Justice's attitude toward Cheng Shi's proposals was deeply thought-provoking.
Each ti He streamlined the process, the Flowing Light Scales tilted a fraction further. Yet even as the imbalance worsened, He persisted in streamlining.
The absurd spectacle looked as though the normally rigid Justice had grown sick of Cheng Shi's "greed" and couldn't wait to leave early, getting as far away as possible.
But Cheng Shi, having seized his opening, would never let the old fossil off that easily.
A new round of voting comnced. Cheng Shi instantly secured seven votes — no surprise there.
Prosperity, Decay, Order, War, Chaos, mory — an ironclad bloc — plus one from Silence. Rock-solid.
This ti even Birth stopped pretending. He placed His intention to draw near Void on open display, pushing the count directly to the halfway mark.
Just one more vote and Cheng Shi would claim Truth's voting rights.
But then Death hesitated. He was slow to cast His remaining vote.
Cheng Shi wasn't surprised. He understood the Boss's reasoning.
Truth's voting rights were still held by Deceit as proxy. With Deceit not yet returned, Cheng Shi's move carried the whiff of "taking advantage of an empty house."
Both belonged to the Fear Faction, and even if the motion passed, the rights would simply shift from one hand to the other. Yet Death clearly leaned more toward trusting Deceit.
Still, Cheng Shi saw no problem with that.
He trusted Deceit too. So he understood Death. And the Boss's hesitation only proved further that Deceit had a way to sustain this world's future.
Far from disappointed, Cheng Shi was actually elated.
But for the Greed Lord, a lack of disappointnt didn't an a lack of desire for the vote. He gazed silently up at the towering skull overhead, saying nothing — yet those resolute eyes seed to speak volus.
'I will walk the road ahead myself. My fate rests in my own hands.'
eting that unflinching stare, the massive skull froze for a heartbeat, then released a long sigh:
"In... favor."
He had been swept up by Void — from start to finish, lashed to Void's chariot.
Nine votes!
The motion passed. Hong Lin went from holding no voting rights to bearing two, all in the space of minutes.
She pumped her fist in exhilaration. Her cat-brain fired on all cylinders, spinning at peak capacity — the zenith of her feline life. She called out to Cheng Shi:
"Keep going!
Cheng Shi, keep going!
We've got the votes locked! Take all their voting rights!"
"?"
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, musing: 'If we've got the votes locked, why stop at voting rights?'
'If a simple vote can decide Authority allocation and Divine Throne assignnts, then...'
He looked up at the ever-more-imbalanced Flowing Light Scales and let a smile of indeterminate aning cross his face.
"Oblivion has fallen. Its Authority remains suspended due to a prior unresolved motion, and its voting rights lie vacant. To ensure every deity's will may continue to be represented at the Assembly — I petition for Death to exercise Oblivion's voting rights and Authority by proxy!"
"???"
"!!!"
Before his words had even settled, Cheng Shi turned to the Boss with a radiant grin:
"I'm grateful for Your protection all this ti. The long gap in offerings was my oversight. Today, I'll make up for every one of them in a single stroke."
The Clown had nearly dropped his act entirely.
The massive skull gaped in astonishnt. He had never imagined this Assembly could yield a... "tribute."
'Exercising an adversary's Authority and voting rights by proxy — is that proper?'
From the standpoint of divine solemnity and respect for the faith, it certainly wasn't ideal. Yet the flas in the skull's eye sockets blazed up for an instant, radiant with unmistakable excitent.
It was strange — you could actually tell a bare skull was thrilled.
The last ti he'd seen a similar expression was when the Boss was naming the Bone Servant Le Le'er's Ring.
The Flowing Light Scales even trembled at Cheng Shi's audacity. The situation had gone far beyond a question of rules. This Fixed Destiny — whom the Fear Faction had elevated to such heights — was openly trampling the Pact's dignity, making a fool of Him!
Yet the rigidity of the rules bound all of His actions. He could not refuse. He could only play the "fool."
The outco was, once again, nine votes — except this ti, before Birth even had a chance to cast His ballot, the Boss had preemptively thrown in Ti's proxy vote.
Cheng Shi said nothing. He was too busy suppressing a grin.
The instant the motion passed, the Universe gained a new "power broker."
The Pact was finished.
From a universal accord that sheltered, balanced, and restrained the gods, it had been reduced to a "cat toy" for a mortal to tease deities with...
What made it more infuriating was that this cat toy had been handed over by Deceit Himself at the dawn of the era. A relay from one end of the era to the other had turned the Universe into a stage for Void's unfettered performance.
No — not Void. Yu Xi!
The Universe would be Yu Xi's stage!
Cheng Shi pointed; Justice obeyed. The once-revered embodint of rules now resembled a humble servant awaiting orders.
To this, Kataro gave a big thumbs-up.
'Fooling the gods was nothing more than this.'
But it was only the beginning.
"Corruption has been absent for too long, abstaining from every motion, far too passive. To ensure every deity's will may continue to be represented at the Assembly, I petition for War to exercise Corruption's voting rights and—"
Before he could finish, the chamber erupted. Cheng Shi hadn't even bothered changing the excuse. But as the last word approached, he stuttered to a halt.
He deliberated for a long ti, and in the end he didn't dare utter the word "Authority." He was afraid the secrets buried within Corruption would shatter the favorable position they'd built, and more afraid that the new War would be dragged back into the Sea of Desire.
There was a reason for assigning Corruption's voting rights to Qin Xin specifically. Though voting rights alone didn't carry much weight, any connection to Corruption made one uneasy.
Cheng Shi was cautious. He knew that for a Torchbearer like Qin Xin, the greatest desire in his heart was to protect this world. That made Qin Xin the most reliable person to resist Corruption's corrosion.
And indeed, the Assembly's voting rights proved to be nothing more than voting rights — aside from bearing Corruption's na, there were no other effects.
The reactions of the gods and Justice said it all. When Cheng Shi pulled the brake in ti, They visibly relaxed.
The motion passed without the slightest suspense. On to the next item.
"Folly—"
The mont those two words left his mouth, every god standing behind Cheng Shi lost all composure.
"He's not even dead yet..."
Cheng Shi bead. "Doesn't matter. Since He doesn't want to vote, I'll vote for Him."
Even Justice could no longer stand by. The Flowing Light Scales had tilted so far they no longer resembled scales at all — more like a spear angled upward.
He intoned a challenge:
"Do you intend to turn the transfer of divine power into your personal playground?"
Cheng Shi scoffed, his tone mocking:
"Oh?
Didn't the gods turn the Universe into Their playground?
What's the difference?
Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto you.
Since you've already done it unto others, it must be what you desire as well.
The instant you bestowed a 'ga' upon the world, you should have been prepared to beco part of the ga yourselves, shouldn't you?
Spare
the empty words. The Pact cannot be defied. Get to work, old fossil.
Today, I will take every last voting right into my own hands.
After Folly, that leaves only..."
He trailed off, turning his quiet gaze toward the conspicuously silent Divine Pillar.
...
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