Foolish Game of the Chapter 986: The Flame of Hope?

Sarcasm aside, this was not a pot he'd carry.

"My lord, I never wanted to collect anything. If I had, it would only be that mask presumably belonging to Crown.

As for these containers..."

Cheng Shi openly displayed every container in his possession.

"...You sent them all.

[Deceit], [Chaos], [Ti], [Prosperity], [Corruption], [Decay]..."

He wasn't sure whether the three newest containers were connected to the Fun God, but shifting bla first was never wrong.

"I've been devout to [Void] from the start. I've never once entertained thoughts of approaching other gods."

Those eyes blinked:

"Oh, I see. Very well. I'll convey your disdain to the Old Bones. Poor elderly god — no one likes Him in His twilight years."

"???"

'That's not what I ant at all!'

Now Cheng Shi was genuinely panicked.

'My lord, can You please not stir up trouble? If that gentleman hadn't dragged

out of the Sea of Desire, would You even have a clown to toy with right now?'

'The company boss does nothing, fine. But don't sabotage my side gig too!'

'Then again, would working a side gig let

see a container?'

'What would that gentleman's container look like?'

'Two interlocking little skulls?'

Realizing his thoughts were spiraling, Cheng Shi reined himself in and decisively skipped the topic, getting straight to the point:

"My lord, it's no use. All this teasing is just because You don't want to explain why You keep pushing containers toward . But I still want to know.

Why?"

Those eyes blinked rapidly. The starry specks within them flashed erratically, the spirals reversing. After a long pause, He chuckled in amusent:

"Are you afraid?"

"No."

"No need to act. You pulled out the [Corruption] container specifically to absorb your own fear so you could ask

this question."

As He spoke, [Deceit] blinked twice, severing the container's influence. The faint fear crept back into Cheng Shi's heart. Then He continued:

"What? You think I'm going to destroy the world? Annihilate everything [Origin] created?"

"!!!"

Cold sweat instantly refreshed across Cheng Shi's back.

The words were terrifying, but this was precisely what Cheng Shi feared yet never dared voice.

From his perspective, every sliced universe's gods were rely insignificant test subjects in [Origin]'s vast experint ground. An ant trying to shake an oak — how could it be easy? So he'd always suspected that [Deceit]'s sche wasn't to "topple" [Origin] and win the world, but rather to derail [Origin]'s experint.

That fit His personality. Perhaps only through this could [Deceit] honor His own "rebellion" and the [Void] He bore.

After all, no matter how much the Fun God feared [Origin], His devotion to [Void] remained unwavering. Every piece of counsel He gave Cheng Shi originated from [Void]. Even after parting ways with [Fate], He still upheld [Void]'s na.

He cared deeply about [Void]. But He didn't care about this world — or even those countless universes.

And that was why Cheng Shi had never dared speak plainly before [Deceit]. Because a failed experint very likely ant the universe's annihilation.

This might not be the kind of void [Fate] envisioned, but it was void all the sa.

"So is this the Fixed Destiny, my lord?

The world will inevitably return to 'void.' Whether by [Deceit]'s road or [Fate]'s road, they lead to the sa destination..."

A barely perceptible shift flickered through those eyes. Then a scoff:

"Tch—

You think you've seen through [Fate]'s Fixed Destiny?"

"...I don't think so."

"Good. Even I don't dare claim to know what Fixed Destiny is. So stop overthinking.

Fixed Destiny is far more complex than you imagine.

Also, put your heart back in your chest. I'm not destroying the world. I'm... saving it."

'The Fun God wants to save the world?'

'Oh sure, sure. Watch

believe that.'

Cheng Shi's anxiety deepened. [Deceit] watched His believer and chuckled again:

"If your anxiety cos from these containers, why not give them away? This world could use so fresh blood. If it's always the sa old fossils holding things up, it gets rather dull."

'Give them away?'

'To whom?'

'The Fun God's words always had words within words.'

Cheng Shi frowned slightly, turning the Benefactor's words over and over without finding the key. But he did notice sothing else worth addressing. He looked up at those eyes in puzzlent:

"My lord, [Fate] repeatedly warned

to stay away from [Corruption]. Yet during this trial — no, even this container!" He pointed at the [Corruption] container before him. "Even while I was using it, You never cautioned . So have You already gotten the answer You wanted from this probe?

[Corruption] isn't as frightening as people think?"

"Ignorant words." The eyes narrowed. "She is far more terrifying than the gods imagine. But you needn't know that.

Speaking of [Corruption], there's an amusing story. You've probably already t him in the trial — my other believer."

'Another believer? Who?'

Cheng Shi blinked, suddenly realizing the Fun God's "believer" might be... Xiao Qi?

'Sothing's wrong!'

'This is absurd.'

'Any player a god bothered ntioning couldn't be ordinary. But Xiao Qi? What about him?'

'He couldn't still be alive!?'

While Cheng Shi's mind raced, [Deceit] chuckled:

"I conducted a very interesting experint on this little believer. He originally didn't belong to [Void] but to [Descent]. He was a [Corruption] follower."

"!!!"

[Corruption]!?

The instant the Fun God personally confird Xiao Qi had been a [Corruption] believer, every puzzle in Cheng Shi's mind clicked into place.

'So the price Xiao Qi paid wasn't from his talent but from an oathbreaking curse?'

'That makes far more sense. [Corruption] manipulates desire and emotion. Such a curse fits perfectly... Wait!!'

'That makes even less sense!'

'[Corruption] never refuses. Why would She curse Her own believer?'

Cheng Shi was baffled. Seeing the crux of the problem, he looked up at his Benefactor. The Fun God roared with laughter:

"That's what makes this so interesting.

I altered the description of a certain talent I'd granted this little believer, disguising it as an oathbreaking curse. But who'd have thought — this fascinating mortal's body actually manifested the curse's effects..."

Before the sentence ended, Cheng Shi's mind went blank.

'WHAT!?'

'Altering talent descriptions...'

'So there was a second victim in this ga!?'

'In a way, that made Xiao Qi a lucky soul too.'

'But... why?'

Cheng Shi furrowed his brow in thought: "You an [Corruption] never refuses, so She didn't refuse Your rewritten talent either?"

"Heh. That's indeed what happened. But the strange part is, I've never exchanged authority with [Corruption]. So how did She convert my [Deceit] power into [Corruption]'s power?

That's why I say [Corruption] is far more terrifying than you imagine.

Stay away from Her. If you lose your life, it's not my problem.

Anyway, divine affairs are none of a mortal's business. Go do what you need to do."

"..."

'You brought it up. I didn't even ask.'

But hearing this, Cheng Shi's eyebrows rose. He keenly latched onto the key phrase and probed: "You an after becoming a god, I can ddle?"

"Tch—

'I don't want to beco a god' — soone seems to have forgotten their own words."

'I haven't forgotten!'

Cheng Shi straightened his back, thinking righteously: 'Even if I don't beco a god, my friends becoming gods works just as well, right?'

'A god's status is nothing more than an entry ticket to the table. If my friends can take

in, why would I need to beco one?'

'I've never forgotten who I am. Just an ordinary father's ordinary son. God or not — it has nothing to do with .'

'I just want to live. And maybe pass the imperial exam while I'm at it.'

"Heh. Incomprehensible mortal sentintality. Get lost. Take these eyesores and get out."

A gale swept through the void, hurling Cheng Shi and his containers back into reality.

Returned to the rooftop, Cheng Shi stared at the newly acquired [War] container. He could feel his blood stirring, roused by its presence — an almost unbearable restlessness, an urge to find soone and fight on the spot.

'Saving the world...'

'Would the Fun God truly save the world?'

'Could the Torchbearers' existence be not a mortal's delusion, but His hope?'

'Otherwise, why would His thod of sheltering the Torchbearers be called the "Fla of Hope"?'

'Who gave the hope? And where does the fire co from?'

...