Chapter 1290: I Thought I Was Not Me, But Who Knew You Were Not You!

I thought I was not me, but who knew you were not you!

Cheng Shi did not choose two because he feared two was a trap.

He thought of what Seeing Zhen Xin had thought, unsure whether what he saw now was Theater Twilight or Morning Giggles; he feared 【Deception】 would play the Clown again at this moment, engaging the Clown in a battle of mindset.

If this game were lost, it would not merely be a matter of vindicating the Clown; Cheng Shi might truly collapse completely, so he directly pierced through and said:

"The second choice should not exist; that would violate your purpose, unless the current world is what you covet.

I cannot understand the meaning of choice two to you, but I know that after all your schemes and calculations, you would never let me die so easily in this starry sky; you can read minds and know my thoughts, so death for me now counts as the most 'perfect' ending.

Therefore, I am more inclined to believe choice two is a trap, a lie that will make me forever lose initiative."

【Deception】 listened to everything with eyes tilted high, gazing at Cheng Shi with a look of utmost appreciation; that unhidden gaze seemed to say:

Look, this is the collection I personally selected.

Cheng Shi did not want to meet that gaze; he silently shifted his line of sight and said:

"But I have a condition!"

【Deception】 still laughed playfully, yet the words spoken were exactly like the cold 【Fate】.

"You have no right to negotiate conditions."

"I do!"

Cheng Shi raised his head, his gaze bypassing 【Deception】 to look at the infinite void far away, and said with absolute certainty:

"Since you throw out this multiple-choice question at the moment of certain victory, it means this choice is not only important to me but equally important to you.

Falling into endless choices is clearly not the ending you expect; therefore, you describe this 'punishment' so specifically; you are spreading fear, wanting to force me into making a choice this way.

So not choosing is my bargaining chip, my qualification to negotiate conditions.

I can be more cooperative with you, cooperate with you to go to another starry sky, cooperate with you to test methods of resisting 【Origin】, cooperate with your so-called vision of saving the world, as long as you agree to my conditions."

【Deception】's eyes shifted slightly; the swirling spiral made it impossible to tell what He was thinking; after a moment, He chuckled lightly and said with interest:

"No wonder you are my believer; tell me, what are your conditions?"

"I want to become the Foolish Play!" Cheng Shi's words were extraordinarily firm.

【Deception】 laughed heartily. "This was already one of the choices; you need not emphasize it deliberately."

"No, it is different." Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened; he clenched both fists and said, going all in, "I do not want to become the fake 【Deception】 Envoy in the mouth of the Fire of Hope, one who can only rely on lies to deceive the world's recognition.

I want to become the true Foolish Play, that Foolish Play who holds the authority to deceive the gods!

My Lord... this is the last time I call you My Lord. You once said that when I became the Chosen, you would grant me the power to deceive the gods.

Now, you use a trial to cut off my path of climbing, making me unable to ever reach the height of the Ladder of Adoration; for this, should you not provide 'compensation'!"

"Tsk—

The Clown has always been shrewd, but you forgot, I am 【Deception】; who told you that 【Deception】's promise counts as a promise?"

A sharp light flashed in Cheng Shi's eyes; he seemed to be waiting for exactly this sentence.

"Since your words are not trustworthy, then what meaning does the current choice have?"

"?"

【Deception】 blinked an eye; in an instant, earth-shattering laughter erupted.

"Hahaha, I see you are already the Foolish Play; at least this authority of sophistry, even if not on you, you have learned it to perfection.

But your desire to become the Foolish Play is not to cooperate with me; ha, now you cannot deceive me.

The Clown is very smart, thinking of using this method to 'contaminate' himself; it seems you are determined to stay in this world.

Have you thought it through?

The path of resistance paved by countless Clowns with time and life might very well be broken in your hands; you... can you live up to them?"

Hearing this, Cheng Shi fell silent.

But not long after, he suddenly raised his head, staring directly into 【Deception】's pressing gaze, and laughed aloud just like the other party.

No, he was even more mad!

"I need not live up to them; I only need to live up to myself.

The premise of willful kidnapping is that you must deeply understand this will, but 【Deception】, even if you can read minds, you will never understand; the path they paved was never to constrain, shackle, or kidnap another him, but to give the later them more choices!

Every Cheng Shi is striving to write his own story; we never interfere with other Cheng Shi's choices; we only lend a hand when we are able; whether he is willing to accept such kindness, the choice remains with him.

This is the true kindness emanating from countless Cheng Shi: we always support his choice!

And you, using the kindness of countless Cheng Shi to coerce me; this is inherently ridiculous!

If I yield to your threats, waver my own will, change my inner choice, and erase my story, then I am truly the traitor who fails them!

No matter which me, none will yield to you; this must also be the reason your original world's 'saving the world' strategy failed!

【Deception】!

You can never impose your will upon the Clown!

Your actions will only make the Clown move further away; until finally, you, become that true, lonely Clown with no path forward!"

"......"

Every word struck the heart.

【Deception】 fell silent, a rare occurrence; a trace of inexplicable complex emotion flashed in His eyes, but He hid it well, undetected by Cheng Shi, yet all of this was seen by 【Fate】.

【Fate】 could not struggle nor make a sound; 【Deception】 remained silent for a long time, then sneered.

"No wonder you are my believer; your tongue is as slick as silk, almost turning the fake into the real.

But unfortunately, it is useless.

The fact that the predetermined is about to leave this world is as solid as nails; the only reason I am here wasting time with you is waiting for the next temporal storm to arrive.

Do you remember how much time remains in your trial? Rest assured, I will not let you wait that long; 【Time】 will eventually twist.

Although Giggles and Mockery can also leave this world, our destination is not the real universe; I will not leave any 'jailbreak' opportunity for you in the real universe; I know many Clowns like you drift there."

Speaking of which, my "Repatriation Plan" failed because of them too.

If they hadn't sent you onto the Chrono-Dolphin Bridge, you should have been taken back to my world long ago."

"!!!"

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply, shocked and furious beyond measure.

Speculation and confirmation are two different things. Although Cheng Shi had always suspected that 【Fraud】 had deliberately shut down the passage home to make them wander the real universe, he had never found evidence to prove it.

After returning, the other side had even prepared an explanation in advance: an internal war within 【Void】 had cut off the jeering laughter.

And now, 【Fraud】's utter lack of concealment also meant that Its plan was truly about to succeed, and he had no way out.

Cheng Shi was still unwilling to give up. He forced himself to stay calm, lowered his head, and asked in a low voice:

"Does choice still matter?"

"Of course it does, but conditions don't.

Don't talk conditions with me. No matter how flowery your words, I won't agree to any of your demands."

"Fine, then no demands. I just want one answer." Cheng Shi's gaze hardened, his voice dropping even lower. "The original 【Fraud】...... where did it go?"

【Fraud】 blinked and laughed out loud.

"Didn't you already guess?

What, you didn't find Its corpse in that God-Corpse Field?"

"!!!!!!"

Cheng Shi jerked his head up, his pupils contracting in disbelief. What came to his mind was not 【Fraud】's death, but that divine throne hidden in a wall cavity of the corpse field, pieced together into shape!

"You've been there!?

That divine throne — you put it there!?"

"What divine throne? There's actually a divine throne there too — could it be 【Origin】's divine throne?"

【Fraud】 began playing dumb, but Cheng Shi didn't believe it at all. He could tell — that divine throne had been placed there by the very 【Fraud】 before him!

Only It, only It understood Its own greed; only It could have guessed that when that voice sounded, he would surely delve deep inside to investigate!

So what exactly was that divine throne he had shattered and brought back?

Before Cheng Shi could open his mouth to ask, 【Fraud】 answered in a ghostly voice:

"The answer.

This is what I spoke of — the answer pieced together with the lives of countless worlds' clowns and gods.

Don't you think the star-pupil patterns on it look familiar?

Mm, your benefactor's corpse...... truly useful."

"......"

Cheng Shi was completely dumbfounded. His mind exploded with a roar, a tangled mess, with no idea how to react.

And right at this moment, the trapped 【Fate】 suddenly broke free of the Stellar Radiance Lexicon's shackles, and in an icy, extreme tone questioned 【Fraud】:

"I thought I was not me, yet who knew you were not you!

You are absolutely not 【Fraud】 — who exactly are you!?"