After confirming there was no saving himself, Cheng Shi's emotions actually cald. He let himself fall through the endless phantom Sea of mory, his mind flashing through a cascade of thoughts.
This wasn't a life flashing before his eyes — it was his final struggle.
He didn't want to die. So he was thinking about how to earn mory's forgiveness.
Yes — forgiveness.
Since external forces were temporarily unreachable, his only option was to beg for rcy from the god before him. Lowering his stance to survive wasn't shaful — the problem was finding an opening. A trigger that might make mory pause.
That trigger couldn't be just sophistry — it needed real substance. Sothing that could make Him interested.
But he was a Void follower. What could he possibly possess that would interest Existence...?
Wait!
He actually did have sothing!
Cheng Shi's eyes snapped open. He struggled to raise his hand before his eyes and stared at the ring on his finger — the Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt!
!!!
So that was it!
Realization struck like lightning. None of this had been punishnt. Sinking into the Sea of mory wasn't a sentencing. mory seemingly had never intended to imprison him at all — otherwise, with a true god's power, why would He waste so much ti letting Cheng Shi drift along the path to a "prison cell?"
He needed only a single thought to bury him at the bottom of the Sea of mory forever.
So He'd wanted Cheng Shi to notice this ring?
But this was his ring — a ring from Ti. mory was mory. What good was showing him a Ti ring?
To see through to Existence's essence?
Who could see through to Existence's essence?
If he could see through that, why would he still be a player?
If he truly could, he'd round up all sixteen of Them and make Them the players!
Cheng Shi was completely stumped. But he had confird one thing: after all this ti spent thinking, he still hadn't lost consciousness. That ant the other party definitely wasn't being lethal.
But this ring... what was its purpose?
Cheng Shi began to recall. Whether it was an illusion or not, he kept feeling that his mories had beco exceptionally vivid since sinking into the Sea of mory. He carefully reviewed every past encounter related to mory, savoring each sentence He'd spoken during their audiences — hoping to discover what mory wanted to express or what He wanted Cheng Shi to know.
But he found nothing.
Until much, much later, after replaying the scene of his first summons by mory for what must have been the hundredth ti, a sudden flash of inspiration connected one of His phrases to the present mont.
He rembered mory saying to him: "Ti will bring you the answer."
Initially, Cheng Shi had assud the "ti" in that sentence was just ordinary ti. But now — could it actually an Ti?!
So what did that imply?
Ti had given an answer? What answer? What was the answer?
If mory's aning was that Ti had already provided the answer, the only answer Cheng Shi could think of was the ring on his finger — the Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt, the item specifically designed to counter Ti's followers!
What kind of answer was that?
Kill all Ti followers? Or was it pointing toward Aph Ros?
Cheng Shi was bewildered. He'd never hated riddlers as much as he did right now. Speaking in riddles was fine, but did it have to be while he was dying?!
But desperate tis called for desperate asures. Even without understanding what Ti's "answer" was, he had to test whether this ring was what mory was looking for.
So he touched the ring of Ti and shouted with everything he had: "I found it! The answer! I found the answer!"
His body had long since gone still, producing not a single sound. But his consciousness's scream carried outward, and soone heard his call.
In the very next second, Cheng Shi was yanked from the surface like a fish on a hook — "whoosh" — and pulled back into reality.
He snapped his eyes open and gasped for air, only to find he hadn't moved at all. He was still standing in the sa spot on the rooftop. And before him stood a familiar, expressionless figure studying him — the... boss.
'Damn.'
Cheng Shi wanted to curse. But he held it in, suppressed the terror in his heart, raised his hand, and spoke through gritted teeth:
"The answer. I found the answer."
mory glanced at the ring in his hand. He nodded, then shook His head.
"You're clever.
But that isn't the answer.
You're quite active — just like your Benefactor. I don't know what deal He struck with Ti, nor can I fathom what He's planning. But I can tell you this: Ti's answer may not suit you.
I know you learned certain things from the Gate of Joyous Lust. Indeed, the Convention is related to Him. But He is not a terrible monster — He's not worth Their vigilance.
Of course, your Benefactor may not be guarding against Him. If I were to say... He is trying to please Him — well, that possibility isn't out of the question either.
As for the thod of pleasing Him — hmm, most curious.
Existence has never seen through Him. No one ever has.
Including . Including you."
"!!??"
Cheng Shi's mind went blank for a mont. He wasn't sure what mory was trying to accomplish by saying all this, but the re fact that a true god was openly ntioning Him sent shockwaves through Cheng Shi.
"There is no kindness without reason in this world, nor malice without cause.
Perhaps from your perspective, as the opposing force of your faith, Existence is the 'enemy.' But so things cannot be judged by surface appearances alone.
Deceit is also a surface appearance.
Think about your other Benefactor. I think Fate isn't bad — at least better than Deceit.
I've said all I'll say. Three tis is the limit.
I hope the next ti we et, you won't again be an instigator who dirties my Collection Hall."
With that, this god of mory — who'd appeared to punish Cheng Shi — actually prepared to leave.
He was dropping a pile of incomprehensible words and walking away.
But at that mont, Cheng Shi gritted his teeth and called out to mory!
"Why ?"
Yes — he was bold enough to stop a departing enemy god, then ask, with a deeply complex expression, the question he'd always wanted to know but could never figure out:
"Why ?"
Without specific context, this question was impossible to answer — no one could know the questioner's intent. But mory seed to see right through Cheng Shi's heart. He chuckled softly and replied:
"Good question.
As I said before, no one can see through Deceit. Likewise, no one can see through Fate.
As for Void — I don't know why They chose you.
But for everyone else...
Cheng Shi, this is Void's era. As rulers of this age, whatever They value, everyone else finds interesting too.
For instance — . For instance — Ti. For instance — Death. For instance... Them."
With that, the boss vanished — disappeared into thin air before Cheng Shi's eyes.
The mont mory was gone, Cheng Shi's strength drained out of him completely. He collapsed sideways onto the rooftop.
His heart pounded violently. Cold sweat stread down his body. Waves of lingering terror crashed against his consciousness, and an inexplicable fear surged through him — as though an invisible claw were gently squeezing his heart.
He seed to have thought of sothing terrifying, but instantly forced himself to shake his head and fling those absurd thoughts away.
Cheng Shi suddenly suspected he'd grasped mory's aning.
He was sowing discord!
"There is no kindness without reason in this world!"
What a devastating sentence — one that chilled to the bone.
But the question remained...
Why were They so permissive with him?
Why was he the darling of Void?
Was it just because of sophistry? Because his silver tongue aligned with Void's will?
No...
Even Cheng Shi himself didn't believe that.
There had to be a reason. But this reason... Cheng Shi had never sought it.
Not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare.
Before he'd "earned a seat at the table," he had no right to know the answer. So — was this what Ti's answer was referring to?
The Ti of Eternal Imprisonnt. Was he a prisoner?
Whose prisoner?
Deceit's prisoner? Fate's prisoner? Or... Void's prisoner?
'So exhausting.'
An overwhelming wave of fatigue suddenly enveloped Cheng Shi. The trendous ntal exertion of recalling and thinking had seemingly drained his spirit entirely.
He stared blankly at the sky, watching countless stars hang from the firmant, slowly turning. His eyes drifted shut, and he fell asleep.
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)