Chapter 1305: Leave? Not a Chance!

Leave? Not a chance!

The moment Cheng Shi said those words, he had already taken a step of resignation toward 【Fate】.

The predetermined finally became "truly predetermined" at the very last moment.

"No!!!"

Qin Xin, the great cat, withdrew his hand in anguish and lunged toward Cheng Shi, wanting to pull him back, yet endless gales surged from the void, carrying the colors of 【Origin】 and forming a towering wall that blocked them both outside.

【War】 blazed with blood and fire, 【Prosperity】 hissed with grievance, but it was all too late.

At this moment, 【Fate】 was more like that madman 【Truth】 who had been obsessively experimenting to get closer to 【Origin】—in the past of the Continent of Hope, 【Truth】 had used this very method to keep 【Fraud】 outside the high wall of true knowledge.

Watching Cheng Shi step by step draw closer to 【Fate】, watching this world's hope depart from the world, finally a god could no longer sit still.

A 【Divine Pillar】 suddenly tore open the void-gale and took root before Cheng Shi. It blocked his forward steps, irritably lashing everything around it, and questioned the lofty outer god 【Fate】:

"His departure—will it bring about the destruction of the cosmos—will 【Life】 cease to be?"

【Fate】's cold gaze swept over 【Divine Pillar】, and said icily:

"【Genesis】, I know you have always yearned to draw close to 【Origin】, birthing all beings, never concerning yourself with the affairs of the cosmos. Blocking the path of the predetermined now is nothing but wanting to know whether the will of 【Genesis】 can still continue.

But no matter the outcome, you cannot stop me, nor can you hold back the predetermined."

【Divine Pillar】 grew even more irate upon hearing this, yet the surrounding void-gales pressed in step by step, locking that ferocious 【Divine Pillar】 in place.

【Genesis】, bound and unable to move, fell silent in shock, only to hear 【Fate】 speak without joy or sorrow:

"I say all this out of regard for the fact that you have never hindered the predetermined, and also to prove that I have no need to deceive you.

The predetermined is the sole chance for the cosmos and all myriad worlds. Only by fulfilling the will of 【Origin】 will you possibly live as true gods.

And now, with the experiment unresolved, you and I alike are merely variables."

The massive shock to their worldview still could not be digested by the gods. The gods present once again fell silent, and at this moment, Cheng Shi gave a bitter laugh, walked around that motionless 【Divine Pillar】, and continued walking toward 【Fate】.

As he walked, he gradually raised his head, began looking around, and gazed at every god and person present.

The atmosphere at this moment became utterly absurd—clearly the clown was the "star" on the "red carpet," yet he acted like a passerby, carefully examining the expressions of every "audience member" in the "stands."

His gaze was complex. He instinctively passed over the great cat, whose eyes seemed about to split, and Qin Xin, whose eyes bled with tears; he glanced past 【Death】, whose green flames in their sockets had fallen silent; swept over 【Iron Law of Order】, whose pages had frozen, trembling and humming......

【Decay】 silently decayed, 【Memory】 silently remembered. Heloborus and Wrath—those who were usually irritable or unfathomable before mortals—now curled into a corner, not daring to make a sound.

Faced with the surging aura of 【Origin】 around them, they were simply too insignificant.

Although many gods had yet to arrive, Cheng Shi's glance seemed to see through the entire cosmos.

This world is exactly like this—every person, every god, pursues their own will, contends with one another, and never ceases.

Until they found contention useless, and the final answer all fell upon a single mortal, did they realize that gods are not gods.

They found this reality hard to accept, thinking only that if the predetermined truly was the answer, they might as well quickly turn the page on this experiment that had crushed the dignity of the gods.

But is this page really so easy to turn?

Cheng Shi was not certain. His steps were heavy, as if dragging shackles, stumbling forward, until he finally arrived before 【Fate】, raised his head, and looked straight into those starry eyes that had granted him shelter countless times. Suddenly, his vision blurred.

He hallucinated that his patron 【Fraud】 also had such dizzying spirals and star-points that should have been brilliant, but now, He should be like these extinguished stars, never able to shine again......

Cheng Shi felt a lump in his throat, but he made no sound.

He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and swallowed the despair in his throat alive. He stared at the outer god 【Fate】 and asked a question his former self would never have asked.

"If I am sacrificed, will everything come to an end?"

At that moment, the spirals in the outer god's eyes froze.

He gazed down at his believer, his gaze no longer as certain as when he had spoken to the gods.

Cheng Shi likewise sensed the uncertainty of the outer god 【Fate】, yet he did not retreat, nor did he flee. Instead, he stood firm before 【Fate】, "offering his neck to the blade," and said:

"If the clown taking the stage is the final act of the closing performance, then let 【Void】 depart along with the predetermined...... let the curtain fall.

We are too tired; it is time to close our eyes and rest."

The predetermined seemed to have fully accepted his fate, which moved even 【Fate】.

Yet not everyone resigned themselves because of Cheng Shi's resignation—at the very least, a spark may fade quickly, but the passing of the torch never dies!

Qin Xin, the founder of the Torch-Passing, was determined to leave a hope for the world. Seeing hope gone, the road ahead dark, he no longer needed to consider the world's interests—it was time to consider his friend.

Cheng Shi absolutely did not want to leave this place, because the people he cared about were here!

If that were so, if death awaited everywhere, why couldn't everyone die together beneath this starry sky, buried in a world they had attachments to.

Thus, Qin Xin moved!

The void-gale blocked his approach, but could not erase his voice. At the very instant when the endless, dense power of 【Fate】 was about to devour Cheng Shi, Qin Xin roared out:

"I, Qin Xin, the sole agent of 【War】 in this era, petition the 【Covenant】 to inherit the divine name of 【War】!"

When a true god falls or is imprisoned and cannot act freely, their envoy has the right to inherit the true god's authority. Qin Xin had already received the recognition of 【War】's authority; at this moment, he was only one "formal naming" away from the divine throne.

At this moment, the gaze of every god and person present was once again drawn to the Torch-Passer. Even that silent scale became radiant once more, starlight flowing ceaselessly. The 【Covenant】 took effect according to its laws, and 【Justice (Order)】 personally nodded, approving the request for 【War】's succession.

Witnessing a new god ascend in such a delicate moment, the hearts of the gods and people present were filled with mixed feelings.

The most distressed of all was Heloborus......

After 【Annihilation】 fell, he could also have ascended to the divine throne through this method, but just before the succession, among the agenda of the Covenant assembly there was still a topic concerning his inheritance of authority being postponed indefinitely.

【Justice (Order)】's rigidity did not allow rules to bypass any unresolved matter to fulfill their duty, so Heloborus was stuck in the middle—neither up nor down.

With this unresolved topic, he could not ascend; yet without this topic, 【Annihilation】 would not have self-destructed......

This was like a deadlock with no resolution, leaving Heloborus trapped within, suffering in silence.

But Qin Xin did not have to worry about this. 【Justice (Order)】 had probably guessed what Qin Xin was about to do, so It simplified all procedures as much as possible, directly placing that vacant divine name above Qin Xin's head.

And the instant Qin Xin ascended as a god, his heterochromatic eyes—fire on the left, blood on the right—snapped open. He looked at Cheng Shi, who was nearly wrapped by 【Fate】, and roared:

"In the name of 【War】, I elevate the mortal Cheng Shi to be my envoy!

The 【Covenant】 above, all gods bear witness!"