Cheng Shi woke in his warehouse, ravenous. He grabbed two cans of drink and chugged them.
*Burp—*
Much better.
He recovered and began reviewing the Trial.
There wasn't much to review; the Trial itself was simple. What was complicated were the hearts involved.
A hunter being hunted, a liar who lied, an old child, a sincere elder, plus a star who looked simple and pure.
Cheng Shi thought for a long time, but in the end his attention returned to his fellow player, Su Yida.
He had brought every variable.
Who were those players who, in future Trials, would try to hunt him by tracing the past?
At least one was a Believer of memory—no doubt.
Then what about time? Where had the power of time on Su Yida come from?
Zhao Qian… why had he been chosen? And, most important—this Trial's Ladder to the Audience awarded no points!
To Cheng Shi the signal was clear: his boss was unhappy with him.
'But I didn't do anything!' he protested.
Didn't he?
He had merely exposed Su Yida's scheme and, incidentally, asked the man for something.
The thing hadn't been for himself; it had ended up with him, but heaven knew he'd wanted it for someone else!
'…'
Still, at least it wasn't negative.
That meant He wasn't that angry.
Better yet, even without points his rank had risen.
Tsk—someone's in a foul mood lately.
Best lie low and not provoke Him.
Cheng Shi took out the dice of fate, set it gingerly in the warehouse, slipped off his ring, and checked for scratches.
Oddly, the ring's shrieking-maw charge reset to zero once the Trial ended.
A huge loss.
Leliel had eaten five helpings of fear and only spat two bolts—round it off and he was down a hundred million.
He should've blasted that bastard Su Yida to Death!
The instant the thought surfaced, a ripple of void surged again above the roof.
'The hell?? I didn't even do anything—can't I think it?'
Before he could react, darkness swallowed his sight.
Again the familiar star-field, again the familiar eye.
The inverted spiral in the sclera stayed still; the stars within the pupil flickered fast.
One glance and cold sweat burst from Cheng Shi's back.
Crap—grade D performance, boss wants a word.
He couldn't wait to die; he had to seize the initiative—no, seize it from a god!
'Praise the great God of Deception, whose holy light bathes the earth, perfecting every lie and dimming every truth.','Most honored to be summoned again; your humblest, most devoted Believer, Cheng Shi, pays his respects.'
He even bowed with elegant flair.
The stars flashed faster; the spiral suddenly reversed.
From the endless void came a hollow voice.
'Shit, is He really mad? I didn't provoke Him.'
'!!??'
Cheng Shi hadn't expected his thoughts to be broadcast. He frantically repeated the praise in his mind, but the void echoed not his surface attempt but a deeper layer.
'You shady bastard, last time wasn't like this!!'
'!!!!'
Now he was drenched.
Panicking, he waved his hands.
'Lord, let me explain!','In our civilization, "mom" means mother, and mother stands for kindness, gentleness, greatness, tolerance—everything good.','So… I meant You shelter us like a mother tends her child, a grace we deeply feel.'
The eye stayed silent; the void was lively:'Any use? He won't snap, right?''Stop it—don't make me beg!''Keep airing my thoughts and I'll sue for infringement—uh, Lord, I meant the void needs no permission.''Hey, say something—I'm sweating buckets here.''Hello? Are You listening?'
Cheng Shi gave up, shut up, and talked straight to the void.
After chattering like Su Yida for ages, Deception finally answered.
'You're afraid. Amusing. Why?'
Before Cheng Shi could speak, the void added:'Afraid of Death.'
'…'
He sighed and confessed: 'With respect, what You're doing is very un-Deception-like.'
'Oh? You question Me?' The eye curved in a smile.
'How could it be questioning? It's sincere advice from Your most devoted Believer.'
He tried to argue, but the void spat out:'Yes!'
'…'
Screw it, end of the world.
The eye spun cheerfully. 'So, once again you take Me for your mother?'
'…'
'I give up. Punish me however You like.'
The eye glanced at him, stars drifting, spiral turning freely.
Again it spoke, amusement lacing its tone.
'After feeling that someone stole a sliver of Authority from Me, I was furious—but I won't punish you for it.'
!!!!
What???
Who stole Deception's Authority?
Death??
Wait—he was going to rob his own boss?
A double-agent helping the side-gig boss blow up his main boss's vault??
So it wasn't about Su Yida?
Before divine Authority, Su Yida was nothing.
But wasn't this trouble a bit too big?
Can I carry a pot this size!?
Cheng Shi's brain threatened to explode, but the god had quietly lifted the power; the void stopped echoing his thoughts.
'I… I…'
Sweat streamed off him—real dehydration this time.
The eye watched with relish, a faint smile at its corner.
'Relax. I said no punishment; I meant it.'
'Yes, yes! You're magnanimous. I only wanted to spread Your fame before that Lord—who knew He'd dare… He'd actually… get ideas…'
'You curse Me to My face, yet you fear to curse Him?'
That's Death!
I curse You, You treat it as a joke; I curse Him, I'm afraid He'll squash me under His butt.
'I…' He tried loyalty, but words felt hollow.
'Boring.'
The eye spun idly for a while, then continued.
'I'm not here to blame; on the contrary, you did well—your prying has finally stirred some new thoughts in them.'
What?
What thoughts?
What did I pry?
I only thought about prying Su Yida's mom…
Hold on, Lord—is this something I'm allowed to hear?
I'm just a grunt on three grand a month—do I qualify for boardroom gossip?
'Though I lost some Authority… memory lost far more—hee-hee~'
The heavy air shattered with that giggle.
The eye laughed so happily that every image of It before Cheng Shi suddenly came alive; for an instant even the dark void blazed with psychedelic colors.
!!!
memory was robbed too!
Death stole from two gods at once!
Badass, bro!
Though his own home had been looted, the neighbor's was worse; Cheng Shi couldn't hide his grin and stifled a 'kukukuku.'
'She's very angry, so… you've probably already felt it.'
'!'