I'm the Bait?

Cheng Shi was dumbfounded.

What did you say?

An the Chosen's death allowed God of Merriment to obtain a wisp of [Origin] power, and He then used this [Origin] power to set a trap, all to lure me in!?

No wonder He said that when the cataclysmic tide came, He was able to steal a wisp of the power of the Origin One from the Origin One. It turns out that the so-called cataclysmic tide was fake, but stealing the power of the Origin One was real!

Have I become bait?

The Despair resistance ultimately only served to facilitate the schemes of the God of Merriment!?

Cheng Shi remained silent for a long time, then burst into maniacal laughter.

Okay, okay, I'm the bait, I'm the adhesive, I'm the fucking Predestination thing, except myself!

Wow, look! Why is that Clown's nose so red on Stage?

Seeing the Little Skull's loss of composure, the giant skull mocked itself and hummed again:

This is just my guess.

Wanting to rebel against [the Origin], relying solely on the power of the world, is utterly hopeless.

The only thing one can do is to seize [His] power, but exchanging one for one is not worthwhile, and there is even the risk of being discovered by [Origin]...

I, too, do not know His schemes; I can only speculate.

But you, perhaps, are truly the key to the world.

I don't want to be some kind of Key to the World.

Although everything was just a guess by Boss [Death], Cheng Shi felt that this guess was not impossible. Don't forget, the world was reset once, which means that the power of [Origin] in God of Merriment's hands must have been damaged.

Anyone can do something like trade-in, let alone someone as shrewd as God of Merriment.

Every Believer has their Lord of Grace, Cheng Shi knows all too well what kind of god God of Merriment.

This is almost like looking in a mirror.

However, all these speculations are based on one premise: He cannot be Outer God!

After experiencing a period of Despair, Cheng Shi has developed Outer God.

"So, this suffocating and Despair false era's end is actually a simulation of the Divine Authority of Change created by the God of Merriment using the power of [Origin] to activate the stolen power of [Destiny], a simulation of the Apocalypse as He imagines it?"

The problem is, [Destiny] has clearly already Change...

Cheng Shi thought of the Hope's Flame, but upon closer reflection, he realized that the Hope's Flame was merely an unacceptable Change that Destiny had relinquished; Destiny itself still retained the Divine Authority of Change.

"That's right, exactly."

The script, in all its forms, is Deception, a deception, a pen stroke.

You must not be influenced by it, nor confuse the will of the gods.

[Birth], or for, Birth, to speak out, but, [Silence], will never, in this way, express, doubt.

"Hmm?" Cheng Shi's spirits lifted, and he looked up, saying, "[Silence] is also Fear Faction, isn't he, sir!?"

"The Fear Faction..."

That's a truly apt description.

Yes, He was there too, in fear.

Perhaps His fear is different from mine, but [Silence] has always accompanied [Deception].

He will neither question nor Deception, nor will He profane His own will or break His silence.

Oh.

It turns out that the gods' twisted will and deformed forms were all the most vicious slanders made by the God of Merriment against his allies.

This isn't Deception at all, isn't this Zhen Yi?

Hearing this, Cheng Shi finally felt relieved.

Even though he didn't know how God of Merriment rebelled against [the Origin], he was at least certain of one thing: the Fear Faction was still around!

That was enough; enough for him to catch his breath amidst the Despair.

So much bad news had come that he'd forgotten how to enjoy good news. All he wanted was to gather information from the Fear Faction Gods as quickly as possible, figure out the God of Merriment's plans, and stop feeling as powerless as he had during the Trials.

However, [Death] can only offer some commentary on that False Curtain Call of the past; as for what [Deception] wants to do... no one can guess.

"I know you are in a hurry. Next, I will also go to see the gods to seek some confirmation."

But before that, the whereabouts of my Believer...

Cheng Shi paused, then said in a slightly heavy tone, "He's no longer in this world."

"Boom--"

The raging flames almost instantly consumed the entire Void, and the gigantic skull stared directly at Cheng Shi, asking, word by word, "Where did he go?"

"To save one Clown, he went backstage at another Clown's Stage."

But don't worry, sir, he will come back.

You must trust that your Believer will not easily return to the thrones of other [Death] Divine Throne.

You must also believe that the Clown in front of you can bring miracles to this world.

I'll go pick it up myself.

I'll win it myself.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The Clowns eventually dispersed, and Li Jingming, who said he would help everyone find their Memory, once again set foot in the [Memory] Memory Archive.

He came to find his Lord of Grace.

Regardless of whether [Memory] possesses the Memory Cheng Shi mentioned, Li Jingming is confident that he can learn something from his Lord of Grace.

He understood his Lord of Grace. If the other party was unaware, his offering would be enough to ignite the other party's thirst for knowledge, allowing a deity who controls Memory to join in the excavation of these Memory; if the other party knew, then what he knew could become "topics of conversation," allowing him to learn more details from his Lord of Grace.

The Dragon King's plan was quite clever, but unfortunately, he overlooked one crucial point.

[Memory] is absent.

The entire [Memory] Memory Archive An Jing quiet. The artifacts that were once blurry became strangely clear today. Li Jingming stood in front of a wall, glanced at it, and memorized the wonderful stories of Isle of Hope from a certain period of more than a hundred years ago.

These Memory weren't something he "saw," but rather they flooded into him!

The azure light was like a raging tide of Sea of Memories, engulfing Li Jingming and drowning him in the turbulent currents of Memory. Every breath he took was no longer air, but pure Memory.

Memory that didn't belong to him flooded his mind, threatening his own perception in no time.

Li Jingming realized that if things continued like this, he would no longer be himself. He had to struggle, but how could he rise from this Sea of Memories...?

It's quite simple. As he fell, he saw a glimmer of light, which acted as the only guide in the darkness of the ocean, drawing him towards it.

Li Jingming endured the discomfort of the Memory flooding his mind and struggled desperately forward. The Memory of Yunye Temple were gradually shrinking in the flood of Memory, and his Master's figure was also gradually blurring among tens of thousands of Memory. Li Jingming could not accept all of this. Although he liked to record things, he never did it by erasing the past.

All his Memory had meaning, but now, the true meaning of those Memory is gradually crumbling.

Fortunately, the struggle was worthwhile. Before his self-awareness was completely eroded, he finally grasped at that glimmer of light, and then he passed out.

In the last second before his consciousness faded, he felt all his senses return, and he found himself holding something sparkling and radiant.

What's this?