Chapter Summaries

Zhang Jizu used a gift from The Great One to find Cheng Shi and tell him that Poison had chosen Time as her second faith. Cheng Shi realized that Poison had become powerful and aligned herself with his opponent, leaving him stunned by Destiny’s strange turn of events.

• Zhang Jizu arrived at Cheng Shi’s rest area with a key bestowed by The Great One, and Cheng Shi teased him about receiving a reward.
• Cheng Shi sat on a chair to imitate The Great One looking down from the Bone Throne, then lifted Zhang Jizu onto it when he wanted to talk business.
• Zhang Jizu told Cheng Shi that Poison had helped him after the trial because of Cheng Shi.
• Zhang Jizu revealed that Poison had chosen Time as her second faith and that Evil Sin had become an Another Day Assassin.
• Cheng Shi realized Poison had joined his opponent’s side and was astonished by how events had unfolded.

Cheng Shi compared his second faith with Zhang Jizu, learning that Zhang’s Faith Fusion had granted him three talents while Cheng could only switch between two personalities and faiths. Zhang gave Cheng a bone communication key and left before Cheng could establish a clown alliance with him.

• Cheng Shi questioned Zhang Jizu about the previous trial, and Zhang said someone had used a memory-related ability on him.
• Zhang named Cheng as the sinner he wanted dealt with, revealing that Cheng was a Fate Weaver; Cheng realized the Master of Deception’s words were true and suspected Zhang had been affected by that power.
• Cheng explained that his faiths had not fused and that switching personalities changed his faith, while Zhang said he had gained three Deception talents and possessed nine talents in his Gravekeeper state.
• Zhang gave Cheng a bone key for communication and said allies needed to share information and resources.
• Cheng proposed calling their alliance the Clowns, but Zhang disappeared before he could finish.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin entered a prosperity trial set in a courthouse, but Cheng Shi immediately used Sinner's Redemption to escape with her to Dolgo D. There, Afros learned that Hong Lin was Flazhol, Mother of Prosperity's eldest daughter, resurrected from death.

• Cheng Shi and Hong Lin matched into a trial where Order was being celebrated and appeared in a grand courthouse.
• Hong Lin questioned Cheng Shi's identity, but he confirmed who he was and used Sinner's Redemption to take them both to Dolgo D.
• The Iron Law Knights surrounded the four remaining players and began screening the courthouse spectators for anyone disrupting Order.
• Afros welcomed Cheng Shi and Hong Lin at the church assembly hall, while Hong Lin questioned why a follower of Filth and Decay was in Birth's territory.
• Afros recognized Hong Lin's unusual aura, and she identified herself as Flazhol, Mother of Prosperity's eldest daughter, resurrected from death.

Hong Lin revealed herself as the heir of Prosperity, and Afros accepted her claim after sensing the authority she carried. Cheng Shi recognized that her display protected him and strengthened his standing with Afros, though it also made Afros more cautious; Afros then moved the group to a terrace to continue their conversation.

• Hong Lin released the aura of Prosperity and identified herself as its heir, startling Afros and Cheng Shi.
• Afros respectfully greeted Hong Lin as Prosperity's heir, while Cheng Shi realized she had revealed herself to protect him.
• Cheng Shi reflected that he had brought Hong Lin to establish his credibility with Afros, but her bold display had increased Afros's caution.
• Cheng Shi urged Afros to continue their discussion elsewhere, and Afros transformed the assembly hall into a terrace at sunset.

At a long-table meeting, Cheng Shi tried to draw Afros closer to Nothingness, but accidentally revealed a secret and then used deception to manage the fallout. Afros remained torn over whether to approach Nothingness, while Big Cat questioned Cheng Shi’s new claim to be an emissary of Deception.

• Afros sat opposite Cheng Shi and left the principal seat for Hong Lin, who questioned whether his surroundings were truly a cage.
• Cheng Shi explained Dolgo D’s situation and framed Afros as an ally against Nothingness’s enemies.
• Afros asked why Cheng Shi shared the title of Nothingness with Flazhol, exposing a secret Cheng Shi and Hong Lin had meant to conceal.
• Cheng Shi blamed his revelation on Filth and Decay’s influence and urged Afros to forget it unless he chose to side with Nothingness.
• Afros weighed the risks of drawing close to Nothingness and questioned whether Cheng Shi was deceiving him again.
• Big Cat stared at Cheng Shi in disbelief, while Cheng Shi awkwardly tried to answer both her and Afros.

Cheng Shi used the Fool's Game to make Afros step back from pursuing Nothingness while preserving their information exchange. He told Afros that Prosperity had fallen and described her final moment, after which Afros asked about the Covenant.

• Cheng Shi explained that his lies about Nothingness were a test, and Afros chose to retreat from seeking it.
• Afros greeted Hong Lin as Lady Flazhol and agreed to continue cooperating with Cheng Shi through an exchange of information.
• Cheng Shi revealed that Prosperity had fallen and said the Covenant could keep players from learning about it.
• Cheng Shi described Prosperity's final moment, and Afros concluded that she had found her own will.
• Afros questioned how Hong Lin had come to occupy Prosperity's divine throne, then asked Cheng Shi what the Covenant was.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin questioned Afros about the Covenant and Yugg, learning how Yugg became Decay’s Emissary. Hong Lin revealed that Decay had destroyed Himself as a faith, leaving Afros unsettled.

• Cheng Shi explained that the Covenant protected divine authorities, and Afros realized the gods feared Him and asked whether Birth and Decay were covered.
• Hong Lin cut short the discussion and asked Afros about Yugg, the Corpse Vulture King.
• Afros recounted how Yugg’s ancestors served Decay, how Yugg’s nation was repeatedly destroyed, and how Decay eventually made the last surviving believer an Emissary.
• Cheng Shi recognized Yugg’s nation as Rosna, which he had encountered during a trial, and Hong Lin asked where Yugg was.
• Afros asked what had happened to Decay, and Hong Lin said He had destroyed Himself as a faith.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin questioned Afros about Decay and the mysterious *Him, then learned that Afros recognized Ming Lei as the Punisher of Order. The revelation that Ming Lei was connected to Order left Cheng Shi seeking answers about the gods who never ascended to the sixteen divine thrones.

• Hong Lin recounted Decay’s recent actions and will, and Afros respected her understanding of the gods.
• Cheng Shi asked whether Decay fulfilling Prosperity’s wish would cause a major event, and Afros warned him not to approach or investigate *Him.
• Cheng Shi argued that he needed to prepare for the end of the Void Era, while Afros urged him to behave if he wanted to survive into the next era.
• Cheng Shi asked how many beings like Ming Lei had existed, and Afros identified Ming Lei as the Punisher of Order and asked whether He had died.
• Cheng Shi said Ming Lei had died at Order’s hands during the First God War, surprising Afros, then asked him about gods who had not ascended to the sixteen divine thrones.

Afros recounted how gods descended through mortal faith, competed for divine authority, and were recognized or subordinated by the rulers of successive eras. He asked Cheng Shi why the current era’s God War began, but Cheng Shi could only explain that the Covenant preserved the sixteen divine thrones and that the other gods might be waiting for another era.

• Afros explained that the gods came from distant stars and descended when faith in them grew strong enough.
• Afros said the gods had competed for authority across the eras, and that some gods formed Sinking when the Second Era ended.
• Afros recounted how Order arrived in the Third Era, recognized Wild Gods who upheld order, and opposed those who disrupted it.
• Afros described how Blazing Sun turned to chaos as Wrath of Abomination after losing faith in Order’s promise.
• Afros asked Cheng Shi why the God War had begun and how it ended, and Cheng Shi said he did not remember its cause.
• Cheng Shi said the Covenant had protected the sixteen divine thrones after the God War, while other gods might be waiting for revenge in a future era.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin secured Afros’s support and turned the captured Decay follower Yu Mu into a Tree Servant for Hong Lin’s use. Afros believed Cheng Shi’s memories had been altered by Memory, while Cheng Shi kept his true thoughts hidden and declined to drink the wine.

• Afros questioned Cheng Shi about whether he had truly lost his memories, then concluded that Memory had tampered with them to resist Nothingness’s influence.
• Afros offered Hong Lin the Decay follower Yu Mu, and she accepted, explaining that she wanted to eradicate Decay from the world.
• Hong Lin used a Loyal Tree Contract to parasitize Yu Mu’s soul and transform him into an obedient Tree Servant.
• Hong Lin accepted Afros’s friendship as a Voidwalker, and the three raised a toast.
• Cheng Shi pretended to join the toast but secretly wiped his hand on his trousers after raising his glass.

Cheng Shi returned to Kato Court with Hong Lin to investigate the Iron Rule of Order and explained how he had impersonated the Emissary of Deception. He left Hong Lin unaware of the identity of them, and ended by affirming his faith in Destiny.

• Cheng Shi left Afros's Dolgo D with Big Cat and asked Afros to send him and Hong Lin back to the deserted Inquisition in Kato Court.
• Cheng Shi told Hong Lin that an Emissary of Deception had impersonated him during the trial, and that he had begun impersonating them in turn.
• Cheng Shi admitted that Afros suspected him and that he had brought Hong Lin to borrow her authority and buy time while seeking information.
• Hong Lin asked who Afros refused to mention, but Cheng Shi stayed silent, and she chose not to press him.
• Hong Lin and Cheng Shi recited their shared prayer over their dice, and Cheng Shi showed that he trusted Destiny to bring him to the final stage of the universe.

Cheng Shi and Hong Lin infiltrated Kato Court to investigate whether something had gone wrong in the Grand Inquisition, heading for the Wailing Iron Prison to question condemned prisoners about the law. They reached the prison’s sealed entrance, where Big Cat chose to break in by force.

• Hong Lin teased Cheng Shi about her lucky 24-sided die, then discussed Yug’s cowardice and revealed she wanted to test her strength against the Emissary of Decay.
• Cheng Shi said he planned to learn about recent legal trends from prisoners in the Wailing Iron Prison, whom he considered the people who knew the law best.
• Hong Lin and Cheng Shi used Tree Servant Yu Mu to scout and slipped through patrol gaps into Kato Court’s heavily guarded prison complex.
• Cheng Shi followed Big Cat, who had transformed into a Jungle Leopard, toward the dungeon entrance after they found no way to sneak past its defenses.
• With the trial nearing its end and no time to learn the guards’ shift schedule, Big Cat decided to force their way into the prison.

Big Cat smashed through the Wailing Iron Prison’s gate while Cheng Shi entered the dungeon to pursue his own objective. Disguised as a guard knight, Cheng Shi was exposed by the shift-change password and began a fight with the knights below.

• Big Cat transformed into a giant bear and crushed the prison’s iron gate, killing the guards at the entrance.
• Big Cat urged Cheng Shi to go inside while she held off the approaching knights, and she grew excited at the prospect of fighting the six Grand Inquisitors.
• Cheng Shi entered the prison disguised in scavenged armor and headed toward its lowest levels as guards went upstairs to respond to the alarm.
• A squad captain challenged Cheng Shi for the shift-change password, and the knights identified him as an intruder when he answered incorrectly.
• Cheng Shi summoned a Dice Rain as the knights surrounded him.

Cheng Shi and Yu Mu fought their way through Wailing Iron Prison and found the four trial participants imprisoned on a lower level. Cheng Shi disguised himself as a wounded knight and began questioning them, leaving their fate—and the possibility of exploiting them—unresolved.

• Cheng Shi killed the knights surrounding him with his scalpel, but reinforcements arrived from the lower levels.
• Yu Mu appeared and used Sudden Twilight to wither the charging knights, then followed Cheng Shi deeper into the prison.
• Cheng Shi descended to the seventh level and found his four trial teammates chained to an iron frame among the prisoners.
• Cheng Shi put on a dead knight's armor, smeared blood on his face, and pretended to interrogate the four teammates.
• The prisoners denied involvement in the Tribunal intruders and said they had been falsely accused, including one who mentioned being sentenced for a Lin Renyu crime.
• One teammate offered Cheng Shi valuables in exchange for passing their appeal to the Tribunal.

Cheng Shi revealed himself to the four imprisoned teammates after stopping their ambush with Decay’s Fading authority. He left them alive and demanded compensation, claiming they owed him two lives.

• Cheng Shi provoked the prisoners, and two of them broke their own limbs to launch a coordinated attack against him.
• Yu Mu fired Sudden Twilight arrows at the attackers, but Cheng Shi caught one with his Decay-powered arm and remained unharmed when they struck him.
• Cheng Shi revealed that he had used Faded Majesty to test Decay’s power and that he had become a Today's Warrior rather than a priest.
• The four teammates recognized Cheng Shi, fell silent after he saved them, and listened as he demanded compensation for the two lives he said they owed him.

Cheng Shi shook down four captured players, then heard an investigator’s request to reach a prisoner in the Wailing Iron Prison. The investigator revealed that he suspected Order was corrupted and named Chenosli as the prisoner who might hold answers.

• Cheng Shi demanded ransom from the four players and accepted three blank A-rank Laws from the tall, thin investigator as payment for his life.
• The investigator asked Cheng Shi to help him reach an important prisoner in the Wailing Iron Prison so he could investigate the truth.
• The investigator explained that resisting capture would have led to their deaths because Altare, the Grand Inquisitor known as the Sword of Punishment, was present.
• The investigator confessed that he suspected something was wrong with his Lord of Grace, Order.
• The investigator named Chenosli, a former first-rank inquisitor of the Grand Inquisition, as the prisoner held in the prison’s lowest level, startling Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi freed four prisoners and descended with inspector Li Zhen to find the hidden lowest level of the Wailing Iron Prison. There, he discovered his old acquaintance Chenosli chained alongside two other prisoners.

• Cheng Shi decided to investigate the prison after learning that Chenosli was imprisoned in its lowest level, and freed the four captives.
• Cheng Shi asked the captives about Memory-related powers and made them sign a Deception clown contract; Li Zhen admitted he possessed a Dream-Peeking Candle.
• Cheng Shi refused to let the other three captives follow and went down the dungeon passage with Li Zhen and Tree Servant.
• Li Zhen revealed that the final level was concealed inside a wall and used an arrow imbued with Order to make the wall disappear.
• Cheng Shi saw Chenosli and two other prisoners suspended in chains of holy light inside the hidden stone prison.

Cheng Shi recognized Laquis and Lidyaala among the prisoners and uncovered that Li Zhen belonged to the History School. Suspicious of Li Zhen’s knowledge of the prison, Cheng Shi knocked him out and approached the captives, but Order’s sacred light punished Chenosli when Cheng Shi tried to heal him.

• Li Zhen identified Laquis as the final Grand Justicar and Lidyaala as the penultimate Grand Investigator, who should have been dead according to history.
• Cheng Shi deduced that Li Zhen belonged to the History School and tested his claims about the Dream-Peeking Candle.
• Cheng Shi knocked Li Zhen unconscious, drugged and bound him, then positioned Yu Mu to guard him with an arrow.
• Cheng Shi carefully approached the cell and greeted Chenosli, Laquis, and Lidyaala.
• Cheng Shi tried to heal Chenosli, but Order’s sacred light shielded him, tightened his restraints, and knocked him unconscious.

Cheng Shi questioned the imprisoned Grand Justicar Laquis and learned that he and Lidyaala believed Order had become corrupted. Lidyaala revealed that Laquis had publicly exposed Order’s abnormality, leaving Cheng Shi to consider how to learn more from her.

• Cheng Shi tried to draw Laquis into conversation, but the old man ignored him until Cheng Shi mocked his devotion to Order.
• Lidyaala declared that Order had disappeared from the world and said they had lost the object of their devotion.
• Laquis raged that Order had embraced a new will and abandoned justice, then collapsed unconscious.
• Cheng Shi realized Laquis thought Order itself had become corrupt and turned to Lidyaala for more information.
• Lidyaala insisted Laquis was no coward because he had discovered Order’s abnormality and exposed it publicly.

Cheng Shi questioned Lidyaala about why she had been imprisoned and traded a fabricated account of Order’s fate for her knowledge. Lidyaala explained how Laquis discovered that the Grand Inquisition’s Supreme Tribunal had been altered, ending with Laquis finding Loart confronting the Iron Rule of Order.

• Cheng Shi asked Lidyaala why she had joined Laquis in prison, and she said she believed the Grand Justicar had to uphold justice openly.
• Lidyaala agreed to cooperate after recognizing that Cheng Shi’s aims did not conflict with hers, but asked him to explain the kindling of Order first.
• Cheng Shi lied that true Order was trapped, and Lidyaala urgently asked where he was before Cheng Shi demanded her account in return.
• Lidyaala told Cheng Shi that Loart had disappeared, leaving Essares and Kainlaur to preside over the Supreme Tribunal in violation of the Grand Inquisition’s constitution.
• Laquis discovered the Iron Rule of Order was missing and found Loart confronting it; Loart appeared to be trying to destroy the codex while it suppressed his madness.