He was back. Finally back.
This ti, when he opened his eyes, Cheng Shi confird he was indeed on the rest area rooftop. But his prayer trial had originally been set at the Grand Marshal's campfire, so returning to the rest area was strictly thanks to Chaos.
He'd been slapped back here.
That was fine, actually — at least it spared him the trouble of dealing with Hu Wei and Da Yi again.
He shook his head with a bitter laugh and plopped down on the ground. Recalling how he'd just been commanding the Grand Marshal like a puppet — exhilarating as it had felt, the hidden risks were enormous.
He still couldn't fathom Chaos's true intentions. He could only take this overwhelmingly chaotic play one step at a ti. But even without seeing the full picture, he needed at least so sense of direction. Walking blind any further would inevitably cause problems.
So he began considering how to extract intelligence about Chaos from another god — to uncover what He was really after.
Cheng Shi first thought of his two Benefactors. But Deceit would probably never give a straight answer. Since He favored having Cheng Shi rge with Chaos, anything He said about Chaos — true or false — would require careful scrutiny. Too much brainwork.
Fate... He'd tell everything without reservation. But the problem was, given the current situation, Cheng Shi had clearly donned a disguise and profited within Chaos's domain. Letting Fate learn about this particular act of blasphemy... 'Forget it. Even blasphemy shouldn't target the sa god every ti.' He was afraid sothing would go wrong.
Setting Void's two aside, the only god he could aningfully seek an audience with and dare to ask questions was Death. Plus, there was still that Screaming Earl trapped in his Fun Ring waiting to be dealt with — visiting Death had beco unavoidable.
So Cheng Shi decided: find an opportunity to visit the Fishbone Hall.
A fine plan, but difficult to execute. Because...
Xie Yang had truly vanished.
This War follower hadn't shown his face since his last appearance. Even his little round girlfriend had dropped off the map. If the zone rger hadn't fallen through, Cheng Shi would have assud the man had died in so trial.
'Strange. Where did that guy go?'
'Disappearing is one thing, but you could've at least left
so "inheritance." Without you around, where am I supposed to find a corpse?'
"..."
Just as Cheng Shi was racking his brain over how to gain an audience with that lord, a massive gate of white bone suddenly yawned open on the rooftop before him.
Countless ghastly pale hand bones struggled out of the void, tearing a rift in reality. A howling flood of skulls then filled that rift, transforming it into a horrifying, cacophonous gate of death.
The countless skulls adorning the gate stared at Cheng Shi with their hollow little eyes, chattering as if demanding his soul:
"Hurry! Co in! He's waiting for you! He's waiting for you! Don't keep Him waiting!"
The dissonant noise was headache-inducing. Watching this, Cheng Shi's jaw dropped.
What was this?
Telepathy?
'I was just thinking of Him, and He was thinking of ?'
Cheng Shi sprang to his feet, face beaming with a radiant smile. Mimicking the little skulls' chattering cadence, he called out, "Coming! Coming! Stop rushing!" as he sprinted through the gate.
This gate of white bone — which to outsiders looked like the threshold to death's abyss — was, to Cheng Shi, more welcoming than his own front door.
This wasn't a gate to death. This was the office door!
As a dedicated employee who loved his work, the office was ho!
Cheng Shi stepped through and was instantly swept up by the torrent of white bone, surging into the depths of the void.
When he opened his eyes again, that familiar giant skull sat motionless upon the Bone Throne, twin flas of vivid green blazing in its eye sockets, watching him.
Cheng Shi instinctively tried to raise an eyebrow... but had no eyebrows left, since he'd already transford into a skull.
Even without limbs, that didn't stop him from showing respect to the boss. He clicked his jaw to prop himself upright, then gave a slight forward "bow" and declared:
"All praise to the great god of Death!
Life is destined for its final road, and flesh shall surely decline. When the universe's final chapter rings out, what shall bloom in eternity will surely be imperishable Death.
It is my great honor to stand before You once again, to feel Your will, to heed Your teachings, and to hope that under Your guidance, I may glean wisdom and bask in divine grace.
Your devoted employee, Cheng Shi, sends his regards."
Cheng Shi didn't say a word before launching into full flattery mode. The bootlicking clearly had so effect, because the green flas in the giant skull's eyes briefly froze.
He gazed at the little skull at his feet with a peculiar expression and spoke in his drawn-out manner:
"Your... devotion... has... too much... Deceit... flavor.
You must... surely... have... a request.
What... do you... want... this ti?"
"?"
'This ti?'
'When was I ever so tactless as to make demands? I don't even rember.'
Cheng Shi clicked his jaw twice, eyes growing innocent.
'Boss, this really is genuine devotion. From the bottom of my heart.'
'But since the boss asked...'
'No — steady, Cheng Shi. Can't look too eager. Following flattery with a request would be way too obvious. At least make so small talk first!'
So he steadied himself and replied respectfully:
"All praise to You, my lord. You are as generous as always. But those are small matters. Your affairs are far more important. May I ask — what instructions do You have for summoning
today?"
The giant skull stared at Cheng Shi for a long mont, and rather than giving any orders, instead posed a question:
"Do you... know... why... Truth... chose... Dizel's... body... rather than... His soul?"
"!!!"
Cheng Shi had imagined many reasons for Death's summons — a warning about his mounting divine credit tab, a question about how Zhang Jizu was embracing Deceit, things like that. But he'd never expected this audience to involve Dizel, much less that the first question would be a massive issue concerning Them.
He honestly had no idea. So he shook his head truthfully.
The giant skull's tone suddenly turned deeper. He gazed into the infinitely distant void and began to reminisce:
"This story... begins with... the Mother of Prosperity.
You should... know... that reproduction... is... Birth's... authority.
Before... the Mother of Prosperity... stole... Birth's... authority... She had... no power... to bear... offspring."
?
Cheng Shi blinked, suddenly realizing he'd never actually considered this. He knew Prosperity had four children, but he'd had no idea that gods needed to wield specific authority just to have offspring.
'No wonder Birth has so many children — why wouldn't you use your own authority?'
"Yet She... still bore... four offspring.
Do you... know... why?"
...
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