To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

After another fruitless prayer, it carefully took out a capsule.

The capsule was tiny, barely half a centimeter long when held in its hand, but the poison contained within was immensely potent, enough to kill it instantly without any pain.

As it gazed at the object, it began to contemplate whether to end its own life, yet it worried that even this might be part of Lady Tragedy’s plan.

While it was torn by indecision, someone knocked on the door, the sudden sound making it almost drop the poison in its fright. It barely managed to grasp it securely and tucked it into its pocket.

Staring at the door of the prayer room, it temporarily suppressed its emotions and then asked, “Who is it?”

“My lord, a friend of yours is here, it says it wishes to see you.”

“Tell it to leave.”

“It claims it knows what you are worried about, and it says it can solve your problem.”

“…Let it in.”

Those driven to desperation will always try to clutch at every straw within reach.

The Scavenger knew that the other might harbor ill intentions, or possibly come with some vile purpose, but it had no other options left.

Yet, when the other entered, it still widened its eyes in shock.

The other was a disciple of the Shadows.

Ordinary believers could not perceive it, but having been blessed by Lady Tragedy, it could sense the aura of shadows carried by the other.

But this was impossible!

Under the Heavenly Tao network, any emergence of the Shadows would be annihilated, all the more so in the temple, the place closest to the Gods; they should not appear here.

As the Scavenger was in shock, the other lifted their hood, revealing the pale face of a penguin.

“Long time no see, Scavenger.” The penguin smiled, its mouth full of sharp teeth.

The Scavenger stared at the other party, and after a moment said, “It’s you, Egg Thief. I thought you were dead.”

“Almost. Having been devoured by the God of Lies, as Its High Priest, I met a similar fate. I was reborn in the Shadows and have come here on the orders of my lord.”

The Scavenger silently backed away, then found its weapon.

It wasn’t primarily a combat creature, but it too had been blessed by Lady Tragedy and was capable of holding its own against the other for a while.

As long as it could delay for enough time, the guards responsible for protecting the place would arrive, and the intruder would not succeed.

However, the penguin in front did not adopt a fighting stance but slapped its arm and said, “I know what you’re worried about. You can’t get in touch with Lady Tragedy anymore, can you?”

“How do you know that?”

“Of course I know. My lord has already begun invading the entire Heavenly Tao network; it’s only a matter of time before the network falls. Ah, but I forgot, I am the High Priest of the God of Lies; you must doubt my words. No worry. Everything may deceive you, but facts and logic will not.”

Leaning against the secret door, the Scavenger ensured it could retreat at any moment, finally feeling much safer.

Observing the Egg Thief again, it noticed that the other’s body was permeated with massive amounts of Shadows, transformed into another state of existence by it.

Yet, there was a force relentlessly severing the aura from its body, keeping the Heavenly Tao network from detecting it.

The Scavenger didn’t know how many such creatures as the Egg Thief there might be, but it was certain there were many. They took advantage of the panic of such High Priests to approach them and then began to spill all sorts of conspiracy and trickery.

It knew it should leave and call the guards to chop the penguin to death or find an Envoy of an Outer God, but in the end, it did not leave.

What if, this too is a part of Lady Tragedy’s plan?

Although Lady Tragedy has a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the Shadows, after all, She has not yet defected to the Shadows, which makes the current Egg Thief a somewhat laughable, yet ironically trustworthy person to her.

Seeing that the Scavenger did not speak, the Egg Thief took out a round, egg-shaped stone from his pocket and carefully positioned it under his body before saying contently, “That’s better, some things are indeed better done with a body. If one were to die, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy this kind of thing.”

The Scavenger continued to remain silent, but its will to survive grew even stronger.

Knowing that this was the Egg Thief’s rhetoric, it still asked, “What brings you to me? What is it you want?”

“The Main God has issued a command to you, to conduct a great mass, to believe in the Apostles of the Outer God, and to spare those reality interferers. What do you think His intent is?”

“…We should not try to fathom the will of the Gods.”

“How devout,” replied the Egg Thief, “but the little pill in your pocket doesn’t seem to think the same way.”

The Scavenger’s expression changed drastically as it hurriedly covered its pocket.

“Don’t panic,” the Egg Thief said calmly, “we Priests of the evil gods are all the same, always preparing something in our pockets. But after being devoured by the Shadows, I no longer entertain such thoughts. It’s hard for you to understand that feeling, we are all information, information enshrouded by the Shadows. At the moment of being devoured, I merged with the Gods into the Shadows, our consciousnesses blended at that moment, we became one, inseparable.”

“That is corruption!”

“That is understanding. The more one knows, the less happy they become, this is the norm for us Priests. We all know the power of the Shadows is inevitable, the Heavenly Tao network will eventually be breached, the Shadows will occupy everything here, and we will become a part of the Shadows. We should not resist this change, we should embrace it. And you, my fellow, are right at this crossroads.”

The seductive voice arose as the Egg Thief began to narrate endlessly the exquisite sensation of merging with the Gods.

“Mortals cannot comprehend the Gods, let alone the fact that there are a multitude of Gods dwelling within the Shadows, where our consciousnesses intermingle, beginning to understand one another. I have come to know the greatness of the Gods, and the Gods have understood my fear and my devotion. We have sunk together in the sea of Shadows, a sense of return to the womb that you will never understand.”

The overwhelming seduction turned the Scavenger’s face pale, yearning for the endless quiet it now desired most.

After the introduction, the Egg Thief did not continue, but looked at the Scavenger with a sinister smile, “One more piece of news to tell you, the Gods have reincarnated as humans, this I learned by infiltrating the Heavenly Tao network, also the reason you couldn’t get a prophecy from Lady Tragedy. However, we do not know why They have chosen to reincarnate; it may be up to you to figure that out.”

There are many ways to play with lies; even if every statement is true, suggestions can lead others to completely wrong conclusions.

Now, under the Egg Thief’s bewitchment, the Scavenger had already started to develop very unfavorable associations.

Being inherently a pessimist, the absence of Lady Tragedy had already thrown it into immense panic, and the Egg Thief’s implications led it to an incorrect conclusion—that the Heavenly Tao network was about to be doomed, and the Gods had already started to seek refuge from this world.

Noting that the Scavenger’s gaze was becoming bewildered, the Egg Thief knew the brainwashing was nearly complete.

The other had been convinced by the “truth,” beginning to accept the existence of “lies,” and had been brainwashed, becoming a servant of the Shadows.

Moreover, with the blessing of the God of Lies, it was even easier to capture the other’s timidity and fear, and thus, to capture the other.

The Scavenger, on the other hand, thought of the reality interferers that had never appeared before, a fact which made it mutter to itself, “Reality interferers… why? Why would the Gods do this?”

“I don’t know, maybe they want to play a big game before the destruction of the world? Isn’t it you who said we shouldn’t guess the thoughts of the Gods?” the Egg Thief said indifferently.

“What should I do? Should I not hold the great mass?”

“Continue to hold it, but change the target from the Heavenly Tao network to our Lord. As for the reincarnation of Lady Tragedy… you can continue to worship Her, it’s okay.”

“I’m not foolish!”

After saying that, it took up its weapon and headed toward the prison, and soon after, the tragic screams of Lady Tragedy could be heard.

Yet, even though the reincarnation of Gods also carries the attribute of immortality, this trait on a mortal flesh is a tragedy, and it turned Lady Tragedy into Her favorite food.

At this moment, fate intertwined into a loop, returning exactly what She had done before back to Her.

And High Priests like it were gradually becoming more numerous.