Chapter 402

【Existence】 has become the past

"You are not the Avros I know!

Who exactly are you?"

After discovering that the other party could not cross this threshold and could not cause him harm, Cheng Shi's voice was significantly firmer.

He looked at that perfect face and thought to himself:

This 【Door of Joyful Desire】 looks like a follower of 【Filth and Depravity】, so, is she or is she not a Messenger of 【Filth and Depravity】?

Cheng Shi dared not confirm, because in his imagination, the image of a 【Filth and Depravity】 Messenger shouldn't be so... gentle.

Yes, gentle.

Avros's methods were too soft; even though she had been pulling at his emotions, she hadn't exerted any other influence on him, nor had she displayed her power of 【Filth and Depravity】.

Cheng Shi had witnessed the terror of the 【Filth and Depravity】 talent; he didn't quite believe that an existence capable of summoning him here would have no other means.

Of course, it was very likely that this invisible threshold restricted her. Cheng Shi didn't understand the function of this "door," so he could only treat it with the highest vigilance.

Thus, after finishing his posturing, he retreated rapidly back to the air wall. Even though the distance was only one step, in Cheng Shi's view, this step was the most reassuring buffer distance.

Avros stood motionless, watching Cheng Shi retreat a step, seemingly very disgusted with herself.

She shook her head and smiled bitterly, asking in a way that made one feel pity: "Am I not beautiful?"

Cheng Shi was very honest: "Beautiful, very beautiful, but my mother told me the more beautiful a woman is, the more terrifying she is."

Avros nodded thoughtfully, turned around, changed herself back into a male, stared into Cheng Shi's eyes, and asked again with a charming smile:

"How about now?"

"..." Cheng Shi's mouth twitched, "She also said that men are the same."

Avros couldn't help but laugh: "You have a good mother."

"..."

Cheng Shi always felt this was an insult to himself. He really wanted to retort, "You too," but then he thought that this seemed like a compliment to the other party, so he had to give up resentfully.

Avros didn't know what Cheng Shi was thinking; he only knew that his "recruitment" had failed.

"Pity, my brother, we ultimately did not walk on the same path.

I naively thought you were truly His follower, but I didn't expect you to deceive me.

So, whose believer are you exactly?

Let me guess...

Hmm, you are very observant and good at constructing logic, so, could you be a follower of 【Truth】?

That rigid scholar spent his whole life walking on the path of seeking to become 【Him】, with no fun to speak of; you don't seem like him.

Let me think again, 【Civilization】 is full of filth, but because of the noble 【Order】, it is still orderly, so you don't seem like a walker of 【Civilization】.

【Life】 is out of the question, 【Depravity】 is impossible, 【Chaos】 ah... they are all fools, not like you.

In that case, oh~

I understand, you are a practitioner of 【Existence】?

Are you helping your benefactor organize 【Memory】?

Hmm, you frowned, it seems not.

Could it be...

Are you one of 【Time】?"

When he said the last sentence, Avros's tone instantly turned cold, his expression became gloomy, as if mentioning the divine name of 【Time】 was an annoying thing for him.

Of course, this emotion wasn't something Cheng Shi observed, but something he realized through empathy, constrained by the other party's emotional contagion method.

But Cheng Shi always felt that there were some problems in the other party's words, so his brows furrowed even tighter.

It was at this moment that Avros captured Cheng Shi's expression change again. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed as if he had suddenly realized something.

But that laughter, compared to the joy of figuring something out, was more like self-mockery, self-mockery for his own ignorance!

"So another era has passed, 【Existence】 has become the past, is that it?

My good brother, I am so curious, why don't you tell me, in the era after 【Existence】, who stood at the peak of the gods?

You...

Are a believer of the New Gods, right?"

!!!!!

New Gods!

What New Gods!?

Cheng Shi was stunned, stunned from the inside out!

His brain was blank, buzzing; ever since he heard "【Existence】 has become the past," the roaring in his head hadn't stopped.

Why, why didn't Avros know of the existence of 【Nothingness】?

She even labeled the two gods of 【Nothingness】 as "New Gods"!

So, is she really Him?

A Messenger of 【Filth and Depravity】 who was... probably imprisoned by 【Time】 before the descent of 【Nothingness】!?

Cheng Shi's eyes were filled with confusion; he looked at Avros with a complex expression and asked:

"【Door of Joyful Desire】, is that your divine name, is it?"

Avros's expression was even more complex. It was unclear whether it was because he was moved by the fact that he had been trapped for too long to keep up with the times, or because a name that no one had mentioned for countless years was being brought up again. In short, his eyes were filled with wistfulness and emotion.

"I said, you are good at everything, it's just that you are too smart, my brother."

Smart?

But the Latin I know values choosing wisdom from faith, humanity, and wisdom the most!

What, have you forgotten?

Cheng Shi said nothing, but his eyes said everything.

His similarly emotional expression was undoubtedly asking Avros, asking him why he had become like this.

But Avros did not respond this time, instead mocking himself with extreme desolation:

"I thought He remembered me, forgave me, and sent you to save me.

But I didn't expect that all of this was just a glance not worth mentioning when the New Gods patrolled the universe.

Heh, He was never merciful, and They, too, are never merciful.

Gods, since you have already sat on the divine throne, why must you imprison yourselves in another set of rules?

Even He, even 【Filth and Depravity】 who birthed me into the world, did not embrace His own desires; since that is the case, how can you let the world sink into the 【Sea of Desire】?

Heh, everything is a delusion.

It really is... boring."

As he spoke, Avros turned and left, having no more interest in Cheng Shi outside the door.

His desolate emotions were so thick and terrifying that Cheng Shi was also infected by the emotional spray, instantly sinking into despair, kneeling on the ground, and wailing at the sky.

But he never gave up observing. At every opportunity where he could control his emotions, he would stab himself with a scalpel, then struggle madly with his emotions, fighting for control of his consciousness, and look with all his might into the mysterious interior of the Evil Infant Tribunal, watching Avros leave.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Cheng Shi always felt he saw a piece of black, wriggling flesh in the shadows deep in the hall.

But the next time he looked up, the traces of flesh and Avros's figure had both vanished.

As everything before his eyes gradually faded, the emotions that made Cheng Shi collapse also slowly dissipated. He gritted his teeth and stood up, wanting to take advantage of not having left yet to ask inside "what exactly happened," but before he could open his mouth, he found the scene before him changing abruptly, and he was back on the roof of the rest area.

He stood on the roof with blood all over his legs, both confused and fearful, looking ahead with a frown, motionless.

Era...

Avros mentioned "era."

You must know that while the word "era" is very common in the mouths of players, it does not represent a period exclusive to 【Them】. They generally call this period an 【Era】, because each era corresponds to the peak period of rule of several of 【Them】.

So, is the era in Avros's mouth the era as understood by the players?

But the problem is, the Continent of Hope seems to have never had an 【Era of Existence】!!

Then what does this era refer to?

Cheng Shi frowned and fell into deep thought; he felt he had learned of some incredible things again.