembering sothing, his tone shifting to sothing wistful:
"How could I forget?
How could I possibly forget?
After the First God War ended, the undisputed sole victor — [Order] — entered the Sea of Desire to purge the cosmos. And then...
The cosmos lost [Order].
He was torn apart by His own desires — split into four.
[Justice (Order)] and [Fear (Order)] filled the Convention. One beca its frawork and rules; the other beca His will within trials.
[Obsession (Order)] inherited His Divine Throne, calling himself the [Iron Law of Order], and continued sheltering His people.
As for [Pride (Order)]...
He vanished. No one ever saw Him again."
"As long as. You rember.
Such dangerous. New Authority. Even you. Should not. Collect.
He. Cannot yet. Handle. These things."
The skull on the stairs shook off the sentintality and grew cheerful again. He bounced twice, laughing:
"So you're saying — you're protecting him?"
The great skull on the Bone Throne said nothing, but the green fla flickering within his eye sockets said everything.
"Sigh — why does everyone always covet my Collection..."
"..."
"Fine, fine, fine — let's say you're right. But you still can't just take my follower's things for free."
"..."
The great skull fell silent again. This scene felt familiar — and had happened not so long ago.
"I. Have not. Taken. Any more. Sacrifices. From him."
"That's only because he pre-deposited a lot. You can't fool
— I saw all of it."
"..."
'Pre-deposited...'
Using a word like that to describe a mortal's offering to a God. How novel.
Only He could utter sothing so absurd.
The great skull was speechless beyond asure — yet had no choice but to find a way to dismiss this annoying fraud.
"What. Do you. Want. This ti?"
"Hee~"
Before [Deceit] could even finish, he was cut off.
"Anything. But. An alliance."
"Tsk. Boring. Old Bones, how can you be so predictable?"
"Change. Is the Authority. Of [Fate]."
The skull on the stairs froze wide-eyed, staring up in utter disbelief at the one on the Bone Throne:
"You can actually crack jokes now?"
"..."
After being needled one ti too many, [Death] finally lost His patience. The green glow in His eye sockets flared, and the great spine of the Fishbone Hall cracked like a whip — "whoosh" — launching the fraudulent skull out through the gates.
Watching [Deceit] fly off without the slightest resistance, He sighed and began deliberating what to compensate that troubleso employee.
'A boss offering unsolicited compensation to an employee...'
Even in the reality before the Gods descended, this would have been utterly absurd.
But the Void held sothing even more absurd!
Not long after the fake skull was whipped away, a pair of eyes painted with spirals and constellations opened above the Fishbone Hall in the Void.
The great skull on the Bone Throne gazed listlessly upward and heard the cold eyes slowly begin their interrogation:
"[Death], why did you seize the New Authority Divinity from my follower's hands?"
"..."
The green fla in the skull's eyes guttered out. He seed to have exhausted every ounce of patience.
"Why won't you speak?"
"You. [Void]. People..."
"?"
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