The Squint-Eyed Moment of Faith

Just as Zhang Jizu finished carving the last stroke on the stele and was about to erect it, his vision suddenly went black without warning.

But he didn't panic. He simply closed his squinting eyes and quietly opened them a crack when his consciousness returned.

Of course, this was just his feeling, because his whole body had turned into a deathly white skull.

As he had expected, when his vision returned to normal, he saw the familiar fishbone staircase beneath his feet, the towering Bone Throne above the staircase, and the enormous skull sitting on the Bone Throne.

[Die]!

His Lord of Grace summoned him again.

"Praise be to the great god of death," Zhang Jizu said devoutly.

At this moment, he had too many doubts in his heart, so many that he really wanted to ask if this Trials was really Trials given to him by [Deception], as Cheng Shi said. But before he could speak, the Great One interrupted him.

His tone seemed more indifferent than usual, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.

"You did a very good job."

The transaction between me and [the Deception] has been completed.

As for you, what's on your mind...

Although I do not associate with those who engage in Deception, I must admit:

[Nothingness] is far more suitable for this era than [Life].

Faith will eventually lead to unity.

So, if you want to embark on the path of Deception...

I do not object.

But you must remember:

In His ways, in the world, past, and future, there is no truth.

As he spoke, a green flame flashed in the eyes of the giant skull, and a Little Skull burst out from the torrent of skulls beside the fishbone steps and rolled to Zhang Jizu's front.

Zhang Jizu was still pondering the meaning of his Lord of Grace's words when he heard the Great One continue:

"Life is not Nothingness."

But Nothingness can contain life.

If you truly want to get closer to Nothingness.

Use it to pray to Him.

I think, [Deception], I won't, I'll refuse.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jizu felt the ground shake, and suddenly a huge White Bone Flood swept up the entire Fishbone Hall and disappeared before his eyes.

He floated blankly in the Void, and soon fell back to reality.

He put down the tombstone in his hand and took out the Little Skull that his Lord of Grace had given him to examine it carefully.

This skull is clearly Deception. Its face lacks eye sockets, nasal openings, and even teeth; it only has a stark white bone surface with two thin eye slits, resembling a Deception Mask.

But after looking at it more closely for a while, Zhang Jizu felt that the bone surface looked so much like... himself?

The corners of the eyes of ordinary Mask are all upturned because [Deception] loves to have fun, so they always wear a smile on their Mask.

But the one in my hand has flat corners at the eyes, making it look exactly like elongated, squinty eyes...

So this is the Token that [Deception] left with that the Great One?

Cheng Shi was right; that Trials was Cheng Shi aimed at him?

But was I being ridiculed?

Zhang Jizu's mood suddenly became strange. He remained silent, connecting all the details of this Trials and sorting out his thoughts again and again.

It wasn't until he had sorted through all his Faith that he realized he really didn't have any other good options.

Life is all wildness, and Sinking leads to self-destruction and end.

[Civilization] conservative and rigid; [Chaos] everyone goes mad.

"Existence" is a fitting description, but they seem to have no interest in themselves.

On the contrary, it was the "Nothingness" that inexplicably gave me a choice...

Destiny is not Mortals can understand; thinking about it this way, it seems that only Deception remains.

Zhang Jizu stroked the skull in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then made a decision.

He decided to add another layer of protection to himself, even if not for any other reason, so that he wouldn't fall too far behind others on the path of Faith Fusion.

So he murmured softly to the skull, "Unrecognizable..."

Before he could finish speaking, he disappeared again.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Void. Looking at the endless darkness below, Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes tightly.

Just as he narrowed his eyes, a pair of dazzling and beautiful Starry Eyes opened in front of him.

The stars shimmered like a melody, and the spirals swirled as if accompanied by music. The moment those eyes opened, the entire Void seemed to be imbued with His emotions, becoming joyful.

This was Zhang Jizu's first audience with [Deception]. Although he already knew what Deception looked like from some people's words, he was still a little nervous when he actually stood in front of a pair of Starry Eyes.

To be on the safe side, he offered his praise first.

"Praise be to the great god of Deception."

It's the same old thing, except the Divine Name of "death" has been replaced with the god of "Deception."

Upon hearing this, the upturned corners of the eyes curled up even more sharply. Staring at the squinty-eyed figure before him, he chuckled:

"As expected of the Old Bones's little bone, its dull appearance is exactly the same as His."

"..."

This one sentence completely baffled Zhang Jizu.

To be honest, he had heard some rumors about God of Merriment, but he never expected that those rumors would actually be true!

He is actually a god who satirizes, mocks, and even insults other gods!

It should be noted that Zhang Jizu has only met three deities so far. [War] has not yet made an appearance, but whether it is his Lord of Grace [Death] or [Truth] who is quite interested in him, their words and actions are like those of a high and mighty [deity].

But the person in front of me...

Why does it sound like Zhen Yi Cheng Shi?

No, no, no, that's wrong, you can't say that.

It must be said that Zhen Yi and Cheng Shi are indeed His Believer, as they have imitated their Lord of Grace so... similarly.

But Zhang Jizu had no way to respond to this, so he could only force a standard smile and remain silent.

Seeing that he didn't speak, her eyes darted around slightly before she said teasingly:

"What, could it be that Old Bones are your second Faith, and that at the Starting Point of Life Path, you chose..."

[Silence]?"

"..."

Originally, it had nothing to do with "silence," but your words have put me in the realm of "silence."

Zhang Jizu was utterly embarrassed, and in order not to leave a bad impression on his first audience, he could only bite the bullet and reply:

"My True God, please forgive my insolence. I feel that I am not entirely in harmony with Your will, so I have always been very puzzled as to why You chose me?"

"Oh? Since you don't agree with my will, why do you pray to my Token?"

Do you know that this is a grave sin of blasphemy?

As he spoke, his eyes narrowed as if they were squinting, and then the joyful atmosphere in the Void instantly collapsed, giving rise to endless, biting Frigid Wind.

The wind howled and swirled, seemingly ready to tear the blasphemer above the Void to shreds at any moment.

Zhang Jizu felt his limbs losing sensation, even his Vitality rapidly dissipating. Yet, instead of being terrified, he suddenly felt less tense. He looked up at the pair of eyes above him, as if gaining insight, and said solemnly:

"There is no truth in the great kingdom of Deception, so you are not angry. Everything I see must be an illusion."

"..."

Now it was those eyes' turn to fall silent.

The slightly narrowed eyes slowly opened, the starlight stopped twinkling, and the spiral ceased its spinning. As if losing interest, it sighed and said:

"He has some understanding, but not much; he has some interest, but not much either."

That's why I hate the pen; it's so boring, as boring as a real piece of wood.

You're Believer of the Old Bones; don't be as serious as a writer.

But you're wrong about one thing, hehe~

I wasn't angry, but that doesn't mean the Nothingness Storm was just an illusion.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jizu's heart skipped a beat. He didn't have time to think about who the so-called penman was; he only felt a cold sweat instantly seep out from his forehead and back.

Because he realized that his Vitality was really running out, and no matter how hard he tried to move his hands and feet, they were frozen and he could no longer move them.

Oh no! There's truth within falsehood, and falsehood within truth. His thoughts and attitudes are truly more unfathomable than those of any other being!

Those eyes, seeing Zhang Jizu's nervous expression, chuckled again, and He laughed heartily:

"Great, I'm already looking forward to seeing you lie."

As he spoke, his eyes blinked slightly, and the starlight connected into a line, conjuring up a smiling Mask that slowly landed in front of Zhang Jizu.

"Alright, let's end the audience here."

I need to hurry over to Old Bones and make a fool of myself in his presence, otherwise today will be too boring.

They're gone.

"..."

Zhang Jizu stared speechlessly at the [Deception] that vanished before his eyes. If it weren't for the [Nothingness]' Divine Majesty power, which he couldn't resist, he would have even thought he had a meeting with Zhen Yi.

His eyes narrowed again as he thought of Zhen Yi.

So that's how she was "born"!

Zhen Xin's terrifying and annoying alternate personality was actually imitating... Him?

So, is Cheng Shi doing the same thing?

His mind was a jumble of thoughts, his consciousness drifting downwards. When Zhang Jizu opened his eyes again, he was back in the Cemetery in reality, with the skull in his hand...

His hands were frozen raw by the raging winds of [Nothingness], and the skull in his hand had been replaced by a laughing Mask, which fell to the ground.

He helplessly continued treating himself until dusk before he had the strength to pick up the Mask at his feet. Looking at this prop that was his second Faith, Zhang Jizu squinted and murmured with a complicated expression:

"[Deception..."

Cheng Shi was right after all; His existence seemed to be solely for amusement, and He looked forward to seeing new amusement in Himself.

Do not distinguish between truth and falsehood, nor discuss the reality and the illusion.

They say it as if they don't care at all, but is this road really easy to walk?

Well, now that I've taken this step, I won't regret it or turn back.

That said, if Deception and death can be merged, then the line between real death and feigned death will become...

Doesn't it become less distinct?