Audience Assembly · Despair

Didn't catch anything!?

Cheng Shi was stunned. He had thought that the biggest gain from that Despair was that God of Merriment had benefited from it and stolen a wisp of [Origin] power.

After witnessing [Death], Cheng Shi always believed that this was the motivation behind God of Merriment writing this script!

But if even the God of Merriment gains nothing, then what does everything I've gone through even mean?

Am I capable of handling this? Or am I just unlucky?

Cheng Shi fell silent.

This was the first time he had felt such sympathy and hatred for the Air Force.

It's important to understand that this tragic Change of events wasn't just about failing to obtain the [Origin] power. The Change also consumed the original [Origin] power of the God of Merriment – a complete loss without any gain!

But judging from what the God of Merriment said, He clearly still needs the power of the [Origin] to do something, so how can this deficit be resolved?

Is there any other way?

Cheng Shi looked up and met those equally solemn, Starry Eyes.

"No." [Deception] Shaking his head.

"..."

The light in Cheng Shi's eyes wavered.

Perhaps sensing that his Believer were falling back into Despair, his eyes suddenly changed from cold to cold, and he laughed.

"Just kidding."

"!!!!!"

Cheng Shi felt a chill run down his spine, his eyes widened, and he stared at those eyes in disbelief, thinking he had misheard. But when he saw the corners of those eyes slightly lift, his face darkened, and he raised his hand and said:

"You..."

Oh well, He's had it tough too.

Out of respect for the Fear Faction, the Clown ultimately restrained his impulse, but the next second:

"... Damn it, he's still lying at a time like this!"

"..."

Cheng Shi's expression was complex; he shifted his gaze slightly, remaining silent.

Mouth Brother is cursing has nothing to do with me, but I have to give Mouth Brother a thumbs up for this. He withdrew his hand and quietly gave a thumbs up.

[The Deception] saw everything, chuckled, and instead of punishing the blasphemers, said quietly:

Why do you think I wrote the script for this Change?

Cheng Shi was taken aback, his brows furrowing. "Not for the power of [Origin]?"

[Deception] He shook his head, then nodded:

"Yes, but that was a last resort after the Clown refused to become the Predestination fact."

As I have said, those who are fortunate rarely see the misfortunes of others; similarly, those who hold hope rarely see the Despair of others.

The Clown, as the protagonist of a tragedy of the era, was filled with Despair in that Finale Performance, unaware that only someone in Despair could write such a tragedy...

I was more Despair than the Clown back then.

"!!!"

Cheng Shi was stunned. He stared at those eyes that seemed to have stopped spiraling, and countless Despair scenes from his past flooded back into his mind.

"[Time] In order to maintain stability, I am never allowed to leave this starry Starry Sky."

How can one talk about resisting the [Origin] if one is confined to Corner world? How can one know what the other versions of myself are doing if one does not go to see the True Universe?

With such anticipation, I grafted Giggle and Mock onto the gaps in [Existence], borrowing the power of [Time] to escape the confines. Yes, it was the time you paid homage to [Birth].

I thought I could find a self with the same will in the wider universe... Yes, I did find one, but more often I found their corpses.

I never imagined that after stepping into the True Universe, I would find no methods, insights, clues, guidance, or answers... only endless fear and suffocating Despair.

Each and every one of the countless Slice Universe I've observed has never survived the Destiny of Dawn of the Era!

I have experienced the pain of losing Him countless times, yet I still seek the answer I seek within it, but there is no answer... I have only found countless corpses of myself.

The Gods’ Graveyard.

You've already been there.

I found countless versions of myself in the cemetery, and even more terrifyingly, I found a Divine Throne in the cemetery!

It's that Divine Throne you secretly brought back. I know you brought it back, and I brought one back too.

As he spoke, [Deception] materialized a Divine Throne before Cheng Shi's eyes.

Cheng Shi was speechless. He didn't know what to say, and he just trembled as he took out the same Divine Throne he had obtained.

The two Divine Throne, one high and one low, were placed together, resembling a "stairway" leading to the Divine Throne of the Creator!

Unfortunately, the staircase has no beginning or end; it's only a section...

"You might wonder who pieced together this Divine Throne, but I have no doubts, because the moment I saw Divine Throne, I knew that [Deception] had already chosen to give up!"

Do you remember what [Destiny] said? This is the will born with Him, and throughout the Cosmos, apart from Him and me, no one knows what is truly Predestination.

But this Divine Throne actually appeared in that cemetery...

Hearing this, Cheng Shi finally understood.

[Destiny] perished at the Dawn of the Era, and among the Gods’ Graveyard, only the body of [Deception] remained. This means that this Divine Throne could only have been pieced together by [Deception] before his death!

But [Deception] is a god who wholeheartedly wants to rebel against [Origin], and He despises that Divine Throne to the extreme. How could He possibly reassemble that Divine Throne?

So the answer is obvious: among countless Deception, He found no way to resist. In Despair, one of the Deception finally succumbed to the pressure and pieced together the Divine Throne.

Perhaps He wanted to use the method of [Destiny] to meet the Creator and question [*He] why He treated [Nothingness] this way; or perhaps He had already succumbed to the oppression of [the Origin] and could no longer muster the strength to resist; or perhaps...

In any case, that [Deception] "yielded".

This scene was undoubtedly a devastating blow to [Deception], who was on his way to the True Universe to find answers.

[Origin] is invincible.

These six short words were like a mountain, pressing down all the foolish old men who wanted to move the mountain.

Cheng Shi was almost out of breath; he couldn't imagine how Despair and devastated he must have felt at that time due to the [Deception].

Admittedly, the Predestination has always been the protagonist of the world, and the Cosmos is watching Predestination. But people have forgotten that gods are also living beings!

Even though they are high above, looking down on the Cosmos, in this Creator's Experiment they are nothing more than one of the "weak" beings in countless petri dishes, unable to resist.

They too had feelings, beliefs, and will, and all of that was brutally destroyed by a Divine Throne that appeared in the mass grave.

Those Starry Eyes quietly closed; this was the first time [Deception] had shown this closed-eye gesture in front of Cheng Shi.

"I've been there more than once, and I know that the Divine Throne there are constantly being 'produced'..."

Each flawed Divine Throne that is born represents yet another version of myself who chose to give up amidst struggle.

The good news is that even those who chose to give up did not truly Deception; the Divine Throne was merely their most wicked and unwilling thought before their deaths.

The bad news is that I was overwhelmed by Despair and began to have those wicked thoughts.

Since returning from the True Universe, I have begun preparing for the end of an era.

This endless Experiment must come to an end, and I hope to write down that end myself. Only in this way can countless [Deception] and [Destiny] cease to suffer the pain of [Nothingness] and the torment of Experiment.

So I activated the Divine Authority of Change and wrote this Finale Performance.

At that time, I was still struggling with this dilemma. I had never succumbed to any Deception. Should I really submit to the Origin and offer myself as the final Sacrifice to Him?

"... You didn't want to, you never wanted to give in, so you placed that choice on the Clown's head!"

Cheng Shi laughed loudly, but his laughter sounded like he was crying.

"Is this why the Outer God insisted on making me submit willingly? Is that right?!"

"If I say yes, you will betray all [Deception] and use this so-called Predestination end to this Creator's Experiment that obliterates both humanity and Divinity, is that it!?"

"..."

[Deception] remained silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Yes."

"If I had truly chosen to give up back then, chosen to become the Predestination, would you... really have molded me into that Divine Throne to offer to [the Origin], in exchange for [His] favor or the end of the Experiment?"

Cheng Shi asked, each word distinct, his whole body trembling.

[Deception] opened its eyes, the spiral of light in them nearly collapsing. It looked at Cheng Shi and nodded again with unwavering resolve:

"Meeting."

"..." Cheng Shi clenched his fists, and blood dripped from between his fingers.

"I will if you agree."

But I know you'll never agree.

Because in these countless universes there may be Deception that yields, but there is never Predestination that yields!

The Clown saved his Lord of Grace once, right there in that long-overdue tragedy of an era.