Chapter 36: The Beginning of Fate, and the Game of [Memory]

The Beginning of Fate, and the Game of [Memory]

“Who? The one just now?”

“Didn’t you guess who He is?”

Cheng Shi frowned, lost in thought.

He hadn’t failed to guess—once he confirmed this one before him was his benefactor, he knew the one just now was likely another god of the [Void] Path: [Fate].

Because they shared the same outward appearance, the same form, the same void fluctuations.

The only difference was their personality.

One was cold; the other was erratic.

“It seems you’ve figured it out.”

“So what if I did? What can a mere human like me do to retaliate against a [God]?”

“Hehe, you don’t need to test me—I can tell you the answer.

Any living being can retaliate against a [God], though such ‘retaliation’ may not take the form you expect.

For instance, you—you’ve been retaliating against Him all along.”

“???”

Brother, don’t talk nonsense—I’ve never retaliated against [Fate]!

If I had the guts to do that, would I still sign up for solo dungeons?

Seeing Cheng Shi’s shock, He continued.

“From the moment you took off the mask representing me at the [Beginning of Fate], your desecration of Fate had already begun.”

Cheng Shi stared, dumbfounded; countless images flashed through his mind, pulling his thoughts back to the day the gods descended.

On that sunny afternoon, the [Faith Game] forcibly invaded the consciousness of every human on Earth in a way they could not comprehend—including Cheng Shi.

Placed at the [Beginning of Fate], Cheng Shi stared at the white mask and the pale, bone-like die before him, his confusion soaring beyond limits.

The situation was clear: choose one of two.

Cheng Shi was torn—he didn’t even know what these two objects represented.

“How should I choose?” he muttered to himself.

Unexpectedly, the mask answered him.

“Choose the [Die of Fate].”

Though Cheng Shi didn’t know what the [Die of Fate] meant, he knew the mask was referring to the die.

Cheng Shi was a man who listened to advice.

So he picked up the die.

In his simple worldview, listening to advice meant eating well.

So he unhesitatingly chose the die.

Just as the mask curled its lips into a satisfied smile, Cheng Shi reached out and gripped the mask.

The mask’s smile froze instantly.

Cheng Shi wasn’t just a man who listened to advice—he was also clever.

If this mask could persuade someone to take something, then it must be valuable too.

So the greedy Cheng Shi abandoned the binary choice—he chose both.

Instantly, anomalies occurred.

The die grew heavier; the mask began to burn.

Cheng Shi’s left hand was scorched black by searing flames; his right hand was crushed into the floor by the heavy die.

Yet even then, he never let go.

He clung to it even in death—pure greed incarnate.

Only when the mask burned away half his body and the die pierced through his palm did the anomalies gradually fade.

Dying, Cheng Shi lay on the ground, staring at the mask’s remains and the ash-covered die—back to the binary choice.

Cheng Shi let out a bitter laugh, pressing the last fragment of the mask’s lips to his face—but the mask vanished instantly.

Helpless, he extended his pierced right hand to fish the die out from the ground.

And then...

He inexplicably became a believer of [Deception].

A faint, imperceptible [Fool’s Lips] now adorned his face; in his hand rested a [Die of Fate] that could only roll a one.

Thus, from then until now, while others’ [Divine Edicts] were prayers to masks, he could only pray to the die.

“Remember now?

You defied your own fate.

From that moment on, every [Divine Edict] you performed was a desecration of Him.

Tell me—if a tiny, insignificant insect constantly questioned you, provoked you, desecrated you...

What would you do?”

Cheng Shi’s face twitched; he thought, it depends on who it is.

If I were the god, I’d crush that filthy insect.

But if I were the insect...

Fuck, [Fate] is such a bitch!

The eye beneath the stars narrowed slightly, smiling.

“See? You’ve desecrated Him again.”

“...”

Cheng Shi smiled on the surface, cursed inwardly: “You summoned your believer just to watch his humiliation?”

“What else?”

“??? ”

Is that even human speech?

Cheng Shi’s face twitched twice, then sighed like a man giving up:

“Let’s talk business, my benefactor.

Your devout, humble believer has just survived a murder attempt, endured immense psychological trauma, and is utterly exhausted—I simply can’t spare the energy to listen to your jokes.

Tell me plainly: what do you want to tell me? Or what do you want me to do?”

The eye rolled, smiling:

“Why didn’t you obey my command and kill that believer of [Fate]?”

Cheng Shi answered honestly:

“I think it’s worse to make her confront her own wretched fate, to make her question the benefactor who once protected her—than to kill her.

Death is the simplest torment.”

“Interesting. Perhaps [Death] disagrees with you, but it doesn’t matter—He has no say.

Then how are you so certain your choice is right?”

“Because I am your believer—your radiance has always guided me.”

It was a blatant, loud flattery.

But it didn’t work.

The eye grinned:

“You’ve desecrated Him again.”

“...”

“Still, I’m pleased.

Hmm... how shall I reward my devoted follower?

Let me think—how about I tell you a few secrets?

So many secrets—which one should I tell you?”

The eye twinkled merrily; soon, He chuckled:

“Let’s play a game.”

“?”

“The [Memory] Game.

The followers of [Memory] seek out interesting secrets to please Him—we’ll play a secret-exchange game too.

You may ask me two questions; I’ll ask you two.

Considering I bear the divine title of [Deception], for fairness, we add one rule:

Of the two answers given, at least one must be truthful.”

Cheng Shi’s gaze sharpened; his mind raced furiously.

He knew the [Faith Game] rule—"At year’s end, players are ranked by the Ascension Ladder; the top ten earn the chance to meet the gods"—wouldn’t activate for another six months.

So no matter what, this was an opportunity to learn about [Gods], about the [Faith Game], and about himself.

What should he ask?

And how could he ensure He wouldn’t lie?

After long thought, Cheng Shi reached one conclusion: he couldn’t ensure it.

Even the rules of this game might be lies told by Him.

Simply because His divine name is 【Deception】!

If that is the case, there is no need to waste brain cells searching for logical flaws.

Just ask whatever you want to know.