Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 389 Under the Stars
Those who look up at the stars will eventually be looked up at by the stars;

Those who listen to the whispers of the stars will eventually be consumed by them.

When the stars ignite, the threads of fate will no longer be bound;
Between illusion and reality, reason and madness dance together.

—Excerpt from *The Forbidden Book of Stars*, Opening Chapter: The Prophecy of the Stars

In the depths of darkness, the consciousness of the Fate Master slowly emerged like the tide.

He felt himself drifting in a sea of ​​nothingness, his soul being pulled by an invisible thread, rising ever higher into the unknown.

Gradually, a faint light appeared in the boundless void, warm like a flame of hope, yet with an indescribable eeriness.

He tried to move his body, but was horrified to find himself completely imprisoned and unable to move, only able to watch as the firelight gradually enlarged and became clearer.

An ancient stone chamber emerged from the firelight, its walls covered with strange and unfamiliar symbols, like some ancient and lost script, twisting and writhing vividly before one's eyes.

The torches burning suspended in mid-air cast a dim, yellowish light, and shadows danced eerily on the walls, like countless restless, grotesque creatures.

Waiting to break free from constraints and tear apart the boundary between reality and illusion.

Si Ming's heart skipped a beat. He was astonished to see several figures slowly emerging from the firelight. The outline of each figure was extremely familiar—exactly the same as his.

They were like reflections in a mirror, their faces, expressions, even the casual gestures of shuffling the cards were identical.

The movements were mechanical and precise, as if countless "fate-keepers" were stepping off the loom of destiny at the same time.

He felt a sharp pressure on his chest, and his reason almost collapsed in an instant.

The "fate controllers" simultaneously raised their heads and whispered in unison in a low, eerie tone: "He's here... he's finally here..."

The whispers, like sighs from the stars and pronouncements from judges, instantly pierced the fragile rationality of the Fate Master.

He struggled frantically, but was still suppressed by an invisible force and had no power to resist.

Countless pairs of eyes belonging to "himself" were coldly and coldly watching him, as if mocking his insignificance and struggle, forcing him step by step into the abyss of madness.

Just as Si Ming was about to completely succumb, a familiar yet anxious voice suddenly resounded in his mind:

"Siming, wake up!"

Si Ming suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily, large beads of cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

His blurry vision gradually cleared, and he saw Selene and Lynn looking down at him with worried expressions.

“You’re finally awake,” Celian said softly, her expression revealing her worry.

Si Ming raised his arm to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. His heart was still pounding wildly, and the dream he had just had lingered like a shadow.

He gazed at his companions, his mind still entangled with those bizarre and frenzied "selves" and their whispers, and a chilling question arose in his heart:

What exactly does that scene represent?
He struggled to sit up, and Celian quickly stepped forward to support him, asking softly, "Are you alright?"

Si Ming rubbed his throbbing temples and forced a bitter smile: "I'm alright, it's just... the illusion just now was too real."

Lynn looked serious, extending his wrist, his eyes revealing unconcealed tension and gravity: "I'm afraid it's not just an illusion."

Si Ming followed her gaze and his heart sank.

On Lynn's wrist, all ten stars of the life mark were suddenly lit up, emitting an unsettling faint halo, like a sleeping nightmare about to awaken.

He became alert and quickly raised his wrist to check—all twelve stars were lit up without exception, their faint light like countless eyes waiting to open under the cover of night.

Siming felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his chest tightening so much he could hardly breathe. He muttered to himself, "How could this be... Were we just fighting?"

Lynn shook his head solemnly: "No, you were just unconscious for a little while longer."

Selene added, "When I tried to use Fanlou's mystical abilities to heal just now, there was no resistance at all. This means that we seem to have lost the limitations of mystical abilities."

Si Ming frowned deeply, staring at the twelve burning stars on his wrist, a sudden, indescribable fear rising in his heart.

He keenly realized that behind this unbridled power lurked a tremendous danger that could devour their reason.

“We must be more careful,” Si Ming’s voice was low and cautious. “This state is not safe. If we continue to use the mystical arts without restraint, we will soon be completely consumed by the power we have mastered.”

Lynn and Celian exchanged a worried glance in silence, both reading the same concern and unease in each other's eyes.

Si Ming quickly composed himself and regained his composure, saying to the two, "We must leave here immediately."

The air between the three was heavy and oppressive, like the calm before a storm.

Si Ming gazed into the dark and deep space in the distance, his inner gloom growing ever heavier—their future...

They have probably already been watched by those unspeakable forces, waiting for them to step into that destined trap.

The three of them had just turned around when the scene in the corridor ahead suddenly distorted.

As if being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, it began to writhe and writh in a strange way, exuding a kind of madness with life.

Siming's expression suddenly turned serious, and he subconsciously took a step back.

He quickly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the faceless employees in the office—their previously blank, mechanical movements suddenly stopped abruptly.

They stiffly raised their heads, as if manipulated by some mysterious force, gazing up at the void with an almost fanatical posture, their bodies slightly leaning forward, striking a bizarre yet orderly pose of worship.

A sudden, overwhelming fear surged within Siming. He slowly raised his head.
The once solid ceiling has long since disappeared, replaced by a vast and mysterious starry sky.

Countless stars twinkled slowly in the sky, as if they possessed their own consciousness, whispering in an elusive rhythm.

It uttered incomprehensible truths and secrets, its voice like a dark murmur among the stars, slowly and steadily eroding the reason of the God of Fate.

He felt a violent dizziness, and the whispers of the stars, like countless cold threads, slowly but resolutely seeped into his consciousness, prying open the deepest secrets of his heart.

In a daze, Si Ming suddenly noticed that the faceless employees who were worshipping the stars suddenly turned their heads in unison.
The blank, empty face stared directly at him, like countless invisible eyes, filled with intense questioning and accusation:

Why don't you worship?

The next second, the employees' bodies suddenly began to tremble violently.

The outer layer of skin rapidly cracked and peeled off, instantly transforming into several eerie nightmares formed from fragments of stars.

They resemble octopuses or jellyfish swimming in the abyss, their bodies composed of countless fragments of stars shimmering with an eerie light.
The dense tentacles floated slowly like stardust in the void, constantly twisting and writhing, each tremor radiating an indescribable pressure and madness.

The tentacles suddenly twitched, and a chaotic and violent force of spiritual erosion surged toward Siming in an instant.

Countless bizarre scenes flashed before his eyes: stars were born and fell, the universe was destroyed and reshaped in madness, and the endless truth that transcended mortals nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.

"Fate Master!" Lynn's anxious voice suddenly rang out, and the Mysterious Card was activated in an instant, "Headless Gray Knight!"

The towering phantom of the Grey Knight appeared instantly, blocking the Star Nightmare's frenzied onslaught with a heavy and indifferent demeanor.

The tentacles struck the knight, sending countless stardust flying everywhere. The chaotic and violent energy allowed Siming to catch his breath for a moment.

However, before he could regain his senses, several enormous and eerie star-shaped eyes slowly appeared from the depths of the void—whispering among the stars.

Those eyeballs rotated slowly, each rotation accompanied by eerie and maddening whispers, as if countless ancient souls were repeating the same incantation.

Siming felt his reason being torn apart and ripped away, chaos and madness almost completely taking over his consciousness. "Corridor of Illusion!" Siming unleashed his full power, and in an instant, a barrier rose from the ground.

It barely blocked the whispering stars' murmur, a whisper powerful enough to destroy reason.

However, outside the barrier, those eyeballs continued to spin wildly, and whispers pierced through the barrier.
The words still echoed clearly in the ears of the three, and Si Ming felt that the fragile defense in his heart was being ruthlessly eroded.

At the same time, gray stardust suddenly tumbled in from outside the barrier, coalescing into a dark and ever-changing distorted form—the Gray Star Crawler.

Its body resembled a writhing chaos, composed of countless twisted fragments of stars and dense tentacles.
Each transformation exudes a strong sense of unease and eeriness, making it difficult to look directly at.

Si Ming tried to dodge, but was horrified to find that the gray tentacles, like water that could penetrate any hole, rushed to his front in the blink of an eye.

"Get out of the way!" Selian growled, her claws flashing out with precision, tearing the tentacles apart and sending stardust fragments flying everywhere.

But the repelled stardust did not dissipate; instead, it quickly coalesced again into a larger, more distorted form, as if it could not be completely destroyed.

The three of them were breathing heavily, their rationality nearing its limit.

Unrestricted use of mystical abilities allows them to clearly feel themselves being gradually eroded by darkness.

"We must leave immediately," Si Ming said, his voice low and firm, despite his severe headache.
"If we stay any longer, we'll eventually fall into the abyss of madness."

Selene and Lynn nodded in silence, a strong sense of vigilance and pressure rising within them at the same time.

They realized that everything before them was far beyond their understanding and control.

Beyond the corridor of illusion, the gray star crawlers reformed, their frenzied whispers clearly audible, as if mocking the three:

As insignificant as you are, you will eventually become prisoners of the stars.

Si Ming slowly clenched his fist. He knew that he had to face this nightmare and the terrors lurking behind the wheel of fate.

Si Ming abruptly turned around, his gaze fixed on the eerie nightmares woven from stardust, and decisively issued the command:
"go!"

Before the words were even finished, the three of them had already shot off like arrows into the depths of the corridor.

Behind them, countless star nightmares and gray star crawlers transformed into a frenzied and chaotic storm, their grotesque tentacles weaving a web of death.
Chasing after the three, it emitted chilling whispers, like the murmurs of stars.

Si Ming's eyes darkened slightly, and with a light flick of his fingertips, a deck of cards instantly appeared in his palm.

He twirled his fingertips slightly, and the spade playing card shot out like a black lightning bolt, its edges trailing a faint silver trajectory.
In an instant, it tore a thin crack in space and precisely pierced into the nightmare's body.

In an instant, the monster collapsed, and stardust scattered like fireflies falling.

Without pausing, the second club card followed immediately, emitting a ghostly green light and suddenly blooming in mid-air like a profusion of flowers.

It released a dense cloud of toxins, forcing the surging gray planet crawlers to tremble and briefly slow down.

Si Ming took a step back, the red heart playing cards burning brightly at his fingertips, accompanied by a casual wave of his hand.
Suddenly, it transformed into a blazing storm of flames, sweeping across the entire corridor and engulfing any approaching monsters.

"Goodbye, everyone." A cold smile curved Si Ming's lips as he tossed out a deck of cards.
It instantly exploded into a dazzling, psychedelic light, distorting the monsters' vision and direction, giving the three a moment to catch their breath.

This series of actions was executed flawlessly, making Siming seem like a mysterious and precise magician in the darkness.
In his hands, the playing cards were like threads of fate, easily controlling everything on the battlefield.

At the same time, Selene had already transformed into a crimson afterimage, nimbly traversing the narrow corridor.

Claws, like blood-red lightning, precisely cleaved through the darkness, cleanly and decisively tearing apart the nightmares that tried to approach.
Lynn stood guard at the rear, the headless gray knight like an unyielding bulwark, his greatsword swung like a raging torrent, swiftly severing the tentacles that attempted to attack from the side.

The three worked together seamlessly, their steps decisive and swift.

Si Ming glanced back, a satisfied yet profound look flashing across his eyes.

He understood that the victory before him was only a temporary respite, and the chase was far from over.

The corridor stretched endlessly into the distance, and the stars overhead twinkled eerily, as if foreshadowing some kind of hidden prophecy of fate.

Si Ming took a deep breath and made a silent resolution in his heart that no matter how dangerous the road ahead was, he must persevere.

However, the office doors on both sides of the corridor suddenly opened without warning, and one by one, faceless employees slowly and mechanically walked out.

Accompanied by a piercing, twisting sound, they rapidly transformed into countless star nightmares and gray star crawlers, instantly making the narrow space unbearably crowded, and eerie tentacles swept over like a raging tide.

Si Ming felt a chill rising rapidly up his back like an icy tide, and those eerie tentacles almost brushed against his spine, as if they were about to pierce his flesh at any moment.

He was breathing heavily, his mind filled with chaotic scenes of stars intertwining, being destroyed, and being reborn in the depths of the universe, and his rational defenses were gradually crumbling.

"Wait, someone's here!" Celian suddenly shouted sharply.

Si Ming and Lynn immediately stopped and looked ahead.

In the dimly lit office area ahead, several survivors huddled together in fear and helplessness, among them a young girl—Lin Yuxi.

Her face was as pale as paper, and her pupils trembled uncontrollably with extreme fear; she was almost completely broken.

Siming's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly signaled to his companion, "Go and confirm!"

The three quickly changed direction and rushed towards the group of survivors.

A cold and desperate atmosphere filled the air, and the faceless employees worshipped the stars above them in a bizarre manner, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.

Si Ming quickly threw out several diamond playing cards, creating a brief illusion that hindered the faceless employees from getting closer, and then asked urgently, "Lin Yuxi?"

Lin Yuxi slowly raised her head, her bewildered gaze suddenly turning red the moment it met Si Ming's eyes, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Were you... sent by my sister?"

Si Ming nodded solemnly: "Yes, Lin Wanqing asked me to take you back."

The girl seemed unable to suppress the fear and despair deep within her any longer, and burst into tears, her sobs flowing like a burst dam.

Releasing the pain that had been building up for so long: "I thought no one would ever come again... This place is too terrifying, the stars and monsters, those sounds everywhere, I really can't take it anymore!"

Lynn quickly knelt down, gently patted Lin Yuxi's back, and whispered to comfort her, "It's alright, we'll protect you and take you away from here right away."

However, at that moment, a survivor beside him suddenly clutched his head and burst into a maniacal and ear-piercing laugh: "It's no use! No one can escape from here! Lord of the Stars, please take me away, stop torturing me!"

His shouts were almost hysterical, filled with frantic despair and fear.

The other person also descended into madness, muttering in a low, terrified voice, "This place belongs to the Star Speakers, we can't escape! If we don't worship, we'll be devoured, we'll all become those faceless monsters..."

Si Ming's heart sank suddenly. He realized that the current situation had far exceeded his previous expectations.

Just then, from the end of the dark corridor, a faint, eerie, and low sound came from...

That was no ordinary sound—it was a resonance from the depths of the vast cosmos, a terrifying murmur woven from the collision and whispers of stars.

Si Ming's face turned pale instantly. He knew that a much larger and more terrifying being was silently descending, casting a silent and terrifying gaze upon them.

"When the Lord of the Stars whispers, the wall of reason crumbles."
When the Black Tower's bells toll to zero, despair will become eternal.

Only those who control their destiny can find a glimmer of hope amidst the gaze of the stars.

—From *The Gospel of the Stars: Chapter of the Stars, Whispers of the End Times*

(End of this chapter)