Chapter 1289: I Choose One!

I'll choose one!

【Fate】 has arrived.

This 【Void】 Sovereign, aided by the 【Deceit】 collection, broke free ahead of schedule and arrived before his faithful before the trial ended.

He merely blinked lightly, and the roaring void gale sent the bewildered Cheng Shi behind him. He shielded his faithful, looked toward 【Deceit】, cold as a frozen abyss:

"This is your last chance. Roll back into your own world!"

"My dear sister, your coldness frightens me."

Stars flickered in 【Deceit】's eyes, spiraling in a daze, clearly showing no trace of fear. He sized up his fellow god who had just broken free, and said in a teasing tone:

"A defeated foe who refuses to admit defeat, running to another's door to yap wildly—what, in this day and age, does the loudest throat mean the strongest?

If that's really the case, I have reason to suspect you're practicing faith-based discrimination, discriminating against...

【Silence】, who can't speak.

Hee~

You push 【Silence】 toward me like this—aren't you afraid we'll join hands and rebel against you?

How does that saying go?

Fate is born to be rebelled against!

Mmm, I think that makes a lot of sense."

【Fate】's tone grew colder: "【Silence】 has long been in cahoots with you. You two are birds of a feather—what act are you still putting on?"

【Deceit】's eyes darted about, amused:

"Now I don't like hearing that. You wronging me is one thing—at least I can still argue my way out.

But pinning such a big hat on 【Silence】's head... can a mute speak?

And you still say you're not discriminating?"

"... Deflecting left and right—what are you scheming now!"

【Fate】 suddenly erupted with boundless 【Fate】 power. The violent divine force swept past Cheng Shi, crushing all the frozen jeers and mockery around them, dragging the two gods and one person back into the void.

The void was his home turf; the jeers and mockery were not.

But even so, he still had no confidence of defeating 【Deceit】, because he knew that standing behind 【Deceit】 was more than one god.

But at this moment the world was calm, the cosmos at peace, no god turned their gaze here. The dispute over 【Void】's ending seemed to have become 【Void】's internal affair, with only 【Void】's two gods as participants.

【Deceit】 laughed as usual:

"Of course I'm waiting for you to make a move. What, scared after getting beaten?

Then why not make a move?

Don't you always champion that if you can fight, skip the reasoning?

Are you afraid of being locked back into the jeers and mockery by me again, watching helplessly as your faithful are taken away by me, 【Fate】?"

Can this be tolerated?

Not even a little.

【Fate】's fiery temper ignited at the slightest spark. Even though he knew this was 【Deceit】's provocation, he still moved.

【Void】 would have its battle in the end, and the ending could only be one.

He knew this truth well, so the moment he struck, he unleashed his full authority, going all out!

The void gale shaped itself into a great hand, layer upon layer wrapping around the two gods. Then misfortune and change spread in competition, transforming into chains, dragging the encircled battlefield directly into the endless abyss of the void.

Cheng Shi only felt darkness before his eyes, and those two identical pairs of eyes vanished, leaving only the mockery and coldness echoing through the void.

"Oh, at this point you still remember to bury the battlefield, to avoid harming your faithful by accident.

How thoughtful. Then shouldn't I thank you for protecting my destined one so well?"

"The destined one belongs to neither you nor me—he belongs only to this starry sky!" A cold roar rang out from the hollow void.

"Of course I know he belongs to this starry sky, but above this starry sky there is an even greater starry sky!

But once I lock you down and take him away, when he appears in that starry sky, his identity will take on new meaning.

Don't worry, I'll make your destined one truly destined."

"With me here, you can't take him away!"

"That's not for you to decide."

"Boom—"

A tremendous roar suddenly erupted from the void, and the darkness visible to the eye collapsed entirely.

The battlefield that had been hurled into the depths of the void was flung back by an invisible force. The chains woven of misfortune and change seemed to have gained their own consciousness and were now self-destructing.

They had actually taken 【Deceit】's side, betraying 【Fate】 who wielded them.

How could this be!?

Before long, the chains of authority dissipated, the starry eyes reappeared. The giant hand formed by the void gale was pried open one by one by a giant hand condensed from endless chaotic yellow mist. Then the Star-Glow Tome of Truth, densely inscribed with countless laws and truths, came crashing down, pinning those cold eyes beneath the void!

【Deceit】 had won, and won with absolute ease.

The spirals in his eyes still followed the same dizzying rhythm as before the battle began, never changing. Only the stars in his eyes seemed no longer bright—the once endlessly twinkling constellations quietly dimmed, not a single one remaining brilliant.

But in a terrifying 【Void】 storm, no one could notice this detail. Seeing 【Deceit】 succeed again, Cheng Shi had grown numb with shock.

He looked toward his two patrons, only to see the Star-Glow Tome of Truth gripping 【Fate】's "throat," rendering him unable to speak, while 【Deceit】 looked back at Cheng Shi with eyes full of mockery, humming with a laugh:

"Considering the jester once trusted his patron, I'll give you a choice.

One: the jester continues to believe in his patron, becomes that universally revered 【Void】 sub-god, Fool's Play, and then leaves this world with his patron to save the true universe.

Two: the jester betrays his patron, chooses to stay and embrace destiny, and then dies with this world in 【Fate】's misfortune.

Hee~

I know you're full of tricks, but besides these two paths, you have no third way out.

This is not a lie—whether to embrace fear or reject it, it is now your turn to choose, Clown.

Cheng Shi snapped back to himself and chuckled bitterly.

"Choose?

Do I even have a choice?

You've planned and orchestrated this for so long, and now you control everything—even Fate, the only thing that could resist you, has been suppressed. What meaning does my choice hold, I, a powerless mortal?

Must a Clown really be toyed with like this?"

"The only purpose of a Clown is to be toyed with—that is his Fate, unless he ceases to be a Clown and stops being deceived.

Enough idle talk. Make your choice."

Cheng Shi shook his head: "I won't choose. Kill me."

【Deception】 let out a scoff:

"I told you, no matter how many tricks a Clown tries, they're useless. You have only two paths.

Want to die peacefully here?

Hmph, even that old bone came and still couldn't overrule me."

Hearing this, Cheng Shi frowned slightly.

Now that 【Deception】 held the upper hand, why not forcibly take him, nor kill him outright—but instead threw him a bizarre choice? What was the meaning?

This humiliation was unnecessary. What was He really doing?

Could it be that becoming a true offering required voluntary consent?

If so, there might still be a chance!

He seemed to have regained leverage.

Cheng Shi suddenly perked up, lowering his head slightly, his eyes glinting:

"And if I don't choose, what then?"

"Good question. As punishment for your repeated attempts to exploit loopholes, I will erase all memories of this world, leaving you with no spiritual anchor or solace.

You will not die, yet you cannot live—you will be trapped in nothingness, enduring eternal choice, until you make your decision.

Of course, to preserve the offering's integrity, I will not turn you into a puppet or a hollow shell. I will preserve your desires, bury your goodness, and entomb your wickedness—until you make your choice, then restore all of it to you.

But I must warn you: time is not infinite. The longer you delay, the more worlds destroyed because of you.

You abandoned the hope of life for the true universe, choosing to cling to your own survival. Naturally, you must bear the guilt and shame.

Out of our master-servant bond, this is the limit of what I can do for you.

Hee~"

As soon as the words ended, Cheng Shi made his choice.

"I choose one!"