Not wanting to think about it was one thing, but clarity was another matter entirely.
Cheng Shi sat on the ground, carefully organizing every scrap of information in his head — sifting through the mountain of intelligence for clues, trying to unravel Aph Ros's story and even the gods' intentions.
But after a long while, he realized he simply couldn't puzzle out affairs between deities on his own. So he gave up.
Gave up on speculation, and switched to... "consulting" Them directly.
If it involved the gods, then perhaps only They understood Themselves.
So he picked up his dice once more and began praying with genuine devotion.
"Lie like yesterday, snee—"
He hadn't even finished the sneer when — whoosh — Cheng Shi vanished from the spot.
When he opened his eyes, a pair of cold, distant stellar eyes hung in the void, staring down at him without moving.
From the look of them...
'Uh oh — definitely not Fate!'
Cold sweat instantly drenched Cheng Shi's back. He didn't even bother composing his expression — he hung his head and launched into earnest praise.
But this ti he'd learned his lesson. The rhetoric was no longer ornate — it was plain. Perfunctory, even. Just in case he looked up to find Deceit again.
"Praise You, great Fate.
May Fate forever remain Fate."
This was certainly a fresh breed of praise — freshly perfunctory. But Fate found the novelty appealing.
Compared to strings of fawning platitudes, this brief, essence-cutting praise clearly pleased Him more.
The cold eye-corners thawed slightly, and the entire void took on hints of phantasmal color.
Cheng Shi caught the shift from the corner of his eye. His heart settled — this was indeed Fate.
So he couldn't wait to raise his head. Disregarding whatever divine decree his Benefactor might have in store, he blurted out a very large question:
"Lord Benefactor, I seem to have gotten entangled with Corruption's Envoy, Aph Ros. Is this...
a faith invitation from Corruption?"
The question was blunt. Blunt enough to casually discuss one deity's affairs before the face of another who didn't belong to that Path.
But Cheng Shi had the confidence. Not because he presud to know his Benefactor's temperant — but because Fate had once said, "If you have questions, simply ask!"
It was a promise bestowed upon Cheng Shi after his return to Fate — an offer to answer questions about the universe.
Of course, since this trial had been prayed for via Deceit, Cheng Shi hadn't wanted to bother Fate. But since he was already here...
'I'm already here — might as well ask!'
The stellar eyes in the void flickered faintly. Hearing the question, They responded without joy or sorrow:
"You're overthinking."
"..."
'Lord Benefactor, that stung a little.'
Cheng Shi's expression stiffened. He forced a laugh to save face:
"Good then, good then. I've no intention of leaving Void.
Even if He did extend an invitation, I'd decline.
My path was fixed long ago!"
Regardless of whether Cheng Shi ant it — or whether it was genuine — the words sounded pleasing to Fate's ears.
The eye-corners softened another three degrees. The gaze settled on Cheng Shi. The inner spirals turned slowly, as if reading the trajectory of Cheng Shi's past and present destiny. Then He spoke again:
"The fixed has not changed. But rember:
Stay away from Corruption.
He is not an existence mortals can approach.
Also — He never issues invitations. Every life that sinks into the Sea of Desire does so willingly.
They cannot control the desires in their own hearts. Using His summons and guidance as an excuse, they approached Him on their own."
'He never invites?'
'Even His summons and guidance are excuses?!'
Cheng Shi was dumbstruck. He'd always assud Corruption's followers had their desires amplified and distorted by their Benefactor...
So why was his own Benefactor describing Corruption as... a "victim"?
He was puzzled, but Fate clearly wasn't finished.
"Aph Ros is a tragedy. But He does not deserve pity. He created all of this with His own hands.
As for why Deceit sent you into a Birth trial — perhaps They've signed yet another agreent unknown to outsiders.
He always likes signing these things with others. But they rarely serve any purpose."
"..."
'Lord Benefactor, why does Your tone just now sound like Folly?'
Cheng Shi didn't dare respond. He quietly produced the Gate of Joyous Lust token — a few broken ribbon fragnts — and presented them before the divine gaze:
"Lord Benefactor, then this..."
"rely the self-rescue attempt of one imprisoned. This token allows you to visit His door at any ti. But like His Benefactor who never actively invites, He cannot force you to push it open — unless...
driven by your own desires, you open it yourself.
Pay Him no mind.
You did well not to succumb to desire and push open His door.
The 'Gate of Joyous Lust' was not a divine na bestowed by Corruption. It was a title given by Ti.
When a mortal opens that gate, their desires beco forever uncontrollable — they rge with the Sea of Desire, becoming a basin into which desire back-floods endlessly. After that, they pursue nothing but the joy of descent.
Aph Ros once dread of building a paradise of desire where all beings would revel. But His vision was rejected by Existence. And so Ti pronounced upon Him... the Eternal Prison sentence."
'Eternal Prison!'
At those words, Cheng Shi inexplicably thought of that S-rank Ti talent — Eternal Prison — a hard-control talent that suspends its target in frozen ti.
'So Ti has a thing for imprisonnt?'
'Uh — that's not the point!'
Cheng Shi shook his head, purging stray thoughts, and pressed on:
"Lord Benefactor, but why would a Corruption Envoy receive a title from Ti? Corruption Himself... had no objections?"
The stellar points gradually ceased their flickering. He cast a distant glance toward the direction of the Sea of Desire, and even His tone carried weight now.
"He never refuses. And He will not refuse. Just as He never invites and will not invite.
Because indulging desire inherently ans shattering refusal. That is why I warn you:
Stay away from Him.
Even Order's voice has already been corrupted. Mortals like you should not be tainted by Him in any way."
'Order was corrupted?'
Cheng Shi startled, suddenly recalling sothing the great one upon the Bone Throne had once said — "Order has a problem" — and the so-called "Order's fear, Fear (Order)."
'So Order's problem was caused by Corruption?'
'Order lost to Corruption?!'
Cheng Shi was stunned. He stared wide-eyed at the icy eyes, desperate for confirmation. But Fate did not reveal the ancient truth.
"Those matters are far beyond your reach. Thinking about them serves no purpose.
You need only walk your own path with unwavering resolve."
"But Lord Benefactor, I'm still quite curious. If Corruption refuses nothing, would He refuse soone killing Him?
Or to put it another way — if a deity tried to seize His authority, or sought His downfall — would He...
also not refuse?
For example... You... erm... the other sibling deity of Void."
This was breathtakingly blunt — blunt enough to lay bare the gods' practice of stealing each other's authority right on the table.
He'd even nad nas, pointing at his own Benefactor!
Though he'd tried to backpedal, in truth, if anyone besides Cheng Shi had laid out the gods' dirty laundry before a deity's face, they'd probably already be having an audience with Death.
No — more likely a direct audience with Oblivion, followed by a painless exit from this world.
But Fate was uniquely tolerant. He didn't punish Cheng Shi. He rely fell silent for a mont.
He too was weighing whether Cheng Shi should know these things.
But seeing Cheng Shi's earnest, hopeful eyes — and considering his devotion was acceptable — those eyes offered a brief reply:
"Nor would He."
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