[Author's Note: Birth speaks too much in this chapter, so I've simplified Her speech pattern to avoid padding the word count. Enjoy.]
...
"So this is the reason — for your fear —"
The Divine Pillar cracked against the Void like a whip, snapping sharply. It was also the first ti a god had directly called out Deceit's true feelings.
The spirals within those eyes began spinning madly. After a mont, He laughed.
"Fear? Who said anything about fear? This is just called being prudent."
"..."
'Another day, another casualty for the "prudent" brand.'
Cheng Shi rolled his eyes but didn't dare comnt.
"Whether fear exists or not — lies in your own heart —
But I too am curious —
Co —
Let
glimpse what else exists — beyond this universe —"
That single word — "Co" — nearly scared Cheng Shi to death. But the words that followed resurrected the Clown, sending his heart racing with excitent.
"You agree?!
Then — Benefactor — what should I do?"
"Tch —
How would I know how to use a talent bestowed by Ti?
You don't need to perform devotion for
right now. What kind of follower I've got — as his Benefactor, I know perfectly well.
Do your job. Make it quick.
Don't force
to charge you with dereliction."
"..." 'Since when is asking for instructions a cri?'
Cheng Shi pursed his lips, muttered an "oh," and slowly raised his hand to activate the talent against that grotesque Divine Pillar.
It was his first ti targeting a true god. The sensation was profoundly abstract and disorienting — the Clown swallowed several tis before he could bring himself to do it.
Fortunately, a gust of wind seeping from the nothingness "reminded" him. He startled and fired off Ti Deduction.
The instant the Ti-ripple wavefront detonated against Birth, a laugh rang across the universe. Then — whoosh — both Birth and Deceit vanished from Cheng Shi's sight simultaneously.
Only a lingering giggle echoed endlessly through the Void:
"Heeheehee~
Ti is such a miser. She thought that by placing what I wanted inside the Clown, I wouldn't be able to use it?
How funny.
Everything the Clown has is mine."
"?"
While that was technically true, still...
'Benefactor! What happened to
talking to the Outer God Birth?!'
'How co it turned into a private chat between You two?!'
'So that's what You ant by "absolute safety," huh!'
Staring at the now-placid Void, all Cheng Shi could do was grumble internally. No words ca.
And while the Clown stood there speechless, on the other side, the conversation had begun.
...
In the limitless pitch-black expanse — within the cracks of Existence beyond the Void.
A pair of star-bright eyes snapped open, draping the distant, churning presence in brilliant color.
In that instant, the endless Abyss of Existence — the sa one that had once contained the Hero of Today and the Hawk Eye Scout — suddenly transford, becoming a place uncannily similar to Mockery and Jeering.
So Deceit hadn't created that pocket of existence deep within nothingness just for entertainnt. He'd been scheming all along — and now, His sche finally bore fruit.
The crack of Existence!
He had threaded Mockery and Jeering — that river of near-Existence — all the way to this point: to an aperture in Existence itself, located outside His own universe.
From now on, He would no longer need to "break out" through the power of Ti in Cheng Shi's hands. He had punched open a gate in the wall that no god was ant to scale — a gate belonging exclusively to Void.
"Tch —
Existence — nothing special."
No sooner had the words faded than another Divine Pillar appeared before those eyes — one strung with countless Life Marker Boards.
Birth had arrived. But the Birth before the Fun God now was subtly different from before. A mortal might never detect any discrepancy in a Divine Pillar that asured the breadth of Life, but the Fun God spotted it in a single glance: this Pillar bore countless species and tribes that were completely different from the previous one.
And so He laughed. Laughed until He couldn't stop.
"Well, Big Sis — surprised to see ?"
The Divine Pillar lashed the space around it, emitting a confused hum. But before long, She settled and spoke pensively.
"So this is the reason — for your fear —"
"..." Those eyes blinked blankly. Twice. "You two really are alike. But aren't You curious why You're seeing
here?"
The Pillar's swaying grew steadily smaller. Its tail twisted and coiled for a mont, then pointed sharply in one direction. Deceit furrowed His brow slightly and followed the indication. Then the friction between the Life Marker Boards produced a voice.
"There —
His aura — lingers —"
"Yes — I feel it too. His aura is there.
Heeheehee~
Big Sis, bringing that up now — You wouldn't happen to be suggesting we go exploring together, would You?"
Deceit grinned at the Divine Pillar, the star-points in His eyes flashing wildly, radiating obvious anticipation.
But what He received was not a reply — it was a taunt.
"You don't dare —"
The eyes froze. Every spiral, every flickering point of light, went perfectly still.
"Interesting. Why wouldn't I dare?"
"Because you're still here —"
"..." Deceit's gaze rolled aside, then He chuckled. "Oh? So the other ... is bolder?"
"I do not know —
But I know — you share the sa fear —"
Now Deceit went completely silent.
He scrutinized this Big Sis from a universe not His own, eyes flickering, utterly mystified.
"Have You... never felt fear?"
"Why would I fear —"
"The unknown." Deceit was curt.
"He birthed
— I birth all life —
All life knows
— I know Him —
Where is the unknown —"
Birth's words were striking enough to shake the heavens, but Deceit didn't take in a single one. He simply pretended to be a pair of eyes without ears, blinking innocently, not letting a syllable land.
Still, He had understood Birth's stance perfectly well: no matter what the future held, no matter whether universes existed beyond the universe, no matter who Origin truly was — Birth would always be Birth.
This eldest among the gods, the "origin" of all things, was simply putting Her head down and practicing Birth's will. She seed to believe that doing so was enough to earn Origin's gaze.
That unwavering conviction was identical to His own — except His took the form of fear, while Hers... was equanimity.
"The obsession in a god's heart is a mountain that can never be moved.
Big Sis — have You ever considered what You'd do on the day Birth can no longer birth?"
"That day will never co —
If it does — it will only an He no longer needs
to birth all life —"
"Sigh — it's only at tis like these that I actually miss that foul mouth. I should've brought Him along, so He could curse You out when I'm too polite to do it myself.
Pity.
Then again, nothing much to pity. That foul mouth has probably... already been here.
And I suspect He may have..."
Deceit's flickering gaze drifted toward the direction the Divine Pillar had pointed earlier.
"Forget it. There's no point talking to you old-fashioned traditionalists. I'm bored. How do You plan to get back?"
"That doesn't depend on
—
It depends on the other you — deciding when to end His conversation with the other
—"
"?"
The eyes sharpened, their hue deepening.
"That Ti pulled a fast one here, didn't She? Before we ca — were You talking this over with Her?
So She knows too. Is that it?"
"Knowing or not knowing — what difference does it make —
I can see — you do not fear Him — you fear yourself —
Deceit — what has happened in Void —"
"Oh, Void? Nothing much. We just got ourselves a clown who keeps committing suicide-by-blasphemy day in and day out. Annoying as all hell.
But annoying as he is, he's rather fun to tease now and then.
If you want him, I can ship him over. How about it, Big Sis?"
"Being generous at others' expense — classic you —"
"Aww, no fun if everyone's this clever. It's so rare for Him to show up — why not cause Him a little trouble? How boring otherwise."
...
At the sa ti, in a different crack of Existence, an identical line was being delivered word for word.
"Why not cause Him a little trouble? How boring otherwise."
"Your sches won't work here — I have no interest in anything —
Do not disturb My reunion —
Leave —
Your ally — is not here —"
The voice faded, and four figures simultaneously dissolved into the crevices beyond the universe.
...
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