Cheng Shi couldn't make heads or tails of the clash between the Gods, and he didn't pretend to try. Because right now, one thought consud him entirely:
If this many Gods were ganging up on [Prosperity], why wasn't the Gentleman before him the least bit tempted?
Didn't He have a grudge against [Prosperity]? Why not jump in?
Cheng Shi bounced back around on his jawbone, looking up at [Death] on the Bone Throne, engrossed in the battlefield. When he saw those hollow eye sockets, sothing suddenly clicked.
It was sothing He'd said during their very first audience.
He'd said [Thundering] was dead, killed by [Order]. But half of [Thundering]'s Divinity was in this Gentleman's hands.
Given that His Divine Na was [Death]... was there a chance that when a Deity truly died, that Deity would shed half—at least part—of their Divinity... and it would automatically end up in His possession?
After all, the death of a god was, in a sense, an offering to Him!
A True God-level offering!
The thought staggered Cheng Shi. If this was true, then the Gentleman wasn't abstaining from participation—He was simply waiting for an outco. An outco where He could sit and Reap the Fisherman's Profit!
So He believed the Gods would win?!
But if [Fate], [Truth], [Folly], and [Chaos] truly succeeded, would [Prosperity] actually die?
And if She died, what would happen to Her followers? What about Hong Lin?
He'd spent all that ti hoodwinking Big Cat, promising to broker a [Prosperity]-[Fate] fusion. But the next mont, her Benefactor would be gone. How was he supposed to explain that?
'Tell her his future self ca back in ti and got her Benefactor killed?'
'Big Cat would lose her mind!'
'Wait!'
If things truly unfolded this way, then the token his Benefactor had bestowed...
Cheng Shi froze. The die was ostensibly a Die of Fate for establishing a second faith. But when a player's first faith ceased to exist, wouldn't the second faith... beco the first?
'What?'
'So my Benefactor wasn't recruiting—He was straight-up plundering, just like [Prosperity]!'
'He wanted to directly convert Hong Lin into a [Fate] Warrior?'
'He'd already foreseen [Prosperity]'s fall?'
'Does that an [Prosperity] is definitely going to die?'
'So what He stands to gain from this God War is... Hong Lin?'
'Then what about [Folly]? What does He get?'
Cheng Shi couldn't figure it out—and never would. A mortal simply cannot know what chips the Gods were playing with. But the curiosity was unbearable. He wanted nothing more than to throw himself into this war and grab so scraps.
So the more he thought, the more his brain narrowed down to a single question:
'What can I get out of this God War?'
That question was more important than everything else—more important than whether his Benefactor trapped by [Existence] could even make it back.
So, driven by imnse greed, Cheng Shi deliberated at length and decided to ask one more question.
This ti, it wasn't for gossip. It was for profit—profit that might slip through the Gods' fingers!
Everyone knew: where there was risk, there was reward. Faced with the greatest upheaval since the Faith Ga's descent, if he couldn't leverage his status as a Favored One to claim a share of this chaos, then Cheng Shi felt he'd truly beco a spider on a Spider Web:
'A failed man.'
He wanted to advance. Ever since that dream, he'd desperately wanted to advance.
So after careful deliberation, he looked up at the Gentleman on the Bone Throne and spoke once more.
This ti, his probe was completely direct.
"Esteed Gentleman, forgive my presumption. There is one question that has been plaguing , and I wish to ask it of you once more."
The great skull withdrew its gaze from the green screen and looked down at the small skull below the throne. He nodded.
"Speak."
Cheng Shi perked up imdiately and rushed out the words:
"If [Prosperity] falls, what happens to all the [Prosperity] players in the Faith Ga?
And if [Truth] truly seizes [Prosperity]'s Authority, will [Truth]'s followers receive new blessings derived from those Authorities?"
The great skull seed to have anticipated the question. He snorted:
"The [Prosperity Mother], will not, fall.
You do not, know, the Convention. So you, do not know, its power.
Under the Convention's, protection, no God, can kill, another God.
Because, the Convention, was signed, precisely, to prevent, any more, wars, that result, in divine, death."
"She won't fall?" Cheng Shi was stunned. If [Prosperity] wouldn't die, then what were all these Gods fighting so hard for?
The great skull was in an unusually chatty mood today. He glanced at Cheng Shi and "helpfully" enlightened him.
"Not dying, does not an, She can, keep, Her Authority.
[Truth], has long been, researching, how to effectively, Exploit Loopholes, in the Convention, to fuse, Our Authorities.
He has, already, seen results. Today, He should, use them, on [Prosperity].
But Authority, only transfers. It does not, vanish.
So when, [Prosperity], is imprisoned, aside from, being unable, to have, an audience, with Her, for you all, nothing, changes."
'What?'
Today's information overload was frying both halves of Cheng Shi's brain. But he didn't waste ti processing—he imdiately pressed further:
"Does it affect You, Gentleman? [Prosperity] is, after all, a Deity of the [Life] Path. If one of Them in the Path is no longer free, what impact does that have on the other two?"
The great skull was quiet for a mont, then turned to look at Cheng Shi.
"You, have beco, very bold.
What, do you want, to say?"
'What do I want to say?'
'I want a share of the spoils!'
But could he say that? Absolutely not!
So Cheng Shi, trembling with audacity, uttered the boldest sentence of the day:
"I want... to help You!"
Light blazed feverishly in his eye sockets. He tried to squeeze an expression of wild devotion onto a bare skull, then once again perfectly demonstrated his greed to [Death]!
"Gentleman, if you have any expectations in this shifting God War, your loyal employee, Cheng Shi, is willing to do whatever is within his power.
And all you need to do is point your employee in the right direction, so he might claim one small spoonful of broth from this divine banquet!
What... do you think?"
"You, a mortal, also wish, to seize, Her Authority?"
The great skull thundered with bewildernt so imnse that the entire torrent of bones in the Hall of White Bones surged and boiled in sympathetic confusion.
Countless chattering skulls spiraled through the air, and the bone-forged waterfalls churned and roared.
Cheng Shi was blasted backward by the [Death]-saturated shockwave, rolling down the stairs. But he clenched his jaw, wedging himself into a gap between steps, and scread up at the Gentleman on the Bone Throne like a man with nothing left to lose:
"Esteed Gentleman, I'm not trying to seize Her Authority! I just want to pocket a few perks from this 'accident'!"
"Delusion.
Mortals, cannot, partake, of Her Authority.
The Convention, protects, all divine, power, from being, lost."
"But you said [Truth] found a way to Exploit Loopholes and seize [Prosperity]'s Authority! That ans the Convention isn't omnipotent!
Since it's not omnipotent, why can't we do the sa?
Gentleman, the [Life] Path is about to lose one True God! Why shouldn't we think about [Life]'s interests and retain so benefits?"
Green flas roared in the great skull's eye sockets. He gazed at Cheng Shi, His expression unreadable.
"Excessive, greed, is the, path to, death.
You are, nothing like, [Fate].
You are, very much, like [Deceit]."
"..."
But after a mont of silence, the Gentleman on the Bone Throne sighed—and revealed sothing that a player should never have been told.
"[Truth], has taken, control, of Dizel's, body.
He, has tampered, with the, bloodline fusion, and will, use, Dizel's identity, as a, child of, [Prosperity], to inherit, [Prosperity]'s, Authority.
You, have no, right of, inheritance.
Le Le'er, is rooted, in the [Sea of Desire]. You also, have no, reason, to throw, your life away, for an, unrealistic, fantasy."
"Right of inheritance?" Cheng Shi bounced twice, his heart suddenly seizing. He blurted: "What do you an, right of inheritance? What kind of identity qualifies for inheritance?"
"A Servant God, or an Envoy. When a, True God, is imprisoned, and loses, their freedom, per the, Convention, their Envoy, holds the, right, of Proxy Action, over their, Authority."
Cheng Shi swallowed hard and asked with extre nervousness: "Then does She have... an envoy?"
"An envoy?
If you an, ssengers, like the, bone servants, those are, rely, Favored Ones. Naturally, they, do not, qualify."
"No, no, no—I an the kind of envoy who delivers divine Edicts to Her people!"
"Delusion, nothing more.
Do not, lose yourself, in fantasy. That is, [Corruption]'s, specialty—corrupting, the human heart.
The [Prosperity Mother], has never, had, a Favored One, who carries, Her Edict.
Those who, relay, Her commands, have always, been, Her children, alone.p
You..."
"I know Her second daughter—Frazor!"
Cheng Shi suddenly tipped himself upright on his chin. His gaze burned as he stared at the great skull on the Bone Throne, speaking with manic intensity:
"Gentleman, if [Prosperity]'s eldest daughter Frazor is still alive—does She... have the right of inheritance?!"
"?"
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