Seeing no sign that the two before him were about to co to blows, Cheng Shi slowly let his heart settle back into his chest.
But there were far too many things demanding his attention. He couldn't yet fully imrse himself in chasing divine secrets. Take, for instance, the players still dangling from the ceiling— what state were they in?
The timing of Hu Xuan's descent had been too perfect, and Aph Ros's appearance too unexpected. Cheng Shi hadn't had a mont to examine the peak players trapped alongside him.
Now that he had a spare mont, he discreetly stole a few glances at the multitude of "stillborn infants" hanging from the do.
This look confird so of his earlier suspicions: the diocre Person Society's hall had never contained that many living people.
Because the stillborn infants hanging from the do, aside from himself, numbered only...
Five?
How were there five?
Cheng Shi frowned slightly. Hu Wei, Mo Li, Zhen Xin, and Yu Mu added up to four. Who was the fifth?
The hidden mastermind, accidentally caught in his sweep?
His interest was piqued and he wanted to ask, but compared to the question of "eras," everything else was secondary. So he turned his gaze back to Aph Ros.
Aph Ros read Cheng Shi's intent instantly. As [Corruption]'s Envoy and the embodint of unrestrained desire, he understood desire intimately. The mont a ripple of want surfaced in Cheng Shi's heart, he'd already responded to it.
"Don't worry about those god chasers.
"When I sensed your call, I began observing them. The reason I left you conscious is that I had a sense you were running so kind of sche, my brother.
"Now I'm certain— you were indeed screwing them over. Mm, very good. That's very desire.
"But it seems you're more interested in
right now, so I naturally won't let those people spoil our enjoynt.
"By the ti this Miss Sun descended, they had already...
"Fallen asleep."
"..."
'Bro, could you maybe talk a little more normally?'
'I'm interested in the secrets in your mouth, not you. There's nothing improper going on between us...'
Cheng Shi's expression stiffened. Suddenly he felt like a lamb caught between two wolves, forced to dye his wool the color of wolf fur just to earn his seat at the wolves' table.
"And what's a 'god chaser'? You just called
a 'God Upholder.' These sound like two different factions?"
Cheng Shi used his topic-deflection expertise to pose the question, but to his surprise, the one who answered wasn't Aph Ros— it was Hu Xuan.
"Throughout the Land of Hope's history, there have always been beings who chase the footsteps of the gods. They view achieving godhood as faith's ultimate goal. Such people are called god chasers.
"And naturally, where there are those who aspire to beco gods, there are those who fervently uphold them. There are people who believe the gods are the aning of the universe's existence, the entirety of creation, and that the whole world revolves around them. They follow the gods with absolute devotion and punish all blasphers. These people are called God Upholders."
Cheng Shi blinked. He looked at Aph Ros and asked in bewildernt:
"How do I qualify as a God Upholder?"
'At best, I'm a blaspher,' Cheng Shi ntally added.
Aph Ros laughed heartily:
"How don't you qualify? Understanding Their will, protecting Their faith, broadening the roads of faith— that's what God Upholders spend their entire lives doing.
"Many among them may not be particularly devout toward the one sitting on the Divine Throne, but toward faith itself, they are invariably and absolutely devout.
"God Upholder is a rather broad term. And you, my brother— you always protect the faith you wish to protect, yet you never covet faith itself.
"Therefore, you are a God Upholder through and through."
"..."
'Fine. Never imagined the day would co when I, Cheng Shi, would be called a defender of the gods.'
"Enough of that. I'm extrely curious about what you called 'eras.' If I want to learn about them, Aph Ros, what do I need to pay?"
Aph Ros smiled with elegant composure and offered no direct reply. Instead, with a flourish of his sleeve, he extended an invitation:
"This isn't the place to talk. Let us... find a more pleasant setting."
With those words, the phantom of the church Assembly Hall crumbled away. All three were swept forward on a dense tide of desire. Before long, countless dwellings materialized around them, as if they'd arrived at a small town floating in the Void.
Cheng Shi noticed the Void beneath his feet suddenly solidifying— stone bricks stacking, wooden beams spanning, small fragnts of material assembling and reconstructing right before his eyes, forming a spacious terrace beneath the three of them in the blink of an eye.
anwhile, the great sun representing Hu Xuan settled gently on the horizon, rging seamlessly with the town. It hung as if perpetually about to set, painting the terrace in a wash of golden amber.
Sunset. High pavilions. Terrace. Breeze.
This was certainly more scenic than the stillborn-festooned Assembly Hall, yet Cheng Shi's face showed not a trace of admiration— only shock.
Because he'd recognized this town!
'This is— isn't this Dolgod?!'
His expression complicated, he turned to Aph Ros: "So the cage [Ti] gave you isn't just the Evil Infant Inquisition. It's the entire... Dolgod?"
Aph Ros sat elegantly at the head of the long table on the terrace. He smiled and nodded, then shook his head.
"You can think of it simply that way, but [Ti] is not the present mont.
"My cage is the [Ti] in which I [Existed].
"In ordinary terms, this resembles [mory] more closely. But existence is extraordinary that way— [mory] is rely the surface. [Ti] is the essence!"
Hearing this, Cheng Shi's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
The explanation didn't surprise him. [Void] worked the sa way. Or rather, on corresponding Paths of Fate, each deity's significance mirrored the other's.
"And my brother— the version of
you see is rely my most perfect state within this segnt of [Ti].
"Just as the Eternal Sun holds her bias about my na— it's not that I refuse to greet her as Go Lis. It's that...
"When I beco Go Lis, what I care about is no longer any of this before your eyes. It becos only Him, and the blasphers who desecrated Him.
"Believe : you would not want to share a table with that version of ."
"..."
Cheng Shi had no objections to Aph Ros's current identity. As long as the other didn't use [Corruption]'s thods on him, didn't transform into a woman in front of him, and didn't remove those fine clothes, everything else was negotiable...
But Hu Xuan was a different story. She wasn't a true [Birth] Envoy. As rely a candidate, would sharing a table with a [Corruption] Envoy affect her in so way?
Cheng Shi stole a glance in Hu Xuan's direction, only to see her elegantly pull out a chair and take a seat with evident interest.
"I suspect He anticipated this mont long ago, which is why He placed your 'relics' in my keeping before you awakened.
"This is probably what He was trying to tell . I believe my Lord wanted
to co et you.
"Perhaps He, too, wanted to know how His forr child had fallen to beco... this."
Hu Xuan's tone was gentle, but her words cut like a blade.
Yet Aph Ros showed no anger. He rely smiled and clapped his hands, and rows of puppet servants filed onto the terrace bearing trays of exquisitely presented dishes, setting them along the long table before the three.
Cheng Shi surveyed the scene and pursed his lips.
'If this counts as being imprisoned...'
'Being imprisoned for a while wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.'
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