The words are not crude, and the reasoning is sound, but the execution is too crude.

With the flame of hope hanging precariously in the air, Qin Xin was at a loss for words. She simply smiled and considered how to comfort Nangong and let her know that the torchbearer had not suffered any loss due to Cheng Shi's arrival.

It was a rare moment for Cheng Shi to recall the joy of the Fishpond Bureau, and he chuckled for a while. However, he remembered his purpose for coming, so he quickly got back into the swing of things, his gaze sharpening as he began to explain his plans.

"The audience is just around the corner, and I suspect that God of Joy has prepared a big surprise for me ahead of me."

I'm not sure what lies ahead, I can only do my best.

Qin Xin, I desperately need your vote.

This vote naturally refers to the voting rights of [War] in the [Convention], so Cheng Shi's meaning is also very clear: he is urging Qin Xin to inherit everything of [War] as soon as possible, sit on that divine throne, and appear before the world in a brand new guise.

This does not conflict with Qin Xin's position, but the problem lies in the fact that the timing of the showdown was too early.

Qin Xin originally intended to lie low for a while longer, relying on his growing strength to expand the scale of the Firelinkers as much as possible. At least after finding the path to the future, he would inherit the divine throne and bring the Firelinkers to the forefront.

But Cheng Shi’s statement today will undoubtedly accelerate the “god-making plan” of the torchbearers.

It was clear that Cheng Shi's tone was extremely sincere, and the Firebringer did indeed owe the Fate Weaver a debt of gratitude. As the founder of the Firebringer, Qin Xin seemed to have no reason to refuse Cheng Shi's request.

But Qin Xin never just thought about protecting the good things; beyond his personal will, he was always considering the world.

He will still choose to help Cheng Shi, but the deployment of the Firelinkers may need to be slightly changed before he takes over. They cannot be known to the world so quickly because of his "exposure".

Cheng Shi saw Qin Xin's hesitation and shook his head at him, saying:

"At this point, no one cared what kind of organization the Firelinkers were."

The gods' eyes are on me. With such a troublemaker in front of them, who wants to drag them down from their thrones, they won't cast too much attention on a group of mortals who are not yet a threat to them.

Once you become [War], they will not easily become your enemy just because of the resistance of a group of mortals.

The gods who hindered the end of [Nothingness] have long been swept away by the tides of time. You must know that all the arrangements made by the God of Joy throughout this era have been to clear away all obstacles in the path of the Fear faction.

Cheng Shi began by recounting the fraud scheme he knew, continuing until the fabricated ending that no one in the world remembered.

He couldn't bear to tell Qin Xin about the final edict again, but instead mentioned how the Flame of Hope had transformed into a vessel of [Destiny] to save him.

Upon hearing this, the flames on the candle-wielding figure blazed for a moment before quickly waning.

He stared at Cheng Shi in disbelief, listening as Cheng Shi finished recounting the play called "Change," his entire fiery body freezing in place.

He said, somewhat bewildered:

"Is He an Outer God [Fate]?"

“No, He is [deception]. The Outer God is just an act He plays. Although I still don’t know why He would play an Outer God, He is definitely not an Outer God,” Cheng Shi said firmly.

At least in Qin Xin's and Hope's eyes, he was exceptionally determined.

However, the Flame of Hope saw through Cheng Shi's confusion, for it was now just as confused as Cheng Shi.

He had doubted his identity countless times, and even felt that the "deception" was not "deception" at all, but rather the merciless "fate" that had severed him.

Therefore, in His view, “fate” is not “fate” at all, but most likely a fraud that deceives the world and changes identities.

However, this conjecture was completely overturned after hearing Cheng Shi's account of the sham ending.

Because in His understanding, if “deception” played the role of “fate”, He would never choose to sacrifice Himself; and if “fate” was “deception”, He would never admit to being an external god.

[Fate] does not consider obsession with established things as a sin, and therefore does not need to shift all the blame onto a mysterious external god.

Although everything that has ended in this false curtain is a change, so too is the flame of hope. It understands change best and can see through which wills have been wantonly distorted and which wills have remained unchanged from beginning to end in this false curtain.

So it's still fraud, and fate is still fate!

But why do I feel a kind of faith-like attraction towards [Fraud]?

Could it be that the identity of the Flame of Hope is fake, and that I am a completely fraudulent creation?

Did He relinquish His own authority, deceive the universe, and create Himself?

What authority did He relinquish?

In that false ending, why did I, after my own demise, transform into a true vessel of "fate"?

The flame of hope was in disarray, its violent flickering revealing the extreme turmoil within Him.

He asked softly:

"And what about [Fate]...? Where is He now?"

"Like [fraud], it's gone."

Cheng Shi also wondered if the obsession with destiny was just a disguise for nothingness.

These two rulers of the Void finalized their plan to usher in the end of an era at the very beginning of it, and then pretended to have different positions to put on a grand show for the world.

Otherwise, how can one explain that one's predetermined fate is largely driven by [deception], yet [fate] has no objection to it, and even that the fate of another world has altered one's own will to agree to [deception] Cheng Shi's salvation plan?

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