When it came to becoming a god, Cheng Shi had always believed that those who sought godhood had no subjective initiative.
Even if they did, it was useless, because a true god needed to be formally recognized by the Primordial Source, while a divine envoy also needed a true god to approve their acting on its behalf.
This created an awkward situation: all the efforts of mortals could only win the gods' pity, after which they would be "granted" a divine seat.
He had never imagined that there could be a god who did not need the acknowledgment of other gods.
Then he recalled the small note Squinty Old Zhang had handed him after Sandlais. It contained the words God of Merriment had once spoken when Squinty Old Zhang asked about the existence of Foolish Play:
"It has never appeared, nor has it ever disappeared.
When you know of it, you do not know it.
When you understand it, you do not understand it either.
Only it knows and understands itself. Once an outsider truly knows it and understands it, then it...
is no longer it."
At that moment, combining this with what Hope's Flame had said, Cheng Shi suddenly understood.
So Deception had already given him the answer to becoming a god back at Sandlais. It was just that he had never thought of it then. He had kept staring at the vessel and searching everywhere until today, when Hope's Flame had once again exposed the truth...
That was right. This was the moment when "it" knew and understood itself.
Actually, Foolish Play had probably already "come into existence" the moment he and Mouth Brother had joked about this name!
While Cheng Shi was still sorting out his thoughts, Hope's Flame assumed he had been shocked and continued talking