Chapter 58: The Nature of Title Power |
...Erosion?
Ming Po's heart stirred, but he said nothing, choosing instead to continue listening.
"Usually, satisfying all three of those conditions means that one has denied their past and killed their present. What remains is merely the will of the Title that has occupied their past memories."
Gao Fan's voice gradually dropped. "It is nothing more... than a vengeful spirit.
"You didn't steal his power; you helped him find release."
"...What is this about Title erosion?"
Ming Po grew serious.
He flipped over and sat up on the sofa.
Gao Fan didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Brother Xiao, you remember how Yaoyao's pupils once turned dim yellow, right?"
Ming Po frowned tightly. "Could that also have been the power of a Deceiver?"
"I don't know the exact details. I only know... it has to do with some kind of higher-dimensional power."
Gao Fan smiled bitterly. "Some Deceivers actually jokingly refer to the power of a Title as the 'Chosen of the Five Gods.' The power of every Domain is linked to a certain higher-dimensional entity. It's just that for us, this power is bound into a specific concept by the Title, subjecting it to a certain degree of restriction."
"...For us?"
Ming Po slowly chewed over the profound implications of those words. "Then what about those other than us?"
As he said that, Ming Po already knew the answer.
—It was the Adventure games.
["Phantom Specter" deviation from the Material Realm: 65%]
The notification from when he cleared the game surfaced in Ming Po's mind once again.
The Material Realm... was undoubtedly the world they currently lived in. The world that turned black and white the moment one left their Mind Anchor.
All Deceivers were born in this world, and the constant corrections of history had molded the Material Realm into different forms.
"Could it be that those Adventure worlds are completely ruined pasts?"
Ming Po realized a terrifying truth.
"I don't know either..."
Gao Fan shook his head. "I'm only guessing... inferring from the Promotion games.
"Look at it this way, Brother Xiao. Since the fundamental purpose of our Promotion rituals is to reclaim those Titles that have become Paradoxes...
"Then could it be that completely collapsed histories also become new worldlines, and are then reclaimed by us?"
"...That is indeed a possibility."
Ming Po slowly nodded.
"I used to guess that too."
At this point, Gao Fan turned to look at Ming Po. "But one time, Lord Utopia inadvertently told me something...
"She said that all Adventure worlds have one fundamental difference from our world.
"And that is, those worlds do not have Title Holders.
"At the time, her phrasing for the Adventure games was 'Adventure worlds,' not 'games.' So, I had a thought...
"Could it be that those worlds are actually real worlds too? That they were also influenced by those higher-dimensional entities, twisting into all sorts of forms?
"Only, unlike us... they never gave birth to Deceivers. And so, they became our Adventure games."
...So that was why Gao Fan believed that the ultimate source of a Title's power was some kind of higher-dimensional entity.
Ming Po realized that Gao Fan might know a portion of the truth.
If that were the case, then the secret behind the worldview of the Phantom Specter could finally be explained—
For example, how Yaoyao's consciousness had once fallen into hallucinations, seeing those classrooms as filth and the security guard as a monster... It was even possible that the contents of the "black magic" book she found had been tampered with.
And before she even came to this school, that "little girl" had already existed within it.
Could the abnormalities of the students and the irritability of the teachers also be related to her influence?
"Dim yellow..."
Ming Po muttered.
He remembered that when Yaoyao's mind lost control, her pupils had turned into dim yellow vertical slits.
—That was the influence of the Domain of Slaughter.
Ming Po also remembered the violent irritability and murderous intent he experienced while wearing the Werewolf Title.
If a similar emotion had seeped into this school, it was entirely possible that it could have led to such a tragedy.
Then why did the students stop cheating after Yaoyao dropped out?
It could be that they were scared, or that they weren't getting caught anymore, or perhaps the teachers' patrols had simply become stricter again...
But for an entire class to frame an innocent person without hesitation, would their malice and nerve... really be that small?
—Therefore, there was another possibility: it was "no longer necessary."
The true mastermind behind the scenes already knew that Yaoyao had been thoroughly corrupted and that her curse would definitely destroy this school. There was no need for any further interference.
"...So, whether it's 'Doomsday Zombies,' 'Nuclear Wasteland,' or 'Phantom Specter,' they are all actually parallel worlds influenced by some kind of power?"
"At least, that's what I think."
Gao Fan nodded. "Our world... shouldn't have this strange power. I've been a Deceiver for so long, and I've never seen anyone in the Material Realm who could directly see or affect me. If there really was such a supernatural power, Deceivers wouldn't have been able to exist safely for so long...
"Obviously, in our world, only Deceivers can wield the power of Titles. And the more a world deviates from ours, the greater the difference."
"...And outside of our world, this power is uncontained."
Ming Po looked thoughtful. "I understand what you meant by Title erosion."
Although Gao Fan hadn't answered the question directly, Ming Po now had a deeper understanding of the truth—
The power of a Title was stable and controlled. Although it influenced human emotions... that was already the result of being filtered through a "strainer" once.
But if that power lost control and leaked, it would be like Chang Ning turning into a monster, transforming one into an existence completely detached from human form.
Ming Po remembered Ink mentioning... that the Game of Deception was self-perpetuating. If he was telling the truth, then there really was no organizer. However, this special power at least proved the existence of some kind of higher-dimensional audience...
Suddenly, Ming Po realized something.
There was a detail in the Detective Title he had just obtained...
An extra restriction of "when this Title is equipped" had appeared in his Title upgrade conditions.
—But for an ordinary Deceiver, would this restriction have any meaning?
When ordinary people get a Title, don't they just equip it immediately?
This kind of special promotion condition...
It was as if it knew that Ming Po could manually swap Titles.
Combining this with the final line of description on the Werewolf Title...
"—Welcome back, Ming Po."
As expected?
He was indeed being watched by something...
Thinking of this, Ming Po spoke earnestly to Gao Fan. "If possible, I don't recommend that you change to other Titles in the short term."
After obtaining the Detective Title, Ming Po realized... the power of this non-specialized Title was indeed not as strong as Frankenstein's.
From this perspective, the practicality of the Lucky Escapee Title might be quite astonishing.
"...Actually, Lord Utopia suggested the same thing to me."
Hearing Ming Po say the same, Gao Fan's resolve wavered slightly.
Perhaps it was due to his height... or perhaps because of his past experiences.
Gao Fan was the kind of person who severely lacked a sense of security.
Watching teammates endowed with all sorts of supernatural abilities by their Titles, he naturally felt a bit envious.
If one could fight head-on, who would be willing to keep running away?
"However, I told Lord Utopia at the time that even though the games she assigned to me were all scripts where my Title's abilities happened to be useful, and even though she always managed my games instead of just leaving me to fend for myself like an irresponsible Host...
"...She will eventually resurrect. After all, the reason Hosts nurture Deceivers is so they can revive themselves. And without a Host's guidance, the next time I enter the Game of Deception, I will be randomly thrown into games run by other Hosts.
"When that time comes, how can I guarantee that I will still be able to 'luckily escape'?"
Following Ming Po's confession, Gao Fan finally voiced his true worries about the future.
"No, what I mean is..."
Ming Po shook his head. "Since the Frankenstein Title was a power stored by Ling Bo Prison and given to Chang Ning...
"Then could it be that the 'Lucky Escapee' Title you hold was once held by Utopia, or someone she knew? The fact that you can wield this power means your personality or behavioral patterns align with someone else's. That's why she keeps saying she 'thinks highly of you.'
"If Titles truly are some kind of encapsulated higher-dimensional power... then doesn't inheriting this Title equate to inheriting this power?
"If you are no longer the 'Lucky Escapee'...
"...Would Utopia still care about you the same way?"
Ming Po couldn't directly reveal the secret concerning Wei Gu Qiong Chen, so he could only hint at it to Gao Fan like this.
And after hearing Gao Fan's explanation of Paradoxes, doubts also arose in his own heart.
Why exactly did he have that special wine cabinet, the shattered Golden Rank Title, and the meaningless countdown?
Was the power he inherited... truly his own past?
And why exactly did he end up in the Game of Deception?
"...I need to go home."
Ming Po grew somewhat restless at this thought.
Ming Po thought of his mirror again...
If he handed over another Day's False Gold chip, he should be able to restore another part of it.
The last restoration had manifested that mysterious wine cabinet that allowed him to switch Titles.
—Would there be new changes from this restoration?