Reunions and reunions

In reality, at a Cemetery in Unknown Province and City.

As night fell, the last few stars shone faintly, and the vast Cemetery was utterly An Jing, devoid of any light.

In the pitch black, sixteen large tombs could be vaguely seen lined up in the center of the Cemetery.

[Life], [Sinking], [Civilization], [Chaos], [Existence], [Nothingness]... Except for the fourth tombstone, which has no name, the Divine Name are engraved on the tombstones.

Zhang Jizu fulfilled his "wish" and buried the gods here.

But!

This Zhang Jizu is not the same as that Zhang Jizu. Although this Cemetery also bears the surname Zhang, it is not the Zhang from Cheng Shi's world.

But the figure standing silently in the Cemetery at this moment was indeed Squinty Old Zhang from Cheng Shi's world.

He stood before a brand-new tombstone, which stood in the shadow of the [Death] tombstone. The carvings on this tombstone were identical to those on the [Death] tombstone, only slightly smaller, and it looked like the tomb of some heir to [Death]...

A friend has just been buried; those who have laid him to rest are filled with sorrow.

Zhang Jizu stood before this tombstone for a long time, so long that even the few remaining stars in the night sky slowly faded before he left without a word. He walked along the long path of tombstones and came to another broken tombstone, where he stood again.

The shattered tombstone, hidden in the shadow of the [Deception] tombstone, is freshly broken today, its ash scattered all over the ground, yet to be cleaned up.

Zhang Jizu has no intention of cleaning up; this is not his Cemetery, and he has no right to disturb it.

The Cemetery owner didn't come to clean it up, not because he didn't want to, but because he had already been buried in the [Death] grave.

That's right, Zhang Jizu in this world is dead.

He collapsed in this Cemetery in front of Zhang Jizu.

This scene greatly shocked Zhang Jizu. He remembered that just a few hours earlier, when the sun was still setting, the two of them were admiring the masterpieces in the Cemetery in the Afterglow. But as they walked, Zhang Jizu led him to the small grave of the [Death].

The other person pointed to the tomb and asked him:

"How?

The will of Lord of Grace has manifested as a giant skull, and we are all Little Skull beneath His feet.

Now that my Lord of Grace has fully embraced his own will and become a monument, it's not unreasonable for me to carve a smaller version of that monument for myself, is it?"

At that moment, Zhang Jizu was stunned. He was thinking that the skull that [Death] had transformed into was vastly different in size from the Little Skull under the Bone Throne, but the two steles you carved were too similar in size.

Before he could even utter a sound, the person next to him collapsed in front of him with a "thud".

The Divine Power [Death] erupted violently, surging in all directions like a tidal wave of destruction. For a moment, the Cemetery resonated with Divine Power, shining brilliantly. But the next second, everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

Only a new grave and another broken tombstone remained.

Zhang Jizu was stunned. He watched as the Divine Power -driven Cemetery Magic Formation buried the body of [Death] Zhang Jizu into the tomb. His mind was buzzing. It wasn't until the tombstone settled again that he realized, had another version of himself... died?

Dead!!?

In this world where all gods have vanished, who can kill a god silently!?

Although he was a Gravekeeper like myself, he was also [Death]!

A True God who holds the Divine Authority of death actually died in his own Cemetery, right in front of his own tombstone!

This horrific scene shattered Zhang Jizu's composure, causing him to retreat rapidly, away from the tombstone, filled with shock and uncertainty, panting heavily. But soon, as he hid in the bushes, his breathing gradually subsided, for he suddenly understood the other person's death.

Zhang Jizu was terrified, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.

A substitute death!

[Death] is not being killed, but dying in someone else's place!

This is indeed one of the gifts bestowed by [Death], since choosing the offerings to be made is the right of the True God [Death]. But for whom will He die in His place?

The answer is actually very simple and obvious.

Cheng Shi.

The Cheng Shi of this world!

In that instant, Zhang Jizu suddenly realized [Death]. Zhang Jizu had long ago foretold His death; He had said:

"It's okay, we can pay it back eventually. He can, you can, and I... can too."

Yes, the self who was Deception, and who made a mistake towards the Clown, is atoning for it. Zhang Jizu, who brought back answers from the True Universe and led the world to destruction, is Cheng Shi atoning for it. Then what about the self in the other world, that [Death] Zhang Jizu? Doesn't he also need to atone for his sins?

No, He was also atoning for His sins, which is why He said, "I can too."

He knew that when the opportunity came, Deception would Cheng Shi go to atone for his sins, so He had already exchanged his own life for Cheng Shi's.

The moment [Deception] Cheng Shi died, [Death] Zhang Jizu chose to die in his place.

He gave his own life to save Cheng Shi's life once again!

He redeemed himself by returning to the embrace of [Death], but left a deep impression on Zhang Jizu from another world.

Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes, his expression unusually solemn.

If the [Deception] Cheng Shi is dead, then what chance does the original Cheng Shi have of surviving?

The salvation plan failed?

No!

He didn't know, dared not think about it, and dared not guess.

All he knew was that he had to go back, back to that world, to confirm whether the world was alright, whether the Clowns were alright, and whether Cheng Shi was alright.

The True Universe, unknown location.

The two wandering figures suddenly sensed something, exchanged a glance, and immediately flew off in a certain direction.

One of the figures clicked his tongue and said:

"I knew the stars were shining brightly today, and something good was bound to happen. Look, here it is!"

"Cheng Destiny, guess whether this time it's a flower bud or a jinx?"

Indeed, the two figures were Cheng Deception and Cheng Destiny that Cheng Shi had seen before.

Cheng Destiny remained Indifference, scoffing, "Guessing is hope, and hope always ends in disappointment, so I won't guess."

"So you're boring."

Cheng Deception curled his lip and accelerated again, rushing towards the source of the spacetime fluctuations.

Soon after, under an unfamiliar Starry Sky, they saw a figure that was sometimes crying and sometimes laughing. The moment they saw that figure, Cheng Deception said with slight surprise:

[Deception] Divine Power...

He seems like an unlucky guy, but not that unlucky; at least he can still see Him, and His Will still flows through him...

Cheng Destiny disagreed, shaking his head with a hint of sympathy.

No, he was even more unlucky than us.

Time may heal the wounds, but the Divine Power he carried ensured that the wounds would never heal completely.

Another pitiful person. Let's go see him.

After wandering around for so many years, it's time to be promoted to 'Old Cheng Shi' (a respected senior official).

As they spoke, Cheng Deception and Cheng Destiny slowly approached the figure.

But the figure was completely unaware of their approach, still lost in a bewildered state, stiff and unresponsive.

It wasn't until Cheng Destiny, unable to bear the sight, gently patted the other person's shoulder that the person snapped out of their daze, looked at themselves in front of them, and then, a mixture of surprise, joy, and sorrow washed over them:

Are you homeless too?

Cheng Destiny suppressed his Indifference and forced a smile, "The True Universe is our home."

Cheng Deception, nodded vigorously and offered the other party some warm encouragement:

"Don't be so sad. Look on the bright side. If we ran into the two of us, the three of us could still play a game of cards today, right?"

Cheng Destiny raised an eyebrow, intrigued:

"Mahjong is more fun than playing cards."

Who's the other one?

Shout it out, we're one short for three!