Chapter 1082: The Blank Collection in the Collection Hall |
Something was wrong. One hundred percent wrong.
Twenty points added to his Road to Ascension — that was the highest possible approval from the god overseeing a trial.
Cheng Shi knew perfectly well what he'd done. If the world hadn't been reset, then [Truth] awarding him 20 points, while extreme, wasn't entirely incomprehensible — after all, [Truth] had stolen the power of [Time] from him and completed that cosmos-shattering experiment of pursuit.
But now?
Under the current circumstances, he had not only sabotaged [Truth]'s preliminary experiment and stolen the Ritual of Truth, he'd thoroughly wrecked the entire trial — and on top of that, he'd pulled Galusha, a follower of [Truth]'s rival, out of history...
Any one of those actions warranted a -20. So where had this +20 come from?
Furthermore, the rating and score didn't match — a discrepancy that had never occurred before.
Had [Truth]'s memories not been reset?
That was even more impossible.
So why?
What on earth had he done to deserve 20 points?
The bonus points were certainly welcome, but there was too much hidden baggage packed inside that welcome. It made Cheng Shi uneasy.
He puzzled over it endlessly — only to discover that what came next was even more bewildering.
He'd been summoned again!
And the one summoning him was the deity he least wanted to see and most feared facing.
After the trial ended, before Cheng Shi could even return to his rest area, he opened his eyes to find himself inside that magnificent, pristine white Collection Hall once more.
At this very moment, his "boss" stood beneath one of the collected works, gazing up at its blank surface in contemplation.
[Memory]!
Again!
The instant Cheng Shi saw this, his pupils contracted and he immediately lowered his head.
No other reason — guilt.
His guilt wasn't about having secretly visited the Collection Hall before. It wasn't about having discovered [Memory]'s secret. It wasn't even about learning that [Folly]'s Authority was likely in [Memory]'s possession. It was about the world reset!
The world reset must have erased every god's memories. And the scene before him was the finest proof.
The collection [Memory] was examining was clearly different from the others — and different from the sealed one, too. Its frame pulsed with the iridescent shimmer of [Existence], looking remarkably similar to the blended aurora of reality glimpsed within the distant Existence Rifts.
Moreover, the wall on which this collection hung differed from the rest. It wasn't pure white, but a mottled gold — as though a golden wall had suffered corrosion and lost its original vibrancy.
But what kind of corrosion could cause something as stable as gold to become mottled?
Cheng Shi had already seen the answer:
Time!
The lingering traces of [Time]'s aura were unmistakably telling the viewer that this wall had undergone a baptism of time.
It was [Time]'s power that had washed the content from [Memory]'s collection!
Combined with everything that had happened during the world's collapse, it wasn't hard to deduce that this collection had originally recorded something directly related to the real universe and to 'Him'!
So [Memory] had been forced to forget this content. Yet because the memory was connected to Origin, it hadn't been completely erased!
Facing this bizarre scene, [Memory]'s first thought was naturally of the one who frequently came to His Collection Hall to tamper with His works — [Deceit] — and all of His troublesome followers!
But why did it have to be him?
Zhen Xin, Long Jing, even the Dragon King — not a single one of them was a good person.
Why wasn't one of them summoned for this audience?
Could [Memory] have already seen his memories?!
Cheng Shi was both alarmed and terrified. He frantically racked his brain for a way to handle what was surely coming — and at that moment, his "boss" turned to face him. Those eyes spun rapidly, the expression deeply meaningful:
"Another collection has been defiled.
This time, the defiler even left [Time]'s power behind in my Collection Hall.
Such clumsy framing is rare. But considering the cunning of fraudsters, I must think one step further — perhaps they're playing mind games. Deliberately leaving their own traces to then claim they were framed, thereby clearing themselves. The criminal logic is quite clever. If true, the crime itself would be worthy of being collected as a piece and hung right here.
So, Cheng Shi — do you plead guilty?
If you confess, then considering the Collection Hall would gain a new piece, I might show leniency."
"..."
Cheng Shi's mind went numb.
But then a wave of relief washed over him.
The fact that [Memory] was asking meant He hadn't directly extracted those memories from him. It also meant the concealment from the Time of Eternal Imprisonment was even more effective than he'd hoped.
Though honestly, it might've been better if [Memory] had just read the memories outright — Cheng Shi really shouldn't have to bear this burden on [Time]'s behalf.
If confessing could get him out of trouble, maybe a quick guilty plea wasn't the worst idea.
After all, guilt or innocence didn't reside in someone else's verdict — it lived in his own mouth. As long as he insisted he was innocent, he could argue guilty into not-guilty.
But this time... he truly couldn't confess!
The blame was too enormous. He couldn't carry it!
[Memory] couldn't possibly miss the Existence Rift-like pattern on the frame. So He must have already guessed this collection was related to Origin. Yet knowing that, He still wanted to pin the crime of tampering with an Origin-related collection onto a mortal — which meant this wasn't mere framing or personal vendetta. It was a probe into the content of this collection!
So Cheng Shi dared not respond at all. He was terrified that any answer might expose a flaw.
Seeing Cheng Shi's silence, [Memory] approached with a cold expression, stopping before him. He studied Cheng Shi from His towering vantage for a moment, then asked abruptly:
"I once bestowed upon you a Floating Dream of the Memory Sea, so you could witness the wonder of [Memory].
Now that you walk the path of [Time], return that creation to me."
Cheng Shi blinked, caught off guard. The Floating Dream of the Memory Sea had exhausted its three charges long ago. It no longer existed. How was he supposed to return it?
His brow furrowed slightly. Instinctively, he looked at his own hand — and when he saw the Time of Eternal Imprisonment ring on his finger, his expression shifted. He realized [Memory]'s target had never been the Floating Dream of the Memory Sea.
It was the Time of Eternal Imprisonment!
He was probing his reaction to [Time]!
And that instinctive glance had already given him away.
Sure enough — the moment [Memory] saw Cheng Shi's gaze fall on that [Time] ring, He had His answer.
"I see. So it was Him after all.
When did my [Existence] sibling start stealing my Authority?
Or was this the reward [Deceit] promised Him for their partnership in breaching the boundary between real and false?
Using Authority stolen by [Void] to turn around and use against His own sibling?
Very well..."
Hearing this, Cheng Shi was genuinely terrified. He thought he was about to witness the fracture of [Existence] — but to his shock, [Memory] simply added:
"This, too, is a memory worth collecting."
"..."
'Seriously?'
'You can't be that much of a pushover?'
'Boss — when you came after me, you weren't like this at all. You pinned me down in the Memory Sea and nearly drowned me, refusing to give me a single chance.'
'But when it comes to [Time], a couple sentences and you just... let it slide?!'
'Is that fair?'
'If "a memory worth collecting" is all it takes to soothe a god's heart, why don't you go collect that follower of yours who's insanely in love with you?'
'Oh right — speaking of which, does this Collection Hall have a portrait of Chen Yi?'
For a moment, Cheng Shi's curiosity got the better of him.
...