Chapter 66: Don

Don’t make noise, I’m listening to the gods’ gossip

(Extra large!)

“Her name is Lele’er.

She was the daughter of the [Mother of Prosperity].

But She could not resist the temptation and fell.

She plunged into the [Sea of Desire] and became the revolting Fear Tree.”

“?”

Hold on a second!

I know this thing!

I even fought one of Its children!

!!!

Cheng Shi suddenly recalled Song Yawen from that trial, and remembered the white bone throne Song Yawen described.

So he really did receive the [Death]’s gaze back then!

That scythe capable of destroying heaven and earth might even have been lent to him by this very being!

No wonder you’re putting in so much effort—no one holds back against a tea-sipping bitch!

But bro, where’s your scythe?

Why haven’t I seen that huge scythe today?

The massive skull may have guessed Cheng Shi’s memories; it paused, letting him recall as much as possible before continuing slowly:

“Garuda, to reclaim Her,

Pulled out its own ribs and severed a quarter of Its divinity.

Forged it into a gift and sent it to the [Sea of Desire].

But that bitch rejected It and corrupted the Garuda Dagger.

It deserves to die.”

With that, a flood of death surged from the void below, exploding instantly and drowning everything.

Cheng Shi was inexplicably caught in the disaster, swept apart into a pile of shattered bone fragments.

No one knew how long this furious god raged until Cheng Shi felt he might have been forgotten—or outright killed—when his consciousness coalesced again.

But now his state mirrored the massive skull on the white bone throne: he was left with only his head.

Cheng Shi opened his jaw and found his lower jawbone still hurt from hitting the stair platform.

“......”

Fine, sitting down after standing too long isn’t such a bad idea.

So this is how the [Corrupted Divinity] of [When Fear Arrives] came to be—the Fear Tree split off a quarter of Its divinity to express its absolute rejection of Garuda?

So what exactly happened between these two?

Could you elaborate?

I’ve got all the time in the world—this trial just ended, and I’ve got seven days left.

The massive skull’s gaze lowered again, fixing on Cheng Shi; its mouth opened and closed several times but did not continue the story.

“Ancient history. Forget it.

Today, I saw it again.

[Memory] still refuses to find it for me in the dream.

You brought it back. Good.

So, Cheng Shi.

What reward do you want?”

Cheng Shi shot up instantly, standing on his jawbone.

If you’re talking about this, I’m taking you seriously.

“Respectful, great True God, I humbly beg:

Picking up this fear—Garuda Dagger—was merely the act of a tiny, humble soul seeking deeper teachings and greater divine grandeur within the trials You and They have laid down.

If, and only if, You could grant this lost soul a small bit of guidance—

It would be more useful than any divine relic.”

After nervously speaking these words, Cheng Shi stared hopefully at the throne.

The massive skull remained silent for a long time.

Cheng Shi’s heart sank—he thought his request was too bold. He was about to backtrack when the skull finally spoke.

“You are His believer.

Among us, only He and...

Never mind Him.

Only They like to give you guidance.

I have no guidance to give you.

Your understanding of Death...”

Cheng Shi’s heart tightened—he remembered the pitiful 0 points he earned in his last trial, [The Path to Divinity].

“It’s fresh.

I need to think.

Perhaps I can seize some authority from Him.”

“!!??”

What?

Who are you going to steal authority from?

That’s not my problem—I didn’t do anything!

Cheng Shi stared blankly, nearly terrified to death.

“But I can grant you something.”

With that, the prominent [Hour of Execution] floated up from the pile of “trash.”

“Is this going to...”

A pure stream of [Death] energy poured from the mouths of every skull on the white bone throne, enveloping the [Hour of Execution].

Soon after, the staff, its top roaring with thunder, slowly twisted and reshaped into a ring, its surface crawling with lightning.

The ring’s material bore no resemblance to the staff’s wood—it looked instead like bone from the ground, fired into form.

“At the end of the first [Divine War],

[Order] killed [Thunder’s Cry].

From half of Its divinity, It forged this staff: the Thunder’s Cry Staff.”

“......”

Cheng Shi was numb—shocked by the volume of information in this conversation, yet deeply tempted to curse [Order] for pulling such a dirty trick.

Killing someone was bad enough, but then defiling their corpse and calling them an idiot?

“The other half of Its divinity is with me.

But you are too weak now.

Not worthy.

I will recast the Thunder’s Cry Staff.

Conceal [Thunder’s Cry]’s aura.

Keep it.

When you go further—

I will give you the other half.”

With that, the pale, bone-like ring floated down and slipped onto Cheng Shi’s finger automatically.

But Cheng Shi saw none of this.

Because his hand bone had fallen behind the skull.

And how does a skull turn around?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

“......”

Wait!

Something doesn’t add up!

Let me think this through.

[Death] took [When Fear Arrives], then turned the [Hour of Execution] into a ring, saying that when I grow stronger, It’ll give me the other half of [Thunder’s Cry]’s divinity.

This phrasing...

Hss—

Doesn’t this sound exactly like the empty promises my old company boss used to make?

You gave me nothing, took away one of my items—is this even a deal?

This is just free-riding!

This is bullying an honest person!!

Cheng Shi snapped out of his stunned daze, his mouth opening and closing, his chin clattering against the ground several times before he finally couldn’t hold back and asked:

“That... since you despise the Mother of Fear, then the half of Lolel’s divinity inside the Karura Dagger...

I was wondering...

Could you... return it to me?”

The massive skull fell silent. Its hollow eye sockets contained nothing, yet Cheng Shi clearly saw a pair of eyes—gates to death—open within them.

“I... I’m just making a suggestion, okay?

I just think, with your divine greatness, this filthy divinity in your hands is just trash to be thrown in a dump or sealed away so you don’t have to see it.

Rather than waste this half of divinity, why not...

Cough cough, let Lolel’s divinity work for me.

Look:

I work for you...

No, I work for my master, and I’m doing extra work for you, while she works for me.

Round it off, she’s your slave.

Isn’t that the logic?

Isn’t that more satisfying than letting it sit unused?”

The massive skull still gave no reply, but the path to death within its eye sockets had clearly vanished.

Fuck, there’s hope!

Cheng Shi immediately began frantically opening and closing his jaw, struggling to turn his body using friction, then bit down on his own palm bone and “lifted” up the newly forged ring.

Then he mumbled:

“Look, combine His divinity with this idiot... this 【Thundering】’s divinity, and we forge a three-quarter-divinity ring.

That way, you reclaim the Karura’s divinity, I gain a new divine relic, and I can go further in the game.

Most importantly, the Mother of Fear—this bitch—has to work for you every single day!

What do you say?”

No response.

Still no response.

Time slowly passed. At this moment, Cheng Shi felt the entity across from him wasn’t 【Death】 at all—it was fucking 【Silence】.

Bro, say something already.

“He... speaks truly. You... are indeed greedy.”

“?”

The moment the words ended, another pure surge of 【Death】 energy rose from the Bone Throne.

This time, the energy enveloped not only the ring but also 【When Fear Arrives】.

Soon after, a thin, shrieking sprout was peeled from 【When Fear Arrives】 and shot swiftly into the ring.

And 【When Fear Arrives】 vanished at the same moment.

The moment this divinity from the Mother of Fear touched the ring, it carved onto the ring’s surface one screaming mouth after another.

The ring, moments ago pale as bone, instantly transformed into a twisted band glowing with a deep crimson radiance, drifting slowly back onto Cheng Shi’s palm bone.

Did it work?

Holy shit, it worked!!

Cheng Shi, thrilled, bit down on his palm bone and examined the twisted, eerie ring, asking without realizing it:

“What is this?”

But he instantly realized his mistake and quickly corrected himself:

“I mean, please, Great One, name this divine relic.”

Honestly, Cheng Shi thought he saw a flicker of excitement in the massive skull’s eye sockets.

But he wasn’t sure if it was just his own overexcitement playing tricks on him.

The massive skull pondered for a moment, its teeth shifting hesitantly several times before solemnly bestowing a name upon the newborn divine relic.

“Let it be called: Bone Servant Lolel’s Ring.”

“...”

I’m numb.

What’s the difference between this and “QQneinei tastes so good it’s like milk tea”?

Such a cool-looking ring, and this is its name?

Fine! Fine! Fine!

You’re awesome, you decide.

Cheng Shi surrendered.

He declared with utmost seriousness:

“An unprecedented, unparalleled naming. From this moment on, its name shall be sung forever.

And of course, that bitch Lolel shall serve you eternally!”

“Mm.”

The massive skull replied in a strange tone, then suddenly dissolved into nothingness atop the Bone Throne.

It turned into white bone ash, scattering like flowing sand.

Immediately after, the Bone Throne itself began to vanish.

After their boss left, the long-silent skulls finally resumed their clamor.

“Goodbye! Goodbye! I’m leaving—He’s waiting for me!”

“Hurry! Go! Don’t make Him wait!”

As the throne crumbled before them, the fishbone stairs beneath their feet began to break apart layer by layer.

Cheng Shi was now only a skull—he could not dodge. He could only let himself fall into the void.

Even as the sensation of weightlessness surged into his mind, he never loosened his grip on his palm bone.

Until, once again, darkness swallowed his awareness—and then it returned.

Cheng Shi snapped his eyes open, raised his hand, and stared at the twisted ring wrapped in seductive red light on his right index finger.

The ring, which seemed to emit shrieks of fear, under the sunlight, was so...

Charming.