Long Talks with Deception (I)

"Yes, there is no such thing as good without a reason in this world."

If there exists in this Cosmos that you cannot fathom, understand, or even approach, and casually bestows upon you unimaginable Divine Majesty power, as a normal person, you should naturally feel fear.

But the question is, why aren't they afraid?

The way those twinkling, swirling eyes spoke those words was unusually playful, carrying a sarcastic tone unique to Deception, making it sound like they were being sarcastic Yin-Yang.

But Cheng Shi didn't think so.

These words struck him like a thunderbolt, causing him to freeze, his pupils to shrink, his eyes to widen, and his incredulous gaze to meet those mocking eyes with terrified eyes.

He was terrified!

Yes, he was deeply horrified.

This fear did not come from the merciless mockery of the God of Merriment, but from the feeling that there was something in the God of Merriment's words, and that the "you" and "they" in His words did not simply refer to "you" and "they".

He sensed a hint of self-mockery in that mockery, so he felt that the "you" was more like referring to Himself, while the "they" should be... them!

There's no mistake, this feeling is Deception. This is clearly a deception mocking Himself, and at the same time, ridiculing the gods!

!!

Etc!

How could He say such a thing? No, the question should be: why did He say such a thing in this tone?

Cheng Shi was very clever. He instantly thought of some ideas that he didn't dare to elaborate on, but before these ideas could become clearer in his mind, God of Merriment confirmed his guess with his second sentence.

His guess was correct, for those eyes, devoid of any smile, uttered these words with a profound sigh:

"It's normal that you're afraid of me."

Then guess...

Am I afraid of Him?

"!!!!!"

[*He]!

It is [*He]!

The moment the word "He" left his lips, Cheng Shi knew that the "He" here could only be the [Origin] that made Afros turn pale at the mere mention of it!

Although it was just a pseudonym, and although "Deception" seemed to say nothing, Cheng Shi felt as if he had heard the most terrifying horror story in the Cosmos from his Lord of Grace's mouth!

At this moment, a story far more terrifying than "there is no such thing as a free lunch" was born, but the underlying terrifying logic of this more terrifying story remained unchanged; only the protagonist and the "villain" were upgraded.

The dimension has been raised!

For lower-dimensional life forms, horror stories from higher dimensions might no longer be considered stories; they should be called... disasters.

A disaster triggered by fear!

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply, his whole body tensed, and he didn't dare to breathe. The self-mockery in his eyes had not yet subsided.

"The birth of humankind, in the end, has nothing to do with Nothingness."

Life gave humanity life; Sinking swelled and distorted emotions; Civilization propelled Civilization progress; Chaos disturbed essential clarity; existence made the world vibrant; as for Nothingness...

It was just a small joke that gave you a game.

Therefore, neither I nor "Destiny" are, to you, sources of power, but not creators in the true sense.

And [*He]...

Not only did it create everything, but it also bestowed upon us an unchangeable Divine Name and entrusted us with the most precious Divine Authority in the Cosmos...

But no one knows why.

So tell me, who is scarier, me or He?

"..."

You two are both terrifying!

Despite the complaints, Cheng Shi had never felt so deeply empathetic before.

Yes, I feel it! I feel it with a deity!

For the first time, he saw an emotion beyond joy and mockery in those slightly upturned, swirling eyes—something called fear. And the shape of that fear was exactly the same as the reflection in his own eyes.

I am afraid of my Lord of Grace, and my Lord of Grace is also afraid of... my Lord of Grace's "Lord of Grace"!

What does it mean that He created everything?

So, does this mean the gods were "created" by the "Origin"?

If a god can be "created"... can he still be called a god?

Similarly, isn't the one who created "gods"... the true god?

Therefore, the answer that [Deception] gave at the beginning was finally confirmed again at this moment: [The Faith Game] is indeed a game in which one strives to become an omniscient and omnipotent god. However, it seems that the object of this game is not only the player!

They, too, have ulterior motives in this game!

And their goals are different.

At least [Deception] is different from what the other gods intend.

The amount of information in God of Merriment's words was so great that Cheng Shi's brain was about to crash.

But it was precisely because of these few words that Cheng Shi's vigilance against the so-called "unprovoked" situation weakened considerably, because he realized that he was not the only one bearing the pressure of "unprovoked" situations!

If what He said is true, then His choice of me doesn't seem so random.

The God of Merriment seems to be in the same situation as himself; that [Origin] towards Him... towards Him... towards...

Hmm? What am I thinking?

Cheng Shi was startled, realizing that his thoughts were suddenly not keeping up, as if he had been affected by something inexplicable.

!!

Oh no, my consciousness is starting to fade again!

His pupils dilated suddenly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He felt as if his soul was starting to vibrate out of sync with his body, and even had a tendency to leave his body.

And his vision blurred, the pair of Starry Eyes in front of him gradually became double, and the two eyes swayed and became four, one pair with slightly upturned corners and the other with extreme Indifference.

He shook his head, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the pounding of his heart, desperately trying to calm his mind and suppress the thoughts about Him, but to little avail.

Seeing Cheng Shi's pale face, the eyes that were formed from stars chuckled again.

He seemed unaffected.

"This is your punishment for blasphemy."

People should be afraid, but they need to think carefully about what they are afraid of.

Furthermore, you asked the wrong question to God. [Memory] does not understand [Deception], and [Existence] does not understand [Nothingness].

Since you want to know the answer to that question, why not ask it yourself?

You've gone further than anyone else on the path of blasphemy, so how come now...

Hehe~

"Backing down again?"

"..."

It was that "hee~" that pulled Cheng Shi back to his dazed state.

He took a deep breath, then looked at his Lord of Grace with an extremely complicated expression.

He knew which question God of Merriment was referring to, but there was no need to ask it anymore, because he had already found the answer.

However, at this moment, in order to express his gratitude for the "protection" of the God of Merriment, he still obeyed the "divine oracle" and asked that question.

"Why me?"

Those eyes finally smiled, as happy as ever. Starlight Transition and spirals slowly rotated, filling the entire Void with a joyful atmosphere.

In this joyful atmosphere, He laughed heartily:

"My choice is not you, but... myself."