Becoming a God Starts with Acting

Chapter 533: [A Godless World] – The Strange Ember

Beneath every trending topic, crowds of readers gathered, leaving all kinds of comments.

[Ember? You mean the one everyone’s been praising as the future number one? Hahaha.]

[He does seem incredibly talented, but his reputation in the artist community isn’t exactly great.]

[I’m new here, so I don’t really get it. Can someone explain?]

[You’re new and still have the mood to browse the forums? Brother, I think you’re the one with the potential to become number one someday.]

[LOL, what are you talking about? I scroll the internet all day too, but every day I’m terrified I won’t make it to tomorrow.]

[It’s simple. Every other artist team that entered a dungeon with him ended up dead.]

[This is already the third dungeon. Every single time, Ember has been the only survivor.]

...

Since ancient times, Gods have existed because humanity needed them.

The strongest desires born from the human heart—hatred, love, or obsession—became unwavering faith, drawing forth those who sought worship.

[Confirmation. Dungeon "A Godless World" has opened!]

[At Lotus Park, an upscale residential complex home to wealthy families, a gruesome murder recently claimed the lives of five people in Apartment 601. The police investigation is still ongoing, and before the murderer is brought to justice, you, a resident of Lotus Park, begin experiencing increasingly disturbing events around you. Strange screams echo endlessly from Apartment 601. Every night, persistent knocking sounds at your door, while the footsteps of countless unseen people pacing the hallway torment you until you can no longer sleep. Something is changing. Something has been drawing near ever since the massacre. The murderer is hiding within the darkness... and you may be the next victim.]

[Main Objective: Capture the real murderer.

Time Limit: None.]

...

Silvanus’s eyes snapped open in the darkness.

The first thing he saw was a cluttered room, garbage bags piled haphazardly across the floor. In the center of the room, a television cast a cold glow, its screen displaying detailed coverage of the high-profile murder case that had recently taken place in Apartment 601 of Lotus Park.

The public and the media gave the case a bloody, merciless name. They called the deaths of the five victims "The Descent of God," due to the countless bizarre supernatural signs found at the crime scene.

"Beep!"

The television screen suddenly went black, plunging the entire room into endless darkness.

Everything within Silvanus’s field of vision swayed, even though he himself had not moved an inch.

It was obvious.

He was seeing everything through someone else’s eyes.

The curtains were drawn open, and sunlight flooded into the room in an instant, as though the entire space had just undergone a cleansing ritual.

The owner of Silvanus’s borrowed perspective then silently began tidying up the room.

He was completely different from the descriptions Silvanus had heard from the outside world.

So, Ember... what is your wish? What desire could possibly be so immense, so overwhelming, that it made you the strongest candidate to become my next believer...?

Ember looked at the piles of garbage scattered throughout the room and instinctively began cleaning. No matter what kind of character setting he had been assigned this time, there was no way he could tolerate living in a room buried in trash.

By the time he finished, the garbage had been packed into three enormous trash bags.

Truly enormous.

Fortunately, Ember was no longer an ordinary person. After surviving three dungeons, his physical strength had long since surpassed the limits of a normal human.

He hoisted all three bags onto his shoulders before walking out of the apartment.

Behind him, a small plaque above the door clearly displayed his apartment number.

Apartment 501.

Directly beneath Apartment 601.

Staring at the rather ominous number, Ember frowned slightly before heading downstairs to find a place to throw out the trash.

The elevator doors remained tightly shut.

From the experience he had accumulated as an artist, Ember knew it was best to avoid elevators no matter how urgent the situation was. Happy TV Network’s oldest jump scares always seemed to happen inside elevators.

To the audience, they were entertaining little scares.

To an artist, however, if they weren’t strong enough, those same scares could easily become the blade that took their life.

The stairwell was completely deserted.

Ember descended at a brisk pace, reaching the first floor in no time. When the security guard saw him carrying an absurd amount of trash down the stairs, he couldn’t help looking at him as though he were a lunatic. The elevators weren’t even crowded at this hour. Young people these days really were obsessed with working out.

Kids these days...

The guard frowned before calling out, "Young man, don’t let your trash pile up like that next time. It’ll start to smell, and your neighbors are going to file complaints."

Ember barely glanced at him before asking, "Are all the apartments in Lotus Park occupied right now?"

Just look at him.

Nearly one meter ninety tall, with naturally fiery red hair cropped so short that only a few centimeters remained. His sharp eyes tilted slightly upward, while the corners of his mouth naturally drooped. His irises were somewhat small, giving him distinctive sanpaku eyes. Whenever he looked at someone, they couldn’t help feeling as though he were looking down on them—or openly provoking them.

The guard snorted at Ember’s less-than-polite attitude, but answered anyway.

"The management tried to keep what happened in Apartment 601 under wraps, but there was no hiding it. Lately I’ve seen plenty of people moving out, but not a single person moving in. Normally the elevators are packed around this time when everyone’s getting off work. Now? They don’t even get crowded anymore."

He looked at Ember and chuckled.

"Wouldn’t surprise me if there are barely any residents left in the entire complex."

Faced with the guard’s deliberately unsettling grin, Ember showed no reaction. He merely replied in an icy voice,

"Then you’d better be careful at night too."

With that, he turned and walked away.

The guard stared at his retreating figure for a long moment before finally shouting,

"You little brat! Are you cursing me?!"

Ember had already walked some distance when he heard the shout. He paused briefly and turned around to look at the guard.

From the guard’s perspective, all he could see was Ember clenching his fists, his brows tightly knitted together, looking as though he were furious enough to charge over and punch him several times.

The guard flinched and hurried back into his security booth.

Ember’s fists trembled slightly.

In the end, however, he simply quickened his pace and walked away.