An audience with [Death]

The rooftop of the Rest Area.

The first thing Cheng Shi upon returning to the rooftop was still to pray to [Nothingness]. However, [Nothingness] did not respond at all, remaining as An Jing as if it were completely dead.

This made Cheng Shi feel inexplicably flustered.

He had to consider another possibility: through this fake Finale Performance, had the two figures of [Nothingness] truly taken their final bow?

No, impossible!

Without saying a word, Cheng Shi quickly changed the target of his audience to [Death]. Amidst the "devout" cries to the boss, countless chattering Little Skull fell like rain, piling up on the rooftop to form a stark white bone door.

The Great One responded and sent his messenger to take them away.

"Hurry! Hurry up! Don't keep Him waiting!"

For some reason, these chattering Little Skull that used to chirp so much now seem so adorable, and they no longer exude the coldness of death, but rather a warmth that is hard to describe.

But this feeling only applies to these Little Skull that have no independent consciousness; as for the Great One on the Bone Throne...

Before he could ascertain whether the other party knew about the False Finale performance, and what His attitude was toward this Trials, Cheng Shi felt very conflicted and didn't know how to face Him.

Admittedly, the [Death] boss did eventually appear on the battlefield to fight the Outer God, but His final choice was not what Cheng Shi hoped for.

Just like Cheng Shi's final farewell to [Death], at that moment, what choice he made was no longer important, because the ending was destruction anyway.

But things are different now; now we still have a choice!

Cheng Shi had to confirm whether the adult who had always protected him was still Fear Faction and whether he would continue to protect him as before.

If the other party's choice remains to relinquish their Predestination Destiny... then today's audience will likely be another "mutual destruction."

With this apprehensive feeling of "ready to die," Cheng Shi once again leaped up that long herringbone staircase.

Until he, in his Little Skull form, arrived at the foot of that the Great One's Bone Throne, gazing up at the enormous skull, Cheng Shi's heart tightened, and he spoke:

"Big..."

"What are you plotting now!?"

The massive skull interrupted his greeting before Cheng Shi finish, its eye sockets blazing with green flames, and it said with slight displeasure:

"Where have you hidden my Believer?"

"?"

Cheng Shi was stunned. He hadn't expected that after meeting the [Death] boss, he wouldn't mention anything else, but instead, his first question would be about where Squinty Old Zhang had gone.

A glint of light flashed in Cheng Shi's empty eye sockets as he countered with a question:

"Sir, don't you know where he went?"

The massive skull paused for a moment, then snorted heavily:

"You are getting closer and closer to [Deception], which is really annoying."

I have been constantly satisfying your Deception demands, yet you have repeatedly provoked my patience.

Cheng, tell me, is it [Deception] that has concealed the form of my Believer?

Hearing this, Cheng Shi basically understood: the [Death] Boss didn't remember anything from the Trials!

Yes, even this stalwart of the Fear Faction had forgotten the final act of the era of Outer God invasion. This didn't seem like an act; the flickering green flames in those enormous eye sockets remained unchanged, always reflecting his disgust for [Deception] and his anxiety to find his Believer.

This suggests that the [Death] boss never "betrayed" him; of course, it's also possible that He forgot that "unbearable Memory."

But regardless, at least we're back at the crossroads. Since there's a choice, there's a chance for things to turn around!

Cheng Shi's hesitation, Cheng Shi decided to tell him the truth.

Instead of revealing where Zhang Jizu had gone, he recounted the entire story of the end of that illusory era, leaving nothing out.

He spoke for a long time, and when he talked about the appearance of [Death] himself, he was interrupted for a moment by the White Bone Flood rising into the sky around the Fishbone Hall and the green flames of death spreading everywhere. But he only paused slightly and then gritted his teeth and continued to speak until he talked about [War] closing his eyes and the Nothingness of the Cosmos, at which point he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Shi gambling; he was betting on the [Death] boss's reaction.

He felt that a boss who cared so much about his Believer could not be a heartless god!

As it turned out, Cheng Shi's gamble paid off. After hearing all the stories, [Death] vanished from the Bone Throne in an instant, only to return moments later with a somber expression. Its first words were:

[Deception], indeed, it disappeared.

He is not prepared to see me, nor is he prepared to give me an explanation.

The [Death] you see at the end of time is not me.

Cheng Shi smiled happily, "I know, that's not you."

"You don't know."

The gigantic skull sighed with a complex tone, the green flames in its eyes reigniting, and it murmured:

"You may have already guessed that it wasn't a reset of [Time]."

It is not about forgetting [Memory];

It is not a Deception, nor is it an illusion.

Rather, it is Change created by [Destiny].

"What!!??"

Cheng Shi was shocked. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, and he frantically pounded his jaw on the ground, exclaiming, "[Destiny]!?"

The enormous skull looked into the depths of Nothingness and nodded, saying:

"Good.

[Time], in control of, deducing, Divine Authority, and correspondingly, [Destiny], in control of, Change, Divine Authority.

Deduction, Change, entanglement, and confrontation—the victor will determine the future of the world.

Therefore, Change and deduction are similar, both of which can bring about entirely new possibilities.

However, the deduction of [Time] seeks truth from facts, while the Change of [Destiny] are unpredictable and unpredictable.

With my own will, I will never hand the world over to the Outer God.

Therefore, the "I" you see is not the "I," but rather another "I" born from Change.

[Deception] has certainly stolen the Divine Authority of [Destiny], but by the power of [Destiny] alone, it is absolutely impossible to change everything and make the Cosmos stage an absurd farce for it!

At this point, the giant skull paused, then its tone suddenly changed, and it hummed as it spoke:

"I do indeed fear [the Origin]."

"!!!"

Cheng Shi never dreamed that one day he would hear the words "Fear [Origin]" from the mouth of a member of the Fear Faction, except for God of Merriment.

He was both delighted and terrified!

What's gratifying is that the [Death] boss could speak to such an extent, undoubtedly beginning to confide in me. Which conman would dare to imagine that such a heart-to-heart talk could one day take place between a human and a god?

What's frightening is that nothing has changed; it's just a false Trials. Yet, [Death], which previously avoided it at all costs, has spoken these words to it... This is enough to show that in this false ending, it saw the meaning of [Nothingness], or at least the will of [Deception], and deeply agreed with it, no longer seeing itself as a Mortals or a "toy" of [Nothingness].

He placed himself on the same level as the gods, and it is clear that this Change was due to the affirmation of his "Predestination" identity.

He finally began to confront the established Predestination that was the only answer the world could have.

"[*He] is the Lord of Grace who gives everything, but also the Abyss that devours everything."

Any death that is tainted by the [Origin] will no longer be a true death.

I was afraid and powerless, so I listened to the [Deception] encouragement.

Now it seems that He was right.

The Predestination... is the answer.

Since He has allowed you to retain Memory, you should be able to guess that in His hands lies a wisp of supreme, unparalleled [Origin] power!

It was this supreme power that helped Him deceive the world and write Cosmos tragedy guided by Change.

"Boom--"

Cheng Shi's mind went blank.

This was the first time he had his suspicions confirmed by a True God.

Although the Outer God himself said this in that False Curtain Call, it was still a lie, and no one can guarantee that [the Deception] wasn't a lie in the script.

But now it's confirmed that [Deception] possesses a wisp of [Origin] power powerful enough to influence the Cosmos.

Cheng Shi felt a chill run down his spine and blurted out, "Where did you come from?"

The enormous skull gazed at the Little Skull beneath the Bone Throne and murmured:

Death always has a place to belong.

If death no longer belongs to [Death], then it belongs only to [the Origin].

The Bell Ringer personally struck her death knell, not only perishing in the afterlife, but also bringing a wisp of Origin gaze to this world.

Just like you, in your Trials.

Have you ever considered that [Deception] might be your way of ending things? For you, Deception might not be for anything else, but most likely for that wisp of [Origin] 'gaze' drawn down when you Unyielding?

Before the Trials ends, in the midst of Nothingness, devouring...

"Have you seen Him?"

"!!!!!"