Cheng Shi slept deeply — profoundly.
Honestly, ever since the Faith Ga had descended, he'd never rested this unwarily. But this ti, the mont he closed his eyes, a thick drowsiness enveloped him completely, trapping him in a deep slumber he couldn't fight free of.
He didn't stir until he'd recovered fully. But waking up didn't an opening his eyes. When he realized he had no idea how long he'd been out, Cheng Shi's heart sank. Without so much as a twitch of an eyelid, he quietly gripped the ring on his finger.
Sothing was wrong. Extrely wrong.
Cheng Shi knew he wouldn't sleep this deeply on his own. The only possibility was external influence. So he was afraid that after mory had left, sothing else had co.
But he strained his ears for a long while and heard nothing strange. The surroundings were perfectly quiet — not a single unusual sound...
Wait!
This was a building's rooftop. How could there be absolutely no sound?
Even if the neighbors weren't generating any noise — what about the wind? At this height, it was impossible to not have even the sound of wind!
'This isn't the rooftop!'
Cheng Shi jolted. He snapped his eyes open, his keen gaze rapidly sweeping across everything before him — an interior, a palace, stone pillars, graffiti-like carved patterns, a familiar murky yellow hue...
'Hm?'
'This looks like...'
"My lord, you're awake."
"!!!???"
The sudden voice made Cheng Shi jump. He was about to leap backward when a familiar face entered his vision.
Kataro!
This Chaos seedling follower, who served as proxy for his Herald identity, was standing right there, smiling at him.
The Chaos Temple!
He'd ended up in the Chaos Temple?!
For a brief instant, Cheng Shi's taut nerves actually relaxed. He sensed he probably wouldn't be hard here — at the very least, like in the Void, he felt a strange sense of belonging.
But his guard quickly returned. He rose slowly, discreetly examining his surroundings, then asked with furrowed brows:
"Was it you just now?"
Kataro seed to know what Cheng Shi was asking. He bowed respectfully: "Yes, my lord. You looked far too exhausted. You needed rest."
"..." 'How thoughtful of you. But please don't do that again — it scares .'
Cheng Shi exhaled in relief, but then sothing else clicked. He frowned in alarm:
"How long have I been asleep? No, wait — when did I get here?"
Kataro smiled: "My lord, you've been sleeping here the entire ti."
"???" Cheng Shi froze. "You're saying — the mont m... He left, you pulled
here?"
Kataro shook his head:
"No, my lord. It was our Benefactor who summoned you. The instant you left the trial, He brought you here."
"What? But I..."
"But you encountered mory."
"!!!" Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze turning razor-sharp. "You know? You saw it? He summoned
here? Inside the Chaos Temple?!"
Kataro bowed reverently, then shook his head:
"Yes, my lord. Existence can transform anything into existence. He did indeed summon you within our Benefactor's temple.
However, I did not witness this legendary encounter, nor did I get to behold your magnificence in mory's presence. All of this was conveyed to
by our Benefactor. He said you needed rest."
"..."
'What a sycophant!'
'Good thing you didn't see it. Otherwise you'd know exactly what kind of person the Lord Ultraman you revere truly is.'
'I nearly pissed myself!'
'At least my image is intact.'
But... why was he worrying about his image?! The fact that mory had summoned him inside the Chaos Temple — that was bizarre!
What did this an?
Had Chaos and mory struck an agreent?
On His turf, there was no way He couldn't hear what mory had said!
No wonder his cries for help had gone unanswered — Chaos had blocked them all! What would answer?!
What was Chaos playing at?
Seeing mory sow discord between him and the two Void gods — was Chaos going with the flow and lending a hand?
Was He still waiting for Cheng Shi to claim the Ultraman identity?
"..."
If all his guesses were true, then Chaos... what was His angle?
"There is no kindness without reason in this world." This identity had literally been fabricated by Deceit — so why was He so invested in a made-up, fake identity?
Just because it was chaotic?
Cheng Shi's brain began spinning furiously again. With a slightly grim expression, he looked up toward the upper reaches of the temple and asked:
"Is He... here?"
Kataro's deanor grew even more devout. He lowered his head in reverence: "He is. He has always been."
"..." Cheng Shi's eye twitched. 'That phrase sounds way too familiar.'
Sure enough, the mont Kataro's words faded, the temple before Cheng Shi began to transform thunderously.
The dod ceiling crumbled into mist. Stone pillars twisted into spheres. Carved patterns scattered like falling snow. The floor heaved in waves. From the churning, chaotic yellow fog above their heads, an enormous hand coalesced from mist, parted the do with left and right sweeps, reached down to Cheng Shi, gently pinched the dumbfounded man — and flung him into the boundless yellow fog.
Cheng Shi felt his body go weightless as he was hurled outward with terrifying force. His consciousness couldn't even keep pace with his body's velocity, leaving his mind montarily blank.
By the ti his awareness returned, he found himself on a platform held aloft by churning, boiling chaotic yellow fog. This platform was the very sa one from Cheng Shi's first audience with Chaos — the one at the entrance to the Chaos Steps!
Beneath his feet, the stone slab still bore those chisel-and-axe-scarred inscriptions. Beside him stood a massive gate — the torn-open, inward-facing Gate of the Order Codex.
"..."
'What's happening — am I supposed to retrace Chaos's old path?'
Cheng Shi was stunned. He quickly surveyed the area, then looked down at himself — and discovered he was wearing robes identical to Kataro's, the sa murky yellow vestnts.
'Huh? Why am I wearing Kataro's clothes?'
He imdiately sensed sothing was off. But just as he was about to think deeper, the chaotic yellow fog beneath the platform suddenly parted, revealing a corridor leading into the Void. And the other end of that corridor connected to none other than Mockery and Jeering — that river of unreality that looked even more chaotic than Chaos itself!
And at this very mont, walking through Mockery and Jeering, step by step, was a large round face wielding a golden apricot tree!
When Cheng Shi caught sight of that figure, his pupils contracted violently. His scalp prickled.
Hu Wei!
This Grand Marshal of War had actually appeared here — at the starting point of the Chaos Steps!
What was he doing here?
Seeking an audience with Chaos?
At this pace, within one minute, the two of them would co face to face on this platform beneath the Chaos Steps.
Cheng Shi was stunned. He suddenly understood what Chaos wanted — He was going to have Cheng Shi play the role of Ultraman. No — He wanted the "real" Ultraman to receive this Grand Marshal who may or may not be a Chaos follower!
'What?'
'All you give
is a change of clothes — no mask, nothing? Aren't you afraid of getting busted?'
'Oh right — this is Chaos. Scrambling identities is easier for Him than breathing.'
'But still...'
'Is it really okay to backstab a player who works for You like this?'
'Of course it's okay!'
'The one being backstabbed isn't , so why should I care?'
At this thought, all of Cheng Shi's tension evaporated. The corners of his lips slowly curled up into a deeply aningful smile.
'Deceiving people...'
'Now that's sothing I'm very, very good at.'
'Since the opportunity is this rare, today — let
find out whether this dear "big brother" of mine is really... man or ghost.'
...
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