But Cheng Shi knew full well that rcy had its limits. His heart clenched as he unhesitatingly slipped a hand behind his back and gripped a Mask.
If the die could summon [Fate], then logically, the Mask should be able to summon [Deceit].
So before [Decay] could speak, Cheng Shi clutched the Mask and silently recited:
"Fate like stars, within sight but Out of Reach..."
But the Mask didn't budge. No response at all.
Cheng Shi's heart plumted. He scrambled to switch: "Co and Go, all is destined!"
"Lie Like Yesterday..."
"Cannot distinguish true from false..."
His mind was practically smoking with panic, but the Mask remained dead silent.
Cheng Shi's heart sank like a stone. [Deceit] wasn't answering. [Fate] was busy fighting. This was bad—really bad.
Cold sweat erupted across his forehead and back. He retreated another step and quietly squeezed the [Death] Fun Ring on his finger.
He was using it to bolster his courage, hoping the aura of [Death] might give the Being before him so pause.
But obviously, a re artifact ant nothing in Their eyes.
The aged giant slowly opened his eyes. Those clouded orbs were saturated with sorrow and anguish. He seed to harbor so unfulfilled wish—sothing yearned for but never achieved. And yet His body appeared to have already reached its very end.
He gazed down at the tiny Cheng Shi and squeezed out a rasping whisper from his nearly dry throat:
"[Deceit]'s... follower... you did... well..."
'Huh?'
That single sentence nearly blew Cheng Shi's skull off!
'What did He just say?'
'He's praising ?'
Think about it: if you just demolished soone's house, and the next mont that person walked up and complinted your work, what do you think they're about to do?
Wasn't this a Feint Move before sneaking a club upside his head—a Sarcastic death sentence?
Cheng Shi panicked. But then he steadied himself.
Because in an instant he realized: if He didn't want him alive, Cheng Shi never would have heard those words in the first place.
So he steeled himself, suppressed the fear, stepped half a pace forward, and opened with the most reverential praise he could fake:
"Praise You, great God of [Decay]!
May all beings in the world decay into rot..."
'Except .'
"May all things in the universe wither as they walk!"
'Also except .'
Then, with the most self-reproaching sincerity, he bowed his head in contrition:
"Bound by the trial's rules, I—Cheng Shi, walker of the [Void] Path, second Collection of [Deceit], beloved of [Fate], part-ti employee of [Death], candidate Envoy of [Chaos]—committed a small, tiny act of blasphemy against You...
But please allow
to explain: I never harbored a single shred of genuine disrespect toward You, and those so-called 'offerings' were never born of devotion to [Prosperity].
I simply wanted to clear the trial. And in the process, my thods may have been... slightly... a touch... intense. For any inconvenience caused, I am deeply remorseful and willing to assu a certain degree of... not-exactly-fatal... responsibility."
The already sluggish giant grew even more sluggish after hearing this string of smooth talk.
He stiffly turned his head. When his eyes settled on Cheng Shi again, the black blood was dripping even faster.
"You need not... fear...
I summoned you... only to see... whether this [Deceit] follower who made
realize... the futility of the past... is also... a pitiable soul like myself...
Alas... you are too much like Him... incompatible with my Will...
[Deceit]'s follower... you did well... but rember to stay far from [Prosperity]..."
'Huh?'
Cheng Shi went blank. The staggering volu of information packed into [Decay]'s words crashed his brain on the spot.
'He really is praising !'
'Wait, what?'
'What exactly about
pleased You, big guy?'
'Has the world turned upside down?'
'I make an offering to [Prosperity], and He hits
with questions. I sacrifice [Decay]'s stuff, and He gives
praise?'
'Hold on—is this a script written by [Deceit]?'
'Why does everything behind the scenes seem to flicker with the words "Fun God"?!'
...
Speaking of the Fun God—[Deceit]'s situation wasn't exactly rosy right now.
The mont the Faith Ga erupted with anomalies—the mont [Prosperity] shattered the rules and descended into the trial—those spiral-and-star-speckled eyes had instantly sensed the disturbance and vanished into the Void, rushing to the front lines of entertainnt.
But when He opened His amused eyes, He found Himself beneath a sky of wildly flickering stars. Looking around at ti itself warping from excessive acceleration, He...
Smiled even wider.
"[Ti]. How rare."
Beneath the starry sky, the distorted flow of ti crumpled further. Countless rays of light collapsed into two terrifying black-hole pupils, and they turned to gaze at Him—simultaneously fast and slow.
"It's been a long ti."
"Indeed it has. You're as irritating as ever." The star-and-spiral eyes blinked, searching for cracks in the ti flow.
"So are you."
The black-hole eyes were apparently always terse. He stood amid the Starry Sky, and with every blink, ti surged forward in a brief torrent—stars rising, dawning, and dying in dazzling splendor across the heavens.
When the eyes were open, the distorted tiscape froze utterly, solidifying into an Unchanging eternity.
These stuttering fluctuations of speed gave [Deceit] no window to escape. So He abandoned the attempt and heaved a long sigh.
"I can't even deceive myself into thinking this is rely a mory—that all of this happened a million years ago.
So... [mory] is here too. You brothers really are in perfect sync."
The instant those words faded, a new star was born in the silent sky. It swelled with the flow of ti, then collapsed. Across countless iterations of the temporal river, it lived and died, shifting through endless forms, until every trace of its existence linked together to sketch a pair of eyes—etched with the weathering of history.
Those eyes flickered with the star's many pasts. From the mont they appeared, they seed to have weathered eons of ti, suffusing the entire sky with an ancient, mysterious aura.
The spiral-and-star eyes turned toward Them with a scoff:
"Two against one. What, waiting for
to make the first move?"
The history-worn eyes regarded [Deceit] without joy or sorrow, their voice heavy with the weight of ages:
"There's one more."
The mont those words landed, a figure materialized directly beneath those mischievous, spinning eyes.
It really was just a figure—a shadow. A human silhouette floating in the Starry Sky, bodiless. A shadow with no original.
The shadow flapped and twisted like a paper cutout in the temporal storm. After much effort to flatten itself out, it extended one hand and waved at the three pairs of eyes before it:
"Tch—three waiting for a fourth? So what's it gonna be today... poker or mahjong?"
[Ti]—Unchanging. [mory]—without joy or sorrow. [Deceit]—pointing fingers.
He glanced at the shadow, eyes tinged with displeasure.
"Sneaking back is one thing. But when there's a good show, why didn't you call
ahead of ti?"
The shadow froze, scratched its head, and gave an awkward laugh: "Didn't quite have the chance."
"Then how'd you have ti to notify [Fate]?"
"Uh... just bumped into Him. Couldn't hide it."
"Tch. You think I don't know He helped cover your tracks?
Eating inside, crawling outside!"
"..." The shadow sighed helplessly. "The [Void] is one whole, my Lord. There is no 'outside.'"
"Oh, how eloquently put. In that case, why not send my dear sister back to serve my sentence while I go pick a fight with [Prosperity]?"
The shadow nodded vigorously:
"Sure! As long as these two are willing, I'm all in—hands and feet.
The question is, do these two agree?"
It looked toward [Ti] and [mory].
[Ti]—Unchanging. [mory]—without joy or sorrow. [Deceit]—marveling in mock wonder.
He sneered:
"If [Existence]'s choice is [Silence], then please do notify
before you fully embrace Him. I'd like to join in the festivities."
Hearing this, the shadow burst into laughter.
But no matter how hard the two of them cackled, the ti and mory imprisoning this space remained utterly unbreakable.
Finding no opening, both the eyes and the shadow stopped laughing.
It and He exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
"Lord Benefactor, the deception failed. Now what?"
"How is that my problem? You weren't calling for . I'm just bitter about missing the front row of a great show. But you—you're in real trouble. Before you get sent back, any 'last words'? Better make them quick."
The shadow rubbed its nose and grinned: "Nothing much to say. I just wanted to co back and have a look."
Seeing the two still running their mouths, the long-silent [mory] finally spoke again.
"No one can break the Convention and kill [Prosperity]. [Truth] cannot. And [Deceit], neither can you.
Whatever you covet, it is futile.
The Convention stands above all. You and I both know this.
I can choose not to investigate whether this was an accident. But I will be guarding my Collection Hall—ensuring no uninvited guest sneaks in again."
[Deceit] scoffed and turned his Sarcastic gaze on [mory]:
"Since [Existence] is so confident I can't kill [Prosperity], then what are you two brothers doing surrounding
here?
Watching
and my follower sink into the Sea of Desire and share the Authority of [Birth]?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The shadow went rigid. It coughed twice and offered a friendly reminder: "Humans... and... Gods... cannot share the Authority of [Birth]."
Those eyes let out a snicker and turned toward it: "Are you human?"
"..."
'Well, when you put it like that...'
'I'm really not...'
Unable to refute, the shadow chose to go silent.
With the shadow's silence, the flow of ti normalized. The black-hole eyes sketched in light spared a single glance at the shadow, and the shadow began to fade.
It could feel [Ti]'s power pulling it back to its original space. So before vanishing, it threw back its head and laughed:
"I knew [Ti] was a bitch too!"
The words echoed—and the shadow was gone.
Every temporal crack in this space sealed shut.
[Ti] said nothing. He glanced once at [Deceit], then departed without a sound.
[mory] watched [Ti] leave, heaved a sigh, and closed His eyes:
"Would it truly be so bad... to draw closer to [*Him]...?"
Those star-and-spiral eyes blinked, feigning ignorance: "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You understand perfectly."
"Fine, fine, fine—I understand. Now that we're on the sa page, why don't we celebrate? With a fight?"
"..."
The eyes of history collapsed without a trace, giving Him no opportunity to strike.
"Tch. Boring."
No sooner had the word left Him than He too dissolved into the Starry Sky.
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