Ai Si snapped back to focus. She suddenly realized Zhang Chosen's "thod" was probably exactly what that broadcast secret implied: you had to die.
Zhang Jizu saw that she understood. He nodded and pointed at his own mouth. The gesture was aid at himself, but the implication was clearly for Ai Si.
"Break the silence, offer a secret" — that might be the key to escaping the fog. And with a Gravekeeper present, no one would truly die.
Zhang Jizu wasn't pressuring Ai Si. He was reassuring her. He could see she was tense.
The War Supervisor felt the Death Chosen's consideration. But... she still stepped back, shaking her head with an apologetic look.
She didn't want to die.
Zhang Jizu squinted, imdiately wondering if she was angling to hear his post-death secret. But after studying her for a while, he concluded that wasn't it. The War Supervisor genuinely "feared death."
Not death itself — with him present, nobody would stay dead. What she feared was its aftermath.
That realization led the priestly Zhang Jizu to an insight. This War Supervisor was a priest by class. Why did she have such formidable combat power?
And from the very start she'd been seeking life-prolonging potions. That ant staying alive mattered enormously — or more precisely, lifespan was critical to her.
Was it possible she'd traded life force or longevity for her current strength?
'Draining the pond to catch the fish' was short-sighted, sure. But without today's catch to sustain her, this War Supervisor might not have survived this long at all.
With that thought, Zhang Jizu smiled softly, set a potion at her feet, and retreated into the fog. A wordless goodbye to the War Supervisor.
Since she'd chosen to live, he couldn't die in front of her — that would directly expose his secret.
He needed a solitary spot to face death openly, then let his innermost secret beco unknown whispers in soone else's ears.
But honestly, once that secret was broadcast... wouldn't everyone figure out it was his?
So — wait a little longer. Wait for the right companion and go together.
Zhang Jizu squinted, fox-like, and dissolved into the fog. He listened intently to his surroundings.
What he hadn't expected was that the wait would stretch to a full hour.
Nobody else died.
Was everyone afraid of death?
No — death wasn't frightening. Public embarrassnt was!
Every "Cheng Shi" in the fog understood that death was almost certainly the key to that door. But none possessed the first Player's desperate courage.
Not just because they feared having their secrets exposed. They were all waiting — waiting for soone else to go second. Because that way they could "freeload" another person's secret.
If soone held out until the very end, they could potentially harvest everyone's secrets, then reverse-engineer who their teammates were and what each one most wanted hidden.
So it was no longer about finding the way out of the fog. It wasn't even a simple trial with a clear objective. It was a ga of patience versus curiosity.
Everyone waited.
Without that first Player's attempt, the stalemate might have lasted forever. But because soone had potentially already crossed the fog and entered the Theater — achieving total advantage — a countdown had been forced onto this standoff.
Eventually, soone would crack under the pressure of chasing the leader versus guarding their secret. They'd make their desperate throw and beco the second person through that door.
Zhang Jizu couldn't predict who, but he knew it wouldn't be him.
Sure enough — after two or three more grueling hours, soone broke. The twisted, distorted voice rang out again, delivering a fresh secret to the living.
"Yes, I lied..."
And the instant that secret went public, the sa voice spoke again.
"Could they be my opportunity?"
Zhang Jizu's eyes narrowed. The ti was right. Four secrets had been broadcast. Adding Ai Si — who refused to trade death for progress — he was the only one left.
So he cleared his throat and imdiately whispered: "Praise Death."
The words left his lips. The Gravekeeper's body hit the ground. And monts later, the fog carried a third secret:
"I can't die yet — otherwise how will I bury them...?"
Before long, the Gravekeeper lying on the ground opened his eyes as though he'd never died. Cautiously, he rose — and the instant he stood, the fog before him detonated outward. A frozen plain of ice and permafrost materialized, along with a town's buildings encased in solid ice.
And the Faith Theater — the building rumored to hold the secret of godhood — stood alone at the town's center. The sole structure untouched by the blizzard's fury.
It was indeed a theater. More specifically, a circus theater.
The red eaves and yellow walls were patchy with peeling paint, but against this world of blue and white, it still radiated warmth.
Through the cracks of its great doors, warm golden light spilled out.
Sothing was performing inside!
Zhang Jizu's eyes narrowed to slits. Scalpel drawn, he crept toward the theater...
...
Elsewhere — deep within that fog from which everyone had vanished — Ai Si stood frozen, still wrestling with herself.
She wanted to approach Lord Yu Xi and help Long Jing temper Cheng Shi. But until she could confirm that drawing near Deceit actually offered tangible benefit, she couldn't gamble a "life" on what might co next.
If the fog were simply a matter of getting lost and finding a way, she'd gladly search for a breakthrough. But her life...
She truly couldn't do it.
Life was too precious to her.
So Ai Si was left behind. Face heavy, she tightened her collar, gripped her great sword, and scanned the fog warily — beginning the countdown to her own failure.
She was already waiting for the trial to end.
But the War Supervisor wasn't entirely idle. She collected every broadcast secret — at least that counted as her greatest haul from this trial.
When the fourth secret rang out, she knew only one teammate remained. She'd been guessing the last holdout was the Death Chosen — and then the fog gave her the answer.
And... more than one answer.
Alongside the "burial" secret ca another, simultaneously:
"It seems to have lost a piece of its mory. Interesting — why would even it lose mories?"
'mory?'
Ai Si went rigid. If soone's deepest secret revolved around mory, who could it possibly be?
The answer seed obvious. But the real question was: why were there six secrets?
She hadn't died. So the extra one belonged to... who!?
Despite the warm fur lining and a War follower's resistance to cold, Ai Si felt a deep chill wash over her.
This trial had gone far beyond her imagination. Impersonation, body doubles, Envoys, and now a mysterious seventh person... The bewildered War Supervisor's mind buzzed. All she could do was grip her great sword harder and pray for the trial to end safely.
And as Ai Si prayed in silence, the blizzard within the fog grew fiercer still.
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)