Back to the Starting Point of Life Path!
Two fingers touched tip to tip, one flesh-colored, the other... black.
Cheng Shi sat cross-legged on the ground, the sun blazing overhead, cold sweat pouring down his body.
He stared at the black shadowy hand in front of him, which had detached from the ground and was touching his fingers, and was stunned for a long time.
Ah?
Bro, what you're doing is making me a little scared.
Why can't you talk things out properly? You're so anxious you're practically jumping off the Surface.
Why don't you lie back down first, and then we can talk?
For some reason, Cheng Shi suddenly grabbed Shadow's wrist and tried to force it back to the ground.
But the instant he made his move, the shadow suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. The two hands, one black and one white, held each other tightly, and then...
They started arm wrestling.
You know what, you really have to admit, this shadow looks thin and frail, but it's surprisingly strong.
The two "people" argued for a long time, neither of them winning.
This absurd scene almost made Cheng Shi laugh, but the next second his face turned pale and he abruptly let go, crawling backwards for two steps, dragging his buttocks on the ground, and then asked in astonishment and uncertainty:
"Who are you?"
"..."
"Say!"
"..."
"Are you a fruit that turned into a fruit?"
"..."
"What, you dare to arm wrestle but not to speak?"
Cheng Shi cautiously probed, while tightly gripping the [Death] Amusement Ring in his hand, just in case.
However, after waiting for a long time, the shadow did not reply. Instead, Cheng Shi "himself" spoke up again.
"I have never seen a fool who talks to his own shadow."
"?"
Cheng Shi was startled. He touched his mouth and said:
"I have never seen anyone scold themselves."
"..."
The usually Lips of Foolish Play was speechless for once, so Cheng Shi, seeing that he had the upper hand, immediately lowered his stance and asked for advice:
"Mouth Brother, what's going on?"
The Lips of Foolish Play rarely initiated conversations with Cheng Shi, so the fact that they were able to say something now already gave Cheng Shi a clue:
That shadow lying on the ground, mimicking my movements exactly, is probably not dangerous.
But where did it come from?
Was it really the fruit of the Conjugate Whisper that I ate?
Only that fruit could have such an effect, right?
The interplay of reality and illusion, born from mutual dependence, is the manifestation of this will in a person just like the relationship between a person and their shadow!
Thinking about this, Cheng Shi gradually became bolder.
He slowly crawled toward the other, his cautious eyes carefully scrutinizing the shadow that was also crawling toward him.
Its current state is less like a shadow and more like a pure black, three-dimensional transparent "person" without any surface texture or detail.
When Cheng Shi's gaze was fixed on the shadow behind him, his eyes could easily penetrate the "black" man. But when his focus returned to the shadow itself, the transparent shadow seemed to solidify into an "existence" with physical collision volume.
The feeling was so novel that Cheng Shi couldn't help but start touching his own shadow.
He began to study in detail the mirrored shadow in front of him that had detached from the ground and become a three-dimensional entity.
It cannot speak, nor does it have self-awareness. All its actions are replicas of Cheng Shi's actions. The two are like mirror images, completely identical yet reversed.
Aside from these features, it seems no different from a two-dimensional shadow.
When Cheng Shi took out a frying pan from his personal space, Shadow couldn't take out a "shadow version" of the frying pan.
Not only that, but even more outrageous is that the frying pan has its own shadow, and its shadow is right where it should be.
Only Cheng Shi's shadow stood before him, waving an imaginary frying pan, like a mental patient wrapped in a black cloth.
Cheng Shi looked at the strange shadow in front of him with a strange expression, and before he could hold back, he shoved the bottom of the pot over it.
Sure enough, the bottom of the pot passed through the shadow's body and smashed onto the ground.
Cheng Shi didn't stop. He continued to take out all sorts of things from the surroundings, the warehouse, and his personal space and slap them on the shadow, but none of these random things could leave a mark on the shadow.
Until!
He slapped a Mask on the shadow's head, and the blow landed squarely!
The Mask didn't pass through the shadow; instead, it stuck to its head!
The body that even the Dice of Destiny couldn't hit was now hit by the Mask!
Cheng Shi was jolted, and his pupils immediately contracted!
Could it be...?
He thought of something, and with slightly trembling hands, he straightened the Mask on the shadow's head, covering its face perfectly.
Just as the Mask pressed tightly against his skin, with a "whoosh," Cheng Shi's consciousness was once again pulled away.
It was taken away before I could even react.
It was another sunny afternoon, in this all-too-familiar space.
When Cheng Shi opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find himself back in...
The Starting Point of Life Path!
Indeed, the Starting Point of Life Path! And what lies before him is still that smiling Mask and that motionless Dice.
This time, however, the die showed a 6.
"?"
Seeing this unbelievable scene, Cheng Shi seemed to have a guess in his mind.
A bold guess that I dare not voice.
He dared not think too much or wildly. After taking two deep breaths to calm himself, he asked the first question he had asked after entering the Faith Game, based on his Memory, to the two [God] Token in front of him.
"How should I choose?"
However, unlike last time, the Mask in front of him did not respond.
Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat, and his back instantly straightened.
He instinctively touched his mouth, repeatedly calling out the name of the Lips of Foolish Play in his heart, but the mouth that usually liked to deceive him remained silent at this moment.
It's as if it's gone.
Cheng Shi nervously swallowed, his premonition growing stronger.
There seems to be no Deception here; it seems... there is only Destiny!
Because the Mask of Deception has probably already been "given away" by his own hands, given to his own shadow!
Cheng Shi looked grim, his heart filled with unease.
He cautiously took two steps forward, his wary eyes darting back and forth between the two Tokens.
When he got close, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then opened them again, squinting slightly, as if trying to hide his embarrassment, and reached for the Mask floating in mid-air.
But the moment his fingers touched the Mask, his hand passed right through it!
!!
This is not a Mask!
This is just an illusion!
Just as Cheng Shi guessed, in this "brand new" Path of Fate's Beginning, there was no [Deception], only... [Destiny]!
With such an obvious hint, such clear guidance, and such an unparalleled choice, the answer that person wanted seems self-evident.
"..."
Cheng Shi looked at the "Nothingness" Mask in front of him, and then at the "solid" Dice, his heart filled with extremely complicated emotions.
He recalled once again the words spoken by [Memory]:
Have you ever thought about getting back on the right track of Destiny?
So...
Is what He wants to get back on track with His Destiny?
Cheng Shi understood; he suddenly realized the truth.
So this is compromise; He had already given the answer.
Swallow the bitter fruit of Destiny, and then return to the right path of Destiny. Only then will Destiny forgive you.
"..."
But I don't want to be an Oathbreaker.
Cheng Shi thought this, but dared not say it aloud.
Moreover, he demonstrated through his actions what it means to "if I could do it all over again, I would still want to be greedy."
Despite knowing that the Mask was fake, and despite knowing that he had no choice under His gaze, Cheng Shi still reached out and touched the Mask again.
And just as his hand passed through the Mask again, the motionless Dice moved!
It suddenly jumped from 6 o'clock to 1 o'clock.
Immediately afterwards, a terrifying pressure surged in from all directions!