Chapter 253

This glory does not yet belong to you

"Ha—"

It's too hard; this is a difficult choice.

Because Cheng Shi had never once considered betraying 【Void】!

Even now, as 【Fate】's Chosen, he still sees himself as a fraud.

Just a fraud with better luck.

So this choice, for him, was no choice at all.

But the one who offered this choice was 【God】, one of those upon the Divine Throne!

He could lower Himself, "kindly," to give Cheng Shi a choice—but Cheng Shi would never dare refuse 【Chaos】 as directly as he refused 【Memory】!

After all, His goodwill was genuine.

And I, Cheng Shi, am not an ungrateful fool.

So Cheng Shi thought of a way; his expression shifted several times as he carefully crafted his words and asked:

"Will I betray 【Fate】?"

It was a meaningless question, yet it was not meaningless.

Because becoming a Messenger means betraying Fate—so the moment Cheng Shi spoke this question, he had already refused Him.

Nothing in the hall changed despite Cheng Shi's answer; this showed 【Chaos】 was not angered by the refusal—He merely let out a sigh of utter disappointment.

Yes, He was disappointed—disappointment of disorder toward order, of a god toward His favored.

"Leave. This glory does not yet belong to you."

As he spoke, the entire hall twisted; Cheng Shi became a speck of sand within the warping space, slipping away through the gaps of disorder.

He felt darkness flood his vision, then lost consciousness.

After Cheng Shi vanished, the hall returned to its original form—the space became orderly, the Shi Zhu symmetrical, the carvings harmonized.

But Keta Luo once again stood where Otoman was meant to be.

He stood with head bowed, gazing at the empty air at the hall's center, and asked with slight confusion:

"My lord, forgive my presumption—why did you not simply grant Otoman the authority and divinity of 【Chaos】? Why force him to personally undergo this trial, to awaken his own 【New Authority Divinity】?"

The air fell silent for a moment, then 【Chaos】's deep voice resonated.

"Merely a passing amusement. If he truly awakened even a thread of 【Chaos】's new authority within his consciousness, it would prove he was born as 【Chaos】's favored.

Alas, the trial did birth a new authority—but it belongs neither to him nor to Me, but to 【Corruption】..."

Keta Luo had learned fragments of 【Gods】' history from his master, so he knew 【Corruption】's new authority was not easily claimed.

And so-called 【New Authority Divinity】 is a form of divinity—but unlike ordinary divinity, it is not fragmented shards or scattered puzzle pieces; it is an entirely new "component."

This is why Serius's "Divinity Awakening Experiment" drew the attention of the Tower of Rationality: other experiments studied divinity using known fragments, but Serius studied the method of "producing" divinity!

That is, the so-called 【Awakened Divinity】 generated in Serius's experiment is entirely new divinity created by mortals!

This method may have drawn from the "faith blueprints" (data and directionally similar) of known gods (【Corruption】), but it ultimately arose from a different faith: "I am myself!"—self-acknowledgment!

The 【Gods】 call Serius's 【Awakened Divinity】 【New Authority Divinity】 because if one could stabilize and accumulate such divinity, one could bypass the 【Covenant】's restrictions and become a 【New God】!

Of course, the 【New Authority Divinity】 produced in Serius's experiment was too weak, because the foundational faith that birthed it was not strong.

So even though it was a 【New Authority】, it could not resist 【Corruption】's seizure—it became a new thread of 【Corruption】's divinity.

"Then if you knew Otoman would refuse you, why still..."

"Fate is ever-changing. I was betting on that possibility—but I lost."

Keta Luo's gaze sharpened; he dared not speak further. After a moment of silence, he bowed his head again and asked:

"Fate's interference allowed Galiusha to see Otoman. That wise one, who betrayed 【Chaos】, holds grudges fiercely—will he disrupt your plans...?"

"No concern. His actions were expected. 【Fate】 is not among the players."

"Then what should I do next?"

"Play His role well in history. Do not shame 【Chaos】's Messenger. Then wait—see if he ever changes his mind."

Keta Luo bowed even lower, devoutly answering, "Yes."

【Chaos】's deep voice sounded again: "What else?"

"I... I have repeatedly felt 【Chaos】's true will calling to me. I dare ask—has He... encountered trouble?"

As his words faded, a pair of 【Chaos】-filled 【Chaos】 eyes opened within the hall. He gazed at Keta Luo, head bowed, then his eyes curled slightly, turning toward the void corresponding to the Great Tribunal in every era.

"Which era do you mean?"

"Your dimension—not ours."

"He is well. He has even forgotten he was once 【Chaos】. But the order he protects... seems to be faltering.

As for other details, you know whom to ask. That is all for today—someone has come knocking. I must attend to them.

Leave."

With that, the eyes vanished from the hall.

Someone came knocking?

Who dares challenge 【Chaos】's authority outside His temple?

Keta Luo bowed, pondered a moment, then chose not to leave. Instead, he acted with extreme "presumption"—ascending the dais where the Divine Throne stood, and turning the throne, unoccupied yet unnaturally heavy.

As the throne turned, a codex nailed to its back slowly came into view.

Countless chains of 【Chaos】-formed yellow mist bound the broken codex tightly; long nails, each shaped like a sneering, elongated chin, pierced its four corners, pinning it motionless.

Keta Luo bowed his head devoutly—before he could speak, the codex emitted 【Order】's thunderous voice.

"Bring Him to me."

"You are still so arrogant."

"I said, let Him come see me."

"My Lord is not here."

"Oh, your lord, your lord — is your benefactor 【Chaos】, or 【Deceit】?"

"That depends on what you think, great 【Order】."