“No need to thank me; it's the least I could do.”
Yue Shi snatched the prophecy book away in one swift motion.
The Faceless Man clenched his fists, his anger simmering beneath a surface of silent compliance.
The prophecy book’s predictions were remarkably accurate. It had saved him many times, but it had also screwed him over just as often.
Overall, however, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
After getting his hands on the book, Yue Shi didn't flip it open immediately. Instead, the third eye on his forehead snapped open.
Seeing this, the Faceless Man didn't show any outward reaction. Inwardly, he guessed that this was some kind of probing ability.
Though the hope was slim, the Faceless Man still wished that Yue Shi would realize the danger of the book and return it.
A massive amount of information and annotations flooded Yue Shi's vision.
【Prophetic Cursed Book】: It can peer into the future.
【「Absolute Truth」: Any statement made by this book is an objective fact that must occur at some point in the future. Prophecies are described with precision, free of ambiguity, metaphors, or conditional clauses. It declares results in the most straightforward manner possible.】
【「Phenomenal Description」: The book's prophecies only describe the final 'phenomenon' or 'result' presented. It does not reveal the detailed process, specific causes, or intermediate events leading to that result.】
【「Fated Collapse」: The moment a prophecy is written and appears on the page, the wavefunction of all future possibilities for the target (person, place, event) undergoes permanent collapse.
Before this, the future is a probability cloud with infinite branches;
After this, the future is fixed as a single path leading to the prophesied result.
All other possibilities are obscured, and fate becomes a one-way street.】
【「Forced Fulfillment Law」: Prophecies written by this book must happen.
This effect has the highest priority. No known causal interference, time paradox, or occult law can prevent or change the realization of the prophecy.
Destiny will correct any deviations by any means necessary to ensure the prophecy is fulfilled.】
【「Fated Puppet」: Frequent use of this book will lead to a permanent narrowing of the user's 'future possibilities.'
Fate will eventually become a clearly fixed plot, losing all variables and becoming unchangeable, turning the user into a puppet of their own destiny.】
【“Destiny is the most sophisticated cage.”】
【“Every prophecy is a minor murder of a free life.”】
Even with Yue Shi's vast experience, he couldn't help but be deeply shaken by this information.
He had expected the prophecy book to be miraculous, but he never imagined it would be this overpowered!
If the prophecy was good, then naturally, everyone would be happy.
But if the prophecy was terrible, one could only wait for that grim future to arrive, powerless to change it.
Could this thing be a manifestation of the Authority of 'Fate'?
No, no, no... it should be 'Destiny'!
Was the relationship between fate and destiny one of inclusion, intersection, or were they parallel concepts?
With Yue Shi's current intelligence, he couldn't wrap his head around such high-level questions for the time being.
What was certain now was that the Faceless Man hadn't lied. This book was indeed a dangerous item.
However, the Faceless Man didn't understand Yue Shi.
If a treasure carried risks, one could simply tuck it away and not use it.
Even if it sat under the bed gathering dust, what was his stayed his!
“How do I use this book?” Yue Shi asked.
Seeing that Yue Shi had no intention of returning the book, the Faceless Man felt a wave of disappointment, but he still answered truthfully.
“Just flip it open. Focus your mind on a clear target for prophecy, and the result will appear in the book.”
Yue Shi stroked the ∞ symbol on the cover with his finger, hesitating over whether to open it.
The Faceless Man waited silently by his side.
In truth, the prophecy book had one more taboo.
When using it, one must not simultaneously use any ability or item involving probability, time manipulation, or other forms of prophecy and divination.
Something very bad would happen.
As for what specifically would happen, even the Faceless Man didn't know.
This taboo had been left behind by the previous owner of the book before their death.
The Faceless Man was curious, but he had a brain and didn't want to risk his life to find out.
Crucially, items or abilities that manipulated time or probability were practically impossible to find!
Anyone who possessed such a great treasure would hide it away, never flaunting it for others to see.
Now that Yue Shi had stolen the prophecy book, the Faceless Man had no intention of helping him avoid the trap.
He practically wished for Yue Shi to trip up!
Of course, it would be best if he did so after breaking them out of the cage of the Supernatural Game Show.
The Faceless Man assumed Yue Shi would be a cautious person. After learning about the dangers of the prophecy book, he surely wouldn't...
He flipped it open!
The Faceless Man froze, watching helplessly as Yue Shi spread the prophecy book wide.
The pages were made of a translucent, unknown material that seemed to have no thickness, covered in countless gray dots representing undecided possibilities.
No matter which page was turned to, it only displayed the current prophecy.
As Yue Shi gazed at it, the gray dots on the page began to converge toward the center, finally condensing into a single, clear, and concise statement.
The Faceless Man didn't know what Yue Shi saw.
From his perspective, Yue Shi's expression first froze slightly, and then the corners of his mouth began to curl upward.
It started as a subtle arc, but then the curve spiraled out of control, spreading and deepening until it reached his ears in an impossible grin.
No human could ever produce such an exaggerated smile.
Then, Yue Shi closed the book and brought it to his mouth.
He swallowed it in one gulp.
He actually ate it!!!
His jaw unhinged wide as the book was slowly pressed inside in a swallow that completely defied common sense.
An eerie bulge appeared in his neck, moving down his esophagus.
The prophecy book vanished into that mouth, bit by bit.
Finally, Yue Shi's throat bobbed once, and everything returned to calm.
The Faceless Man felt like he was dreaming.
He couldn't comprehend the scene before him.
How did a perfectly handsome guy turn into an aberrant?
Where was the book?
Where did the prophecy book go?
Before the Faceless Man could ask, another change occurred in Yue Shi.
The clothes on his back were pushed up and torn apart as a pair of massive, pitch-black wings unfurled.
The wings folded forward gently, wrapping Yue Shi completely within them. They formed a perfect cocoon, suspended in mid-air.
The cocoon flickered in and out of existence, appearing hazy and uncertain.
Occasionally, it emitted an aura similar to the prophecy book; other times, it became extremely sinister and ominous.
The two different auras alternated chaotically as the state of the cocoon shifted.
A speck of silver light lit up on the black feathers of the cocoon's surface.
Starting from a single point, the ∞ symbol began to branch out and spread, quickly crawling onto every single feather.
Silver and black intertwined, forming a profound pattern.
Inside the cocoon, Yue Shi's eyes were tightly shut, and ∞ symbols covered him from head to toe.
The prophecy book had given him a very good result.
He could smoothly obtain this incomplete 'Destiny.'
At this moment, Yue Shi was just like the Sea God had been—greedy and impatient, he had swallowed the bait.
Rate on N.U.
