Chapter 554: A Long Talk with Deceit (1) |
"Indeed — there is no kindness without reason in this world.
If a being you cannot fathom, cannot comprehend, cannot even approach casually bestowed upon you power beyond imagination — as a normal person, you'd naturally be afraid.
But the question is... why aren't they afraid?"
The tone of those star-specked, spiral-spinning eyes as they spoke was extraordinarily playful — carrying that signature flavor of Deceit's mockery, the kind that sounded passive-aggressive at first listen.
But Cheng Shi didn't hear it that way.
To him, the words struck like thunder detonating beside his ear. His entire body seized up. Pupils contracted. Eyes went wide. His disbelieving gaze drifted upward to meet those mocking eyes with his own look of horror.
He was terrified!
Yes — deeply, profoundly terrified.
This fear didn't stem from the Fun God's merciless ridicule. Rather, Cheng Shi sensed hidden meaning in those words. The "you" and the "they" in that sentence didn't seem to simply refer to "you" and "them."
No doubt about it — this feeling was unmistakable. Deceit was laughing at Himself while mocking all the gods!
!!!
Wait!
How could He say something like this? No — why would He use this tone to say something like this?
Cheng Shi was sharp. Instantly, he leapt to several conclusions he barely dared follow to their ends. But before those thoughts could crystallize, the Fun God's second sentence confirmed his guess.
His guess was spot-on. Because those eyes — drained of all laughter, filled with boundless melancholy — spoke thus:
"You're afraid of Me. That's perfectly normal.
So then guess...
Am I afraid of *Him?"
"!!!!!"
*Him!
It was *Him!
The instant that pronoun left His lips, Cheng Shi knew the "*Him" here could only be the Origin — the one that made Aph Ros blanch at its mere mention!
Though it was merely a pronoun, though Deceit seemed to have said nothing concrete — Cheng Shi felt with absolute certainty that he'd just heard the most terrifying horror story in the entire universe from his Benefactor's lips!
In this moment, a tale far more horrifying than "there is no kindness without reason" was born. But the underlying logic of terror remained unchanged — only the protagonist and the "villain" had been elevated.
The dimension had been raised!
A higher-dimensional horror story, for lower-dimensional life, could no longer even be called a story. It should be called... a catastrophe.
A catastrophe born from fear!
Cheng Shi listened with contracted pupils, body rigid, not daring to draw a single heavy breath. Meanwhile, the self-deprecation in those eyes hadn't yet concluded.
"Humanity's creation, in the end, has nothing to do with Void.
Life gave humans life. Descent inflated and twisted emotions. Civilization drove civilizational progress. Chaos disrupted essential clarity. Existence made the world colorful. As for Void...
We merely played a tiny joke — and gave you all a game.
So, whether it's Me or Fate, to you we're merely sources of power — not true creators.
But *He...
Not only created everything, but bestowed irrevocable divine names, and more — entrusted the most precious authorities in this entire universe...
Yet no one knows why.
So tell Me — which is more frightening: Me, or *Him?"
"..."
'You're both terrifying!'
Quips aside — in all honesty, Cheng Shi had never in his life felt such profound empathy as he did right now.
Yes — empathy! With a god!
In those eyes — corners slightly upturned, spirals lazily spinning — he saw for the first time an emotion beyond amusement and mockery. He saw something called fear. And the shape of that fear was identical to the one reflected in his own eyes.
He feared his Benefactor. And his Benefactor feared... his Benefactor's "Benefactor!"
What did it mean that *He "created everything?"
Did this mean the gods were "created" by the Origin?
If a god could be "created"... could it still be called a god?
And then — wasn't the one who "created" the "gods"... the actual true god?!
So Deceit's very first answer was now confirmed once more: the Faith Game was indeed a game pursuing omniscience and omnipotence. Only — the participants weren't limited to players!
They, too, had stakes in this game!
And their goals differed.
At the very least, Deceit's goals differed from the other gods'.
The information packed into the Fun God's few sentences was staggering — so enormous that Cheng Shi's mind was on the verge of crashing.
But precisely because of these words, his alarm toward the so-called "kindness without reason" weakened considerably. Because he'd discovered he wasn't the only one bearing the pressure of "without reason!"
If what He said was true, then His choosing Cheng Shi didn't seem so "without reason" after all.
The Fun God's predicament seemed similar to his own. The Origin, toward Him... toward Him... toward...
'Hm? What am I thinking?'
Cheng Shi startled awake, realizing his thoughts had suddenly stopped keeping pace — as though affected by some inexplicable force.
!!!
'No — my consciousness is going blurry again!'
His pupils dilated sharply for an instant. Cold sweat drenched his entire body. He felt his soul beginning to go out of sync with his body — vibrating at different frequencies — even developing a tendency to detach from the flesh.
His vision blurred. The star-filled eyes before him doubled into afterimages. Two eyes wavered and became four — one pair with upturned corners, one pair frigidly cold.
He shook his head, drew a deep breath, and fought to suppress his frantically pumping heart. He strained to push down every thought about *Him — but with minimal success.
Watching Cheng Shi's face drain of color, those stellar eyes chuckled once more.
He appeared completely unaffected.
"Consider that punishment for your blasphemy.
Fear is healthy — but choose your object of fear carefully.
Also, you asked the wrong god. Memory doesn't understand Deceit. Existence doesn't understand Void.
Since you want the answer to that question, why not ask it yourself?
You've walked further down the road of blasphemy than anyone. So why now...
Hee~
are you getting cold feet again?"
"..."
It was precisely that "hee~" that yanked Cheng Shi's hazy consciousness back to clarity.
He inhaled sharply, then fixed his Benefactor with an immensely complex gaze.
He knew which question the Fun God meant. But there was no longer any need to ask it — because he'd already found the answer.
Still, at this moment, to show gratitude for the Fun God's "protection," he obediently followed the "divine oracle" and asked the question.
"Why me?"
Those eyes finally smiled — as happily as always. Stars alternated their flickering. Spirals turned leisurely. The entire expanse of void seemed to rise with a joyous air.
In this atmosphere of euphoria, He laughed heartily and declared:
"My choice was never you — it was... Myself."
...
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