Audience Assembly · Hope

"Even Clown as clever as him is right."

I'm about to find a way to save the world! This isn't just empty talk; I've already seen the future!

But there is still much preparation to be done before that day arrives.

The Clown can't help with these things, and I can't guide Clown to do anything, so the Clown can only do what he thinks is right.

Continue your performance, draw the Cosmos's attention, use your Clown antics to cover for me, and let me return to the True Universe to find the final clues to piece together the answer!

"???"

It only takes a few minutes to go from extreme sorrow to extreme joy!

Cheng Shi never imagined he would receive such a hopeful answer from [the Deception]; He was actually about to find a solution!?

But why go to the True Universe, and who doesn't want Him to go to the True Universe?

[Time]?

Even if [Time], in its pursuit of stability, refuses to let Deception go, hasn't Giggle and Mock already connected the pathways to the True Universe? Does Deception need anyone's permission to follow its own path?

Cheng Shi was somewhat confused, but from the phrase "attracting Cosmos attention," he guessed something. His heart suddenly tightened, and his expression changed slightly as he said:

"You're being watched, aren't you? Who is it?"

[Origin]!?"

[Deception] slowly shifted his gaze, not responding to Cheng Shi, but continuing to speak to himself:

"Just a little bit more, just a little bit more to connect the threads of an entire era, just a little bit more to find the answer to the future of the world."

I've already seen that, so I have to go, and no one can stop me.

But from that moment on, the Clown could never leave his Stage.

I will destroy the staircase leading to the area beneath the Stage until the Clown's performance ends.

And I must also instruct the Clown to begin his performance immediately. As the Circus director, I will personally write the script for the end of an era. The Clown only needs to remember that no matter how absurd the script is, his performance cannot stop. This is also the key to winning the audience's applause.

As long as the audience is willing to cheer for the performance, I believe that this Finale Performance will definitely win the future of this Starry Sky!

The day I return from the True Universe will be the day this world's future arrives!

"!!!"

[Deception] These words sounded too good to be true, so much so that Cheng Shi was almost incredulous.

When Fear Faction ever fought such a costly war?

[Deception] claimed He could definitely find the answer, but what method did He devise to trick [Origin] into escaping the Experiment? Could it be that from this moment on, [Origin] has already lost sight of this Starry Sky?

That doesn't make sense. If that were true, why would [the Deception] need to find an opportunity to go to the True Universe? Shouldn't it be able to leave whenever it wants?

Or did His method of deceiving the Creator begin with deceiving Himself?

Is it a scam now?

Cheng Shi frowned, pondering everything at hand. Apart from feeling that there were too many flags, he couldn't seem to find any flaws in this heart-to-heart talk.

Rather than doubting that it was a scam, Cheng Shi was more inclined to believe it was true, both emotionally and in terms of hope.

In any case, given this level of openness and the urgency of the situation, the Deception can't continue...

Bar?

Cheng Shi was panicked; he frantically sought answers from the other person in his mind:

Mouth Brother, what do you think?

After a long silence, the Lips of Foolish Play offered an answer that was almost the Truth:

"I'm a mouth, I can't be looked at."

"..."

Perhaps knowing that it was no longer appropriate to joke around at this point, the Lips of Foolish Play added a sentence after the "routine":

"I am His Believer. Although His name is [Deception], I... will always believe in Him."

Cheng Shi was taken aback, processing the emotions that Mouth Brother had never shown before, and silently nodded.

I understand.

If we don't trust now, what in this Cosmos can we trust?

The Clown raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on his Lord of Grace, nodded emphatically, and said:

"Good."

[Deception] smiled; even without the glittering stars, the swirling spiral still shone brightly.

"Very good, then the performance shall officially begin."

I will grant you the ability to deceive the gods, and incidentally, allow you to leave this Starry Sky and travel to the True Universe to find what I need. And for now, the Clown, before even stepping onto the stage, simply needs to stand in the audience and witness...

The Finale Performance of [Nothingness].

Before Cheng Shi react, the spinning spiral began to spin faster and faster, almost obliterating all mystery. In an instant, the Void trembled, and mocking voices rose from all sides!

Countless Mask, like a rain of falling stars, burst forth from the depths of Nothingness, streaking across the Void like meteors before falling towards the distant heavens.

Each Mask, whether mocking or laughing, angry or sarcastic, their cries rise and fall, resonating in unison, their distorted sounds echoing in the Void, as if singing a sonata unique to [Deception].

Cheng Shi, surrounded by laughter and mockery, felt like Clown being jeering and ridiculed on Stage, rather than a spectator.

But the Clown showed no embarrassment, nervousness, or unease; only a solemn expression.

He stared intently at the eyes that blinked gently beneath the countless Mask, seemingly already guessing the direction the script would take.

Even though he knew it was just a scene from a script, the current situation still made him feel uneasy.

This Finale Performance, titled "Nothingness," truly was the curtain call, but one Deception doesn't encompass the entirety of "Nothingness."

Sure enough, the melody in the Void Change after a short while.

The cheerful, Mask voices gradually faded away, and the mournful song of Destiny began to rise.

The Mask that streaked across the Void exploded one after another, scattering into a rain of dice. Each Dice spun rapidly as it rose, and then rolled countless 1s in the Predestination rain.

These countless dots are more like mockery than Mask. They come from Nothingness and return to Nothingness, their trajectories resembling two twisted circles, and their whistling sounds like a sharp carving knife, slowly torturing all living beings who have suffered Destiny.

Cheng Shi stared blankly at the scene, his eyes gradually losing focus, but the next second, a loud bang pulled him back from the brink of daze.

"Boom--"

It exploded!

That was a deafening roar that shook the Cosmos!

The Void instantly collapsed, and the gods, upon hearing the sound, were greatly shaken and descended in droves!

At the epicenter of the explosion, the eyes that should have been there had vanished, replaced by a shattered, gigantic hole leading to the Nothingness void. Gale-force winds howled from the hole, spewing out dazzling, psychedelic colors.

These colors are abstract and distorted, dazzling and chaotic, out of place in the pitch-black Void.

But it was precisely because of these completely incompatible characteristics that Cheng Shi recognized what these colorful things were at a glance.

Giggle and Mock!

This River [Existence], buried deep within Nothingness, was suddenly shattered by the Nothingness, escaping into abstract blackness within the Void, and completely drying up...

Only after confirming that what he was seeing was real did the astonished Clown murmur in disbelief amidst the gods' shock:

"Lord of Grace... Sir?

Ha, you've chosen self-destruction?

This is what you call salvation? This is what you call a safety net?

Whom are you saving, and for whom are you covering for them?

All I saw was a despicable deserter who abandoned his comrades and chose to run away just before going into battle!

"[Deception], come out and see me! Don't think you can fool me like this. I know you're not dead. Come out and see me!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sneer came from among the gods.

A pair of eyes, shrouded in Chaos White Miasma, gazed at Cheng Shi in the center of the Stage and murmured:

"There are Folly in the world, but don't treat all the gods as fools either."

Who is lying to whom?

[Deception] After painstakingly building this business, they chose to self-destruct at the last minute. Who would believe that?

Even if He already knew it was all a Foolish Deed, would He be content without trying it himself?

Stop lying, what tricks are you [Nothingness] up to now?

[Deception] may not die, but they might still hide their so-called Predestination at the last moment and pull off a surprise attack.

So, Cheng Shi...

Are you the one committing Deception now?

Where have you hidden your Believer?

Do you think this isn't Foolish Deed?

"..."

At that moment, Cheng Shi understood.

He never imagined that [Deception] would grant him this ability to fool the gods.