Looking at the stunned Hong Lin, Cheng Shi smiled and produced his die.
He rolled the bone-white Die of Fate between his fingers and said with an air of mystery:
"When I'm in the script, even heaven-shaking catastrophes can be survived;
When I'm not in the script, even treading on thin ice offers no guarantee!
We walk the path of [Fate]—gamblers blessed with [good fortune], lunatics favored by [Fixed Destiny].
We may not be able to determine fate, but we can exploit it to the fullest!"
Yes—exploit fate!
Ever since his [Fate] trial, Cheng Shi had realized that Fixed Destiny was an incredibly profound concept.
So profound it could make a person feel suffocated and hopeless about the impossibility of changing fate.
His own feelings about destiny weren't quite that bleak, but that didn't an he never felt powerless. Facing an ending that nothing could change, he too experienced a deep sense of defeat.
But Cheng Shi was never one to wallow. He understood that everything had two sides. If sothing could make you feel powerless, it could make others feel powerless too.
And that powerlessness of others might very well beco his weapon!
So rather than drowning in the inescapability of destiny's script, he'd spent a long ti thinking—until he'd devised a clever trick to exploit fate and offer it as tribute!
And this little trick boiled down to two lines. The first was:
"Do you believe in fate?"
No matter when, no matter where, no matter to whom, he could toss out this question. Then all he needed was to add "This—is Fixed Destiny!" at the story's conclusion, and there was a very good chance of converting a disbeliever into a believer of fate—or at least pushing them from skepticism to half-belief or startled uncertainty.
And today, above the Void of the Sighing Forest, was his first ti putting the theory he'd derived into practice. His test subject was Hong Lin—soone who already believed in fate.
"So, given all of this, as long as you believe in destiny—why not try gambling with ?
Baldy, you're the only person who knows my true identity. Now, I officially invite you—join us!
Let us write the most spectacular and insane climax in His script together!"
Hong Lin, rocked to her core by this Inverse Causality take on fate, grew serious in a way she rarely did. She fixed Cheng Shi with a solemn stare, articulating every word:
"Who... are 'us'?"
Cheng Shi smiled enigmatically, stopped spinning the die, and turned its one-pip face toward her.
"The Destined Ones!
We are all destined."
With that, he tossed the die into the Void. Watching it tumble slowly through the darkness, he declared with fervent exhilaration:
"When [Fate] inscribes our nas in the final chapter, when the script plants enough foreshadowing for our entrance!
We must not disappoint Him. We must not betray the audience's expectations.
We shall herald the current act with the most delirious of battle cries—an unparalleled, incomparable climax!
A climax that makes [Ti] pause, and [mory] engrave it forever!"
And when the Die of Fate wobbled to a stop on one pip, the fervor on Cheng Shi's face reached its apex. Half-deranged, half-devout, he closed his eyes, raised both hands high, and prayed aloud:
"All roads traveled, all paths to co—all are destined!"
That single utterance struck Hong Lin's consciousness like a resounding bell, setting her entire mind ablaze!
She watched the scene unfold before her, utterly shaken, rooted to the spot. Only four words occupied her thoughts:
'Destined Ones!'
But in the next instant those four words beca "heart-bewitching manipulation," only to shift back to "Destined Ones" a second later...
The Cheng Shi standing before her no longer resembled a cunning Fate Weaver. He looked more like a zealot—a madman willing to pay any price!
But there was no denying it: this fresh perspective on [Fate] was just that—fresh. And utterly captivating.
Thinking back on everything she'd been through, this novel blade had thrust straight into Hong Lin's heart!
A direct bullseye!
She was wavering.
Cheng Shi maintained his pose, preserving the mystique, but cracked his eyes open just enough to sneak a peek at Hong Lin.
Seeing her utterly thunderstruck expression, he knew this was practically a done deal. But just as he was about to wrap things up—
The unexpected happened!
No one could have predicted that the mont Cheng Shi finished reciting his self-fabricated prayer, the entire Void erupted!
!!!
Hong Lin's eyes snapped into focus, scanning their surroundings in shock. Countless wisps of iridescent black mist surged and coalesced from every direction, streaming toward Cheng Shi, crystallizing atop his Die of Fate into a brand-new Die of Fate!
When Hong Lin laid eyes on this die, her pupils violently contracted. Her scalp went numb!
This didn't feel like one of the dice players carried. It was more like—the token bestowed by Them at the Path Starting Point!
So why did Cheng Shi have one—no, why would this so-called "Destined Ones" organization possess a die from the Path Starting Point?!
Had they actually prayed for a faith-converting token to recruit new mbers?!
She'd never heard of such a thing. She'd never known the tokens from the Path Starting Point could even function as items.
What was it actually for?
Hong Lin stared in disbelief, whipping her head up to look at Cheng Shi.
And Cheng Shi...
Was internally losing his mind.
On the surface, he maintained his mysterious smile with every fiber of his being, while inside he was cursing his Benefactor six ways to Sunday.
'My Lord, what exactly is this supposed to an?'
'I'm in the middle of conning soone and You decide to help out?!'
'Fine—even if You wanted to help [Deceit] crack a smile again, did You really need to co down personally?'
'You conjure a die out of thin air and now what am I supposed to say?'
'My hundred-thousand-word revised speech is wasted again!'
'Could You at LEAST give
a heads-up next ti You pull sothing like this?!'
'Even a Clown can't improvise ALL the ti!'
'I'm done. Completely, utterly done.'
Seeing Hong Lin's gaze sharpen by the second, Cheng Shi sighed internally with helpless resignation and imdiately said:
"See—this is [Fate]'s choice. You truly are... a child of [Fate]!"
He'd been floundering for words, intending to buy ti with vague rhetoric. But to his shock, a tossed-off phrase like "child of Fate" sohow convinced Hong Lin entirely.
The combative [Prosperity] Chosen One's expression cycled through a series of changes before she began murmuring to herself:
"So... I really am a child of [Fate]?"
'Sis, you're not turning this around on , are you?'
'How are you getting into character already?'
Before Cheng Shi could figure out what was happening, Hong Lin looked up and asked:
"You're saying I should Oathbreak to [Fate]?
Is that the future you've found for ?"
'Don't make trouble, sis—I don't want [Prosperity] coming to get
after the trial!'
Cheng Shi hastily shook his head. He picked up the new die, scanned its properties, then his lips twitched as he smiled: "Not betrayal—fusion!"
"Fusion?!" Hong Lin's pupils contracted, brow furrowing. "A second faith? You want
to choose [Fate] as my second faith?
Or is choosing [Fate] as a second faith mandatory for joining the Destined Ones?!"
"..."
'Sis, that's way too many questions. I'm a walking disaster. I can't answer a single one.'
Cheng Shi was on the verge of tears. None of this had been part of his plan. But at this point, he had no choice but to improvise—rewriting the script on the fly to match this unexpected turn of events.
As for why [Fate] had suddenly responded, he had no idea. But he knew one thing: this ticulously planned con had just beco much simpler.
Because who in their right mind would waste an item that could change soone's faith just to trick a single person?
And yes—this was indeed an item that could alter faith. When a non-[Fate] follower picked it up, [Fate] would beco their second faith.
This truly was a gift from [Fate]. Why He had bestowed it here and now, no one knew.
Cheng Shi's original plan had already revolved around [Fate]. His reason for wanting to pull Hong Lin in was his belief that the Mushroom-Footed People's Tribe in the Sighing Forest was most likely an experint run by scholars from the Tower of Logic!
He couldn't imagine how else a chieftain of the Mushroom-Footed People could have known about this kind of Faith Grafting contract. Such a contract touched upon the very foundations of the Gods. Without one of Them witnessing and protecting the process, without the Erudition Presidium orchestrating and facilitating it, a soulless Eposka and a band of terrified Mushroom-Footed People couldn't possibly have signed a pact to steal [Prosperity]'s faith.
So Cheng Shi estimated that at least three of Them were entangled in this affair: [Prosperity], [Decay], and... [Truth]!
After prolonged deliberation, he'd finally thought of a thod with a high probability of drawing [Prosperity]'s direct gaze. But executing it would inevitably destroy this experint!
Cheng Shi feared that when this experint was ruined—just as Galusha had destroyed the Stars Dagger—[Truth] might shalessly intervene in person. So he planned to drag his own Benefactor, [Fate], in front of him as a shield.
He knew [Fate] looked down on [Truth].
During that previous [Chaos] trial, He had linked Cheng Shi with Galusha—the likely [Folly] follower who was the mastermind behind the Tower of Logic's destruction. So Cheng Shi figured that if he could please [Fate], perhaps when [Truth] ca down, his Lord would—for the sake of His own "plans"—shield him from [Folly]'s nesis.
Therefore!
The whole "Destined Ones" pitch wasn't just to hoodwink Hong Lin—it was to please [Fate]!
Cheng Shi's targets had been two all along: Hong Lin, and [Fate].
What he hadn't expected was that his barrage of ranting about "Fixed Destiny" would not only dupe Hong Lin but actually coax [Fate] Himself into making an appearance!
He'd even bestowed a die that could unlock a second faith...
'Seriously—if all it took was picking up a die to get a second faith, why did I have to go through trial after trial, swallow bitter fruit, and endure crushing pressure?!'
'Why does Hong Lin get to skip all the prerequisites?!'
'Or was it that He'd had His eye on the [Prosperity] Chosen One all along, and I just happened to push things to this point?'
With that thought, Cheng Shi looked at Hong Lin—who was deep in contemplation—and spoke again:
"You should know that everyone who's gotten the word is quietly searching for their second faith. They are pushing this forward."
Hong Lin nodded grimly: "I know."
"Oh? So other ones of Them have already summoned you?"
"Yes!"
'I knew it!'
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, privately guessing it was probably [War].
"Did you accept?"
"No."
Cheng Shi understood. Hong Lin hadn't found a second faith she wanted to embrace. And why would she? She didn't even fully believe in [Prosperity]. How could she commit to a second?
Perhaps that was exactly what she'd been struggling with.
While everyone else scrambled for their second faith, this Druid who'd never lost was suddenly in danger of falling behind.
Hong Lin was silent for a long mont before speaking again:
"I know They're pushing the fusion of faiths, but I've never found a second faith that suits .
[Life] is bland and boring. [Descent] is self-destructive and defeatist.
[Civilization] is filthy and underhanded. [Chaos] is nothing but a joke.
In my view, only [Existence] and [Void] are even worth considering. But I had no specific target in mind, and the timing was never right. I've genuinely been torn.
But... now that I've seen this die, I have to admit—your Destined Ones have piqued my interest.
Go on, Cheng Shi. Let
first hear just how big this gamble of yours that'll shatter the heavens really is!"
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