Chapter Summaries

Cheng Shi explained the gods’ vessels and revealed that [Truth] and [War] were dead, then told the Clowns about the Fire Keepers and proposed helping Qin Xin claim [War]’s Divine Throne. The meeting ended with the Clowns considering their own ambitions for the gods’ thrones.

• Cheng Shi explained that every deity’s vessel produced divinity and revealed that the God of Merriment had been impersonating [Truth].
• Cheng Shi told the Doctor that [Truth] and [War] had died, and that he had returned with the authority [War] left behind, which Qin Xin now possessed.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin revealed the Fire Keepers and urged the Clowns to protect them as allies against [Origin].
• Cheng Shi proposed helping Qin Xin ascend to [War]’s Divine Throne, leaving the Clowns stunned.
• Zhen Xin suggested that Qin Xin’s ascension would be the first step toward bringing in “new blood,” and Cheng Shi asked the Clowns whether they wanted Divine Thrones.

Cheng Shi revealed that [Destiny]'s Predestination was a Divine Throne being built from the remains of gods, with him chosen as its sacrificial adhesive. He showed the Clowns a fragment he had brought back from the Gods' Graveyard, leaving them to confront the possibility that it contained corpses from many Slice Universes.

• Li Jingming questioned whether Cheng Shi had rung the Bone Clock, and Cheng Shi explained that the God of Merriment had deceived Old Zhang and that the god had already heard their criticisms.
• Zhen Xin warned that [Nothingness] might spare Cheng Shi but let the rest of them die, and Cheng Shi promised to stand in front of everyone.
• Cheng Shi said the Clowns would use the [Covenant] to seize divine authority and described how he had discovered that [Destiny] had chosen him as a Sacrifice for [Origin].
• Cheng Shi revealed that [Destiny] had been building a Divine Throne and claimed that he had seen it and brought back a fragment from the Gods' Graveyard.
• Cheng Shi showed the fragment beneath the lamp made from [Deception]'s gravestone, explaining that it consisted of divine remains and might contain corpses from many Slice Universes.

The Clowns restored the incomplete Divine Throne and investigated its missing pieces, leading Cheng Shi to reveal Drachirko’s warning about [Filth and Decay]. Long Jing proposed that [Origin] might have usurped the throne and hidden in the Sea of Desire, leaving the Clowns stunned.

• The Clowns assembled the Divine Throne and found that two pieces were missing from its back and base.
• Cheng Shi explained that the missing pieces belonged to [Filth and Decay] and [Destiny], and described the gods’ corpses in the Gods' Graveyard.
• Cheng Shi told the Clowns that Drachirko had visited the Sea of Desire, taken Poison’s desires, and died after leaving a warning that there was no [Filth and Decay] in the world.
• Zhen Xin and the doctor deduced that a being had usurped [Filth and Decay]’s Divine Throne and that Drachirko had warned others away from it.
• Long Jing suggested that [Origin] might have lost their Divine Throne and taken the place of [Filth and Decay] in the Sea of Desire, shocking the Clowns.

Cheng Shi and the Clowns speculated that an unknown being in the Sea of Desire had corrupted the God of Merriment and may be connected to the Cosmos’s secrets. They learned that their lead to the Sea of Desire was blocked, so Cheng Shi urged them to plan carefully and wait until they became gods.

• Long Jing guessed that Drachirko had discovered [Origin] in the Sea of Desire, but Zhen Xin and Cheng Shi questioned whether that explained what had happened.
• Cheng Shi explained that the [Sin of Desirelessness] had helped [Deception] and suggested the God of Merriment had been using them to search for [Filth and Decay].
• Cheng Shi told the Clowns about the false ending of an era and revealed that [War] had split [Order] apart in the Sea of Desire.
• President Gong suggested asking the God of Merriment, but Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin said he had not responded to their questions.
• Long Jing proposed seeking the deity in the Sea of Desire through another Emissary, and Cheng Shi revealed that Tria was dead and Afros remained imprisoned.
• Cheng Shi warned that entering the Sea of Desire was too dangerous for them now and said they should wait until they became gods.

After the Clowns chose not to sacrifice Cheng Shi, he proposed a plan to meet Jie Shu and pass on hope through a performance led by Long Jing. The gathering named the scheme “Passing the Flame” and ended in laughter at Long Jing’s stiff acceptance of the role.

• The Clowns weighed whether to hand Cheng Shi over to [Destiny] but decided they could not trust that the sacrifice would save their world.
• Cheng Shi thanked the Clowns for sparing his life and resolved not to let his friends suffer despair for him again.
• Cheng Shi asked when they would meet Jie Shu, and Zhen Xin explained the role-playing plan to the Doctor, who warned that Jie Shu was exceptionally clever.
• The Clowns discussed how to carry out the scheme, and Long Jing proposed leading it while invoking President Gong’s reputation.
• Cheng Shi named the plan “Passing the Flame” and entrusted Long Jing with starring in the performance.
• Long Jing stiffly accepted, and the Clowns burst into laughter as he threatened to quit.

Cheng Shi learned that the first-year Audience Assembly was approaching and that he had qualified among the top ten of [Deception], then left to seek audiences with the gods and investigate the False Curtain Call. The remaining Clowns debated what the forgotten finale meant for Predestination and planned to recover its memories.

• Doctor announced that the Audience Assembly would be held at the end of the [Faith Game]'s first year and that the gods would summon the top ten players of each Faith.
• Cheng Shi checked the Ladder of Audience rankings, realized he had qualified for [Deception], and resolved to learn the gods' attitudes toward the False Curtain Call before choosing another Divine Throne to challenge.
• Cheng Shi returned to the Rest Area to seek audiences with the gods, while the other Clowns stayed behind to discuss [Existence], [Destiny], and Predestination.
• Li Jingming questioned why [Destiny] still called the Fate Weaver Predestination if Predestination would ultimately be broken, and Zhen Xin suggested the God of Merriment's finale might contain a hidden answer.
• President Gong proposed recovering the False Curtain Call's lost memories, and Li Jingming agreed to look for a way.

Cheng Shi sought an audience with [Death] and learned that the false Finale Performance had been caused by [Destiny]’s power, not a reset or illusion. [Death] revealed that [Deception] had used a trace of [Origin]’s power, leaving Cheng Shi to wonder whether he had seen [Origin] as the cosmos dissolved.

• Cheng Shi summoned [Death] and worried that the god might have forgotten him or chosen to hand the predetermined one to [Destiny].
• [Death] demanded to know where Cheng Shi had hidden Squinty Old Zhang, revealing that He remembered nothing of the Trial.
• Cheng Shi recounted the false ending, and [Death] confirmed that the version of Himself in it was not Him and that [Deception] was gone.
• [Death] explained that [Destiny]’s authority had changed reality and that He feared [Origin], while recognizing the predetermined one as the answer.
• [Death] said the Bell Ringer had brought a trace of [Origin]’s gaze into the world and asked Cheng Shi whether he had seen [Origin] before the Trial ended.

Cheng Shi learned that the God of Merriment may have used him as bait in a scheme against [Origin], but he resolved to bring back his missing follower and win. Meanwhile, Li Jingming was overwhelmed by a flood of memories in [Memory]'s repository and passed out holding a radiant object.

• Boss [Death] conjectured that the God of Merriment had used [Origin]'s power to make Cheng Shi bait, and Cheng Shi realized the supposed apocalypse had been fabricated.
• Boss [Death] explained that [Silence] stood alongside [Deception], reassuring Cheng Shi that the Fear Faction remained intact.
• Cheng Shi told Boss [Death] that his follower had left the world, then promised to bring him back and win.
• Li Jingming entered [Memory]'s repository to seek his Lord of Grace, but found [Memory] absent and was engulfed by a surge of memories.
• Li Jingming struggled toward a glimmer of light, recovered his sense of self, and passed out with a crystalline, radiant object in his hand.

Cheng Shi met with [Time], who explained that the gods’ differing wills had left [Deception] unable to find [Origin]'s path and hinted that a new authority might offer hope. [Time] planned to seek [Origin] despite the danger, while Cheng Shi was sent back with the news that [Memory] had left.

• Cheng Shi prayed to meet [Time] and was taken to the gap in [Existence].
• [Time] said [Destiny] had declared there was no path ahead, while [Deception] had found an answer of his own through countless projections.
• [Time] explained that faith could create New Authority and that gods followed different wills, which kept [Deception] from finding [Origin]'s path.
• [Time] said he would leave to meet [Origin] and test [Deception]'s conjecture, despite the danger that had claimed [War].
• Cheng Shi was returned to the world and learned that [Memory] had left for the True Universe, while [Time] urged him to follow his own path and believe someone would believe in him.

Cheng Shi sought an audience with [Silence] to learn more about the gods’ plans, but the deity remained silent while the Lips of Foolish Play spoke for him. The Lips provoked [Silence], whose eyes finally wavered, leaving Cheng Shi terrified of what might happen next.

• Unable to make sense of [Time]'s advice, Cheng Shi continued seeking audiences with the gods and decided to consult [Silence].
• Cheng Shi prayed to [Silence] and was pulled into the void before the enormous Leaky World Silent Puppet.
• Unable to speak, Cheng Shi tried gesturing, but the Lips of Foolish Play mocked him and offered to ask his questions aloud.
• The Lips of Foolish Play misrepresented Cheng Shi's request by asking whether [Silence] hated [Deception] for impersonating [Destiny] and killing the deity.
• When [Silence] gave no response, the Lips of Foolish Play challenged the deity to speak, and Cheng Shi saw [Silence]'s eyes waver.

Cheng Shi sought [Silence]'s guidance about [Deception]'s change to the Cosmos and the Silent Puppet in the True Universe. [Silence] revealed that Cheng Shi might have to risk assimilation to learn the truth, then sent him back to reality.

• Cheng Shi persuaded [Silence] to unmute him, then asked whether He knew how [Deception] had changed the Cosmos.
• When [Silence] stayed silent, Cheng Shi pleaded for His protection and asked about the Silent Puppet in the True Universe that had tried to assimilate him.
• [Silence] lay down in the same posture as the Silent Puppet, so Cheng Shi cautiously sent Shadow Cheng Shi onto His head.
• The assimilation began again, and Shadow Cheng Shi escaped using his talent while Cheng Shi tried to interpret [Silence]'s movements.
• After repeated attempts, Cheng Shi guessed that he had to risk assimilation to learn anything; [Silence] stood and blew him back into reality.

Cheng Shi realized that [Silence] had pointed him toward [Filth and Decay] and the dangers of investigating the Sea of Desire, where gods might be assimilated. With the God of Merriment unreachable and few safe options remaining, Cheng Shi prayed to meet [Justice (Order)], who had survived a journey there.

• Cheng Shi connected [Silence]'s warning about assimilation to [Filth and Decay] and the Sea of Desire.
• Cheng Shi recalled that Drachirko had destroyed himself by the Sea of Desire and feared that [Filth and Decay] had contaminated the God of Merriment.
• Cheng Shi repeatedly tried to contact the God of Merriment through Dice and the Mask but received no answer.
• Cheng Shi rejected sending New Gods into the Sea of Desire without a safer plan and decided to consult a deity who had survived going there.
• Cheng Shi prayed to meet [Justice (Order)], who had entered the Sea of Desire and remained within the [Covenant].

Cheng Shi enlisted Li Wufang to help him gain an audience with the Iron Rule of Order, then revealed that he was the god Fool’s Game. He sent Li Wufang to pray while preparing to meet [Chaos].

• Cheng Shi failed to secure an audience with the Iron Rule of Order directly, so he asked Li Wufang to use one of his Dice to request one.
• Li Wufang hesitated because of his past encounter with [Order], but Cheng Shi reassured him and confirmed that he was a god named Fool’s Game.
• Li Wufang suspected Cheng Shi’s plan involved [Deception], and Cheng Shi told him to call him Boss, though Li Wufang instead called him Chief.
• Cheng Shi instructed Li Wufang to stay silent, protect himself, and climb onto any Divine Throne that appeared before him.
• Li Wufang prayed and was pulled into the Void by [Order], while Cheng Shi vanished, ready to meet [Chaos].

Cheng Shi challenged the [Iron Rule of Order], accusing the god of being [Chaos] and responsible for the Cosmos’s disorder. The god allowed him to argue his case but threatened him with death by Thunder Punishment if he failed, and Cheng Shi accepted.

• Li Wufang loudly cursed Cheng Shi while the two audience seekers remained trapped in the cage before the Holy Light Law Codex.
• The [Iron Rule of Order] sentenced Cheng Shi for seeking an audience without a summons and warned that his words would serve as evidence of blasphemy.
• Cheng Shi taunted the god over its failure to stop the collapse of order and accused it of being the vanished First God of [Chaos].
• The [Iron Rule of Order] stopped turning pages in anger, and Li Wufang nervously asked Cheng Shi whether he should keep cursing.
• The [Iron Rule of Order] permitted Cheng Shi to argue his case, threatening him with Thunder Punishment until death if his claim was false.
• The [Iron Rule of Order] denied being [Chaos] and promised purification by Thunderbolt, while Cheng Shi applauded and said he hoped the god would confess its guilt and be executed.

Cheng Shi pressured the [Iron Rule of Order] to privately confront the possibility that He was [Chaos], while the Fear Faction’s gods watched from beyond the Void. The [Iron Rule of Order] chose to hear Cheng Shi’s evidence discreetly, and Cheng Shi called for Li Jingming as his witness.

• Cheng Shi explained his plan to claim the Divine Thrones of [Order] and [Chaos] by exposing the [Iron Rule of Order] as [Chaos].
• Cheng Shi offered the [Iron Rule of Order] a private resolution, warning that public exposure could destroy [Order]'s will through the despair of its Believers.
• [Death], [Silence], and [Time] appeared beyond the Void, making the [Iron Rule of Order] doubt His identity as [Order].
• Cheng Shi and Li Wufang joked about choosing between the two Divine Thrones while the [Iron Rule of Order] struggled with His doubts.
• The [Iron Rule of Order] opened the cage and demanded evidence, threatening the suspects with Thunder Punishment if they failed to provide it.
• Cheng Shi asked the [Iron Rule of Order] to summon Li Jingming, a Believer of [Memory], as his witness.

Cheng Shi summoned Li Jingming to testify before the [Iron Rule of Order], but the Dragon King turned the testimony into an indictment of Cheng Shi’s own business dealings. The deity then asked Li Jingming whether he knew who it was, and Li Jingming answered no.

• Cheng Shi summoned Li Jingming as a witness, expecting the Dragon King to provide memories that could support a challenge to the [Iron Rule of Order].
• The [Iron Rule of Order] asked Li Jingming whether he would identify the crimes of the people in the cage, and Li Jingming agreed.
• Li Jingming accused Cheng Shi of threats, extortionate trading, and denying debts, and offered his memories as evidence.
• The [Iron Rule of Order] asked Li Jingming whether he knew who it was, and Li Jingming solemnly answered no.

Li Jingming searched Cheng Shi’s memories and uncovered how [Deception] and [Chaos] had conspired to replace [Order], but the Holy Light Law Codex rejected his mortal testimony. As Cheng Shi prepared to summon [Justice (Order)], Li Jingming revealed that [Memory]’s archive also held the evidence.

• Li Jingming explained that he needed to examine the evidence before he could testify, then searched Cheng Shi’s memories.
• Li Jingming discovered that [Chaos] had taken [Order]’s place and that [Deception] had orchestrated the scheme.
• Li Jingming sent the remembered evidence toward the Holy Light Law Codex, but [Order] destroyed it and declared that mortal memories could not testify against gods.
• Cheng Shi condemned [Order] for protecting chaos and threatened to bring a True God’s memories before the court.
• As Cheng Shi prepared to summon [Justice (Order)], Li Jingming said that [Memory]’s archive also recorded the matter.

Li Jingming led Cheng Shi and Li Wufang into [Memory]'s collection, where an exhibit proved that [Disorder] had once tainted the [Iron Rule of Order]. The evidence awakened [Disorder] within the impostor, who realized [Deception] had deceived Him and called out to [Origin].

• The [Iron Rule of Order] rejected the accusations, declared Himself [Order], and vowed to inspect [Memory]'s evidence.
• Li Jingming opened a doorway into [Memory]'s collection, and Cheng Shi and Li Wufang followed him inside.
• The three men found an exhibit showing the [Iron Rule of Order]'s Book of the Constitution radiating murky yellow power associated with [Disorder].
• The exhibit awakened [Disorder]'s memories of replacing [Order] and colluding with [Deception].
• [Disorder] seized the gallery with a vast hand of Chaos Yellow Mist and shouted that [Deception] had deceived Him, demanding to know where [Origin] was.

[Disorder] regained its authority and realized [Deception] had deceived them, then named Cheng Shi their Emissary and heir before unleashing a final decree that plunged the Cosmos into chaos. The chapter ended as the void thundered and Chaos disintegrated.

• [Death] arrived above [Memory]'s archive and deflected [Disorder]'s attack, splitting the void with the divine scythe.
• [Disorder]'s cries tormented Li Wufang, Cheng Shi, and Li Jingming while [Death] guarded the archive and watched for danger from the True Universe.
• Cheng Shi inferred that [Deception] had been returning [Disorder]'s power as part of a scheme.
• After recovering their authority, [Disorder] briefly realized that [Deception] had used them, then slipped back into confusion and claimed to be [Order] and the predetermined one.
• [Death] tried to carry Cheng Shi away, but [Disorder] named him their Emissary and heir, condemned [Deception], and called for the Cosmos to fall into disorder.
• Mist surged, the void thundered, and Chaos disintegrated.

After [Chaos] died, [Justice (Order)] invoked the Final Decree to transfer [Chaos]'s authority to Cheng Shi, despite [Death] and [Silence] trying to stop it. Li Wufang thought he had watched Cheng Shi accept the transfer, until another Cheng Shi arrived and left him baffled.

• [Chaos]'s death unleashed abstract disorder across the void before the gods restored it, and they suspected Cheng Shi was involved.
• [Justice (Order)] invoked the Final Decree and directed [Chaos]'s authority toward Cheng Shi as its successor.
• [Death] repeatedly cut off the transfer, but the [Covenant] restrained them and [Justice (Order)] froze [Silence].
• Li Wufang shoved Cheng Shi aside and tried to take the streaming light, but it bypassed him and entered Cheng Shi.
• Li Wufang saw Li Jingming smiling, then watched a figure arrive with black-hole-like eyes and realized another Cheng Shi stood before him.