"His own?"
Cheng Shi was utterly bewildered.
"What do you mean, his own?"
The inn Boss patiently explained:
"Ados's mentor was Zayinjier, the leader of the Creation Alchemy school at the Tower of Rationality. This school has a very deep understanding and a generational technical lead in creation and puppetry.
Other schools, out of various concerns, assassinated Zayinjier before he could release his latest findings. Thus, Ados, who had lost his mentor's protection, became a fugitive Scholar.
He wandered underground, met us, and joined us."
Hiss—
Why does this sound so familiar?
Brother, if you end this with "Do you want to join us?", I'll be dreaming of Fang Shiqing's embrace again.
"With our support, he researched the ability of 'Puppet Self' and transformed his critically injured self into a flesh-and-blood human puppet!"
"?" Cheng Shi didn't understand and blinked.
"If he became a puppet himself, who controls him?"
"No one can control him. The only one who can control him is the self he was before becoming a puppet. He designed a perfect consciousness for himself to support our actions to the greatest extent."
"..."
AI?
Cheng Shi's head was buzzing.
Isn't this just artificial AI?
Turning himself into an AI?
What's the point?
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Meaning? To create with one's broken life, to create a puppet comparable to a perfect life form, isn't this the meaning of pursuing Truth?"
"..."
You make a lot of sense, but my mother told me not to talk to fools.
Cheng Shi's urge to complain internally swelled to the extreme, but on the surface, he maintained a patient smile.
How is this pursuing Truth?
This is pursuing idiocy!
"Then the one tonight...?"
"Tarot, Ados's junior, he also made himself into a puppet."
"..."
Double kill!
So what exactly are these people doing all this for?
Thinking about it carefully, they seem to be in a state of excessive pursuit of personal desires and obsessions after being infected by corruption.
Since this is underground, perhaps what they believe in is corruption?
So Cheng Shi asked with a puzzled look: "corruption?"
"Are you referring to my Faith? No, no, I don't truly believe in any God, or rather, the Existence I believe in has not yet descended."
"???"
Cheng Shi was confused again. He frowned, staring at the inn Boss's face, and said in surprise:
"Then how did you get the power of corruption?"
The inn Boss raised his eyebrows, extended a hand, and gently shook it.
As his arm trembled, the power of corruption on his body began to dissipate. Gradually, a golden power revived and re-entwined around him.
Cheng Shi looked at this familiar power and was completely stunned.
Order!
It's the power of Order!
"You, you, you..."
"It's incredible, isn't it? Actually, I was originally His believer.
Not only that, but I also served in the Grand Tribunal.
And Mercsius...
Is precisely my junior."
"!!??"
Being dumbfounded was no longer enough to describe the current Cheng Shi. His expression management function completely collapsed. His mouth was open wide enough to fit two light bulbs.
No, wait!
"You were... a Judge of the Grand Tribunal?"
"First Class Judge, Chernosley. What a nostalgic name."
"Then what's going on with the power of corruption on you? Are you an Oathbreaker?"
An Oathbreaker refers to a believer who has abandoned their original Faith and gone to believe in other Gods.
These believers, having broken their original vows, will suffer endless punishment from their former Lord.
In fact, Players in the Faith Game also have this option now, but after activating "Oathbreaking Prayer", even if they successfully change their Faith, they will still have a permanent debuff from the Lord of the betrayed Faith.
And the God they switch to will not give extra care to the Oathbreaker.
Therefore, making such a decision is extremely difficult.
"Oathbreaker? No, I haven't betrayed my piety to Order. I just added piety to other Gods within that piety."
"?"
You can do that?
Good heavens, what a player believer.
You want them all, don't you?
The question is, can the Gods you've 'cheated' on tolerate it?
"I've never heard of anyone so... loving... so believing."
Chernosley laughed heartily, a little crazily:
"Before we succeeded, no one realized that Faith could be so impure, could be so chaotic!
This is also the reason we can gather together!"
It's coming!
Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened, realizing that tonight's conversation was finally getting to the point.
Since this former First Class Judge on the other side is not a believer of corruption, nor an Oathbreaker of Order, there must be an unspeakable reason for him to come to the heartland of the Grand Tribunal again.
And this reason is likely to involve a deeper Faith struggle.
Cheng Shi had a slight idea in his mind. He guessed that this person might have started to worship war!
Because the Boss said that his Faith had not yet descended!
And at this time, the civil war had just begun at the Tower of Rationality. He had only noticed the Hope Continent, but had not yet descended.
The believers following Him were still in the stage of perceiving the divine name.
Yes, the descent of Gods also has an Order, and it basically follows the Order of Fate.
This point is basically common sense in games above 2000 points.
However, Chernosley's next words directly blew Cheng Shi's mind away.
"All of us come from different Faith factions, and each of us is a God-favored one who should have been watched over by our Lord.
But even so, we still suffered various misfortunes and were forced to flee under the oppression of our brethren and great injustice.
From then on, we realized that our Faith was not entirely correct. In the vast universe, perhaps there is a more suitable Faith waiting for us.
So, following this vague and hazy perception, we gathered underground.
After decades of 'Faith experiments', we finally discovered...
He opened His eyes and looked at us!!!"
Chernosley suddenly became frenzied. His eyes were red with excitement, his hands waved with enthusiasm, and his whole body was tense and flushed, immersed in the satisfaction of this'summoning God'.
"We felt His Existence, and heard His whispers.
We discovered that only He is the essence of the universe, the origin of all things!
We devoutly prostrated ourselves at His feet, accepted His will, and prayed for His descent.
But we knew that humble prayers would not earn His favor.
So we need a grand ceremony to welcome the descent of our Lords!
Let the war spread to every inch of the Grand Tribunal, let the entire Hope Continent be thrown into chaos, let everyone wail in the flames of war, cry before Death, and then wait for them to awaken in their displacement and feel the Existence of our Lords!
Finally, let everyone in this world prostrate themselves at the feet of our Lords!"
...