The Favor of the Four Pillar Gods

"Great Four Pillar Gods, heed my command!" The moment Yaxiu spoke those words, even Mercury Trojan's deadpan face, seemingly cast from cement, went blank for an instant. Harvey's expression remained placid; he didn't notice anything amiss... After all, for a buffet terrorist like him, he used the exact same social rhetoric whether dealing with a mating partner, a corpse, or an ordinary person—phrases like "You've become so stiff," "I'll be gentle with you," "You're reacting so strongly," and the like. To him, Yaxiu's words felt completely natural: since a sorcerer could command a corpse, of course he could command the Four Pillar Gods. Tamaxi turned his head and gave Yaxiu a thumbs-up. Only Igola was feeling deeply conflicted. Even though he often called Yaxiu an idiot, Yaxiu couldn't possibly fail to understand the gravity of the situation. Yet he had still made such a blunder—and it wasn't as if this was his first time dealing with the Four Pillar Cult. It was like delivering food to a devil only to slam the plate right into its face, three times in a row no less. There was no explanation other than that it was deliberate. So why did he do it? Hearing such a pointless question, the child hidden in the deepest, darkest room of the swindler's heart—a child who could only fall asleep huddled inside a utility closet—sneered and offered the answer: *He's trying to trick you.* *"As long as he speaks insolently during prayer, he'll earn the displeasure of the Four Pillar Gods and naturally lose his qualification to become a Touch. He isn't like you or Harvey; he's a flawless Sanctuary Sorcerer who can become a Legendary Sorcerer in the future, with hopes of even becoming a demigod angel. Becoming a Touch for the Four Pillar Gods is a burden, an encumbrance, a curse to him." *"Do you really think he didn't know he was the prime candidate? Mercury Trojan was eyeing him from the moment she arrived; he couldn't have declined outright. All those high-sounding, righteous words about self-sacrifice were just to win your goodwill and gratitude. And now, by deliberately botching it, isn't the only candidate left you?" *"For her own sake, Mercury Trojan will surely do everything in her power to help you become the Touch. He gets to escape every disaster without losing a thing, leaving you to pay the price." *"In a moment, he'll definitely play dumb and come up with a perfect excuse to show he merely made a careless mistake." *"Selfless in speech, selfish at heart. Sending others to their deaths while keeping the spoils for himself. Exploiting the situation to redirect disaster..." *"Isn't that the exact mask we've always worn?"* A dark undercurrent flowed quietly through his heart, and that familiar atmosphere returned. Perhaps he had never truly escaped Blood Moon; for someone like him, everywhere was Blood Moon. Igola looked at Yaxiu. Yaxiu turned to look at them as well, his face filled with bewilderment. "I didn't mean to say that," the cult leader muttered blankly. "I mean, I really don't bow to the Four Pillar Gods in my heart, but... have I become so upright that my mouth can't even lie?" What a clumsy excuse. Only an idiot would believe that. Igola pressed a hand to his forehead, let out a helpless sigh, and shook his head. "Idiot." As for Yaxiu, he was also busy questioning his life choices. He really hadn't intended to say that. Had he actually had a slip of the tongue? Mercury Trojan suddenly spoke: "...I see. That Touch took precautions against you competing for favor long ago." "Huh?" "That Everlasting Presence you encountered before added a little 'surprise' to the mark she left on you," Mercury Trojan said. "The instant you attempt to pray to the Four Pillar Gods, your luck plummets to rock bottom. In other words, you cannot possibly complete a devout prayer. Distraction, nausea, random thoughts, drowsiness... all of your praise will turn into insults through various mishaps." "While she cannot see truth like I can, she knew your worth, so she used this method to prevent you from receiving Their favor." "A very childish tactic, as naive as a little kid's idea, but I have to admit, it's remarkably practical." Yaxiu was astonished. "Just because I took a slightly haughty attitude, the Four Pillar Gods won't acknowledge me? Shouldn't the Four Pillar Gods be great beings who are broad-minded and unbothered by trivialities, who couldn't care less about the disrespect of mortals and laugh off any insult?" *That attitude isn't just 'slightly haughty,' and back in the cell you even called the Four Pillar Gods four persistent MLM scoundrels...* Igola and the others thought. "The Four Pillar Gods truly do not care about mortal disrespect, but the problem is that you are not competing for a mortal position," Mercury Trojan said. "Would you allow your own eyeball to speak insolently to you? Besides, you aren't Their only eyeball." "Moreover, among the Four Pillar Gods, the Lord of Countless Radiance, the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow, and the Soul of Phantasmal Freedom detest this kind of condescending tone most of all. While the Heart of Eternal Heat doesn't care, it wouldn't respond to you for that either—if They responded to you, wouldn't They be demeaning Their dignity just to humor you?" "Would the Four Pillar Gods really be that petty?" "The Four Pillar Gods are all petty," Mercury Trojan said. "Their teachings have never included 'altruistic virtues' like goodness, benevolence, and forgiveness—only 'self-serving virtues' like courage, resourcefulness, and pleasure. In the Four Pillar Cult, pettiness is an admirable quality. One of the tenets encourages us never to compromise our own feelings to accommodate someone else's experience." "Then what do we do?" Yaxiu grew anxious. "Is there any way to get more of the Four Pillar Gods' fav... gaze? Do I need to perform a special talent or something?" Mercury Trojan shook her head. "There is no way. After you spoke so insolently, the Four Pillar Gods could never possibly respond to you, unless—" *Whoosh!* The flames of the campfire suddenly flared, and the light seemed to break loose from its reins, advancing without restraint. The night retreated step by step, vomiting back the streetlamps, brazier pans, and all the lighting equipment it had just seized. In an instant, the camp grew bright once more, and the statues of the Four Pillar Gods on the outermost perimeter glowed faintly. "...They truly dote on you." Yaxiu could no longer hear Mercury Trojan's comment. Sounds, light, colors, air currents... everything he perceived was deconstructing and recombining, as if everything he had touched before was merely a facade, and now he had finally wiped away the dust on the glass to peer at the truth hidden behind it. *Plop.* With an inaudible splash, Yaxiu felt himself plunge into the deep sea. Freezing seawater stung his skin and crept into his nostrils; a stinging sourness spread to his eyeballs and melted his eardrums. Bubbles. He seemed to have turned into a bubble. In a daze, he saw eight of them. They were debating, they were fighting, they were passionately entangled. In the end, the first died, its corpse lying in a pool of blood. Then the second died, its corpse resting on top of the first corpse. It didn't bleed, but from the wound beneath its corpse, a tiny white soul wriggled out, hoisting the second corpse upward... *Pop.* With the inaudible sound of a bursting bubble, Yaxiu sat up abruptly from the ground. Seeing the people gathered around him, he asked, "What happened?" "Don't beat us to asking the very question we were going to ask," Igola said. "You collapsed all of a sudden, and now you've suddenly woken back up. You were out for about ten seconds. What happened?" "I think I dreamed that I turned into a bubble," Yaxiu said uncertainly. "I also saw some really bizarre things..." "When you become a Touch, not only can the Four Pillar Gods touch the world through you, but you can also touch the Four Pillar Gods through it," Mercury Trojan said. "However, to us mortals, the Four Pillar Gods are like a giant dragon in a pitch-black room. No matter how we grope around, we can only ever touch an insignificant facet of Them, which is why you receive information that defies comprehension." "Right, the Touch!" Yaxiu looked at his hands. "Am I a Touch now? Then what is my Touch ability? Is there a beginner tutorial or—" *Wham!* In a flash, Mercury Trojan was slammed brutally to the ground by Tamaxi! The ferocious Black Crow straddled the female gunner, pinning her remaining intact hand to the ground with a dagger, while his handaxe was planted right beside her neck—a single downward press would bring forth a fountain of blood! Yaxiu and the others had wanted to say something, but seeing the expression on Mercury Trojan's face, they immediately grew solemn as well. Because Mercury Trojan was smiling. It was the first genuine smile she had shown since she appeared. It looked innocent and pure—and chilling enough to make one's hair stand on end. "Speak," Tamaxi said, his distorted voice thick with hatred. "What tragedy are you staging this time?" "Tamaxi, you're truly wronging me this time," she said cheerfully. "Are the Four Pillar Gods pawns that I could ever manipulate? I simply never expected that the best, most beautiful scenario imaginable would actually occur... Praise the Four Pillar Gods." She paused, then looked at Yaxiu and said, "The Four Pillar Gods truly dote on you. Even after you showed such disrespect, They were still willing to forgive you." "However, right now, you have only become half a Touch."