"About Kraun..." Cheng Shi began, then stopped.
To be fair, Kraun had been through a lot. Bringing him up was practically the same as reopening the scars on Mouth Brother and the others. Cheng Shi had no intention of hurting anyone; he simply could not see the road ahead without figuring out the matter of Foolish Play, and naturally had no way to resolve the crisis before him.
Hearing Cheng Shi mention that name again, Lips of Foolish Play sighed.
"He isn't the one you think he is."
Cheng Shi froze and immediately looked toward the ear. Seeing that Ear of Secret Prying had not moved, he said with some surprise, "You're willing to talk now? I asked about your identity, and you ignored me the whole time. But when I mentioned Kraun, you were suddenly willing to speak?
"Mouth Brother, Kraun... wasn't he your past?"
"Not exactly. He is he, and I am me.
"Kraun of Sandlais was, at most, an embryonic believer of Lord of Grace—a confused, softhearted fool, a clown who had stumbled into incredible luck. But in the end, he was still a mortal.
"And we are Its creations, manifestations of the power of Deception, and also...
"Forget it. I don't even know whether my guess is right, so I won't mislead you.
"You can equate us with Kraun, but we are failed versions of Kraun.
"He missed the best opportunity to follow Lord of Grace. By the time he came to his senses... it was already too late."
Too late?
Hearing those words, Cheng Shi could not help recalling what the two of them had said while confronting time outside Afros's door. So Kraun's failure had ultimately been counted against Mouth Brother and the others?
And judging by the looks of it, Mouth Brother seemed