Deception: Destiny Was Better at Lying Than I Was

(Rounded to 7000 words!)

The reason why many things are hard to understand is because there is too little information. Therefore, Cheng Shi did not dwell too much on the intersection of the future and the present. Instead, he took a deep breath and prepared to leave the Void.

He now had to return to the Trials to check on the Big Cat's condition and make sure she hadn't suffered any accidents because of these series of changes.

Of course, since [Destiny] says she has become Flazhol, then I should go and meet this orphan of [Prosperity] to see just how much she has become like [Them].

Just as he was about to use his Tongue of Lies to lick open the Void, a pair of eyes filled with spirals and stars opened again where the Eye of Deception had disappeared.

Cheng Shi stared at His slightly upturned eyes, feeling numb.

Why is there a surprise attack?

Those playful eyes looked into the depths of the Void, and seeing that there were no more fluctuations of [Destiny] around, they laughed heartily.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy to see your Lord of Grace summon you again?"

"Hehe, I'm so happy, I'm so happy."

The spinning spiral spun rapidly for a moment, then sneered, "Next time you lie, watch your expression. Otherwise, don't tell anyone you're my Believer, you'll be a disgrace."

"..." Cheng Shi had already overloaded his cerebellum too many times today, and he really didn't want to use his brain anymore, so he sighed and said, "Lord of Grace benefactor, just say what you have to say, let's save time."

"Oh? You also have thoughts on [time]?"

"..."

Cheng Shi rolled his eyes speechlessly, pinched his nose until it turned red, and then looked up at his Lord of Grace with a "I won't resist" expression, saying, "The Clown is here, let's get down to business, my Lord of Grace."

This scene of giving up the struggle and embracing the teasing made [Deception] instantly feel bored. It looked at Cheng Shi with disdain, then blinked and took out a sturdy, thick branch from the depths of the endless Void.

Seeing the sudden surge of prosperity before him, Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened instantly.

"This is...?"

"The gift of the [Final Edict of Prosperity] bestowed upon me the Divine Authority 'Vitality'."

Of course, all Divine Authority is inscribed in the Covenant; what you see here is merely the outward appearance of Divine Authority.

This "Mother of Schemes" is quite discerning, yet she deliberately left me with the very thing most useless to "Nothingness."

Did He think everyone would be as interested in this Divine Authority as "Truth"?

Ah, the Cosmic Prosperity, but alas, I don't welcome "prosperity" here.

As she spoke, her eyes, brimming with delight, showed the sturdy, thick branch to Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi froze abruptly, then looked up at Him, blinking in bewilderment:

"This is... for me?"

This is the Divine Authority of the "True God," are you just going to throw it away like that?

To bestow it upon a... player?

But aren't humans not allowed to enjoy His Divine Authority?

"Oh? So you also have ideas about [Prosperity]?"

"..."

Yes, yes, yes, I have ideas about the Cosmos, I wish I could learn from "Prosperity" and blow up the universe!

Seeing his Believer fall silent again, [Deception] chuckled twice and became serious.

Who told you that humans cannot enjoy the Divine Authority of God?

That Old Bones?

Well, He's not entirely right. You can't share in the Divine Authority of Prosperity, because a living Prosperity won't allow you to steal its Divine Authority, and a fallen Prosperity... you're not qualified to inherit it either.

[Covenant] Although God protects all divine authority from Lost, if a God, in a good mood, bestows a portion of His Divine Authority upon you as a 'divine gift,' then this is not a loss of Divine Authority, but a transfer of Proxy.

In this way, humankind can also temporarily Proxy the Divine Authority of God.

Subgod and His Emissary are thus dependent on the True God. Apart from possessing their own limited Divinity, they mostly Proxy Divine Authority of the True God.

So..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi suddenly jolted awake and straightened his back. "So!!?"

"So I'm not teasing you anymore. This isn't for you. Take it back to your little cat friend."

As Emissary recognized by the Covenant, it would be too embarrassing for him to have no Divine Authority.

Besides, what kind of Emissary is someone without Divine Authority?

Ah?

For bald men?

Is this Divine Authority for bald men?

Cheng Shi was stunned, but a subtle glint flashed in his eyes the next second.

"Aren't you also promoting the integration of Faith? Why don't you want the Divine Authority that's being given away for free?"

You look down on "prosperity"?

Those eyes paused for a moment, and unusually, instead of laughing, they sighed and said:

"It's not a matter of whether He looks up to Him or not. Cosmic Prosperity is indeed a good thing, but His purpose in wanting Cosmic Prosperity is wrong."

I am not on the same path as Him. Besides, Nothingness has no need for prosperity, because Nothingness is meaningless.

"But..."

"Ha, you want to ask why your other Lord of Grace, whom you feign flattery, accepted the gift of [Prosperity]?"

"...I don't want to." Cheng Shi shook his head with a dark face.

"You can't fool me, but..."

Hehe~

Who said He accepted it?

I am the appearance of Nothingness, and He is the essence of Nothingness. If the appearance can be seen clearly, how can the essence not be seen?

He had already bestowed the gift of the "Final Edict of Prosperity" upon others. The "Mother of Prosperity" had a well-thought-out plan. She did not grant "Destiny" any Divine Authority, but left the task of Proxy the Trials of "Prosperity" to her, all in the hope that the path of "Prosperity" would have more hope under the Change of "Destiny".

Unfortunately, Destiny was too cruel and too lazy; it refused to do the extra work and outsourced it to your cat friend.

However, who knows if this was originally part of the "Mother of Prosperity's " plan?

He saw that Destiny was favoring the kitten, so he took a gamble and left a spark of prosperity.

After all, that little cat is Believer in "prosperity," isn't it?

Now she has become His eldest daughter, and look, the hope of [Prosperity] seems to have returned to the hands of [Prosperity].

[Destiny] Being able to see the future, He would naturally know these things, but He still gave them away. However, the method of giving them away was, well, too dirty.

What kind of contract do you think He made with that kitten?

That wasn't a supplementary agreement to the [Covenant], but a vow to [Destiny]. She foolishly sold herself to [Destiny].

Hehe~

It's laughable that the eldest daughter of [Prosperity], who finally gained the recognition of [Covenant] to inherit the identity of Subgod, ended up becoming a worker for [Destiny] in a muddled way, and doing the illegal work left over from [Prosperity].

I suddenly realized that human wisdom does have its merits; at least capitalists are truly despicable.

Alright, that's about it. Remember to pass on this Divine Authority of Vitality to her, and I won't summon her again. Otherwise, I'm afraid I might not be able to resist mocking her.

"..."

Hearing this, Cheng Shi felt a mix of emotions.

He felt that the relationships between the gods were too complicated. Each of them was scheming against each other and unwavering in their pursuit of their own will, even placing the importance of Faith above their own fall. What could this Faith, which was even more fervent and steadfast than that of the players, possibly bring them?

If even a god has perished, what can He bring to His existence after His fall, when He only exists in history?

Cheng Shi could not understand, nor could he comprehend.

But he learned something from the return of [Deception]: that [Destiny] sometimes doesn't tell the whole truth.

[Deception] Seemingly seeing through Cheng Shi's thoughts, He finally revealed a joyful smile again.

"It seems you've figured it out."

Be careful, He's a master of deception.

"..." Cheng Shi felt numb again.

A god who holds the Divine Authority Deception reminds himself to be careful because His own Twin Gods is very good at deceiving people. Aren't you really deceiving people?

Hehe~

Don't doubt it; He's far better at lying than I am.

You don't actually think that traitor secretly stayed behind just to present a pre- Predestination performance for Him, do you?

Although I never witnessed Him signing any agreement with Him, I can imagine that your cunning future must have been achieved by using reverse psychology on Him.

Alright, that's all I have to say. This audience is truly over.

Well, it wasn't very pleasant. You've become dull; it's not as enjoyable anymore.

Let's go.

As he spoke, a gust of wind blew up from the Void, sweeping Cheng Shi down.

Cheng Shi let his vision go dark without resisting, but in his mind he kept thinking about the provocation that [Deception] had mentioned.

Did Cheng Dashi use provocation on "Destiny" to get "Destiny" to agree to his plan?

If there was Deception, then Cheng Dashi's return was indeed to try to change the Predestination future.

As for how he provoked him...

That's too easy.

When Cheng Shi heard the word "provocative" from the mouth of [Deception], he guessed the process of his future self playing against [Destiny], his Lord of Grace.

It's hardly a game; he only needs to pose a question to "Destiny," and "Destiny" will likely accept his "offering."

And this proposition is:

If the future is truly Predestination, then any changes we make at this moment should not affect the future.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi chuckled. He felt that Cheng Dashi must have used this method to turn the tables on [Destiny]. Of course, the premise of this method is that the general must be a favorite of [Destiny], otherwise, He might not even pay attention to you.

And ironically, it seems that I am the same in both the future and the past.

That makes sense now.

Cheng Dashi succeeded. Although he only created an opportunity for himself, as Destiny had said, the fall of prosperity Destiny not Predestination, so Cheng Dashi truly succeeded.

He used the loophole created by the Deception to return from the future to the present, provoking Destiny to cover up his traces and leave a message for himself. Then he voluntarily entered the game, triggering a Change, and then let things develop, creating a situation that his future had never seen before.

Clearly, this Change was not solely driven by Destiny; almost all of them played a role in propelling Change forward.

Impressive. Cheng Dashi probably anticipated their reactions, but I wonder if he foresaw that [Prosperity] would self-destruct?

The current script of Destiny seems to have been altered, but one's Lord of Grace [Destiny] still seems to have full confidence in the Predestination ending of all future paths.

So the question remains: has the future been changed, or hasn't it been changed?

Was it Deception that lied, or Destiny that lied?

Cheng Shi vaguely felt that these two Lord of Grace of [Nothingness] seemed to have different attitudes toward the future, yet the two gods with differing opinions were still firmly walking on the path of Faith Fusion, which was even stranger.

But thinking about it too much is useless. I am neither "Destiny" nor "time". Before the future arrives, all speculation is meaningless.

So Cheng Shi opened his eyes, and as his vision gradually cleared, he found himself back in the Trials, back in the Sighing Forest that had been eroded by [Prosperity].

However, at this moment, the prosperity in the forest has faded, and Decay has not yet begun. Looking around, the vast land is full of devastation and chaos.

The once lush rainforest seemed to have had a filter suddenly removed. Although every giant tree still maintained its flourishing appearance and had not withered or fallen, it had lost all its greenness and looked like an unfinished product without any color, devoid of any Vitality.

Clearly, His fall has had a huge impact here. If the trees have become like this, what about the Fungus-Footed People were protected by Death and did not die?

Just as he was thinking this, Cheng Shi heard a series of cheers. He stood up and looked back, and found that all the Fungus-Footed People were standing in place unharmed, surrounding a familiar figure and shouting their praises with devotion, excitement, and enthusiasm.

They are praising Divine Envoy, praising new life, praising forgiveness, and praising prosperity.

The Fungus-Footed People tribe, imprisoned underground by the Tower of Reason for hundreds of years, was now immersed in the joy of liberation, completely unaware that their Lord of Grace had already perished before the gods.

Cheng Shi felt a mix of emotions as he watched this scene.

No one knows what tricks Destiny played on Hong Lin, but these Fungus-Footed People simply assumed she was their Divine Envoy.

They were so devout, yet they were manipulated like Puppet by Him, and even by themselves.

That thing called Faith is nothing other than the threads that control the puppets. Under the manipulation of the "Puppeteer," the "Believer puppets" can only passively go to where the "Puppeteer" need them to go.

Is it pathetic? A little.

Is it pitiful? A little.

Is it laughable? No, it's not laughable.

Even Puppet live in hope, and never give up on the right path they believe in.

Persistence is not laughable, but admirable.

The prosperity on the Divine Throne has vanished, but the prosperity in their hearts has only just begun.