Ring of the Atoning Son of Bone Servant's Heir
The Ring of the Atoning Son of Bone Servant (SSS'S):
A ring forged by Death itself contains half of Thunder Divinity, a quarter of Filth and Decay Divinity imbued with fear, and a quarter of Decay God's Divinity. Because it is bound together with a "whole" portion of Divinity, the item is upgraded from Discarded Divine Artifact to an unconscious puppet of Subgod.
Special effect [Fear Nourishment]: You can absorb surrounding fear and charge it. Each time it is fully charged, a screaming face will light up on the ring. Whenever a screaming face lights up, you will slightly increase your resistance to lightning, fear, [Filth and Decay] Divine Power, and [Decay] Divine Power.
Special effect [Hatred Craving]: For every unit of Fear Nutrient gained, you will gain an additional unit of Fear Nutrient.
Special Effect [Thunderclap Judgment]: Consumes one unit of Fear Nourishment to summon Thunder Punishment, annihilating the enemy. If the target has previously provided Fear Nourishment to the ring, Thunder Punishment will always hit.
Special Effect [Shrieking Servant]: The corpse killed by [Thunderclap Judgment] will automatically transform into a Shrieking Servant, which has the ability to release fear and corrupt enemies. It will obey commands to hunt fear or return to the Fishbone Hall to bring your praise back to the noble one on the Upon the Throne.
"!!!"
4S!!!
Although the last S seems different from the first three, there is no denying that Cheng Shi got a 4S item.
No, this can't even be considered an item anymore, because in the player's mind, the only item above SSS rank is a Subgod. In other words, he now seems to have a ring that can barely be called a "Subgod" item.
From the Subgod puppet!
It sounds like turning a Subgod into an unconscious puppet!
Cheng Shi's eyes were filled with fervor; he was even so excited that he didn't know what to say, because at that moment he remembered what [Deception] had once said:
"Subgod and their Emissary, apart from possessing their own limited Divinity, mostly Proxy on Divine Authority of the True God."
Have you found the problem?
Cheng Shi, this practitioner of "Nothingness," is currently Proxy Divine Authority of the True God, albeit partially, but in two forms: one is the "Vitality" of "prosperity," and the other is the "Decay" of "decay"!
In addition, he also possesses a "complete" form of Divinity, even if it is forcibly glued together!
Indeed, with the help of that the Great One, Cheng Shi has met all the requirements to become an Emissary. The only difference between him and a true Emissary is:
The Emissary is one with the other, but in him... the two are separate.
So he is still an Emissary, but in some ways... he is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
They've made a fortune!
Before being summoned by "Death", Cheng Shi never imagined that he would approach the identity of "He" through this path.
He had no intention of becoming a god. His the First statement to [Deception], "I don't want to become a god," was true. Therefore, his joy was not because he was getting closer to [His] identity, but because he had gained greater power to strive for the "Top Scholar that Old Jia had once envied!
In Cheng Shi's heart, whether or not he becomes a god is not important; what matters most is Old Jia's "last wish".
Whether this was his way of comforting himself or his motivation to keep living, he was happy as long as he could get closer to that Chosen of God one.
Furthermore, from a certain perspective, this state of identity split is more in line with Cheng Shi's wishes.
After all, a fake is a fake. Before sitting down to eat, he doesn't need to think about how to clink glasses and deceive the people at the table.
"Grown ups..."
Cheng Shi raised his dark, inky eyes and stared blankly at the enormous skull on the Bone Throne. His gaze was so devout that Death felt he was about to hear a barrage of praise that would "shock the Cosmos."
But He was wrong.
He never imagined that anyone could be so greedy, even daring to take advantage of a True God!
Because what He heard was not the praise He had imagined, but Cheng Shi's heartfelt doubt:
"My lord... something seems amiss. This ring incorporates the Divinity of Dizer, so why isn't the [Decay] effect visible?"
You...
Cheng Shi wanted to say that his technique was indeed as rough as [Memory] had described, but he didn't dare. Reason ultimately prevailed over Greed, and he shut his mouth in time.
But just the two words "you" and the doubtful tone seemed to have already provoked the Great One's anger.
Then, a terrifying green flame, like a volcanic eruption, instantly engulfed the entire hall, burning the Little Skull at His feet to ashes in an instant.
Cheng Shi had turned to ashes, never expected that he would still be conscious even in this state. He frantically tried to apologize, but apart from twitching twice as he tried to speak, the ashes did not react at all.
So he could only die awkwardly on the ground, trying to survive the moment of the Great One's wrath.
Cheng Shi didn't want to leave the Fishbone Hall just like that. He still had a lot to ask about the [Chaos], and he felt that as long as he was still conscious, it meant that the Great One wasn't actually as angry as he appeared.
But why did He suddenly lose control and set the entire temple on fire?
Surely it can't really be because of my own doubts?
"..."
Just Cheng Shi was deeply immersed in uneasy doubts, the answer to this question appeared automatically.
He only heard a "hee~" coming from the Void outside the Fishbone Hall, and then his whole body, no, his entire pile of ashes, was pulled away by a huge force of the Void, away from the hall burning with green flames, and came to a pair of eyes painted with stars and spirals.
The playful eyes blinked twice, and the handful of ashes slowly coalesced, restoring itself into a small skull.
Cheng Shi was shocked; he never expected that the God of Merriment would actually come.
Now that they have seen Him, the anger of [death] has found its reason.
It turns out that the Great One's anger was not because of his unspoken blasphemy, but because of the God of Merriment!
It must be Him! It has to be Him! There is no one else!
My Lord of Grace, what heinous thing have you done to anger my boss like this?
Those eyes seemed to see through Cheng Shi's confusion, but instead of answering his question, they blinked at him and asked a question that left Cheng Shi dumbfounded:
"Hello Little Bone, you look familiar, but I don't know..."
"Whose Emissary are you?"
"..."
They dared not utter a sound.
They didn't dare to utter a sound!
Cheng Shi was terrified. He felt that the words contained not only Yin-Yang but also resentment, though he didn't know where that resentment came from...
How would I know? I'm not a god.
He instinctively avoided his Lord of Grace's gaze and silently shut his mouth.
Seeing Cheng Shi's attitude, a sneer escaped from his eyes.
As they were talking, the roaring flames in the opposite Fishbone Hall gradually subsided. The enormous skull sat atop its Bone Throne, its deep, black-hole-like eye sockets staring directly into those starry eyes, and said with boundless rage:
"You actually want to take advantage of that [Filth and Decay], the New Authority."
[Deception]!
What exactly do you want to do?
"?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi was taken aback, then suddenly realized what he meant, and his gaze toward his Lord of Grace was filled with... admiration.
Unbelievable! So, while [Death] was forging this ring for me, you secretly went to steal something?
No, is this something a god could do?
Oh, it's the God of Merriment, then that's not surprising.
Cheng Shi chuckled instantly. He looked at his Lord of Grace with a strange expression, turned his back to avoid the Great One's gaze, and asked in a low voice:
"Did you steal it?"
Those eyes darted around, and she sighed.
"A slight difference can lead to failure."
"It's all your Blame It On! Who told you to make Him angry?"
"???"
No, what does this have to do with me? How can you blame me for this?