Foolish Game of the Chapter 537: When the Tide Has Already Receded

"However, the prayer needs a bit of revision.

Here — I'll dictate, and you repeat after ."

Nangong's expression turned strange. She stared blankly at Cheng Shi and unconsciously nodded.

Cheng Shi chuckled softly, cleared his throat, and spoke while carefully crafting the words:

"How does life decay? How does all creation rot?

O supre Lord of Decay, Your devoted follower has perceived Your true will and wishes to answer Your call with her very being, to contribute however humbly to Your grand enterprise of universal decay.

This lowly one knows she can no longer walk at Your side. The regret weighs heavy — yet to fulfill the true Decay, she hereby prays to You...

Prays that You release the shackles of her faith, so that Your follower might sing praises for the coming universal decay upon another path.

And so...

Life need not decay, nor need all things rot.

Decay's glory shall return entirely to You alone, and when that mont cos — that shall be the true universal decay!"

"..."

For a brief instant, Nangong felt that Cheng Shi was the real Decay believer, while she was just a fraud who couldn't even compose a basic prayer or hymn.

But since she'd chosen to believe, she followed through.

She repeated Cheng Shi's words verbatim, not missing a single syllable. And the mont the last sound left her lips, a peculiar ripple passed through the void above the imperial court — which had already been ravaged by countless bolts of Lightning Punishnt.

A massive vortex suddenly tore open amid the heavy, layered clouds. A phantom giant's hand descended limply, its fingertip delivering the lightest of touches — and a thread of grayish-white radiance fell from above. That light, though brilliant as starlight, couldn't illuminate the real world. It streaked across the firmant like a teor, then plunged straight downward, passing through the roof to strike Nangong directly.

Nangong's entire body shuddered. She looked up in terror — and saw that as the light descended, every trace of "decay" in the imperial court vanished entirely. Ruin restored itself. Decrepit surfaces were renewed. Damage was nded. Withered things revived. Even she herself felt a wave of unbearable tingling across her own body.

She pulled back her sleeve in shock — and found the arm that had once been covered in scars was now flawless and pristine white, without a single trace that Decay had ever touched it!

She inspected her body in disbelief, then turned to Cheng Shi with a gaze that was both lost and elated.

He hadn't lied. Everything he'd said was true!

Decay had let her go. The shackles of faith had been unlocked. Her oathbreaking was forgiven. No curse had been imposed. From this mont on, she... was simply herself. A pure, faith-free person!

"Cheng Shi..."

Nangong's heart overflowed with gratitude she wanted to express, but the words caught in her throat. So she could only stare at Cheng Shi, letting her eyes say everything.

But at this mont, Cheng Shi was far more stupefied than Nangong.

Based on what he'd just witnessed, Decay had indeed receded. But...

'Your tide...'

'Didn't it recede in the wrong direction?'

'???'

'Why did it recede toward ?!'

Cheng Shi was dumbstruck. Because that heavenly light hadn't only struck Nangong — there had been two beams of grayish-white divine radiance, and one had landed squarely on him!

'Bro — I was the emcee! I said those words so your follower could pray to you! I wasn't praying for myself!'

'Besides, I'm not even a Decay believer! Why are you zapping ?!'

'This is a misunderstanding! A pure, absolute misunderstanding!'

But was it really a misunderstanding?

No...

When Cheng Shi noticed the nail on his left pinky finger beginning to change color, he knew this was no accident.

Decay! The fingernail!

His divine gift had returned to Cheng Shi's hands, manifested in this form.

And this ant his hypothesis about Decay was correct — He had shifted strategies and begun sacrificing His own faith.

"..."

'What does this even count as?'

'What's ant to be mine... stays mine?'

Cheng Shi swallowed and studied his left pinky nail. The nail that had once been a healthy pinkish hue was now even more vibrant. It displayed none of Decay's typical characteristics, yet it had unmistakably beco Decay's representative!

The nail had rged completely with Cheng Shi!

He'd initially assud this was yet another servant god's relic. But he was wrong — wildly wrong.

Because...

Decay Authority "Faded" (Partial): A true divine authority recognized by the Convention, bestowed by its wielder. The user holds partial proxy rights to exercise this authority.

Authority Effect — Faded Redemption: Under this authority's influence, the proxy may grant forgiveness on behalf of the authority's wielder, freely dissolving the faith contracts of His believers, recognizing their oathbreaking, and erasing any curses they bear.

Authority Effect — Faded Majesty: Under this authority's influence, when the proxy faces blasphemous attacks against this faith, they may borrow a portion of this authority's power to strengthen themselves and confront the crisis.

Authority!!!

Cheng Shi had never imagined that the fingernail he'd once discarded was actually Decay's authority!!!

'Huh?'

'HUH?!'

'He's that generous?!'

'What does this an? He saw that I already carry Prosperity's "Vitality," so He ca over personally to balance things out?'

'Is this a rule of the Convention, or a voluntary gift?'

'If that's the logic, should I go ask my Benefactors for a couple of authorities to play with, then go ss with the two Existence deities?'

'Forget it — no point courting death. After all, even Aph Ros acts like a well-behaved student in front of Ti. Those two don't seem like pushovers.'

'That said, this "Faded" authority from Decay... feels a lot like Ti's "Eternal Imprisonnt."'

'A specialized tool against one's own faction?'

Looking at the authority's description, the ssage was clear — from now on, he could "persuade" any Decay believer to leave the faith at any ti. And if a Decay believer refused to listen and tried to resist, he could even borrow the authority's power to teach the rebel a harsh lesson!

'Nice, nice, nice!'

'I see now — the essential business of the gods isn't just stealing each other's authority. It's also about stabbing their own believers in the back!'

'Right, exactly! Doesn't the Fun God also treat

like a clown every single day?!'

"..."

'From today on, I seem to have yet another identity — a "Faded One" of Decay?'

'Tsk, tsk, tsk — if I can personally unlock the shackles of His faith, then why shouldn't I be called His Herald?'

'A Decay "Herald" who acts as proxy for the authority of Fading!'

'What a win. Another day of temporarily having the surna Lü!'

Cheng Shi gradually recovered from his shock. He looked at the emotionally complex Nangong before him and smiled:

"Don't panic. Shedding Decay was only the first step. The next step is joining Prosperity.

After this trial ends, Nangong — go pray. Pray to Prosperity. The words don't matter, just include my na.

Don't ask why. Just do it.

Though I will say — even though I'd anticipated it, I really didn't expect Decay to actually recede..."

Nangong gradually cald from her excitent too. Hearing this, she looked up in surprise:

"Recede? What's receding? The snow tide? Actually, it does seem like the snow has stopped."

"...?"

Cheng Shi froze, then turned to look outside the hall.

Decay had indeed stripped away the imperial court's decay, but the heavy snowfall was just ordinary weather — it couldn't be classified as decay and shouldn't have been affected.

The snow hadn't even stopped when the gray light had descended monts ago. How could it suddenly stop now?

His gaze sharpened. Sothing felt off — and then in a flash, realization hit. His eyes snapped wide.

'This is bad — the World Destroyers have arrived!'

...