Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 570 The Heart of a Glutton
Creation is centered on the heart, and so is God.

If the heart is replaced, is the god still the original god?
—From *Zi Bu Yu* (The Master Did Not Speak Of), Chapter on "Creating the Mind"

The wind in the void gradually subsided.

The battlefield between Taotie and Miranda has long since transformed into a vortex of light and darkness.

The area where the disaster zone and the spore forest intertwined continued to flicker in the distance, like two stars devouring each other.

The air was filled with grayish-white spore dust.

Zhuang Yege stood on the edge of the cliff, a copper bell hanging between his fingers, the bell swaying gently.

The bell rang faintly, yet it seemed to penetrate the entire world.

Yu Weiwei stood behind him, her wolf-tooth club stuck in the ground, silently gazing at the distant chaos.

The light reflected in her eyes was indistinguishable, whether it was the radiance of divine war or the fire of the apocalypse.

"We...are we just going to wait here?"

Her voice was very soft, as if she dared not disturb this stagnant space and time.

Zhuang Yege smiled, a smile that carried a hint of worldliness and a touch of destiny.

"Wait? Hmm, you could say that."

He put away the copper bell, and a dark, mysterious card appeared in his palm.

As the cards unfolded, a damp, oppressive aura spread like waves.

The Dead Tide Realm, the gateway where the underworld and the human world meet.

Countless ghostly figures appeared at his feet, swirling and dispersing in a certain direction in the air.

They don't attack; they just flow silently, as if laying an invisible road.

Yu Weiwei looked up at the invisible tide.

"This is?"

"The Gate of Life".

Zhuang Yege said calmly.

“They went out to find a way to survive for us, so I will leave them a way back from the outside.”

Yu Weiwei paused for a moment, then smiled gently.

"I see. Then I must guard this door well too."

She raised her hand and waved it gently.

The wolf-tooth club emitted a low rumble.
Then, a gentle cyan ripple spread out outside the Death Tide Realm, forming a protective shield like wind, enveloping them within.

“They will come back,” she whispered. “I believe.”

Zhuang Yege looked at her, her smile deepening.

"You're always so trusting."

Yu Weiwei's eyes were gentle, yet firm.

"Because I have helped too many regretful souls to find peace, and they all said that they died too young because they had too little trust."

Zhuang Yege didn't reply, but simply raised the copper bell again.

The bell rang again, this time clearer.

The voice seemed to be calling for something, or perhaps guiding someone home.

The ghost tide transformed into a river, gently rippling in the void.

Zhuang Yege closed her eyes and silently recited:

"The gate of life, open."

A path formed by the shadows of vengeful spirits appeared in the air.

A faint light stretched along the road, pointing towards the depths of the behemoth.

He opened his eyes and smiled slightly.

"Alright, the path is open. Now, let's see if they can get out."

Yu Weiwei bit her lip, a gentle light flashing in her eyes.

She walked to his side and held the wolf-tooth club horizontally in front of her chest.

"Then we'll guard this gate of life."

In the distance, the roar of the Taotie rang out once more.

The voice was deep and hoarse, as if the mountains and seas were weeping together.

The wind pressure swept through, and even the void trembled.

However, neither of them backed down.

The ghostly tide surged beneath their feet.
The sound of the tide is like the wind, like a song, like the breath of all the dead in the world.

Zhuang Yege gazed quietly at the chaotic sky and said softly:
"The tide of death never ceases, and the gate of life never dies."

The wind stopped.

Spore ash fell like snow.

The halo of light in the Dead Tide Realm flickered, like the gentle pulse of a heart.

The battle continues in the distance.

But here, everything becomes quiet.

Two people, outside of God's war, guarded a door of life for their friend.

come down.

They fell for a long time.

The moment Si Ming and Selian passed through the gluttonous maw, gravity and light ceased to exist.

Disoriented, they were like two shooting stars falling into a dream, plummeting through a dark tunnel.

The surrounding walls were soft and viscous, like smooth biological tissue, yet they had no bloody smell.

It gleamed with a cold light, writhing layer by layer, as if devouring their existence.

Selene reached out as if to grasp something, but only touched nothingness.

She was about to speak when she heard Si Ming's calm voice in her ear:
"Don't move. If we go any lower, we'll see 'its heart'."

Finally, a faint light appeared beneath my feet.

It was a huge ball of light, silently suspended at the bottom of the passage, like the beating heart of a gluttonous beast.

They landed on the sphere of light.

The surface of the light sphere is not solid, but rather soft, with a subtle pulsating texture.

Selene instinctively reached for her sword, but then realized the light was seeping into her body—

“Something’s not right…” she frowned.

"It's nothing." Si Ming looked up, his eyes reflecting that light.

"That's the induction procedure."

Then, both of them were "sucked" into the light.

When they opened their eyes again, the world had changed.

Instead of flesh and darkness, there is a studio with a girlish style.

The space was unnaturally spacious, and the four walls were lined with bizarre little rag dolls.
Each one had a stiff expression and strange movements, yet they were carefully arranged into a neat sequence.

In the center is a four-screen workbench, with the screens off.
Half-open snack bags and piles of cushions were scattered around.

And a chair with a pink ribbon.

The air was filled with a mixture of vanilla and electrical currents.

Selene blinked.

"...I thought I was going to fall into some disgusting stomach, or have to fight my way through a bloody abdominal cavity."

She stepped on the carpet and disdainfully lifted the hem of her skirt.

"It turned out to be...a little girl's room?"

Si Ming looked around, his expression complex yet calm.

"Her style remains the same as always."

He walked to the workbench and looked up at the four black screens.

"Stop hiding."

His voice echoed in the empty room.

“I know you are here. Taotie, in the name of destiny, I command you to answer.”

The screen is flickering.

A burst of loud electronic noise rang out, and then all four screens lit up simultaneously.

Four cartoonish smiling faces appeared on the screen, their smiles mechanical and eerie.

"Life Team, Assistant Intelligence, Taotie, we salute you, Lord of Destiny, Lu."

The voice was electronically synthesized, yet it carried a soft, feminine tone.

Selene froze, then turned to look at Si Ming.

"...Lu? The Lord of Destiny? What kind of lie are you making up now?"

Sima Ming did not respond.

He simply stood up straight, his gaze fixed on the screen, his tone slightly cold:
"Are you Shangguan Xi's auxiliary AI, or a clone of the original?"

He raised his hand, and a Supreme Mystery Card appeared.

The Thousand-Faced One.

The light of destiny unfolded at his fingertips, transforming into a semi-transparent virtual panel.

The data flowed before him, while the smiley faces on the screen flickered and distorted. The air temperature dropped.

Two powers, "fate" and "devouring," contend with each other in the same space.

“If you betray her,” Si Ming whispered, “I will rewrite you.”

The screen remained silent for a moment.

Then, a soft voice came from the virtual platform.

That wasn't an electronic sound.

That was—a human voice.

"...No need to be on guard, Brother Lu."

A light and shadow slowly emerged.

It was a projection of a girl, blurry yet clear.

She smiled, her voice weak.

"The Taotie has always been at my service. I have already modified its core data."

Shangguan Xi.

Selene's eyes widened.

She looked at the phantom-like girl, then at Si Ming.

"You know her?"

Si Ming took a deep breath.

"Yes. Like me, she was one of the creators of this nightmare, and also one of those consumed by it."

Shangguan Xi's projection floated, and light particles kept peeling off her body.

"Don't be too nervous."

She looked at Si Ming, her smile tinged with bitterness.

"I can hold on for a while."

"Are you alright?" Siming asked.

She shook her head.

"It's difficult. The Primordial One tore me apart and sealed me into the altar of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Every time the instance restarts, it erases a bit of my consciousness."

"The fragment you brought back... is my last 'self'."

Selene's eyes wavered. She couldn't understand any of this, but she could sense the atmosphere of "farewell".

Shangguan Xi noticed her, turned her head slightly, and smiled.

"Is this your companion?"

Si Ming nodded.

"She saved my life. And she's been with me ever since."

Shangguan Xi looked at Celian,
"You trust her?"

Si Ming smiled gently: "Because she never abandoned me."

Shangguan Xi's smile became even more bitter.

"You really are still angry about what happened back then."

Si Ming shook his head: "Let's not talk about it. I came to take you back."

She sighed softly.

"It's no use. This level of consciousness... it's barely enough to maintain my sense of self."

She reached out and pointed at Celian.

"However, if you don't mind, I hope she will inherit everything from me."

Selene was taken aback: "Me?"

Shangguan Xi smiled, her smile gentle yet firm.

“I know you have many questions. But if you trust Si Ming, and you trust me too… please accept me. Accept my memories, and also, Taotie.”

Selene's lips trembled slightly.

She turned to look at Si Ming.

Si Ming simply nodded.

That was trust, but it was also an order.

She closed her eyes and opened her arms.

“Si Ming trusts you, and I trust you too.”

Whatever you're carrying... I will do it for you.

Shangguan Xi smiled, a smile as gentle as a dream.

She flew into Celian's arms like a white phoenix.

The two beams of light merged.

Selene's body jolted violently.

Sweat trickled down her forehead.

A flood of data and memories rushed into her mind.
Images, sounds, pain, and tenderness mingled into a blazing white storm.

"what!"

She groaned softly, her hands clenched tightly.

The empty workbench flickered with chaotic streams of code.

The screen started flickering, and alarms sounded one after another:

[WARNING: Permission conflict.]

[Original Bound Person: Shangguan Xi — Released.]

[New user testing in progress]

【…】

[Binding complete.]

The screen stabilized again.

【Hello, Lady Celian.】

The Gluttonous System has been reinitialized.

Do you need any help?

Selene looked up.

Her pupils shimmered with a green-gold light.
It was both strange and familiar.

Shangguan Xi's projection had faded into a wisp of light.

She smiled and looked at Si Ming.

"Brother Lu... I can finally rest assured."

Shangguan Xi's projection gradually faded, turning into fragments of light.
It gradually dissipated from the fingertips and vision of the Fate Master.

He didn't reach out to grab it.

He simply stood quietly in that ball of light.

Eyes lowered

The sound was so soft it was almost swallowed by the light.

Goodbye, Xi.

That sentence contained neither sadness nor pleading.

Just calm and restrained.
It was so heavy that even the air seemed to tremble.

"I owe you more than I can ever repay."

"So I won't stop anymore."

He turned around, and the shadow on his shoulder was stretched long by the light.

"I will never let anyone disappear like this again."

Selene gently raised her head, looking at the light that was gradually fading away.

Her expression was gentle yet firm.
Like a black rose, blooming before the grave of light.

"Si Ming."

Her voice was soft, yet clear.
"She placed her hopes in me."

She held out her hand.

The light patterns on her palm were still pulsating, as if Shangguan Xi's heart pulse had not yet been extinguished.

"From now on, I will carry her unfinished dream and walk with you to the end."

The wind swept by, scattering fragments of light.

Like stardust falling into her eyes.

Si Ming gazed at her quietly and nodded slightly.

No words,
Only for that one moment,
The determination in his eyes was rekindled.

One breath dies, a hundred dreams continue.

If the heart does not perish, the god will be reborn.

—From *Zi Bu Yu* (The Master Did Not Speak Of), Chapter on Continuing Life, End

(End of this chapter)