Aransta sat on the bed; it was already dark outside, and the night storm had not yet arrived.
"Brother, are you really going to hunt that thing from last night?"
“Hmm,” Arceus replied, “I analyzed the divine power within Alice; the god who created her is called [Puppet], but this power is far too little…”
"With such a small amount of divine power, they were able to create a near-god. Just how terrifying are those guys?"
Thump thump thump—
A knock on the door?!
Aransta was somewhat surprised. He looked out the window; the night storm hadn't arrived at all, so it couldn't possibly be the Night Raven! Then who could it be?! Could it be a resident of the deserted city?
"elder brother......"
"Open the door." Presumably the live stream feed had been cut off, Arceus revealed himself, stood in front of Aransta, and then walked towards the door.
"Come on, this is a meeting I've been looking forward to!"
The door opened, and standing in the doorway was an old woman.
"Young man, won't you invite me in for a seat?"
“Of course, please come in—” Arceus smiled slightly and gestured for him to enter. “[Puppet] Lord.”
"What a clever young man, but being too clever isn't always a good thing."
[The Doll] Sitting on the chair opposite the bed, Aransta stood up somewhat bewildered, but Arceus pressed him back down and then stood between the two of them.
"You killed Alice."
"That's right."
“Interesting, young man, don’t be nervous—” [Puppet] gave Alansta a faint smile. “I’m not here to interrogate you. Things of that level are irrelevant to me.”
Is a near-divine being merely "insignificant" in His words...?
"You are a 'Fallen God'? Strange, how did you become a bizarre creature? Your story must be very interesting. It's a pity, because you are a Fallen God, you can't become my 'Substitute God'."
The two new terms mentioned by the "Puppet" were unfamiliar to Arceus, but he could vaguely guess their meanings. The "Puppet's" personal appearance was both an opportunity and a danger for Arceus!
From the doll's words, we can infer that the gods do not share information. He does not have information about Arceus, which means that other gods may not have it either!
"To be able to awaken a [miracle] through your own power, you are truly remarkable. This means—you have been infinitely close to death? Or rather, you have already died once?"
"You flatter me."
Arceus only responded to the first half of the "doll's" statement, ignoring the second half.
What is your "miracle"?
"Well, I'm afraid I can't answer that for now, Lord [Puppet]." Arceus smiled. "Why don't you tell me first, where exactly does the [Miracle] come from?"
[Puppet] teleported instantly, its palm transforming into a claw as it attacked Arthas's neck!
"elder brother!"
Arceus did not move, but simply watched as the puppet's hand stopped in front of his chest.
"What do you want to do?!"
Aransta immediately questioned the [doll]!
"Calm down, Aransta."
Arceus waved behind him, quietly indicating to Aransta that he was not in danger.
"How calm. Even in a life-or-death crisis, you're unwilling to use [Miracle]?"
"What life-or-death crisis? [Puppet] Master, will you really kill me?"
“I like intelligent people.” The puppet leaned closer, almost touching Arceus, “but I don’t particularly enjoy dealing with intelligent people.”
"I'm guessing it's some kind of 'miracle' that can permanently transform a human into a bizarre creature—"
"Illusion? Faith? Or perhaps—a lingering dream?"
Throughout the entire process, Arceus's expression remained unchanged.
"Take a guess? If you don't guess, I'm going to start guessing!"
“Even though I have transformed from a human into a bizarre creature and lost my identity as a ghost storyteller, I can still use [miracles]. This proves that [miracles] and talents are essentially two different things. It also means that this is my own thing and will not disappear because of the change in my identity.”
"Does this mean that even if I leave the world of ghost stories, I can still use this ability in the world of the supernatural, or even on Earth?" Arceus met the gaze of the [Puppet]. "Furthermore, judging from your previous assessment, the total number of [Miracles] doesn't seem to be that many. Does everyone like me represent a different [Miracle]?"
“This—” The doll covered its mouth and chuckled. A layer of wax-like substance melted, and its appearance changed from that of an old woman to that of a beautiful woman. It stretched out its finger and slid it across Arthas’s face. “I can’t tell you this. It’s an agreement between me and a few other guys. At least for now.”
"That's such a pity."
"It's not a pity—"
The figure of the doll disappeared, and then reappeared behind Aransta, lying on his back and blowing a breath on the back of his neck.
"Huh?! Huh—"
"Don't rush, handsome young man."
Aransta quickly escaped from the doll's embrace: "You! What do you want to do?!"
"Do you want to become my 'proxy god'?"
What is a 'god substitute'?
"It's simple. I'll give you the [Miracle], and you'll become my representative," the [Puppet] continued. "As for what you want to do with this power, that's up to you. You're still sharing a talent with your brother, aren't you? Don't you want to have a power of your own?"
The doll's words were very persuasive, but Alansta also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"After becoming your proxy god, what am I supposed to do for you?"
"At present, no."
"Free things are always the most expensive. You're making it impossible for me to trust you!"
“Young man, are you mistaken about something?” The puppet smiled. “The power of the miracle is right here. It’s not that I need you, but that you need me. If you’re willing, take this power. If you don’t want it, there’s nothing I can do. It doesn’t affect me at all.”
Aransta clenched his fist. The [Puppet] was right in front of him, and he was still hesitant about whether or not to take this power.
Just then, Arceus placed his hand on his shoulder. Aransta turned around and saw Arceus gently shaking his head.
"I still can't believe something like this..."
“Brother!” Aransta lowered his head, then suddenly raised it to meet Arceus’s gaze. “I also want to… truly help you.”
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