Nobody knew what deal [Deceit] and [War] had struck. But at least the fires in the void had finally subsided, and the universe welcod complete tranquility—
Just kidding.
Those starlit eyes, having barely escaped the blaze, hadn't even caught a breath before being intercepted on the way to their next destination by a pair of eyes painted with chaotic white miasma.
Seeing who it was, [Deceit] scoffed and seized the initiative: "Do you think your foolish acts will ever have an answer?"
The white eyes regarded [Deceit] from an impossibly bizarre angle, then scoffed in kind.
"My attempt may not be a foolish act. But your foolish act has already given
an answer.
This is the reason for your fear, isn't it?"
"!!!"
The instant [Folly] spoke those words, [Deceit]'s gaze froze. The mirth drained from the corners of His eyes, which slackened and drooped.
He suddenly realized He had genuinely committed a "foolish act." And the foolishness was nothing other than completely misjudging how [Folly] had learned the universe's truth!
This self-proclaid supre intelligence — the second god of [Chaos] — had most likely never escaped beyond this starry sky at all, nor approached the [Origin] that sat above the countless sliced universes.
'I should have realized sooner. If even [Ti] needed ti to perate the barrier, how could [Folly] simply flee this place?'
He'd likely just used His authority to stage a ruse, making all the gods believe sothing was wrong with Him. And when [Deceit] — after seeing through the universe's truth — used it to probe every god's attitude, [Folly] could infer from their reactions. No, not infer — verify His hypothesis.
'This was the real reason He'd agreed to rge with [Birth]!'
'If He'd truly known everything already, He would never have "lowered Himself" at this juncture to engage with an old-fashioned traditionalist.'
'The unchanging [Birth] looked like an open card, a "fool," in [Folly]'s eyes. The only thing about Her that could attract [Folly]'s attention was the sliced-universe truth He'd just learned... from [Deceit]'s own mouth!'
'So I'd walked into [Folly]'s trap and practically told Him everything about the universe.'
Only now could [Folly] truly be called a genuine insider of the universe's secrets.
At this realization, [Deceit]'s eyes narrowed.
"I underestimated you. It seems you've learned everything from [Birth].
But I'd like to ask — where is your so-called 'Number One Fool'?
Hiding behind others and pulling tricks doesn't befit the self-styled greatest fool of the universe."
[Deceit]'s tone bordered on gnashing teeth. And [Folly]'s response nearly cracked His composure entirely.
"I'd already deduced everything. I simply didn't want to waste ti verifying.
Because I knew that eventually, so foolish act would deliver the answer. And now, your 'courage' has not only verified my deduction but proven my hypothesis.
This world is one massive foolish act."
[Deceit]'s eye twitched violently. He regarded this [Chaos] deity — unpleasant from every angle — and rather than feeding His own fury, His eyes rolled once and He burst out laughing again.
"Heh~
Clever trap. But aren't you worried soone might find the authority you hid away?"
Yes. If [Folly] had never put Himself in danger, then the lost authority was naturally fiction!
He still possessed His authority. It just wasn't on His person.
[Folly] snorted coldly, voice dripping with contempt: "Is this 'soone' you? Then no, not particularly worried."
"?" [Deceit] laughed in disbelief. But the next instant, realization dawned: "Oh? I see. You don't even know where you hid it!
Fascinating. So He's in on the ga too."
The mont those words fell, the starlit eyes vanished. [Folly] remained motionless in place. After a long silence, He snorted.
"[mory] may be in the ga. But if you could pry my authority from His hands — heh — then [mory] should be renad [Folly] long ago.
Mortals think themselves wise, so their foolish acts never cease...
Gods are no different."
As He spoke, the white eyes gazed into the depths of void, and for a mont it was unclear whether He referred to Himself, to others, or to that entity beyond the universe — the one observing the countless sliced worlds.
...
While [Deceit] rushed off toward [mory], [Folly] didn't linger. He seed to have much to ponder and much to verify today.
Before long, He opened His eyes again — right in front of another pair of starlit eyes. This ti, their owner was furiously assaulting [Decay] in the void.
Yes, you read that correctly. At a ti like this, soone was actually lashing a god who wanted nothing more than to rot away in peace — the practically invisible [Decay].
[Decay] had no idea how His long seclusion had attracted the ire of this [Void] ruler. All He heard were incomprehensible mutterings about "how dare you impersonate [Fate]" before suffering an unprovoked barrage.
Fortunately, the attacks amounted to accelerated decay of His own being — a kind of shortcut — so He didn't resist.
Those eyes knew they were just venting frustration. They wouldn't let [Decay] benefit from the rage, so the attacks gradually weakened until the anger was nearly spent.
And at that precise mont, [Folly] arrived.
The instant He materialized, that quintessentially [Folly]-flavored opening line rang through the void:
"Do you think your foolish act will have an answer?"
It was genuinely unclear which foolish-act practitioner this was aid at, since two of Them were present.
But the mont [Fate] saw [Folly]'s arrival, He imdiately blew [Decay] away and turned an icy gaze on [Folly], snorting heavily:
"Yes!
The Fixed Destiny is my answer."
[Folly] showed no appreciation for [Fate]'s unhesitating acknowledgnt that His own behavior qualified as a foolish act. On the contrary, His contempt only deepened. He averted His gaze and looked at [Fate] sidelong:
"Have you considered... that it might not be your Fixed Destiny?"
"Want a fight?"
Actions over words. As He spoke, [Fate] was already striking.
The pitch-black expanse of void suddenly erupted into chaos. Biting winds of nothingness threatened to shred and annihilate every trace of existence within this space.
Facing such ferocious assault, [Folly] furrowed His brow slightly, left behind a parting "Unreasonable," and departed.
Without His authority on hand, handling these attacks would be difficult.
After [Folly] vanished, [Fate] instantly recalled all of His void power. His eyes, dark and deep, lingered on the spot where the other had appeared, and He spoke in an inscrutable tone:
"Fixed Destiny is Fixed Destiny. It belongs to no one and draws no distinction.
I bear the divine na of [Fate]. I wield the authority of [Fate]. And I will answer for Fixed Destiny.
Whoever attempts to destroy Fixed Destiny... becos [Void]'s enemy."
...
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