Chapter 597: Faith Fusion—Again |
What answered Cheng Shi's prayer was not either of his Benefactors, nor the colossal hand of churning yellow fog that had once descended from the temple above. It was a familiar face—someone so familiar they were practically his mirror image.
Kataro!
The Ultraman impersonator was strolling toward him once more, that same easy smile on his face.
The moment a normal-looking person appeared, the crushing weight on Cheng Shi's heart lifted dramatically.
'Good—at least there's someone here I can have a coherent conversation with.'
He surged to his feet, studied Kataro's welcoming expression, and began with undisguised gravity:
"Kataro, I saw... I saw..."
He'd been about to spill everything—to compare notes and confirm what he'd just witnessed. But the words died on his tongue, swallowed by caution.
He realized he had no standing to question anything. Even as the genuine Chaos Envoy Ultraman, he'd have no right to demand explanations from a true god about its activities.
"I think I saw it in a dream...
Probably because I missed it too much. Sigh—I've always been this devout.
Kataro, is it here right now?"
Hearing this, Kataro's composure very nearly cracked.
In all the world, when it came to understanding Cheng Shi, Kataro considered himself no worse than third. After all, he'd been imitating this man for a long time. So when the words left Cheng Shi's mouth, Kataro could practically read the precise shape of the blasphemy taking place inside his head.
But he didn't dare call it out. He could only shake his head with a smile: "I don't know."
"You don't know?!" Cheng Shi blurted in surprise—but almost immediately, he decoded the answer.
Kataro had said nothing and yet said everything.
Every previous time he'd asked, the man had given a clear answer. This time, the answer was ambiguous—which meant everything he'd just experienced was real. Chaos truly had gone to play... no, to become Order!
'Then the heir to this temple...?'
'No, no, no—that's not the point. The point is: what is it trying to do?'
'Where's Order? Where did the real Order go?'
'How did it slip through Order's defenses?'
Cheng Shi's curiosity was devouring him. He barely needed to ask—Kataro could read every question right off his face.
Seeing the shock painting the great Lord Ultraman's features, Kataro lowered his head in reverence and spoke in a tone of utmost respect, unhurried and measured:
"My lord, I can see what you wish to ask. If you are ready, Kataro can lead you to the answer."
"!!!"
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted violently. He fixed the man with a piercing stare and asked in disbelief:
"The answer? You know where Order is? Don't tell me Chaos actually imprisoned it here!
No—wait. What do I need to prepare?
What does it want me to prepare?"
Cheng Shi hadn't been swept up in blind excitement. He was instantly on guard, brow furrowed, thinking hard.
Everything he'd experienced today had clearly been guided by an invisible hand behind the scenes. Whether that hand belonged to the colossal palm formed from chaotic yellow fog, he couldn't be certain—but it was undoubtedly connected.
He studied Kataro's respectful yet unreadable gaze and began replaying the day's events. He traced through his actions again and again, going all the way back to the moment before he'd even met Li Jingming.
Big Cat was clearly fine. On reflection, the teammates and NPCs he'd encountered during the trial seemed unproblematic too. Even the Dragon King, who'd put on a whole rival-act with him, appeared clean.
The suspicious one was himself. It was Cheng Shi who seemed to have an issue.
When the Iron Law had unleashed its Chaos torrent and dragged everyone into the carnival of madness, he'd had every opportunity to grab Big Cat and the others and simply leave. But instead, his brain had overheated, and he'd charged straight up to the god, wanting to lend it a hand...
'How laughable. A mortal—a fake Envoy—wanted to help a god.'
Cheng Shi possessed enough self-awareness. He knew he was greedy, but the greed at that particular moment had been excessively strong. That gamble had risked not just his own life but Big Cat's too. And the Dragon King's—actually, the Dragon King's didn't count.
Under those circumstances, that spike of greed was genuinely suspect. But he couldn't entirely rule out minor interference from Chaos either.
Regardless, some puppeteer had orchestrated all of this. And that puppeteer's goal... was it to draw him closer to Chaos, or closer to Order?
Or... to find Order?
Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. He turned to Kataro again: "You can take me to it? Kataro, please don't tell me that it—Order—the first god of Civilization—is right here inside the Chaos Temple."
Kataro blinked, then quietly lowered his head without a word. But that reaction said more than enough.
'It's really here!'
'Order has been imprisoned by Chaos inside its own temple!'
Cheng Shi's eyes bulged. His pupils trembled.
'Mother of—this is headline news!'
'If I traded this memory with the Dragon King, could I get a Servant God relic in return?'
"Where is it?" he demanded impatiently.
Kataro answered with a gentle smile: "Are you ready, my lord?"
"What should I prepare?"
"I don't know."
"...Then what do you know?"
"I know only what I am meant to know, my lord."
Kataro's tone grew ever more deferential and polished. Cheng Shi, however, was having none of it.
"Transfer me to a real person."
"?" Kataro froze. He didn't understand.
Seeing the bewilderment, Cheng Shi clicked his tongue in boredom:
"Never mind. I'm not ready. I don't know what it—or they—have planned for me, and I've decided I don't want to find out.
I'm giving up. Since what you've brought me isn't an order but a choice, I choose to pass.
Mm—knowing it's locked up in here is reward enough. Ah... I should clarify: I'm not gleeful that a true god is imprisoned. I'm simply awed by the magnitude of this secret. That's all.
That's it.
I am a God Upholder. I respect them. And I would never blaspheme them."
"..."
Kataro gaped at the perfectly deadpan Cheng Shi, twitched the corners of his mouth, and offered no comment.
Cheng Shi's torrent of words sounded as though it was addressed to Kataro—more likely aimed at them—but in truth, he was persuading himself.
Greed was the path to death. The one seated upon the Bone Throne had said that. Until he had the strength to handle certain secrets, it was better not to learn too much.
'Give myself time. At least... at least wait until I've climbed to the top of the leaderboard and obtained a talent from the Fun God capable of fooling the gods. Then I can worry about divine power plays.'
"Today's haul was excellent. I'm satisfied.
Also, Kataro—next time you need me, could you maybe give me a heads-up first? Getting yanked into the temple without warning is a bit... ahem, I don't even have time to fix my appearance."
Kataro ducked his head, barely suppressing a grin: "My lord, I lack the ability to summon you to the temple. Your presence here is naturally due to our Benefactor's invitation."
"???" Cheng Shi went blank. "Didn't you just say it wasn't here?"
"I said I didn't know."
Cheng Shi's gaze narrowed: "So you're saying it is here?"
"I don't know."
"..." Cheng Shi's nerves pulled tight. His sharp eyes swept the surroundings restlessly, but on the surface, he let Kataro's deflection draw an amused huff: "Tell me one thing you do know. Otherwise, the next time I have an audience, I'll suggest a replacement body double."
"!!!" Kataro snapped rigidly to attention. He fixed the great Lord Ultraman with a complicated stare and declared solemnly: "I... My lord, the advice I can offer you is: I don't know."
"?"
The instant those words left his lips, the entire Chaos Temple dissolved into nothing, ejecting a thoroughly bewildered Cheng Shi.
He floated there in a daze, muttering the phrase over and over, chewing on its meaning—until his eyes flew wide and his contracting pupils reflected stark, disbelieving shock.
"Wait—how did I... undergo faith fusion again?"