By any logic, Li Jingming had no reason to appear at the Assembly of Gods Convention — much less sit in [Corruption]'s seat and cast a vote on this petition!
Yet that voice was identical to the Dragon King's. Surely you weren't going to tell him [Corruption] was actually Li Jingming?!
Given that clean, seemingly desire-free image of his... hiss — actually, from the angle of ironic contrast, him being [Corruption] almost made sense.
'Oh no — [Corruption] was beside
all along?!'
Cheng Shi's wild speculation was cut short by the stunned murmurs around him. Just because he didn't recognize the figure didn't an the gods didn't. [mory] swept a glance over the newcor and spoke a na with mild surprise:
"Drasilco... you're still alive."
Drasilco?
The Envoy of [Corruption] — the world's very first incarnation of sin?!
Cheng Shi was thunderstruck. He whipped his gaze toward [Corruption]'s seat and saw the hunched, black-robed figure raise his head, revealing a face covered in twisted totems. With beady eyes like a sewer rat's, he scanned the entire assembly and gave a sinister laugh:
"Drasilco, the Sin of Desirelessness, greets all the true gods.
It's been a while. The desires in your hearts have only grown stronger. My master would be pleased."
Regardless of how bizarre Drasilco's appearance was, regardless of how unsettling his form — at least he'd cast a vote in favor. Cheng Shi suppressed his burning questions and imdiately shouted:
"Voting complete! The petition passes!
[Justice (Order)], [Corruption] has answered my desire! This vote should—"
"It's invalid!"
Before Cheng Shi could finish, [Oblivion] annihilated the rest of his words and fixed Drasilco with a shadowed, piercing stare:
"I suspect the real Drasilco was killed long ago! This one before us is nothing more than an illusion conjured by [Void]! Don't you find the timing suspicious? He appeared precisely when those two [Void] sovereigns were at each other's throats — their residual [Deceit] fluctuations providing perfect cover! Don't try to fool ! Casting a fraudulent vote won't fly! I request that [Order] verify his identity — but to prevent [Justice (Order)] from being exploited by [Deceit]'s loopholes again, I ask that the Iron Law of [Order], who voted in opposition, perform the verification!"
Then He shot [Deceit] one contemptuous glance.
[Deceit] scoffed, not refusing. He rely sniped back sarcastically:
"Be my guest. Whatever makes you happy. But I have to ask — shall we verify his identity first, or deal with the Sea of Desire that's about to flood this entire chamber?"
[Deceit]'s words turned everyone's attention back to the rising sea. At that mont, Drasilco, seated in [Corruption]'s chair, smiled. He bowed to the assembly:
"There's no need for [Order] to verify . I'll demonstrate myself."
With that, he spread his arms and murmured [Corruption]'s prayer. His entire form began vibrating at an eerie frequency. In monts, flesh and black robe dissolved into a handful of desire-water, resonating in harmony with the ever-rising Sea of Desire.
This unprecedented spectacle made the gods wary. They couldn't help wondering whether Drasilco had truly earned [Corruption]'s approval — for how else could he control the Sea of Desire?
Before long, the boiling sea stopped rising. Seeing this, [Fate] furrowed His brow and retracted His Change authority.
His probe had its answer. [Deceit] had indeed allied with [Corruption], and Drasilco's appearance was the best proof!
Without desire to fuel it, the Sea of Desire began to recede rapidly. When the crisis was averted, Drasilco reford his hunched shape and addressed the gods with a grin:
"Any more doubts?"
"..."
How could there be?
Even if Drasilco's appearance was [Deceit]'s illusion, you couldn't claim the Sea of Desire — which had sent the entire divine assembly into a panic — was also an illusion, could you?
If the Sea of Desire was real, then Drasilco was real. Otherwise, you'd have to admit that [Deceit] controlled the Sea of Desire.
That was even more absurd — you might as well say [Corruption] was [Deceit].
The gods nodded, all affirming. Only [Oblivion] glared with defiant eyes, unwilling to believe.
He had clearly won the vote — why had a [Corruption] Envoy appeared out of nowhere to ruin everything?!
[Corruption] hadn't shown Himself in ages. His Envoy had never located Him. So how had an Envoy capable of controlling the Sea of Desire suddenly materialized?!
Sothing was wrong!
He glared at [Deceit]'s mocking eyes, feeling the unspoken ssage: 'Even if sothing's off, you can't prove it.'
And [Oblivion] indeed couldn't find any cracks. Compared to believing Drasilco was still alive, He was even less willing to accept that [Deceit] could command the Sea of Desire!
'The Sea of Desire is the Abyss of Desire that caused even [Order] to disintegrate!'
If [Deceit] had that kind of power, why bother with this Envoy usurpation sche? He could just dissolve Himself outright.
So [Oblivion] was furious — furious at His inability to find a flaw, and furious at the gods for accepting Drasilco's identity.
But He knew emotions were poison for the unmoored. He annihilated His fury, returned to cold calculation, and argued to [Justice (Order)] with precise logic:
"This vote is invalid! The Convention states that voting rights belong exclusively to true gods! Envoys have no voting rights! So even if this Drasilco is genuine, he has no authority to vote! The result remains 8:2:4! The traitor's petition has not passed!"
[Justice (Order)] deliberated for a mont, then spoke in His resonant hum:
"Indeed.
Though [Corruption] has long been absent and His status cannot be confird, if you wish for the Sin of Desirelessness to inherit [Corruption]'s voting rights, a separate Assembly of Gods Convention must first be convened to settle the question of succession. Only then could he be eligible to hold [Corruption]'s voting rights and cast a ballot.
Chronologically, the succession question for [Corruption]'s voting rights can only follow this current petition. Therefore...
This vote is invalid."
The mont the words landed, Herobos's expression turned dire. [Oblivion] sneered at [Void] once more:
"All the scheming in the world amounts to nothing when you fail at the final hurdle. I'll admit — finding Drasilco exceeded my expectations yet again. But you've still lost! Without inheriting everything from [Corruption], he's useless to you!"
Yet [Deceit] rely scoffed, not even bothering to acknowledge Him. It was Cheng Shi at the [Void] section's forefront who sensed this wasn't over. His eyes flickered with a sudden realization, and he shot [Oblivion] a razor-tipped smirk before delivering one last sarcastic blow:
"Drasilco's Benefactor isn't so unwanted true god. Why does he need to rush to inherit everything from [Corruption]?"
"?"
That remark clearly caught Herobos in the crossfire, but with the petition stumbling this far forward, all He wanted was victory. He wasn't about to quibble over details.
[Oblivion] sneered: "Very well. It seems you've accepted your defeat. On that point, at least, you deserve your Benefactor's respect."
"Tsk—
Who says I've lost?
I only said Drasilco doesn't need to inherit everything from [Corruption]. What does that have to do with losing?
Can't he be casting a proxy vote on [Corruption]'s behalf?!"
"!!!"
The instant the words left Cheng Shi's mouth, Drasilco looked at him and smiled aningfully:
"Correct. I've co this ti to cast this vote of agreent on my master's behalf.
He has long dwelt in the Sea of Desire. He never vanished — He rely prefers not to appear before the mortal world. So He sent
to answer the call of desire.
If anyone doubts this, they're welco to visit the Sea of Desire and verify with my master in person."
"..."
One sentence. And every god present instantly understood [Void]'s ga.
Regardless of who had found Drasilco, this move was, from every conceivable angle, an unbreakable open sche!
If you accepted it, the vote was valid and the petition passed.
If you didn't, you'd have to go to the Sea of Desire and ask [Corruption] whether He'd truly sanctioned this. After all, the only living [Corruption] Envoy had confird this was the truth. If you wanted to refute it, you'd need to produce another servant god of equal standing to contradict Drasilco's claim.
But who else was left among [Corruption]'s Envoys?
Tria? Sorry — her relics were still on Cheng Shi's person.
Aph Ros? Setting aside whether the warden holding him would even allow him to testify — even if he was here, whose side he'd take didn't even require thought.
Once Cheng Shi grasped this, he finally appreciated the staggering foresight of [Deceit]'s planning. He burst into laughter and called out to [Justice (Order)]:
"Does the Convention forbid a true god from sending their Envoy to cast a proxy vote?"
The Flowing Light Scales fell silent. No matter how unprecedented this act was throughout all of history, the principle remained the sa: that which the law does not forbid may be done!
So, monts later — amid [Oblivion]'s absolute fury — [Justice (Order)] spoke in His resonant hum:
"It does not."
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