Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 262 The Heart-Severing Strike
"Let lies become truth, and truth become illusion; those who bear the weight of fate are two-faced and treacherous."

The black velvet curtains fell silently, like a thin veil draped over the stage, separating it from the world.

In front of the mahogany dartboard, Si Ming lowered his head and slowly twirled the dart with his fingers.

Fresh blood slowly seeped from the wound in his abdomen, soaking the hem of his clothes at his waist and staining the deep red velvet carpet with an even deeper hue.

But his fingers remained as steady as a mountain, without trembling at all.

The entire club was eerily quiet, as if time itself had been dragged into a kind of oppressive stillness.

Selene stood to his side and slightly in front of him, glancing at him sideways.

Her vampire instincts sounded an alarm within her—

Si Ming is preparing to do something extremely, extremely crazy.

That familiar, rule-breaking aura stirred within him.

Siming slowly raised his head and looked at a section of the target plate that was slowly rotating—the heart.

That small patch of scarlet, spinning at high speed like a pupil from the abyss, was coldly watching him.

His breathing became increasingly heavy.

The knuckles slowly turned white.

The dart continued to spin between his fingers, reflecting the faint yet sharp light under the crystal chandelier.

Like a silver carving knife about to carve out the trajectory of destiny.

At that very moment, a whisper echoed deep within my mind.

The voice of the Thousand Faces slowly awakened in my consciousness, carrying its usual languor and anticipation, as if it had finally awaited the sweetest moment.

"Is it about to begin, Si Ming?"

Si Ming didn't move his lips, but responded silently in his heart:
"Help me make up a lie."

The Thousand-Faced One chuckled softly, a laugh like the sound of soft silk rubbing against a sharp blade:
"Of course, it's what I'm best at."

His voice was tender and sweet as poison, gently surfacing in the deepest recesses of Si Ming's consciousness:

Fate weaves a tapestry, truth and lies are set in motion.

In this round of the game, Seria = Siming; Siming = Seria.

[Organ binding positions...adjustment?]

The Thousand Faces tilted its head, whispering like a cat chuckling in its master's ear:

"Should we also move the heart to another place... to hide it?"

Si Ming's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not answer.

With a mere tap of his fingertip, an extremely subtle thread of fate quietly extended, merging into the unalterable web of rules woven into reality.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the system silently accepted the "rule fine-tuning".

Tang Kejian remained smiling behind the dartboard, his expression unchanged, as if he had everything under control.

Under the dim yellow light, the silver darts lay quietly in the box, but the light they reflected seemed to have tasted blood.

[Third Round of Throws - Countdown]

【5】

【4】

[3]...

Si Ming slowly raised his hand.

The tip of the dart was aimed at that scarlet area called the "heart".

The target disc spun rapidly, the heart area flashing less than half a circle per second, but he didn't blink.

Just now.

Selene suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse, yet each word sharp as a blade:

"...The Fate Master."

"Don't do such a stupid thing."

"I'm not that delicate."

Her tone was stubborn, and she spoke in a low, hushed voice, as if she were trying her best to control some kind of emotion.

Si Ming turned his head to the side and grinned.

That smile carried the arrogance, tenderness, and unfathomable obsession unique to gamblers.

"Have no idea."

"I'm so lucky."

"That's why I'm here to gamble."

"We must gamble until the very end."

【2】

【1】

The dart slipped from my hand!

The air was sharply torn apart, as if thunder were exploding from fingertips.

The dart fell like a meteor, carrying a kind of almost tragic and unwavering determination, slicing straight through space, its target—that heart that was red to the point of being black!

click!
The sharp weapon pierced through the center of the target!
The dart flew perfectly, landing precisely in the area marked as the finish line.

The crimson heart pattern was instantly pierced through, and the surrounding inscriptions lit up rapidly, as if blood were surging—

[Hit Effective]

Location: Heart

[Target Recognition: Player Selene hits the heart area of ​​the target disk]

[Damage feedback execution: 100% instant death detection]

[Accumulated Destruction Points Completed]

The red light spread out in concentric circles around the edge of the target plate, eventually converging into a burst of light.

The next second—

Si Ming's body trembled violently.

It felt as if my heart had been instantly pierced by a cold, sharp thorn.

He didn't utter a single groan of pain.

He was kneeling on one knee, like a kite with a broken string.

His knee slammed heavily onto the red carpet with a dull thud.

The silver dart box slipped from his hand and struck the ground with a crisp "ding".

His shirt ripped open at the chest, and blood gushed out, like an artery severed by high pressure, quickly staining half of his body red.

He lowered his head, his right hand tightly clutching his heart—no, his chest.

The tearing pain, like exploding flames, danced wildly in my nerves; every breath felt like swallowing a razor blade.

He knelt there, but his back remained straight as a spear.

A drop of blood slid down the corner of his lips.

Like the last drop of a bet in a gamble, falling into the abyss of the rules.

The air seemed to be sucked out in an instant.

Even the light from the crystal chandelier dimmed by a third.

The entire club was as silent as a graveyard.

Tang Kejian's eyes flickered slightly, but he still maintained that extremely gentle smile, though something stirred gently deep in his eyes.

He spoke in a low, whispered voice, like a priest mocking life and death:

"……what."

"Such a brilliant irony."

"Choosing the heart, yet causing another person... to collapse for it."

The black velvet curtains hung down like night, isolating the world in front of the dartboard in silence.

Si Ming slowly knelt on the red carpet, the dart box slipping from his hands, blood gushing from the torn fabric of his clothes.
Like a heart crushed by the deep sea, it ruptures completely after beating violently inside the body.

But his fingertips still pressed lightly on the ground, like a gambler's last stand against death's complete demise.

One by one, the lights on the mahogany dartboard went out, fading into darkness.

Like the curtain falling heavily after the play ends, leaving behind a chilling silence.

Tang Kejian stood at the other end of the dartboard, lightly clapping his white gloves against his palms, a consistently elegant smile on his face:

"A perfect ending."

"A gambler who is willing to risk his life to win in order to protect his companion."

"What a beautiful story!"

A system notification sounded in the empty air of the club:
【game over】

[Referee confirms passage]

[The situation of mutual destruction has been determined]

The red characters that appeared in the air slowly dissipated, like bloodstains fading in water.

The lights went out, and the stadium became dim.

But at the very moment all the rules came to an end—

Selene suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

There is an inseparable origin between contracts and servants.

If one of them dies, the bloodline connection will break instantly, and may even trigger a backlash.

But now, within the soul thread within her body, the life force of the Fate God—though weak—is still flowing slowly and steadily.

It wasn't broken.

It did not disappear.

On the contrary, it was as clear as the faint light of a new moon.

Her pupils contracted slightly.

At that moment, the vampire's perception transformed the despair in the abyss into an undisguised ecstasy.

Si Ming... that guy...

They fooled everyone.

including herself.

But Celian showed no sign of anything amiss.

She bit her lower lip hard, her knees buckled, and she collapsed beside Si Ming, her shoulders trembling violently, tears streaming down her face, like a heartbroken wailer.

She cried out in a voice that was almost piercing with pain:
"You idiot—!!"

"I won't allow you to die before me—!"

"Damn you, Siming!!!"

The voice was filled with extreme pain, even the vocal cords seemed slightly broken, and every word was like a knife tip piercing the soul.

She cried and pounded the ground, her knuckles bleeding, as if trying to wake the fallen figure.

Tang Kejian stood at a distance, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

His smile was gentle and sincere, as if he were genuinely applauding this grief:
"Ah...what a beautiful mourning."

"Such profound emotions, such raw and naked grief—"

"It's truly... a feast for the eyes."

He slowly stepped forward, his footsteps so light they made no sound, like a priest at a funeral, silently approaching the coffin.

But he couldn't see that beneath Celian's drooping hair, a subtle, mocking smile was quietly curving up at the corner of her mouth.

You pronounced the verdict too early, you madman.

This game isn't over yet.

Si Ming used a perfect chain of lies to construct an absurd exchange of equivalents.

He fooled fate.

They fooled the system.

They fooled Tang Kejian.

Even—she only fooled Selene for a moment.

Because she knew better than anyone that a true gambler wouldn't turn the cards over before seeing the end of the game.

The lights in the hall went out again, leaving only the dark golden halo around the dartboard still burning low, as if the embers had not yet died out and the deadly situation had not yet cooled down.

Si Ming's body lay prostrate in the halo, like a statue sealed within the rules, quietly resting on the pool of blood.

Tang Kejian approached.

His white gloves glided slowly across the dartboard, his eyes gentle, and the polite smile on his lips as always.

"A perfect ending."

"A gambler fulfilled his promise with his own flesh and blood."

"A vampire lady, through her mourning, exemplified loyalty."

"What a moving ending."

He looked up at the empty dome in the sky, as if paying homage to some being in the void. "The Supreme Thirteenth Lord—"

"A humble servant presents the final chapter of this exquisitely elegant gamble."

"Grant them peace after death."

After speaking, he bowed slightly, performing a highly polite gesture of humility.

Then he straightened up.

His gaze fell once again on the figure by the dartboard.

Selene remained kneeling on one knee, her shoulders trembling, her face buried in her hands, as if she were about to collapse.

Her hands were clenched into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, and blood dripped down, mingling with the blood from Si Ming's chest, creating a distorted picture on the red carpet.

Tang Kejian nodded in satisfaction and slowly raised the cane in his hand.

System commands then appeared:

[The Situation of Mutual Killing: The Verdict Ends]

[Preparing to reset the venue]

[Clean up the body...]

At this very moment——

"Click."

A very faint sound came from the ground, like a chain breaking or a string snapping suddenly.

Tang Kejian's brow twitched.

On the dartboard, there was a "corpse".

The fingertips of the God of Fate gently curled.

Extremely light.

Extremely slow.

If it weren't for the absolute silence, one would never notice it.

That is not the instinct of the living to struggle, but a declaration by gamblers to voluntarily turn back from the brink of hell to the gambling table.

Then, a very subtle tremor emanated from his shoulder and spread down his spine, like a long-lost soul rekindling its faint light.

Tang Kejian's expression suddenly froze.

For the first time, a fine line appeared on his smile.

His pupils slowly contracted.

He stared at the body that should have been completely silent.

Those eyes—slowly opened.

The heat burning in his eyes was not the temperature of death, but a cold, arrogant, and indomitable flame of defiance.

The gambler is not dead.

The gamble is not over.

Selene's shoulders jolted violently, and the next second, she abruptly looked up.

Her blood-red eyes gleamed in the dim, golden light of the still-burning lamplight, and a wild smile curled at the corner of her lips.

She stared at Tang Kejian, speaking in a low voice, as if announcing a judgment:
"You think,"

"Si Ming,"

"Would they give up so easily?"

Tang Kejian almost reflexively took half a step back, flicking his silver cane.
The tip of the cane flashed with the light of rule inscriptions, intending to activate the system punishment on the spot.

but--

The light abruptly stopped.

Several lines of cold, irresistible system notifications appeared in the air:
[Error: The all-out killing spree has ended]

Referee authority frozen

[Player's free status restored]

His access privileges were locked.

In that instant, Tang Kejian seemed to be frozen solid, his elegant smile shattering into frost that could not be hidden beneath his mask.

He slowly lowered his cane, the knuckles of his white gloves cracking in his palms, his bones tense with anger.

He finally realized—

He himself announced the end of the game and sealed the rules with his own words.

In that instant, he removed the Fate God—a variable that shouldn't exist in the result—from the system's judgment.

The word "death" has been removed.

The word "failure" has been removed.

The power over the entire betting game slipped from his hands.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Si Ming stood up.

His movements were slow, but resolute.

Blood was still seeping from his chest, staining his clothes red, but his posture was more upright than ever before, like the last unrevealed card on a gambling table, like a desperate gamble that wouldn't fall in the wind.

He looked at Tang Kejian, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and a drop of blood slid down his cheek.

His voice was hoarse and deep, yet it cut through the deathly silence like a blade.
"The elegant butler—"

"Unfortunately."

"This round—"

"I'm the winner."

The air suddenly tightened, heavy as a coffin lid.

Beside the dartboard, the stage known as the "Situation of Mutual Kill" became the most ironic backdrop at this moment.

Tang Kejian's smile finally froze, like a mask sealed by icy rain.

And the God of Fate—

He remained standing, shoulders and back straight, hands empty, yet he seemed to be in control of the entire situation.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a blade, pointing directly at the referee.

The sound was like nails etched into the heart, hammering down again and again:
"Want to know—how did I manage to cheat your rules?"

Tang Kejian remained silent, his eyes sharp as blades.

He didn't speak, but every nerve in his body was taut.

Si Ming sneered, slowly raising his blood-stained right hand and pointing it at himself:

"It's very simple."

"At first, I used [the weaving of fate] and [true lies]—"

"I swapped my identity with Selene's."

"Let the system recognize me—I am Celian."

“Let Selene—be me.”

The blood on the mahogany dartboard slowly spread along the wood grain, as if writing the final footnote for a murder that seeped out of the rules.

"Then, I threw the darts myself—"

"It hit my own 'heart'."

"Therefore, your system has determined: Death of the Fate Master."

"Game conditions met."

Tang Kejian's white gloves trembled slightly.

The knuckles of the fingers were slightly red, and there was a soft clicking sound between the thumb and forefinger.

But this is not the end.

The voice of the judge grew deeper and more steady, like a scalpel slowly piercing the arrogant heart of the referee:

"But at the very moment the dart pierced through—"

"I'm launching a fake writing campaign again."

"Take the 'heart'—"

"And the spleen."

"They secretly switched seats."

The blood-red light flickered, illuminating his blood-stained face, a smile that seemed almost malicious.
So what you see—

"He was a dead man whose heart had been shot through."

"But those who are truly injured—"

"It's just my spleen."

Selene stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

Her eyes burned like raging flames, and a wildly arrogant smile played on her lips.

This is not the laughter of the saved.

This is the laughter of accomplices and gamblers.

Tang Kejian's shoulders trembled violently.

He finally realized—

I was not defeated.

Instead, they were manipulated.

Rules are his domain.

But this gambler, with his flesh and blood and will, personally pulled out the "rules"—and moved them slightly.

He even deceived fate.

He even reshuffled the system.

Even death—temporarily takes a backseat.

"Ding--"

A crisp sound rang out.

The club's dartboard suddenly trembled, and the entire space seemed to crack from the depths. The ground cracked with dense black lines, spreading like a spider web and penetrating all the wooden structures.

The crimson lights in the sky went out one by one, then exploded into a rain of fire.

A faint humming sounded in the air, like the painful groans of a completely altered dream.

Tang Kejian's smile shattered completely.

He raised his head, his voice no longer calm, but filled with a chilling, piercing coldness:
"very good."

"very good."

"Your Mightiness--"

"Then, please—accept—"

"Let the referee give the real judgment."

boom! ! !
Darkness collapsed from all sides.

Tang Kejian's perfect butler appearance shattered like a wax figure being burned!
The skin cracked open, revealing a mechanical skeleton underneath, inlaid with gears and intertwined with flesh and blood, where iron and flesh fused together and cables coiled.

Eight metallic nerve whips, resembling spider legs, spread out from his back. Each whip was inlaid with rule inscriptions and engraved fire patterns, and suddenly opened with an unusually oppressive gravitational vibration!

In the center of the chest cavity, accompanied by the meshing of gears, a [Core of Rules], which was blazing hot and surrounded by the Lock of Rules, was exposed from within, flashing with an extremely dangerous crimson radiance!
The system suddenly beeped—

[Boss Battle - Phase 1 Begins]

[Objective: Survive for 5 minutes or destroy the core of the rules]

The dartboard collapsed completely in the explosion, and the mahogany turned into dust and flew everywhere.

The ground shook violently!

Tang Kejian hovered in the air, his eight metal nerve whips resonating at high frequencies, slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound!
A purgatory where steel and rules intertwine unfolds at this moment!

And above the ground.

Si Ming and Selian stood side by side, their blood still fresh, their fighting spirit already burning.

They looked up.

Facing a mad trial that seems to have fallen from the sky.

They are gamblers.

He is a liar.

He is a survivor.

It's a gamble—the final card.

Blood rained down, iron and fire clashed.

this moment--

The war has just begun.

"To deceive fate, or to be deceived by fate, is always a purgatory dance of blood and lies."

(End of this chapter)