Chapter 1081: Or Rather, an Audience

...... Or Rather, an Audience

The void, an unknown space.

This was perhaps a situation Gallusha had never anticipated.

She did indeed know of the existence of the Wanderers, and had observed from behind the scenes the research the Department of Consciousness and Faith Studies had done on them, but the relevant information was, after all, too sparse; the scholars' speculative conclusions could not serve as a basis for defining the Wanderers, so even though she knew of them, it was nothing more than knowing such a kind of being existed. As for the Wanderers' actual circumstances, she was still completely in the dark.

After her brief encounter with Mr. Prisoner during the last trial, Gallusha had assumed that the Wanderers were agents of the divine will, drawing closer to the gods.

But she never expected that this so-called "closer" meant this close!

She was having an audience with a god!

What was awkward, though, was that the first god she was granted audience with was not her own patron, but rather the one she had been bent on destroying......

【Truth】!

This had to be 【Truth】—whether it was the radiance of knowledge emanating from that star-chart tome, or the breath of law that welled up as the pages of the Codex turned, every single thing proved that the Star-Glittering Codex before her was that very 【Truth】 she had longed to destroy!

How absurd—merely by borrowing the identity of one of Its followers, she had been dragged into the void and put on trial?

For a moment, Gallusha was at a loss.

To say she wasn't afraid would be a lie; no matter how wild she was, she was still a mortal. She could look down on the Tower of Rational Substance, look down on the Scholarly Presidium, look down on the Great Scholars—but could she look down on a god?

No matter how mad she was, she could never remain wild in the face of a god.

But Gallusha was, after all, Gallusha; she was not like ordinary mortals. Even as she faced a hostile god head-on, her heart was not entirely filled with fear!

Though she lowered her head and bowed, that was only the instinctive reaction of a mortal upon first meeting a god. Secretly, her eyes had never behaved themselves, constantly observing and sizing up the Star-Glittering Codex before her.

The word "submit" simply did not exist in Gallusha's bones. Even if it were a temporary compromise, even if she bent her waist, her rebellious spine would forever remain straight.

She even felt that for this body to have been fortunate enough to emerge from the long river of history, to have seen a true god even once, was already worth it. As for life and death—ha, she herself was nothing but a slice from an experiment; living until now, every extra second was a gain.

If, before dying, she could still spit one last contemptuous word in the face of the 【Truth】 she had loathed all her life, then this brief life of hers would become incomparably brilliant and dazzling.

She had even begun to plan how to show contempt for the god before her, because she felt that, as the god most skilled in inquiry and most adept at observation throughout the entire cosmos, Truth would never mistake her identity.

It had probably long known that beneath this skin, the one squatting in Its true believer's place was not Its real follower!

Sure enough, the void did not stay silent for long; the Star-Glittering Codex called out her name.

"Gallusha."

Gallusha's whole body jolted; the words of contempt rose to her lips, but the next instant her voice died entirely in her throat—no matter how she screamed, she could not utter a single syllable.

Instead, the wretched tome on the opposite side flipped its pages faster and faster, and said in a mocking tone:

"Hah—

"I've seen plenty of clowns, but you are the most self-righteous of them all.

"What, you think putting on a mime would amuse me?

"Compared to a certain ridiculous follower from another house, your talent for comedy falls far short."

"!!!"

Gallusha's face changed drastically, her pupils contracting sharply. She pointed at the Star-Glittering Codex before her in disbelief, her voice trembling between shock and suspicion:

"You...... you're not 【Truth】!?"

Her voice had returned, but at this moment Gallusha's tone was filled with terror.

"Hah, how am I not 【Truth】?

"Could it be that you've seen another 【Truth】?"

"......"

One sentence was enough to silence Gallusha completely. Then she happily began to laugh, because once she realized that the other party was not 【Truth】 yet was impersonating 【Truth】, Gallusha understood that the god before her absolutely could not be her enemy, and was very likely her ally!

Calling It an ally was perhaps too presumptuous; more accurately, a god who could shelter her and help her travel further down the road of destroying 【Truth】!

Otherwise, why would It borrow 【Truth】's identity to summon her!

So at last a trace of genuine reverence rose on her face, and she bowed once more:

"Of course not; in my eyes, you are the true 【Truth】."

She had thought such an accommodating reply would be enough for the other party to accept her, but after she had bowed for ages, all she got was:

"Hm?

"You clearly know I'm not 【Truth】, yet you insist on mistaking me for 【Truth】—are you trying to get rid of me first and ask questions later?

"Bold indeed. Plenty of people want to slay a god, but you are the most blunt about it."

"???"

This leap of logic left Gallusha completely bewildered.

Wait......

Who was it that said they were 【Truth】 in the first place?

How can every pot somehow end up on my head?

I thought I'd found a protector, but who could have guessed the one who came was here to pick a fight.

Is this god even serious?

Wait!

Not serious?

Gallusha seemed to think of something; her pupils contracted once more, and she blurted out: "You are that......"

"Shh!

"Speak no reckless words."

The Star-Glittering Codex flipped its pages even faster—so fast it was like a flickering star.

Gallusha suddenly grew excited; she had confirmed that the "Truth" before her was that very god who had disrupted countless 【Truth】 experiments in the past.

Only, what was the purpose of Its summoning her—to borrow her hand to oppose 【Truth】?

Just as she thought this, the Stellar Radiance Tome suddenly let out a laugh, as if it had seen through Gallusha's inner thoughts, and scoffed:

"Don't think too highly of yourself.

I just lack a spare replacement variable, and you happen to fit the bill, so I fished you out.

Speaking of which, you've merely leapt from one experiment into another, larger one.

There's nothing worth being happy about."

Hearing this, Gallusha's expression darkened.

She hated being treated as a variable, because variables were too close to 【Truth】.

But more than that, she hated 【Truth】 itself, so as long as the deity before her was at odds with 【Truth】, she could still swallow her disgust and parry with Zhou Xuan.

So she pondered for a moment, looked up, and asked: "As long as it doesn't hinder the eradication of 【Truth】, I can cooperate with your arrangements.

What do you want me to do?"

"【Truth】 doesn't need you to eradicate it.

I told you, I am 【Truth】. The 【Truth】 you want to eradicate......

Forget it, you shouldn't know about these things.

I have no arrangements for you. You just need to stay alive."

"......" Gallusha's heart gave a jolt. "Stay alive until...... when?"

"Quite the self-awareness.

What I say doesn't count. Probably...... you'll need to stay alive until he needs you."

Ta?

Gallusha's gaze sharpened.

Who is ta?