After the towering spectral flas had engulfed nearly the entire void, the colossal skull atop the Bone Throne finally settled once more. He gazed down at Zhang Jizu with a complicated expression, brooded for a long mont, then dimd His eye-sockets and sighed in resignation:
"Choosing. Deceit. As. Your. Second. Faith. Treading. The. Path. Of. Void...
Are. You. Certain?"
Zhang Jizu was stunned. He hadn't expected the furious Benefactor to grant him another chance at this juncture.
'He... agreed?'
'But what does it matter whether I've decided? Right now, my body isn't even mine to control.'
Yet just as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly discovered that bodily control had been returned!
So Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes as tightly as he could. He didn't answer the question. Instead, he asked sothing that concerned him more:
"Great one, forgive my impudence, but Your relationship with Deceit appears to be... not exactly..."
The green flas in the colossal skull's eye-sockets winked out. He seed weary — inexplicably, overwhelmingly weary.
"I. Am. Different. From. Him.
Or. Rather. Every. Deity. You. Know. Differs. From. Every. Other.
The. Gods. Either. Pursue. The. Convention. Or. Remain. Neutral. Only. He. Treats. The. Convention. As. A. Joke. And. Endlessly. Exploits. Its. Loopholes. For. His. Own. Amusent.
Deceit. May. Have. Other. Purposes. But. No. One. Knows. What. He. Truly. Wants.
So. Whether. Those. Who. Uphold. The. Convention. Or. Those. Who. Stay. Neutral. None. Wish. To. Be. Involved. With. Him.
I. Am. No. Different.
I. Despise. Trouble. Yet. He. Is. Trouble. Itself.
But...
Faiths. Will. Ultimately. rge. It. Is. Only. A. Matter. Of. Ti.
And. Faith. Fusion. Is. Neither. Right. Nor. Wrong.
At. Least. In. Void's. Era. Drawing. Closer. To. Void. Cannot. Be. Called. Wrong.
But. No. Wrong. Does. Not. an. No. Risk.
You. Must. Understand. That. Trouble. Is. The. Source. Of. All. Risk.
So...
If. You. Truly. Wish. To. Walk. Toward. Void. And. Gain. That. Troublemaker's. Gaze.
Are. You. Prepared?"
"..."
When Zhang Jizu finished listening, two words echoed relentlessly through his mind: THE CONVENTION.
This was the first ti his Benefactor had ever ntioned anything about Them. And the Convention was sothing They were pursuing!
'Was the Faith Ga born from the Convention?'
'What exactly are the gods chasing?!'
Zhang Jizu squinted as hard as he could. Clearly, his Benefactor's unprecedented candor was ant to convey one ssage:
'There is danger near Deceit — and that danger likely stems from the very Convention the gods pursue!'
He was making an exception to warn him: the road after choosing Deceit would not be easy!
So the seemingly generous choice He'd offered was actually ant to persuade Zhang Jizu to refuse!
Zhang Jizu was moved. But he didn't dare move.
The great one had overlooked one detail: the very Deceit He wanted His follower to reject was, at this mont, right here — on Zhang Jizu's body!
'My Benefactor doesn't seek trouble, but He doesn't fear it either. After all, He has the ans to counter Deceit and the problems Deceit brings. But ...'
'If I follow His advice and abandon the Deceit faith I've "already obtained," that might be the real trouble!'
No one could be certain whether, in Deceit's view, impersonating another's Benefactor to grant approval actually counted as valid approval.
Logically speaking: it definitely shouldn't.
But the problem was — Deceit was the antithesis of logic. You couldn't reason with Him!
And so...
Out of his steady philosophy, out of protecting his own life, and to avoid inviting unsolvable trouble — Zhang Jizu, for the first ti before his Benefactor, went against his heart. Gritting his teeth, he bowed his head:
"Please forgive , great one. I... want to try..."
Death seed to have foreseen this outco. His eye-sockets flickered with spectral light. He studied Zhang Jizu for a long mont, then slowly sighed:
"What. Did. He. Promise. You?"
"?"
'There was a promise?'
Just as Zhang Jizu raised his head in bewildernt, about to explain that Deceit hadn't promised him anything — his mouth snapped shut on its own.
And at the sa instant, a pair of grinning eyes opened without warning atop...
the colossal skull's head!
Deceit had arrived.
No — He'd been here all along. He'd even used His authority to fool Death, all for this very mont!
He gazed contentedly at His new follower, clicking His tongue in satisfaction:
"Who said little bone doesn't know how to lie? That 'I want to try' just now was beautifully insincere.
Looks like your devotion to
isn't exactly devout either.
Mm — good. I like people whose devotion is a lie wrapped in devotion. You suit my taste perfectly. Approved!"
With a blink of those eyes, a mask drifted slowly down from the colossal skull's crown and landed neatly before the small skull that was Zhang Jizu.
Looking at this mask — identical to anyone else's — Zhang Jizu finally confird that he had indeed spent the entire day trapped in Deceit's web of lies!
Only now — this mont — had He truly accepted him. Under Death's direct witness and reluctant concession, accepted him!
"..."
"..."
Zhang Jizu fell silent. Death fell silent too.
What was done was done — nearly irreversible. He'd personally given His follower the choice, and His follower had used a lie that barely qualified as a lie to accept Deceit's gaze.
What was even more enraging: that Deceit had the gall to perch atop His head, in the Fishbone Hall, and lord it over everything.
'What is tolerable in life is one thing — but Death will not stand for this!'
And so—
BOOM—
An explosion that shook the entire universe erupted. Boundless yin wind and green fla blasted Zhang Jizu — mask and all — straight back to reality.
After his disappearance, the entire void began to collapse, dissolving into eternal nothingness.
Within that eternal void, countless skeletal hands representing death rose skyward like blooming flowers, encircling the entire space layer by layer.
The grinning eyes, trapped within a cage of bone hands, giggled as ever — laughing even harder than before.
"Old Bones, you're finally willing to fight.
Though with those creaky old joints of yours, you might not have it in you anymore. Want
to call in backup for you?"
"Deceit!
You. Violated. The. Agreent. And. Exceeded. The. Terms. Of. Our. Transaction.
You. Should. Have. Known. My. Fury. Would. Burn. Through. Void!"
"Hee~
Oh, pardon
— laughing is just a habit.
Don't get hasty now. I kind of want to fight you too, but the ager ethics I've picked up from humans tell
to respect my elders. And, hmm, if I knock you apart there's no guarantee I can put you back together.
Even if not for your sake — we can't let the big guy be all sad and alone in Life.
How about this: let's make another deal.
I've taken a liking to those bone gates of yours. How about you build one for
to play with? In return, I'll pick two nice talents for little bone. How does that sound?"
"..."
The green flas in Death's eyes froze.
He stared at those detestable eyes, His expression a tapestry of conflicting emotions.
"..."
"Three?"
"..."
"Co on, say sothing, Old Bones."
"..."
"Deal?"
"..."
"Alright, it's settled then."
"..."
The colossal skull said nothing. He gazed at Him for a mont — then collapsed into countless rivers of white bone that surged in every direction, vanishing into the void at blinding speed.
Watching this unfold, the grinning eyes tilted even higher at the corners.
"Hee~
Just realized Old Bones is kind of adorable."
...
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