Chapter 449: The So-Called Eras, Part Two

"I don't know what kind of existence He is, nor am I qualified to know. I merely heard Him mention that name once, and only then did I learn that beyond Them, there exists such a being."

At this, Hu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Him? My Lord?"

"Yes. It was Him, and it could only have been Him.

"All that [Corruption] reveals to living beings is the Sea of Desire. Though I received His gaze, I was never granted the honor of being summoned before the Divine Throne to hear His will.

"So the 'Him' I speak of is your mother— [Birth]."

Hu Xuan's brow furrowed deeply. Cheng Shi's eyes, however, glinted with keen light.

[Corruption] had never shown itself. Not even His own Envoy had ever seen Him!

This undeniably aligned with what his Benefactor had told him. But the question was: why be so mysterious?

Cheng Shi recalled [Fate]'s mention of [Deceit]'s theory. The Fun God had claimed [Corruption] didn't truly exist. Could the Fun God have actually guessed correctly this time?

But the Convention had clearly been established with His consent!

After a whirl of tangled thoughts, Cheng Shi redirected his attention back to Aph Ros's account.

"Let's return to the eras you're curious about.

"After that, I was born again in the third era.

"It was unquestionably a magnificent age— and the most frenzied era for god chasers— because in that era, the world's god chasers actually received the protection of one of Them. And that deity was..."

"[Truth]!" Cheng Shi cut in with certainty.

Aph Ros smiled.

"Correct. It was Him.

"Unfortunately, by the time He cast His gaze upon this continent, I was already dead. It was a great era, but it didn't belong to me. I ended my life too early.

"After that, I was born again in the fourth era. That one was even more chaotic. I didn't repeat any previous fate, and died in the womb as an infant.

"And finally...

"The era of [Existence] arrived.

"I at last found the meaning of my own existence. But the masters of that era did not agree with my ideals. So after becoming an Envoy shared by both of Them, the master of that era sentenced me to eternal imprisonment.

"Heh. Here, within the cracks of time I once inhabited, I became forever... myself."

Cheng Shi's mind was reeling. He desperately wanted to ask how eras were delineated, what rules governed their progression, and how they differed from the epochs players commonly spoke of. But judging by Aph Ros's demeanor, this was as much as the Envoy was willing to share.

Whether it was a matter of inability or unwillingness, Cheng Shi couldn't determine.

He turned his confused gaze to Hu Xuan, hoping she might extract some insight from Aph Ros's words and combine it with her own knowledge to offer clarity. But she looked equally puzzled— because like him, she possessed not a shred of prior information about "eras."

Still, Cheng Shi had grasped a few key points. He raised an eyebrow and asked:

"You were [Birth]'s Envoy in the first era and became [Corruption]'s Envoy in the second, but you didn't become a dual Envoy until the era of [Existence]?"

Aph Ros placed food slowly into his mouth, chewed carefully, and met the question with a smile but no answer.

Cheng Shi frowned. Without expecting a reply, he continued thinking aloud:

"You don't know Hu Xuan, which means the Eternal Sun was never born in any of the eras you experienced.

"And the Eternal Sun was created by the Tower of Logic. So..."

He looked at Hu Xuan and ventured a guess:

"So could it be that your predecessor was born during the third era— the one where he died young?

"The era of [Civilization]— that's the right term, isn't it?"

Hu Xuan furrowed her brow in thought. It was the previously silent Aph Ros who suddenly perked up. He looked at Hu Xuan, eyes tinged with surprise.

"You... were created by those god chasers?

"Interesting. Though it makes sense. He is a merciful god— at least when mercy isn't required, He's generous enough.

"So it doesn't surprise me that He would accept you."

"You keep mentioning His mercy. That concerns me. When exactly does [Birth] not need mercy?"

Aph Ros sipped his wine and smiled, deftly sidestepping the question.

"Enough about me. Tell me about yourself, my brother. I'm terribly curious about this so-called [Void].

"So— your Benefactor who rides the Void itself, what sort of authority does He wield?"

Cheng Shi sensed something off in that phrasing. He asked, scarcely believing it:

"You've met Him?"

"Yes. He came to warn me— to stop using [Corruption]'s methods to assimilate you.

"Honestly, it's prejudice.

"Our desires have always resonated on the same frequency, haven't they, my brother?

"After all, you were the one who guided me."

"..."

'Thank you very much. A pot that big? Even if I built it myself, I'm not carrying it.'

But setting that aside— which Benefactor had summoned Aph Ros?

Cheng Shi thought it over and decided it was [Fate].

He likely hadn't been content with merely instructing Cheng Shi and had come in person to warn Aph Ros as well.

'Oh...'

Cheng Shi gave the master of this domain a complicated look. After a moment's contemplation, he began recounting what he knew about his Benefactor.

Naturally, he spoke of [Fate]— because in Hu Xuan's eyes, he was still just a Fate Weaver.

"My Lord is the essence of [Void], seeing through all truths of the universe. He is the embodiment of all good fortune, and also the aggregate of countless misfortunes.

"Under His gaze, the world overflows with change, and the future is written with fixed destiny. Everything you could imagine regarding fate falls under His authority, yet none of it encompasses His entirety.

"Because He needs no description and cannot be defined.

"Because He is [Fate]— the [Void]... to which all things return."

Aph Ros watched Cheng Shi in quiet contemplation, savoring every word of the Fate Weaver's description of his Benefactor.

Compared to Aph Ros's composure, Hu Xuan was visibly more astonished.

She'd expected Cheng Shi to have a unique understanding of Them, but now it was clear he understood far more deeply than she'd anticipated. At the very least, he understood [Fate] profoundly.

Aph Ros, however, seemed to see it differently. He studied Cheng Shi with fascination and suddenly laughed aloud.

"My brother, I must say— your praise for your Benefactor is...

"Mm, absolutely flawless. Not a single imperfection.

"However, based on my understanding of desire and my perception of emotion, it seems you have something left unsaid.

"What more did you want to say?

"Why not say it?

"I'm curious. I have a feeling that the things you held back are actually your true thoughts about [Fate]."

Aph Ros set down his utensils, propped his chin on both hands, and smiled with narrowed eyes:

"Won't you share a bit more?"

Cheng Shi's expression froze. He let out a nervous chuckle.

'The beauty is in what's left unsaid.'

'If I blurted everything out, wouldn't perfectly good praise turn into blasphemy?'

'My Benefactor has sheltered me so generously. I can't exactly be ungrateful, can I?'

"Say what? There's nothing more to say. After all, [Fate] simply...

"Needs no further words."