When you say "I'm your daddy" to soone's face, it's unquestionably a gross insult.
But there are always exceptions.
For instance, if the offended party happens to be a mainstream [Birth] follower, or a certain unconventional [Corruption] follower, they might not take it as an insult at all. They might see it as an invitation to demonstrate the depth of their devotion.
And as it happened, the being standing before Cheng Shi was both a [Birth] follower and a [Corruption] follower — a dual Herald who had fused with Himself, impregnated Himself, and given birth to Himself.
So when He heard the obscenity from Cheng Shi's mouth, He got... "dirty."
From behind the door, Aph Ros spread His arms in an embracing pose, slightly expectant:
"I always knew the moon would be more captivating than the sun.
"If you want to, anyti. My—"
"I don't want to!"
Cheng Shi shook his head frantically, black lines practically dripping from his forehead as he cut off the Herald before sothing truly explosive could be said.
'Bro, what's with this inexplicable competitive streak?'
Cheng Shi was done. Seeing a flash of disappointnt in Aph Ros's eyes, he sighed:
"Fine. I know you've figured it out. Drop the act.
"Yes — I do have another identity!"
Hearing this, Aph Ros's pupils contracted. He instantly snapped back to normal, spun once to return to male form, and the discarded robe levitated onto Him of its own accord. Standing tall and sharp in the doorway, He raised an eyebrow and smiled:
"Suddenly I'm quite curious. Since our last encounter, your resistance to [Corruption] has multiplied. And arriving at the Inquisition's door this ti, I caught a whiff of [Death].
"My brother — this identity you never ntioned... couldn't have sothing to do with the one upon the Bone Throne?"
"..."
Cheng Shi studied Aph Ros's curious, puzzled expression and felt speechless.
'How to put it — not so much "wrong" as "not right."'
'Getting here did involve that person on the Throne. But his identity...'
Cheng Shi touched his nose with a self-deprecating smile, then suddenly put on a dead-serious face:
"Since I can't hide it, I won't try to.
"Aph Ros, if I tell you the truth, you'll be the first — and only — colleague to know my identity.
"So... can I trust you?"
His gaze burned into the Herald, who jolted, then — pupils shrinking with disbelief — blurted a single word:
"Envoy!?"
The mont the word left His mouth, Aph Ros's aura began climbing without limit. [Corruption]'s energy, thick and viscous, surged through the invisible threshold like a tidal wave crashing toward Cheng Shi.
Cheng Shi's heart lurched. He wasn't sure he could withstand this credentials-checking probe. But the words were already out — he couldn't fold imdiately. So he activated every tool at his disposal, the hand behind his back death-gripping the key, fighting to stand firm against the [Corruption] tide for just a mont longer.
rcifully, the wave was brief.
Seeing that Cheng Shi hadn't been instantly dragged into the abyss by [Corruption]'s power, Aph Ros burst into laughter.
"Ha! Hahaha! I should have guessed!
"Soone who could lead
into [Corruption] could never be an ordinary 'player.'
"My brother, you've brought
too many surprises. The power you used to resist [Corruption] resembles it, yet I've never encountered its like. In that case, oh—
"I see. No wonder He ca looking for . You're [Fate]'s Envoy!?"
"..."
At this mont, Cheng Shi suddenly realized that clever people weren't perfect after all. At least when their deductions were wrong, the awkwardness was on another level.
'The mood was built up beautifully, and now if I suddenly say "you're wrong," isn't that slap going to echo a bit too loudly?'
'As a friend, would that be okay?'
'Yeah, it would!'
Because Cheng Shi had no choice. He absolutely couldn't impersonate a [Fate] Envoy right now. The only identity he could — and intended to — continue faking was...
[Deceit]'s Envoy!
That's right. He was going to play "Yu Xi" in front of Aph Ros, letting this fabricated identity make its debut in a deity's consciousness!
Though the idea had been improvised after Brother Mouth's outburst, it was highly feasible. Aph Ros was a convict from a previous era. He knew nothing about [Void]!
Even if He'd picked up a few things about [Void] from other players — a bunch of players, what did they know about [Void]!?
'Could they possibly know more than , an "Envoy"?'
So Cheng Shi went all-in.
And this performance wasn't just about covering up what had just happened. It was also about getting back at Brother Mouth!
Indeed — "retaliating" against Brother Mouth!
He'd long harbored a plan to gradually peel away the mysteries of the Fool's Lips and the Tongue of Eating Lies. But opportunity had eluded him — until Brother Mouth's conversation with [Ti] was witnessed by Aph Ros. Suddenly, this dual Herald was the perfect tool... no, the perfect opportunity!
So he imdiately adapted his plan and deployed it here, on Aph Ros. This ant that on the road to uncovering the Fool's Lips' backstory, Cheng Shi had finally begun making moves.
He shook his head, denying Aph Ros's guess, and smiled teasingly:
"My brother, your guess is making
question your intelligence.
"This whole 'I seek only wisdom' thing — that's just a persona you're trying to build for yourself, isn't it?"
"..."
That single line deflated Aph Ros's entire presence. He looked at Cheng Shi with faint resentnt but didn't speak, seeing that Cheng Shi wasn't finished.
"You should know — [Void] doesn't have only one deity. Besides [Fate], there's also..."
"[Deceit]." Aph Ros answered imdiately.
Cheng Shi blinked in surprise: "You knew?"
Aph Ros smiled, seemingly pleased at having scored a point: "Indeed. Miss Sun returned, and we had... an in-depth exchange."
?
'That "exchange"... was it proper?'
Cheng Shi wanted to ask when Hu Xuan had returned, but maintaining his role took priority. He nodded and continued:
"Seems I've been spared a lot of explaining. Yes, I am an Envoy. Specifically...
"[Deceit]'s Envoy. Yu Xi.
"Though I still prefer the na Cheng Shi."
"My brother," Aph Ros frowned, skeptical, "it's not that I don't believe you. I recall you're a [Fate] follower. So how..."
"Interesting. Who says a [Fate] follower can't be [Deceit]'s Envoy?
"Aph Ros — anyone else can ask that question. But you..."
Cheng Shi wanted to say "you've got so nerve asking." But he wasn't that caustic. He simply smiled:
"You, of all people, should know better.
"Besides — They're sibling gods of the sa path."
"..."
Aph Ros's mouth twitched awkwardly. He had no rebuttal. But seconds later, He countered with sothing like a defense:
"My judgnt of your identity wasn't based solely on you. It was based on His attitude.
"You know — He has summoned
before. And from my impression of Him...
"Mm, this may border on blasphemy, but I trust you, my brother, not to repeat what's said here.
"What I want to say is: in my view, [Fate] doesn't seem to... enjoy sharing."
"..."
Now Cheng Shi was stumped.
Under Aph Ros's scrutinizing gaze, he fell silent for a mont before speaking again:
"You've been deceived."
"?" Aph Ros startled: "Deceived?"
"Yes. You've been deceived. Because [Void]... is aningless."
The statent was spectacularly vague. In low-level player circles, it might earn a punch from so hot-tempered bruiser.
In high-level circles, it would provoke deep contemplation.
In peak circles, it might even draw one or two nods of praise.
And before an Envoy? He would simply attempt to comprehend it, then nod gravely: "I see."
Behold!
This was the con!
Cheng Shi himself had no idea what his words actually ant. But to everyone else, they sounded profound. Even when the sentence literally said "aningless"!
Seeing Aph Ros convince Himself, Cheng Shi finally smiled. Happily.
"Yu Xi... Yu Xi...
"I've heard your Benefactor is also a god who chases pleasure. So, my brother — between [Deceit]'s pleasure and [Corruption]'s pleasure, which is superior?"
'How many questions do you have?'
Cheng Shi rolled his eyes internally. He knew this was a blasphemous death-wish question, but answered without a mont's hesitation:
"Before fun, the pleasures of Descent are worthless.
"Of course, I don't an you personally, Aph Ros. What I an is — before [Deceit], [Corruption] deserves nothing but to be conned!"
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