Chapter 332

【Deception】: 【Fate】 is better at lying than I am

(Rounding up to 7000 words!)

The reason many things are hard to figure out is that there is too little information, so Cheng Shi did not dwell excessively on the intersection of the future and the present, but instead let out a heavy breath, preparing to leave the void.

He must now return to the trial to confirm the status of the big cat and ensure she did not suffer any accidents due to this series of changes.

Of course, since 【Fate】 said she has become Fulazhuo, he should go see this orphan of 【Prosperity】 even more, to see just how much she has become like 【Them】.

But just as he was about to take out the Lying Tongue to lick open the void, a pair of eyes filled with spirals and star-dots opened once again where the eyes of 【Deception】 had vanished.

Cheng Shi looked at the slightly upturned corners of those eyes, and his brain went numb.

How is there a surprise attack?

Those playful eyes looked into the depths of the void, and seeing no more fluctuations of 【Fate】 around, they laughed out loud.

"What, not happy to see your benefactor summoning you again?"

"Hehe, happy, I'm so happy."

The swirling spirals spun rapidly for a moment before sneering: "Pay attention to your expression next time you lie. Otherwise, don't tell people outside that you are my believer; it's a disgrace to the god."

"......" Cheng Shi's brain had already overloaded too many times today; he really didn't want to think anymore, so he sighed and said, "My lord benefactor, just say what you have to say. Let's save time."

"Oh? You have ideas about 【Time】 too?"

"......"

Cheng Shi rolled his eyes speechlessly, pinched his own nose red, then looked up at his benefactor with an "I won't resist" expression and said: "The clown is here, let's get to the point, my lord benefactor."

This scene of giving up the struggle and embracing the teasing made 【Deception】 instantly feel bored. It looked at Cheng Shi with eyes full of disgust, then blinked lightly and took out a sturdy, thick branch from the depths of the endless void.

Seeing the aura of 【Prosperity】 suddenly surging before his eyes, Cheng Shi's gaze instantly sharpened.

"This is......?"

"A gift from the 【Final Edict of Prosperity】, the 'Vitality' authority shared with me.

Of course, all authorities are inscribed in the 【Covenant】, and this thick branch you see is merely the manifestation of the authority.

This 【Mother of Schemes】 really knows how to divide things, leaving me with the thing most useless to 【Void】.

Does It think everyone is interested in this authority like 【Truth】 is?

Heh, universal prosperity; unfortunately, I don't harbor 【Prosperity】 here."

As it spoke, those joyful eyes sent the sturdy branch to Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi froze abruptly, then looked up at It, blinking in confusion:

"You are...... giving this to me?

This is the authority of a 【True God】, and you're just giving it up like this?

Bestowing it upon a...... player?

But aren't humans unable to enjoy Their authority?"

"Oh? So you have ideas about 【Prosperity】 too?"

"......"

Yes, yes, yes, I have ideas about the whole universe, damn it; I wish I could learn from 【Prosperity】 and just blow up the universe!

Seeing his believer silent again, 【Deception】 laughed twice and became serious.

"Who told you humans cannot enjoy the authority of gods?

That old bag of bones?

Hmm, what It said isn't entirely correct. You indeed cannot share the authority of 【Prosperity】; that is because a living 【Prosperity】 would not allow you to steal Its authority, and as for a fallen 【Prosperity】...... you are not qualified to inherit it either.

Although the 【Covenant】 protects all divine powers from being lost, if a certain god is in a good mood and bestows a part of Their authority upon you as a 'divine gift,' then this is not considered a loss of authority, but a transfer of proxy power.

In this way, humans can also temporarily act as proxies for the authority of gods.

Lesser gods and Messengers are attached to True Gods in this way; apart from possessing their own small amount of divinity, most of them act as proxies for the authority of True Gods.

So......"

Hearing this, Cheng Shi suddenly jolted and straightened his back: "So!!?"

"So I won't tease you anymore. This isn't for you; take it back to your little cat friend.

After all, she is a Messenger recognized by the 【Covenant】; it's too embarrassing to have no authority.

Besides, what kind of Messenger is one without authority?"

Huh?

For the bald one?

This authority is for the bald one?

Cheng Shi was stunned, but the next second, a subtle gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Aren't you also pushing for the integration of faiths? Why give away authority for free?

Do you look down on 【Prosperity】?"

Those eyes stopped spinning for a moment, and for once, there was no laughter; instead, it sighed and said:

"It's not about looking down on it or not. Universal prosperity is indeed a good thing, but Its purpose for wanting universal prosperity is wrong.

I am not on the same path as It. Besides, 【Void】 has no need for 【Prosperity】, because 【Void】 has no meaning."

"But......"

"Heh, you want to ask why the other benefactor you pretend to serve accepted the gift of 【Prosperity】?"

"...... I don't want to." Cheng Shi shook his head with a dark face.

"You can't lie to me, but......

Hee~

Who said It accepted it?

I am the manifestation of 【Void】, and It is the essence of 【Void】. If the manifestation can see it clearly, how could the essence not see it clearly?

It had long since given away the gift of the 【Final Edict of Prosperity】. The 【Mother of Prosperity】 played a good game; It never shared a shred of authority with 【Fate】, yet left the task of bestowing the 【Prosperity】 trial to It, purely to let the path of 【Prosperity】 sprout some hope under the changes of 【Fate】.

Unfortunately, 【Fate】 is too ruthless and too lazy. It refused the extra work and outsourced these tasks to your little cat friend.

However, who knows if this was the 【Mother of Prosperity】's plan all along?

It saw 【Fate】's favor toward the little cat, so It took a gamble and left a spark for 【Prosperity】.

After all, no matter how you put it, that little cat is a believer of 【Prosperity】, isn't she?

Now she has even become Its eldest daughter. Look, the hope of 【Prosperity】 seems to have returned to the hands of 【Prosperity】.

【Fate】 can see through the future, so naturally, It wouldn't be unaware of this, but It still gave it away. It's just that the method of this gift, hmm, was too dirty.

What kind of contract do you think It signed with that little cat?

That wasn't a supplement to the 【Covenant】, but a vow with 【Fate】. She foolishly sold herself to 【Fate】.

Hee~

It's laughable to think about it. The eldest daughter of 【Prosperity】, having finally been recognized by the 【Covenant】 to inherit the status of a lesser god, has muddle-headedly become a worker for 【Fate】, and is even doing the dirty work left behind by 【Prosperity】.

I suddenly discovered that human wisdom still has its merits; at least capitalists are truly hateful.

Alright, that's about it. Remember to take this authority of vitality to her. I won't summon her; otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to help but mock her."

"......"

Hearing this, Cheng Shi felt a mix of emotions.

He felt that the relationships between the gods were too complex. Every one of them was calculating against the others and moving forward on the path of practicing their own will without wavering, even placing the importance of faith above their own fall. What could such fanatical and firm faith, even more so than that of players, possibly bring them?

The gods have already self-destructed; what more can it bring to Them, who only exist in history after their fall?

Cheng Shi could not understand, nor could he understand.

But he understood one thing from 【Deception】's return, which was...... 【Fate】 does not always tell the truth.

【Deception】 seemed to see through Cheng Shi's thoughts, and it finally revealed a joyful smile again.

"Looks like you've realized it.

Be careful, It is very good at lying."

"......" Cheng Shi went numb again.

A god who holds the authority of deception reminding himself to be careful because Its sibling god is very good at lying—are you sure you aren't lying to me?

"Hee~

Don't doubt it, It is far better at lying than I am.

You don't think that traitorous thing stayed behind secretly just to present a predetermined play for It, do you?

Although I haven't seen with my own eyes what agreement It signed with it, I can guess that your cunning future self must have used reverse psychology on It.

Alright, that's all for now. This audience is truly over.

Hmm, not very pleasant. You've become dull, lacking a bit of interest.

Go."

As it spoke, a gust of wind blew in the void, rolling Cheng Shi down.

Cheng Shi let his vision go black, offering no resistance, but his heart kept thinking about the reverse psychology 【Deception】 mentioned.

Cheng Dashi used reverse psychology on 【Fate】, so 【Fate】 agreed to his plan?

If 【Deception】 wasn't deceiving, then Cheng Dashi's return was indeed to try to change the predetermined future.

As for how he used reverse psychology......

That's too simple.

When Cheng Shi heard the words "reverse psychology" from 【Deception】, he guessed the process of his future self playing against the 【Fate】 benefactor.

Actually, it was far from a game; he only needed to throw a proposition to 【Fate】, and 【Fate】 would likely accept his "offering."

And this proposition was:

If the future is truly filled with predetermination, then any change we make at this very moment should not affect the future.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi hummed a laugh. He felt that Cheng Dashi must have used this method to checkmate 【Fate】. Of course, the premise of this method is that the person checking must be a favorite of 【Fate】; otherwise, It might not even pay attention to you.

And coincidentally, whether in the future or the past, he seems to be one.

In this way, it finally makes sense.

Cheng Dashi succeeded. Although he only created an opportunity for himself, 【Fate】 said that the fall of 【Prosperity】 was not in the predetermined fate, so Cheng Dashi really succeeded.

He used the loophole torn open by 【Deception】 to return from the future to the present, used reverse psychology on 【Fate】 to cover his tracks and leave messages for himself, then voluntarily entered the game to trigger a change, and let the situation develop, developing into a situation that did not exist in his future.

Clearly, this change was not just pushed by 【Fate】; almost all of 【Them】 played a role in pushing this change.

Amazing. Cheng Dashi might have calculated all their reactions, but I wonder if he calculated that 【Prosperity】 would self-destruct?

The current fate script seems to have been changed, but his benefactor 【Fate】 seems to remain full of confidence in the predetermined ending of all future paths.

So it's still the same question: has the future been changed or not?

Did 【Deception】 lie, or did 【Fate】 lie?

Cheng Shi vaguely felt that these two 【Void】 benefactors seemed to have different attitudes toward the future, but two gods with different opinions were still firmly walking on the path of faith integration, which is even stranger.

But thinking more is useless. He is not 【Fate】, nor is he 【Time】. Before the future arrives, all speculation is meaningless.

So Cheng Shi opened his eyes, and as his vision gradually cleared, he found that he had returned to the trial, back to that Sighing Forest eroded by 【Prosperity】.

Only now, the 【Prosperity】 in the forest had faded, and 【Decay】 had not followed. Looking around, the vast land was scarred and in ruins everywhere.

The once lush rainforest looked as if a filter had been suddenly pulled away; although every giant tree maintained a flourishing posture without withering or falling, they had lost all their emerald green, like unfinished products without color, devoid of life.

Clearly, Its fall had also brought a huge impact here. Since the trees had become like this, what about those Mushroom-Foot people who were protected by 【Death】 and had not died?

Just as he thought this, Cheng Shi heard bursts of cheers. He stood up and looked back, finding that all the Mushroom-Foot people were standing in place, unharmed, surrounding a familiar figure and piously, excitedly, and passionately shouting praises in their hearts.

They were praising the Messenger, praising rebirth, praising forgiveness, praising 【Prosperity】.

This Mushroom-Foot tribe, imprisoned underground by the Tower of Reason for hundreds of years, was now immersed in the joy of liberation, completely unaware that their benefactor had long since fallen, self-destructing before the gods.

Cheng Shi looked at this scene with mixed feelings.

He didn't know what 【Fate】 had done to Honglin to make this group of Mushroom-Foot people directly identify her as their Messenger.

They were clearly so pious, yet they were being tossed around like puppets by Them, and even by himself.

That thing called faith is nothing else; it is simply the puppet strings. As the "puppeteers" manipulate them, the "believer puppets" can only passively go where the "puppeteers" need them to go.

Is it sad? A little.

Is it pitiful? Also a little.

Is it ridiculous? It is not ridiculous.

Because even as puppets, they still live in hope, living on the correct path they have determined for themselves, never giving up for a moment.

Persistence is never ridiculous; it is only respectable.

The 【Prosperity】 on the divine throne has disappeared, but the 【Prosperity】 in their hearts has clearly only just begun.