Recaps

Cheng Shi encountered Silence in Nothingness and began turning into one of His wooden puppets. Destiny intervened to protect Cheng Shi, but Silence’s power rendered Destiny’s attacks harmless.

• Cheng Shi awoke in a dim space in Nothingness and nervously assumed Lord of Grace, Destiny might be behind him.
• Cheng Shi turned around to praise Destiny, but a strange force began erasing his senses and stiffening his body.
• Cheng Shi realized a massive wooden puppet was before him as he was assimilated into Silence and became one of the hanging puppets.
• Destiny appeared and demanded to know why Silence was assimilating His believer, then unleashed His power against Him.
• Silence’s presence turned Destiny’s attacks into harmless currents, and Destiny recognized that Silence could not be forced to express Himself.

Destiny drove Silence away after the God of Merriment appeared, then took Cheng Shi away while trading barbs with Deception. Deception mocked Destiny for avoiding the truth and hinted that another battle was beginning in the distant Nothingness.

• Destiny turned the void against Silence, but Silence vanished as soon as it saw the God of Merriment’s eyes.
• Cheng Shi recovered from Silence’s influence and found Destiny and Deception facing each other again.
• Deception mocked Cheng Shi for offering devotion to Destiny, and Destiny ordered Deception to leave.
• Cheng Shi asked what Destiny had deceived itself about, but Destiny ignored him and took him away.
• Deception laughed at Destiny’s claim that the predetermined could not be defied and challenged its courage as another battle began in the distant Nothingness.

Cheng Shi tried to conceal his desire for the vessels of Deception and Destiny as Destiny pressed him to choose between them. He delayed answering by asking whether Destiny knew the Lips of Foolish Play.

• Cheng Shi flattered Destiny and claimed he had retrieved the vessel of Deception only to serve as its custodian.
• Destiny said Cheng Shi had already found Destiny's vessel, though he could not recall finding it.
• Destiny demanded that Cheng Shi choose between keeping the vessel of Deception and possessing the vessel of Destiny.
• Cheng Shi argued that Greed could belong to Nothingness, but Destiny insisted he could retain only one vessel.
• Cheng Shi stalled by asking Destiny whether it knew the Lips of Foolish Play.

Cheng Shi questioned Destiny about Nothingness, Deception, and the gods’ purpose for the Faith Game, learning that drawing close to the Origin was considered good fortune rather than sacrifice. He realized Destiny intended to guide him toward a predetermined fate, possibly as an offering, and left the conversation inwardly furious and afraid.

• Destiny told Cheng Shi that Nothingness had no progenitor god or emissary and that Foolish Play had once been Its first believer but missed Its recognition.
• Cheng Shi asked what Destiny was trying to create and then pressed Him on whether the Path to Godhood was a sacrifice the gods had made for the Origin.
• Mouth Brother warned Cheng Shi that he had gone too far, but Destiny answered that faith and dedication were not sacrifices and that drawing close to the Origin was good fortune.
• Cheng Shi concluded that the gods were creating an offering for the Origin and feared Destiny would personally complete his predetermined fate.
• Destiny urged Cheng Shi to embrace greed rather than fear when facing the Origin, while Cheng Shi inwardly cursed Destiny for never changing.

Cheng Shi learned that the Origin had predetermined him, then narrowly escaped Annihilation’s attempt to kill him as Destiny intervened. Destiny pursued Annihilation and commanded its believers to sever Annihilation’s fate, sparking a war between their followers in the trials.

• Cheng Shi asked Destiny why he had been chosen, and Destiny explained that his fate had been predetermined by the Origin.
• Annihilation appeared to kill Cheng Shi, but Destiny imprisoned It before It could reach him.
• Cheng Shi attacked Annihilation with a fear-powered Thunder Punishment and used Destiny’s power and time to escape.
• Destiny and Annihilation clashed across the void until Annihilation withdrew as other gods prepared to descend.
• Destiny chased Annihilation and ordered its believers to sever Annihilation’s fate, prompting a war between the factions’ followers in the trials.

Annihilation continued fighting Destiny in the void while seeking gods who might join his plans, and Truth investigated a secret he suspected Nothingness had hidden from the other gods. The chapter left Truth convinced that the secret involved something powerful enough to draw even Folly into the fray.

• The gods descended to restrain the void battlefield as Annihilation fought Destiny and searched among the watching gods for potential allies.
• Chaos dismissed the battle as meaningless and departed, while Birth, Truth, War, Chaos, and Silence arrived to watch.
• Truth asked Birth whether her devotion was still devotion, then asked Silence what agreement he had made with Deception.
• Truth recalled that Memory had forgotten part of his memories to ensure a fair transaction with Destiny, prompting him to investigate the gods connected to the secret.
• Truth suspected that Nothingness, Existence, Silence, and Folly were involved in a mystery concerning the Origin, and he pursued the possibility with renewed interest.

The gods turned against Destruction while Destiny pursued it, but Deception’s impersonation of Death disrupted the confrontation and let Destruction escape. Destiny rejected Truth’s offer of cooperation and vanished, leaving Truth to reflect on its chosen path.

• Truth joined Destiny in hunting Destruction’s emissary, Herobas, and the battle became two against one.
• Death arrived and challenged War for remaining outside the battle, while War refused to explain itself.
• Destruction escaped into its own world, and the apparent Death was revealed as Deception impersonating the real Death.
• Deception vanished after teasing Death, and the other gods withdrew as Destiny’s anger remained in the void.
• Truth offered to cooperate with Destiny to pursue Destruction’s authority, but Destiny rejected the offer and disappeared.

Cheng Shi recovered in the void after striking Annihilation with Thunderclap Judgment, then questioned God of Merriment about the confrontation. He learned that Annihilation had come looking for him, but God of Merriment concealed the reason for Their interest in Annihilation.

• Cheng Shi searched the void for Annihilation and wondered whether the Great One had used his hand to attack Them.
• God of Merriment appeared and reproached Cheng Shi for daring to commit an act of god-slaying, but Cheng Shi recognized Their amusement.
• Cheng Shi used the Ear of Secret Prying to ask whether God of Merriment was trying to scare him, and They admitted it.
• God of Merriment confirmed that trouble from Annihilation had come looking for Cheng Shi.
• God of Merriment denied wanting to devour Annihilation, but Lips of Foolish Play's reaction led Cheng Shi to suspect the answer was false.

Cheng Shi asked God of Merriment whether Kraun was Foolish Play and whether Tongue Brother and Ear Brother held Deception’s authority. God of Merriment revealed that the vessel Cheng Shi thought belonged to Deception could be changed into a vessel of Chaos, leaving Cheng Shi to wonder whether he was facing Deception or Chaos.

• Cheng Shi questioned God of Merriment about Kraun’s connection to Foolish Play and why Tongue Brother and Ear Brother had once been so silent.
• God of Merriment told Cheng Shi that no one was Foolish Play except Cheng Shi, then asked why he did not trust Little Bone’s thoughts.
• Cheng Shi presented Tongue of Lies and Ear of Secret Prying and asked whether they were God of Merriment’s authority.
• Cheng Shi showed God of Merriment the vessel he believed was tainted by Deception.
• God of Merriment changed the vessel’s color and nature, turning it into a scrap tainted with Chaos.
• Cheng Shi asked whether to address God of Merriment as Deception or Chaos, and God of Merriment replied that it depended on whether Cheng Shi was Ultraman or Foolish Play.

Cheng Shi questioned God of Merriment about guiding Chaos to impersonate Order, then learned that Destiny’s coercion involved a container whose faith could be changed. God of Merriment implied that Destiny was afraid of an unknown discovery, but refused to explain what had happened.

• Cheng Shi accused God of Merriment of instigating Chaos to steal Order’s divine seat, and God of Merriment admitted giving Chaos guidance for the path ahead.
• Cheng Shi praised God of Merriment for bringing Chaos and Order into harmony, but God of Merriment warned him that flattery would not excuse his blasphemy.
• Cheng Shi told God of Merriment that Destiny had become more resolute and had insisted that the changes to Destiny and Time were predetermined.
• Cheng Shi realized that God of Merriment’s container could change the color of its faith and that Destiny’s apparent ultimatum had been intimidation.
• God of Merriment told Cheng Shi that Destiny might be more afraid than he was, then denied knowing of any discovery or change.

God of Merriment warned Cheng Shi that Annihilation might target him and urged him to use the God Worshippers as a clue to strike first. After Cheng Shi asked about becoming an emissary of Time, God of Merriment cast him out and gave every Follower of Deception an oracle matching Destiny’s; Memory and Time later appeared in Nothingness and discussed the strange tide.

• God of Merriment mocked Cheng Shi’s fear and warned that Annihilation could erase him beyond recovery.
• God of Merriment advised Cheng Shi to keep tormenting Annihilation and watch for Annihilation’s God Worshippers, who might target him during a trial.
• Cheng Shi asked whether he could become an emissary of Time by using his fabricated Hour Hand identity, and God of Merriment suggested he could more easily serve Filth and Decay as the Greedy Lord before throwing him out of the void.
• God of Merriment bestowed on every Follower of Deception an oracle identical to Destiny’s, then vanished into Nothingness.
• Memory and Time appeared beside the existence creation, discussed the absurd tide, and departed without investigating it.

Cheng Shi considered how to survive the annihilation threat from beings far beyond his power and investigated how his vessel and divinity worked. His meeting with the body parts of Foolish Play ended with Ear of Secret Prying casting doubt on whether Foolish Play had ever been a real name.

• Cheng Shi compared the new threat to Destiny’s past attention and realized his resources could not overcome a crisis coming from higher-level powers.
• Cheng Shi reasoned that the vessel produced divinity faster when more people believed in its wielder, making Ultraman’s fame a path to Chaos Divinity.
• Cheng Shi recognized that possessing divinity and acting authorities had not given him the ability to turn them into combat power.
• Cheng Shi asked Lips of Foolish Play how an emissary used divinity, but Ear of Secret Prying revealed that the body parts had not merged and could speak independently.
• Lips of Foolish Play began to answer Cheng Shi, but Ear of Secret Prying joked that it could have renamed itself Lips of Hee-Hee, leaving Cheng Shi unsure whether Foolish Play had ever existed.

Cheng Shi learned that Lips of Foolish Play and Ear of Secret Prying were failed versions of Kraun, then realized that playing Foolish Play could help him face Annihilation by relying on Destiny’s predetermined script. The chapter ended with Mouth Brother warning Cheng Shi not to lose himself in a Mask, before admitting it had only recited the clown’s performance regulations.

• Lips of Foolish Play explained that it and Ear of Secret Prying were failed versions of Kraun, who had missed his chance to follow Lord of Grace.
• Cheng Shi realized that playing the role of Foolish Play was the path Mouth Brother and Brother Ear had found, and noticed the Deception Container dripping divine essence faster.
• Lips of Foolish Play told Cheng Shi that fear was motivation, prompting him to see Destiny’s predetermined script as protection from Annihilation.
• Cheng Shi accepted that being predetermined was a weapon and wondered whether becoming Foolish Play would change who he was.
• Lips of Foolish Play warned Cheng Shi not to become lost in the Mask, then revealed it had been quoting the clown’s performance regulations, and Cheng Shi punished himself by drinking mucus drinks.

Cheng Shi answered Katarro’s summons and found Zhen Xin and Zhen Yi arguing over who would pay homage to Chaos. He used Order’s Horn to force Zhen Yi back inside, then approached Zhen Xin disguised as Katarro.

• Katarro summoned Cheng Shi because Zhen Xin and Zhen Yi had come to pay homage, and their behavior had left him unsure how to handle them.
• Cheng Shi watched Zhen Yi pretend to be Zhen Xin and provoke Chaos while the sisters argued on the platform.
• Cheng Shi and Katarro discussed the sisters’ antics, and Cheng Shi decided to retrieve Zhen Xin’s weapon rather than expel them.
• Cheng Shi snapped his fingers and activated Order’s Horn, causing Zhen Xin to return to her composed state and suspect someone was hidden in the mist.
• Cheng Shi disguised himself as Katarro and stepped out of the yellow mist as Zhen Xin respectfully greeted him.

Cheng Shi, posing as the Envoy of Chaos, confronted Zhen Xin and challenged her to climb the divine stairs if she wanted an audience with Chaos. Zhen Xin accepted, unaware that Cheng Shi mainly wanted to test her and make a spectacle of her.

• Cheng Shi pressured Zhen Xin and accused her of blasphemy for appearing orderly before the Lord of Disorder.
• Zhen Xin reasoned that Cheng Shi's judgment made him orderly and explained that she and he served their respective Lords of Grace.
• Cheng Shi dismissed her explanation, offered her the choice to leave or climb the divine stairs, and revealed a passage to the stairs.
• Cheng Shi privately planned to use the encounter to build Ultraman's reputation and encourage Chaos's divinity to enter his vessel.
• After hearing that the previous promising player had reached only the sixth step, Zhen Xin stepped onto the divine stairs.

Zhen Xin climbed the Chaos Divine Steps, endured their visions, and danced her way to the sixth stair before collapsing and being taken into the Chaos Divine Hall. Cheng Shi realized the Lord of Grace was watching and began climbing after her, hoping to earn a reward.

• Zhen Xin endured the first four steps, which showed slander, violence, slaughter, and madness tied to her painful past.
• Zhen Xin reached the fifth step and performed a graceful, uninhibited dance, surprising Cheng Shi.
• Zhen Xin’s dance carried her toes onto the sixth step, where she collapsed as her vitality faded.
• A strand of light from the Chaos Divine Hall enveloped Zhen Xin and brought her inside, revealing to Cheng Shi that the Lord of Grace was present.
• Cheng Shi decided to climb the steps himself and asked whether reaching the sixth stair would earn him a reward before continuing upward.

Cheng Shi tried to cheat his way up the Chaos Divine Steps but was struck down and brought into the temple, where he learned that Lord of Grace wanted him to meet a prisoner. After Zhen Xin woke and joined him, Cheng Shi and Katarro revealed the temple’s secret: they were going to meet Order.

• Cheng Shi switched to Destiny on the Chaos Divine Steps, but a hand of yellow mist struck him down and dragged him into the temple.
• Cheng Shi woke in the temple beside the unconscious Zhen Xin, and Katarro told him that Lord of Grace wanted him to meet a prisoner.
• Zhen Xin woke, mistook Katarro for Cheng Shi, and questioned why Cheng Shi was in the temple; Cheng Shi and Katarro maintained their separate identities.
• Zhen Xin asked whether she could learn the temple’s secret, and Katarro agreed to Cheng Shi’s decision to let her come along.
• Cheng Shi told Zhen Xin they were going to meet Order, startling Lord Ultraman.

Cheng Shi, Zhen Xin, and Lord Ultraman uncovered Order imprisoned behind the throne in the Temple of Chaos. Cheng Shi recognized the prisoner as Arrogance (Order), one fragment of the former Order.

• Cheng Shi realized that God of Merriment and Chaos had imprisoned Order, while Zhen Xin and Katarro approached the throne with him.
• Zhen Xin hesitated to reveal the prison, but Katarro offered to operate the throne in exchange for more information from her.
• Katarro turned the throne, revealing Order bound by Chaos chains and mocking nails.
• The imprisoned Order demanded that someone come see it, then struggled against its restraints and declared that only it could speak of Order.
• Cheng Shi identified the prisoner as Arrogance (Order), one of the former Order's fragments.

Cheng Shi used his prison visit to draw Zhen Xin into investigating the history of the gods and the disputes between their faiths. After the others left, Ultraman confronted the imprisoned Pride (Order) and demanded that it plead guilty.

• Cheng Shi explained that Order entered the Sea of Desire and shattered into Justice (Order), Fear (Order), the Iron Rule of Order, and Pride (Order), which had been imprisoned.
• Cheng Shi suggested that Lord of Grace and Deception had joined forces to hunt Order, while Zhen Xin and Katarro concealed their knowledge of Deception's role from Ultraman.
• Cheng Shi proposed that Zhen Xin examine historical projections of disputes between faiths, prompting her to offer to investigate the mortal world for information.
• Ultraman dismissed Zhen Xin and Cheng Shi, and Katarro carried them away in yellow mist.
• Katarro returned to find Ultraman standing over Pride (Order), condemning its failures and demanding, “Will you plead guilty?”

Cheng Shi confronted Pride (Order) over its failures and learned that Paranoia (Order) had fused with the Iron Rule of Order, contradicting Order’s claim that it split into three. He traced the gods’ knowledge of Paranoia to Deception and suspected God of Merriment had long planned to fuse with Chaos to conceal a secret.

• Cheng Shi mocked Pride (Order) for contributing nothing to the universe’s Order, and Pride defended itself by claiming the Iron Rule of Order’s achievements as its own.
• Katarro revealed that Paranoia (Order) had fused with the Iron Rule of Order, making it a fourth fragment of Order.
• Pride (Order) denied splitting into four, so Cheng Shi accused it of being unable to understand or acknowledge its own death.
• Cheng Shi learned from Katarro that Lord Grace had told the gods about Paranoia (Order), then reasoned that Deception must have been the source of their knowledge.
• Cheng Shi concluded that God of Merriment had planned to fuse with Chaos, possibly even before Order entered the Sea of Desire, to conceal a secret.

Cheng Shi learned how Order’s purge of the universe led it and War into the Sea of Desire, where Order split apart and War changed. He suspected the God of Merriment had orchestrated the events, then urged Arrogance (Order) to guide its remaining believers toward a new form of order.

• Katarro recounted how Order purged the universe, entered the Sea of Desire to judge Filth and Decay, and was followed by War.
• Katarro said Order split into four in the Sea of Desire and War changed from his original will.
• Cheng Shi theorized that the God of Merriment had conspired with Chaos and Deception to conceal Order’s splitting and substitute Chaos for one of its fragments.
• Cheng Shi wondered whether the God of Merriment wanted him to test War, but Katarro said he knew nothing about the plan.
• Cheng Shi told Arrogance (Order) that its believers could create a new form of order if someone guided them, and Katarro realized Cheng Shi was laying claim to that role.

Cheng Shi tried to persuade the weakened Codex that Order’s own choices had caused its fall and that the gods had deliberately diminished its influence. He left the Codex facing the claim that it had no choice but to deal with him.

• Cheng Shi called himself the Clown and addressed the Codex as Lord Codex to ease its contempt and open negotiations.
• Cheng Shi argued that Chaos had replaced Order and that the gods would not truly obey the Covenant.
• The Codex threatened to execute Cheng Shi for blasphemy, but its rage only fed the mocking spike and weakened it further.
• Cheng Shi claimed Order and War had wiped out Order’s followers, asking whether the other gods had arranged this to weaken Order and whether the Primordial Origin had shaped its former supremacy.
• The Codex said it would never trust Cheng Shi, and he insisted that it had no choice but to face reality.

Cheng Shi tried to persuade Arrogance (Order) to grant him divine grace, arguing that he could spread Order by opposing the Chaos that had usurped it. Arrogance (Order) revealed the memory of its descent and the origin of its place above the other gods, leaving Cheng Shi and Katarro stunned.

• Cheng Shi argued that Arrogance (Order) should trust him to spread Order, despite his ties to Chaos and Deception.
• Cheng Shi claimed that defiling the Order currently claimed by Chaos would ultimately oppose Chaos and support Arrogance (Order).
• Arrogance (Order) opened a door to the past, showing Cheng Shi and Katarro why Order stood above all else.
• Cheng Shi saw Primordial declare Order the prelude to Civilization and witnessed Order descend before the other two true gods.
• Cheng Shi concluded that gods who arrived early were stronger than those who arrived at the proper time, leaving the Codex and Katarro speechless.

Cheng Shi bargained with the Codex for a reward in exchange for spreading Order and learned that he was the answer to its supreme one. He accepted a place on the Order Tribunal after the Codex offered to legitimize his identity, though the position carried no guaranteed pay and could be revoked.

• Cheng Shi proposed that the Codex grant him the power of Order so he could spread its vision throughout the universe.
• After the Codex rejected his demand for authority, Cheng Shi offered the rings he had collected and asked for powerful creations instead.
• The Codex called Cheng Shi the supreme one's answer and said the effects of Chaos and Deception had left it unable to grant him the creations he sought.
• Cheng Shi pressed the Codex for some reward, and it offered him a seat on the Order Tribunal with judicial authority that could be stripped away.
• Cheng Shi argued that the title was not worth betraying his faith, but the Codex said its gift would legitimize his identity.
• Cheng Shi bowed and asked when he could start work.

Cheng Shi received Order’s adjudicator ring, then was thrown out of the Temple of Chaos after provoking Deception and arguing over his reward. Left alone with Pride (Order), Deception heard that Cheng Shi still carried a genuine Order within him, and Pride declared that she dreamed of rebuilding Order throughout the universe.

• Pride (Order) gave Cheng Shi a ring representing the status of an adjudicator of Order.
• Cheng Shi mocked the ring’s craftsmanship, and Deception intervened to stop Pride from reclaiming her power.
• Cheng Shi thanked Deception, then questioned why she kept Order imprisoned; Deception mocked him for taking Order’s benefit and turning against her.
• Cheng Shi asked Deception for a reward, but she took back the ring and bestowed it on him again, insisting that this counted as a gift.
• Deception dismissed Cheng Shi from the temple, and Katarro left and closed the doors behind him.
• Pride (Order) told Deception that Cheng Shi’s disguises concealed a genuine Order, then said she dreamed of rebuilding Order throughout the universe.