He was born in the northern part of the Southern Continent, in a bustling city named Colrain.
In the Lower City, within a slum crawling with thieves and wanted criminals, the sour stench of cheap liquor and the rusty scent of despair lingered eternally.
His parents were always drinking. Even many years later, he would remember the way they looked when drunk, either lying there snoring loudly, or grabbing a broken stool to smash against him.
Children of his age learned to rummage through garbage and steal bread. The bolder ones would set their sights on passing merchants, trying to snatch their sparkling jewelry and bulging, embroidered coin purses.
The consequence was being beaten within an inch of their lives by bodyguards or mercenaries.
Some died on the spot.
After all, these people could not afford healing potions.
He saw corpses rotting and stinking in the gutters, saw maggots crawling all over decaying eye sockets.
He practiced smiling in front of a mirror to make himself look sweeter and more harmless. He helped a crippled neighbor repair her doors and windows, begging her to teach him how to read. He cleaned up for the bookstore owner, hoping to exchange his labor for the right to read. He sat by the roadside observing passersby, trying to figure out their personalities.
He offered flowers and berries to a kind young nobleman and received his first silver coin, which he used to buy clean new clothes.
He chased a noble lady's carriage for two blocks to return a hair ornament she had accidentally dropped, and thereby obtained his first manual on combat aura.
He sat at the gambling tables, winning some and losing some, but always leaving with only a small sum of money, ensuring he never became a target for robbers.
Dressed in luxurious formal attire, he leaned against the balcony, watching the nobles toasting each other in the courtyard, as if looking down upon a group of chess pieces waiting to be played.
Yet, the pity he desired most never came.
Why, he whispered, caressing that beautiful face in the mirror, am I not the apostle you desire, Your Holiness?
Prequel to the Era of Ten Thousand Gods: The Sly Fox of Colrain
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the only sound was the faint crackling of the burning lamp oil.
Su Cheng stood frozen in place, her face completely blank.
What had she just said?
Oh.
It was the truth.
Su Cheng was speechless.
She carefully looked up at him.
Kai was staring at her thoughtfully.
There were no distinct emotions on his face, no smugness, surprise, teasing, or amusement. He just seemed lost in some kind of thought.
Besides, Su Cheng decided to strike first, I thought you knew!
She tried hard to adjust her emotions, suppressing her slightly racing heartbeat. I remember I might have said it.
Kai raised an eyebrow slightly. Do you mean you said it to me, or to someone else?
Su Cheng was confused.
What was wrong with this guy!
Why couldn't he continue to be a little more considerate and understanding?
Now, especially with that second question, it sounded exactly like she had a secret crush on him, which was why she would talk about him behind his back like a child experiencing their first taste of love.
She would never do something so silly.
Wait.
Su Cheng thought back carefully and realized she actually had done something like that, such as making a similar comment in a certain Royal Highness's bathhouse.
But she had only said those words to choke him off.
And she had been talking about his figure.
Weren't they just discussing his looks?
Su Cheng narrowed her eyes. I haven't said this to anyone. Why would I say such a thing? I remember I might have said it to you, and if not, then I remembered it wrong.
He curled the corners of his lips. Alright, then perhaps I remembered it wrong too. I guess we'll hardly ever know. After all, using memory related magic for something like this doesn't seem quite worth it.
Su Cheng asked, Can you?
Kai was noncommittal. Theoretically, I know how to do it, I'm just not very proficient.
Su Cheng silently pulled the portrait back from his hand and looked at it carefully for a while longer. It does look a bit similar. What do the words written below say?
There were some extremely scribbled characters beneath the portrait. They didn't look like any known language, but it could also just be because they were too messy.
Kai took it back, pretending not to notice the blush spreading across the girl's cheeks.
Well, the first sentence should go like this: I peeled back my skin, and beneath it was another face. I kept peeling, layer after layer... until finally, I saw you. It turns out we are all wearing each other's skin.
Su Cheng let out a confused, Huh?
Kai paused for a moment. To prove my existence, I must lie. This is the first, and also the greatest lie It told me. To repeat It, is to prove me.
Su Cheng asked, Is there more?
They are all madmen, Kai continued reading. They stubbornly believe in a story, and they call this story the world. But I can hear more stories at the same time. They scream, sing, and cry in my head, then intertwine into Its true name, which is also the only answer.
Su Cheng asked, Is that the end?
Kai flicked the paper in his hand. A rare surge of disgust rose in those cold, beautiful golden eyes. There is more, but I don't want to read that name out loud.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel intrigued. She reached out to take the paper, trying to make out the final characters. What is it? Since you recognize it, is it the God of Illusions?
Actually, he thought for a moment, now It is only known as a False God in the Void.
Su Cheng was taken aback. Are you sure?
Wasn't the Hidden Mirror Society composed of followers of the God of Illusions and the God of Dreams?
Those were not some False Gods of the Void; they were proper primary gods, allies of the God of Darkness.
To be precise, to the people of the Holy Church, they indeed referred to all other deities outside the God of Light's faction as false gods.
The God of Darkness, along with his subordinate gods and allies, were no exception.
But since it carried the prefix of the Void, it wouldn't be referring to a deity from the God of Darkness's faction.
She also remembered the God of Lust and Filth saying that the people of the Ring of the Silent worshipped and could communicate with ancient creatures in the Void. He had said that existence was named...
Su Cheng asked, You wouldn't be talking about the Serpent of Truth, would you?
Kai glanced at her. No. The so-called Void originally refers generally to places outside the known planes. The space and time in the Void are chaotic, and no rules are constant. Moreover, separated by too many planes, it is difficult for it to form a connection with the world we are in. There is more than one False God in the Void, and they do not gather together. They should just be located in some interstitial fault line, but they can still influence the Northern and Southern Continents, in some way.
His gaze fell upon the portrait.
Su Cheng said, Wait a minute, then this portrait, this face, does it belong to a believer of some False God in the Void? Or is it an avatar of a False God?
Kai looked up, seemingly unwilling to stare at the thing for too long. The latter.
Why would Its portrait appear here?
There is a legend that the current God of Illusions and the God of Dreams were both once human, and it was because they gained the power of a False God from the Void that they became deities.
Su Cheng was puzzled.
If the portrait in her hands really was a so-called False God from the Void...
If this person really was the dancer from that night, why would he suddenly come over to sleep with her? Was it just to help her alleviate the curse?
Could it be that she was also chosen to become a god?
The God of Light. The God of Darkness. The false gods in the void.
Was there some deeper connection between these three factions?
Su Cheng felt completely baffled. "Wait, is the claim that humans can become gods by obtaining the power of false gods actually true or false?"
Suddenly, a strange chill seeped into her fingertips.
It felt as if she had touched the scales of a living creature.
Su Cheng looked down in shock at the portrait on the parchment.
The lines in the sketch, from the strands of hair to the eyelashes, the shadows on the cheekbones, and the contour of the jawline—everything began to squirm.
It was as though countless tiny bugs were hiding beneath the charcoal powder, slowly crawling and reorganizing.
Wisps of smoke seeped out from the portrait. The gray mist flailed in the air, condensing into viscous tentacles that suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
It happened far too fast.
Before she could drop the portrait or dodge, her neck was locked in an instant, and then a terrifying suction force emerged from the portrait.
First her fingertips, then her wrist, followed by her forearm and her entire arm.
Su Cheng was dragged into the portrait inch by inch.
Where her skin touched the paper, ripples actually spread out, as if an invisible abyss was completely swallowing her whole.
More smoke poured out from the painting, gently wrapping around her shoulders, back, and waist. It even climbed up her cheeks, softly caressing the bridge of her nose and her lips.
Like countless greedy fingers, they bound her tightly.
Su Cheng heard a cacophony of noises: piercing laughter, sticky whispers, and inhuman roars, as if millions of souls were wailing.
The next moment, the secret room before her eyes vanished.
She fell into the world inside the painting, standing before a dirty mirror that reflected a seemingly blurry yet quite handsome face.
"Oh, Father of a Thousand Lies, please grant me true power—"
The man had loose hair and a bare, muscular upper body. He reached out to stroke the mirror, letting out a satisfied laugh.
"...I finally understand. It's not about changing reality, but creating a sturdier cage, and then swallowing the key."
However, the reflection in the mirror did not change.
The man fell silent for a moment before suddenly throwing a punch and shattering the mirror.
"Does it look good?"
He abruptly turned his head.
Su Cheng met those bloodshot eyes. "No, it doesn't. I mean, I have absolutely no idea what just happened."
"I can tell you," the man said calmly. "You are in my domain."
Su Cheng rolled her eyes around. In the room they were in, everything was surrounded by thick dark gray fog, and only that dirty mirror could be considered an object.
Su Cheng: "...Oh."
The man looked at her calmly. "You seem to have a lot of questions. You can think about how you want to start now."
Su Cheng took a deep breath. "Who are you?"
"If you are asking for a title," the man replied with interest, "I have more than one name."
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel a bit weirded out. "Someone once said something similar to me—"
The man's expression became a bit strange, as if he had been punched by someone and exposed for some childish imitation.
But it was only for a split second.
Before Su Cheng had time to carefully capture his emotion.
The man quickly changed his demeanor, once again revealing a beautiful, heart-fluttering smile.
His smile was very good-looking, natural and amiable, without any of that pretentious hypocrisy, making one unable to resist trusting him at first glance.
"Van." He said softly, "You can call me that."
Su Cheng nodded slowly. "Alright, you... why am I here?"
"You touched some kind of medium."
Wasn't that stating the obvious?
Su Cheng sighed. "Fine, who were you just talking to in the mirror?"
"A god."
"Uh," Su Cheng wasn't too sure, "A false god in the void? I mean, that's what the people of the Holy Church call them."
The man frowned and looked at her. "What is the Holy Church?"
Su Cheng widened her eyes.
Was there actually anyone in this world who would ask such a question?
Even illiterate people, even those who couldn't utter the word 'cleric', at least knew of the existence of the Holy Church.
Su Cheng: "The Holy Church is the largest organization of believers in the God of Light."
The man looked at her quietly for a few seconds. "What is the God of Light?"
Su Cheng: "......Are you serious?"
She felt that there might be something wrong with his brain.
Of course, there was another possibility.
This person lived in some completely isolated place and had absolutely no contact with the outside world.
Or he was in another plane, not the Northern or Southern Continents.
But if that was the case, why was she able to establish a connection with him through the portrait stored by the Mirror Enigma Society?
He must definitely have some connection to the Mirror Enigma Society, right?
Su Cheng fell silent.
The man also did not speak.
Su Cheng: "...Why does it say 'do not trust memories' on the wall outside? Because memories can be faked?"
Van pondered for a moment. "I don't know what place you mean by the wall outside, but the first question has many answers, and the latter sentence is just one explanation. Memory is not an inscription on a stone tablet, but a sand painting in the wind. Every time you look back, old grains of sand are blown away and new ones cover them up. And your brain is not a locked iron box; it is a living tome that writes on its own blank pages—"
He leaned back against the mirror. "Anger makes memories burn, fear casts shadows over them, joy makes them vivid, and even time can be a clumsy scribe, writing 'might be' as 'definitely is', and turning 'I heard' into 'I saw'."
Van slightly tilted his head, his handsome face fully presented in her field of vision.
He had dark brown curly hair, wheat-colored skin, a high nose bridge, and deep-set eyes, looking very handsome. A lazy smile hung on his face.
For a moment, Su Cheng felt that his aura had changed.
It was as if he was no longer in that confused state from before, but had become more mysterious, mature, and difficult to understand.
"The words I speak to you in this moment may take on a different form in your mind tomorrow. This is not a curse, my dear lady; it is the destiny of flesh and blood. It is a constantly fading tapestry, a monument that will eventually collapse—"
"Then tell me," Su Cheng spoke up. "How to cast off this flesh and blood."
"Oh?" He tilted his head playfully. "Someone thirsting for immortality. It sounds like a cliche. Is this truly what you desire? Can you pay its price?"
"Let me know first, so I can make a decision."
"Hmm," Van did not answer her, but just quietly stared at her. "Are you not afraid?"
"No, because this isn't real."
Su Cheng said, "From the moment that painting started smoking, it wasn't real anymore, even though it took me a few seconds to realize it."
"What made you come to that realization?"
"...If it were real, my companion would have saved me."
Su Cheng said calmly, "Regardless of whether he could save me or not, I should have at least seen him react, instead of just standing there the whole time."
"Ha," he seemed not to expect such an answer. "How interesting. I suppose that's acceptable. Also, your thoughts are correct; this is merely a memory."
Su Cheng: "?"
Acceptable?
Before Su Cheng could speak, she suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath her feet.
Then she started falling, falling endlessly.
Until the surrounding darkness dissipated.
"What the hell?!"
She snapped her eyes open.
Before her was a dim and gloomy shop, its doors and windows covered in dust. It looked like it had long gone out of business. Yellowed old maps, rusted compasses, and some outdated documents were piled haphazardly in the cabinets.
Su Cheng blinked, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
She was in someone's arms.
A cold temperature seeped from the chest pressed tightly against her side.
She was sitting suspended in the air. What cushioned her was not a chair at all, but a man's muscular, knotted arm.
The metal buckle of a leather bracer pressed against her inner thigh, feeling slightly hard.
Su Cheng subconsciously shifted her legs.
The person beside her immediately sensed it and tilted his wrist slightly, letting her lean more against his shoulder.
"How do you feel?" the man asked.
Su Cheng tilted her head. "Um... I'm alright. Where is this?"
"It's a shop. The entrance to the Mirror Enclave's stronghold is right beneath us."
"Are you saying there's a teleportation array hidden underground?"
"Yeah, pretty much, except the other end connects to another plane." Kai nodded. "The people from the Holy Church found their way there, so I brought you out first. Plus, I destroyed the corresponding magic array on this side, so they won't be able to come over for a while."
Su Cheng didn't want the Church's people to see her either, especially in that place. "That's good."
Sitting on the Commander's arm, she was lifted high up. Her elbow rested on his broad shoulder, and her fingertips could already touch the hilt of the heavy sword on the man's back.
Looking down, right beside her were crossed leather straps wrapping around a bulging, hard chest. The marble-like muscles swelled, almost filling her entire field of vision.
The next second, long fingers wrapped in leather suddenly and gently cupped her face.
"You..."
The man with black hair and golden eyes looked at her. His rough fingertips brushed across the girl's cheekbone, and then he casually picked up a small mirror from the nearby cabinet.
In the dust-covered mirror, her face was clearly reflected.
Golden threads of light spread from the corner of her left eye. Those threads intertwined outside the corner of her eye, converging into the pattern of half an eye.
It looked as if half of her left eye had been proportionally cloned, and the cloned image had been shifted outward by a margin.
Su Cheng: "???"
Su Cheng: "What is this?"
Kai looked at her. "The mark of the God of Illusions."
