Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 229 The Sacrificial Fire Finally Extinguished, the Fox Fan Severed Its Soul

"God is silent because He already knows the answer."

People don't look back because they've seen the truth.

Before the altar, where the black mist had not yet dissipated and thick smoke still lingered, the fallen goddess—the fox-faced goddess—slowly stepped down from the platform.

With each step she took, a faint golden luminescence appeared on the broken stone ground.
The runes spun and dissipated, as if some kind of ritual was still quietly going on.

The four blood-flame fox tails behind her trailed on the ground like curtains, wreathed in flames and shrouded in yin energy, exuding a heavy killing intent.

She didn't rush to make a move, but simply stood beneath the divine throne, the empty eye beneath half of the beautiful mask silently watching the two people before her, as if admiring the "offerings" that were about to be sacrificed.

"She's waiting," Si Ming said in a low voice, his gaze as calm as a blade.

"Waiting for what?" Celian licked her lips, her blood-red eyes narrowed, and her fighting spirit surged within her like a tide.

"Wait until we reveal a weakness," Siming said, his voice as soft as a chess piece.

"Tsk, then I won't wait." She curled her lips slightly, and before she finished speaking, she had already taken off.

Her vampire instincts erupted completely, and Selian's figure flashed through the air like a shadow, rushing towards the divine shadow!
Almost simultaneously, the fox-faced goddess raised her hand, and her blood-red fan opened!

Hundreds of talismans inscribed with ancient spells fluttered down from the sky like snowflakes, transforming into a storm of talismanic blades that strangled the enemy!
The sharp, blade-like pages, wreathed in crimson flames, resembled a hunting net stretching across the sky!
"Illusion is the sweetest lie in poker."

Si Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a sudden flick of his fingertips, he threw out two spade playing cards!
[Hallucination Release - Spade - Afterimage]

The playing cards exploded in mid-air, transforming into a phantom field like thick fog!

Amidst the storm, Serian's figure suddenly transformed into five afterimages, each sweeping towards the Fox-Faced Goddess from a different angle!

"Interesting." The goddess breathed softly, her tone languid, as if admiring prey leaping in a net.

"—Foxfire·Wheel Burning"

She opened her mouth and spat out a strange fox flame, which transformed into a wheel-shaped fox shadow that circled in mid-air, instantly igniting all the illusions!
But in that instant, Si Ming made his move.

With a flick of his finger, he tossed out several square playing cards, each card slicing through the air and embedding itself precisely in the ground, stone pillars, and even the remains of statues.

They intertwined, silently constructing a gambler's unique "computational realm" beneath the feet of the fox-faced goddess.

"Targeted betting".

"Buy and leave."

Si Ming softly recited the number and landing point of each card, approaching step by step, his eyes fixed on the goddess's movements.

The fox-faced goddess stirred slightly, about to give chase, when she suddenly felt as if her path ahead was blocked.

The "net" woven from playing cards resembled invisible lines, completely blocking her path!
She frowned slightly and stopped in her tracks for the first time.

"I saw through your bet."

Si Ming's lips curled slightly, revealing an arrogant air of having calculated everything under heaven. He then threw out another heart card!

"Your path, from this moment on—is under my control."

The air suddenly stagnated.

The fox-faced goddess stood frozen in shock, surrounded by a dense network of interwoven playing cards, as if a spiderweb had tightly bound all her possible attacks and retreats.

For the first time, her light, ethereal steps became slow and stiff; every movement in preparation for taking a step...

It's as if they've stepped on a precisely calculated "dead point".

"Do you know?" Si Ming's voice sounded exceptionally calm in this realm constructed of playing cards.

"The most ingenious aspect of playing cards is not their lethality, nor their deceptiveness."

"Instead—defining space."

He approached step by step, and with each step he took, a playing card would automatically fly out and embed itself in the ground.

Flame runes and phantom dust then filled the air, like a deck of cards laid out by a gambling god.

"If you are truly a god."

"Today I will stake my life before your throne—on whether you dare to take the next step."

The fox-faced goddess has finally moved!

No longer maintaining her elegant demeanor, she suddenly waved her fan, creating a fierce gust of wind!
The tattered paper fan left a golden trail of fox-flame in the air.

Forcibly tearing apart the defenses woven from the playing cards, flames roared, like a blade breaking the deadlock, rushing straight towards the God of Fate!
Si Ming sneered:

"The show is about to begin."

"--Now."

In an instant, the fox-faced goddess's expression changed drastically!

She had just taken a step forward when it seemed as if she had stumbled into a maze of mirrors!

The playing cards scattered across the sky instantly reversed, transforming into thousands upon thousands of mirrors, infinitely splitting the goddess's own movements!
Each card reflects her sprinting posture and trajectory, with the flames refracting in the mirror array, stinging her vision and disturbing her nerves!
It was that momentary pause!

A crimson shadow slashed through the air!

Selene fell like a comet, her blood-red hair flying wildly, her arms outstretched, her blood-red blade spinning!
She darted into the mirror array like a hunter, her claws slashing down heavily!
"—The sacrificial fire, let it be extinguished."

She roared, her claws crossed, and she precisely slashed into the core of the fox flame on the fox-faced goddess's chest!

"Hiss-ah!!!"

The goddess's mask shattered instantly!

The once exquisite, jade-like half of his face rapidly cracked from the pain.
Cracks spread like a spider web, and what was revealed in those eyes was no longer the calm of a god, but fear and resentment!
A crimson mist of blood exploded!

The fox's shadow fell to the ground like a whale, its mournful cry tearing through the night sky!
Si Ming stood at the edge of the mirror array, his eyes cold, yet he raised a smile that was almost arrogant.

Some victories are not achieved through strength.

"It's because of the escape route you dare not face."

In the deadly trap set by the gamblers, the so-called "god" finally revealed a moment of fear.

The fox-faced goddess turned into a remnant soul on the ground, convulsing and struggling, her fox tail's embers twisting like a weeping umbilical cord.

Finally, her form completely disintegrated, shattering into countless pieces of crimson paper and spiritual ashes, as the last wisp of blood mist dissipated into the low-hanging night sky.
Only one blood-red card remained, slowly rising from the ashes and swirling in the air.

Si Ming slowly extended his right hand, and with a flick of his fingertips, the card seemed to be drawn by an invisible thread, falling lightly into his palm.

No.: No.6917
Series: Life-type Shikigami
Empty title: "The Fox Woman's Sacrifice"

Real name: Mountain God's Maid - Fox-Faced Servant

Star rating: Mid-tier (★5)

The card surface shimmered with a faint light, and on it was depicted a woman kneeling amidst the lamplight of a mountain village.

She wore tattered hunting clothes, half of her fox face was already cracked, in front of her was an incense that had never been extinguished, and behind her was a silent ancient god statue.

Her hands were clasped together, but she no longer prayed to the gods. Instead, she bowed her head in worship, as if she herself had become the "final offering" of that shrine.

Si Ming looked down at the card, his expression calm, but as his fingertips lightly touched the paper, he seemed to sense something, and a complex emotion flashed deep in his eyes.

Just then, a familiar yet chilling voice came from the depths of the shrine in the distance.

Low and distant, as if emanating from behind the throne, through layers of iron and curses.

"The second line of defense... has also been breached."

That was her voice.

"Minako."

only--

The voice no longer held the clarity of a supplicant, nor the solemn purity of divinity.

Rather, it is a distorted echo, eroded by steel logic and mysterious factors, cold and contemptuous, carrying the mockery of the judge and the arrogance of the "creator".

"You are cleaning up the dust of my past for me."

Her voice seemed to be smiling, like a scriptwriting god watching the actors rehearse diligently in the audience.

"Thank you for your dedication—we're just one step away."

The sound was like the wind, gently dissipating, yet carrying an indescribable chill, as if leaving a cold mark on the hearts of every mystery master.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The ashes fell silently from the stone pillar, and the light and shadow on the ground rippled slightly, as if some being had opened its eyes from afar.

Selene licked the bloodstains from her fingertips, her fighting spirit still lingering, but her expression had become serious:

"Is she using us?"

Her voice was not loud, but exceptionally clear, echoing word by word in the night.

"She is waiting."

Si Ming gently put the card into the Life Pattern Card Sleeve, straightened up, and looked towards the last stone steps and the main gate of the shrine that he was about to step into.

“This is not a trial.” He said in a cold tone.

"It's for paving roads."

“And we…” he turned around, his eyes hard as steel, “have reached the final step.”

The shrine ahead was faintly visible in the thick fog, with layers of torii gates embedded in the night, like countless overlapping throats, swallowing the entire "true form" of the god.

The architectural outlines deep within are no longer complete, but rather constantly deform and distort in a way that deviates from the structure of reality.
Like a giant "system self-constructed model", it awaits the final piece of data input.

Wait for them.

Waiting for the end.

At this moment, the lines between offering, god, gambler, and sacrificer have become increasingly blurred.

Only the still-warm bloodstains beneath their feet served as a reminder:

The ceremony is not yet over.

Deep within the dark shrine, a pair of eyes that did not belong to mortals slowly opened.

That was a main hall that had been completely transformed by mysterious magic.

The statues of the gods that were once worshipped have long since disappeared, replaced by a central secret array constructed from a combination of machinery and magic.

The mirror, axe, jade, and magatama on the offering table have long lost their original meaning; they have been dismantled and integrated into the secret array.
Suspended in mid-air, it slowly rotates around the center of the hall, weaving together a mechanical heart that "reshapes divinity" like gears.

In the center, where the light does not reach, stands a golden demigod.

That's her—

Minako Mishinin, an "artificial god" in her secret form.

She stood silently, her six mechanical prosthetic limbs hanging at her sides, clanging like iron.

She wore a cloak-like robe of a shikigami, the family crest on her chest was torn, and on her head...
The mechanical crown, constructed from metal gears and broken divine rings, had dozens of chains hanging down, emitting a very faint metallic rustling in the silence.

Her left eye was covered by a deep red metal mask, and from beneath that mask, a single silvery-white "tear" slowly rolled down. It wasn't water.

Those were compressed memory droplets from the Secret Remains—data factors with the ability to "embed souls."

The moment the tear fell, it struck the magic circle, causing ripples that spread outwards, stirring up a magical vibration like program waves.

"The second battle... is ruined."

She murmured softly, her voice dry as paper, yet revealing an uncontrollable joy and madness.

One of the six arms slowly rose, and the artifact in its hand, the "Reversed Hourglass," began to turn in reverse, with silvery-white sand grains slowly falling, like moonlight sloping down from a fault line.

[Cumulative Sacrifice Points: 78.4%]

A smile played on her lips as she murmured:

"After the third formation is completed... I will completely possess 'her' true form."

She wasn't referring to others, but to herself.

That self that once belonged to "humanity".

That card.

Her card.

—The original true name of [Tamamo-no-Mae].

She has never forgotten how she got to this point.

From the moment the Imperial Divine Institute judged her to be a "potential vessel," from the moment she was stripped of her right to inherit the divine genealogy, she understood...
In the eyes of her family, she was nothing more than a substitute vessel, a container for the future "source of divinity".

That night, the forbidden divine scroll was stolen, and flames engulfed the old temple.

She set the shrine ablaze with her own hands.

She also personally severed her last connection with "humans".

"You all say I'm crazy."

Her voice was low, but her laughter was as cold as iron.

"How could I dare to question the throne if I weren't mad?"

She looked up, her gaze falling on the "divine crystal" suspended at the very top of the hall.

That place contains one of the three oldest and most dangerous of the "Eight Million God-Style Cards" sealed by the Imperial Shrine.

It has not been fully unlocked yet; it remains sealed by the True Name Lock and is embedded in the final niche of the main altar.

And to obtain a "real name"—

She herself cannot solve it.

So she waited.

She guides the "sacrificers" through the Fallen God district, defeats the Fallen Gods, and breaks the outer barrier of the ritual.

They dedicated their lives, memories, and struggles to her "divinity program."

"The more humanity struggles, the closer I get to my 'true self'."

"Your resistance is the energy that allows me to shed my skin."

She reached out, her fingertips touching the core of the rotating black shrine, the cold metallic light dancing between her nails and the divine runes.

She whispered:
"As long as we lure them out of the third formation."

"As long as I get the card's true name again—I can..."

"Rewrite the definition of God."

Her voice, like a spell, echoed repeatedly in the sealed shrine, as if the very foundation of the shrine was trembling.

At this moment, she was no longer human.

It is not a god.

She is "a divine shadow constructed by algorithms," "the very existence built from despair and sacrifice."

— He is a mixture of madman and believer who tries to transcend God and distort the definition of fate.

She lowered her head, her gaze passing through the chains adorning her crown as she looked out of the palace.

Those figures were approaching.

They carried the fire of battle and the determination of those who break through enemy lines.

She watched quietly, as if appreciating a stage play of fate.

The sound rose slowly, cold and distant, carrying an air of divine omnipotence:

"...Well then, welcome."

"Entering the main section of the sacrifice."

"Tonight, I will properly 'thank' you all."

"With your deepest regret."

Deep within the dark shrine, night deepened once more, and the mist seemed to breathe silently, like the divine realm itself.

Layer upon layer, they entwine around the broken vermilion wooden pillars and the cracked stone slabs, like the whispered remains of an ancient god.

The main characters, however, remain completely unaware that they are stepping into a sacrificial script with a pre-written ending.

Only Si Ming's gaze darkened slightly.

He flicked a playing card, the card spinning half a circle between his fingers, reflecting a golden afterglow that didn't belong here.

"The light we chase is like the lingering flame after God's death—"

Then who wrote the script for the sacrifice itself?

boom--!
The final, violent explosion shook the foundations of the entire shrine.

Behind the dark main hall, a dazzling flame shot into the sky, accompanied by the crackling sounds of runes exploding as they burned.

A figure slowly emerged from the collapsing barrier and sea of ​​fire.

She came riding on fire, wearing a tattered white and crimson witch's robe, with a charred strip of cloth wrapped around her forehead. Her left hand held a knife hanging down, while her right hand was raised high, with the last unextinguished talisman burning at her fingertips.

Dust and burn marks covered her face, but her expression was as cold as frost, and her eyes were as deep as a dry well.

Blazing flames swept behind her, as if paving a burning divine staircase for her.

"The third formation... has been broken."

Nobuna stood at the very center of the collapsed array, her long sword still sheathed, the blood dripping from its tip still wet.

She slowly lowered the blade, looked at the plaza in front of the towering main hall of the shrine, and nodded:
"—Meet up."

A moment later, the three teams assembled in front of the shrine.

Si Ming, Celian, Xiao Lianyin and her loyal team, Xin Nai returns alone.

All those who had been ravaged by war now stood on the stone steps of the shrine, which were inscribed with sacrificial texts.

The wind suddenly stopped.

Flames, ashes, and blood mingled and flowed beneath his feet, while the moon in the night sky seemed to have lost its luster.
Only a thin layer of gloomy mist remained to obscure the cold, white outline, like the eye of death hanging high.

"Mission accomplished."

Xiao Lianyin spoke in a low voice, while Fabio and He Chengxun beside her were panting heavily and their faces were pale.

“But why…” she looked up, her brow furrowed slightly, “I feel… it’s not over yet?”

The response she received was a voice that sent chills down everyone's spine.

A female voice, both familiar and strange, both gentle and cruel, echoed through the night sky like ripples:

"thank you."

"Help me... retrieve my lost spirit, card, and name."

"Now, I am finally complete."

Everyone looked up suddenly.

Deep within the main hall of the shrine, behind the torii gate that was once shrouded in mist, a tall figure slowly emerges.

Her steps were light and slow, with long and irregular ritual threads trailing behind her, like a witch god emerging from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

She wore a blood-gold fox mask, and the left half of her face showed the beautiful silhouette of a human girl.
The right half, however, is a fragmented face formed by the interweaving of a broken shikigami mask and a secret metal structure, half human, half artifact, half god, half madman.

He wore a tattered yin-yang feather robe, the corners of which were covered with burnt talismans and tattered divine robes, and the hem was adorned with charred fragments of divine patterns.

With each step taken, a strange blood-red light appeared on the ground, as if veins were emerging from the earth.

She is Minako Hishimaki.

The ultimate being that combines the remnants of a fallen god, the core of a ritual, and fragments of a true name.

She stood at the top of the shrine's stone steps, arms outstretched, as if a deity were accepting a believer, yet it was like a nightmare opening its arms in embrace.

"You...are really...good children."

Her voice was gentle to the point of being loving, yet her tone was sharp as a knife.

“Every struggle, every kill, is a stepping stone for me to ascend to the throne of gods.”

She didn't laugh, but her voice was laughing.

The laughter was like a blade slicing through paper, like a god choking back tears.

The crowd stood in the square, facing her arrival as if they were standing between a true god and an abyss.

Selene swallowed hard, her throat tightening, and she muttered softly:
"Wow... this boss is making it hard for me to breathe."

Silently, Si Ming tossed the last playing card into the air, its face gleaming with a blood-red light as it spun.

He sighed:
"Well... it seems we're destined for a boss battle today."

His gaze fell on the face of that "god," and a mocking smile slowly curled at the corner of his lips.

That's not a god.

That was a throne carved by a madman on a seat made of piled bones.

Now, the real "final act" has begun.

"When you look towards the throne of God,
Please remember—

Those sitting up there,
Perhaps he is no longer a god.
Rather, it's the 'self' you sacrificed.

(End of this chapter)