Chapter 1177: I Choose... to Abstain

I choose... to abstain.

The source of this voice was not two 【Void】, but one 【Void】 and one 【Civilization】.

When 【Truth】 shouted "Agree" and cast an unbalanced weight onto the scales, 【Annihilation】's expression turned exceedingly ugly.

Not only did He, quite a few of the gods present were somewhat taken aback.

Only 【Folly】 silently watched the folly unfold, eyes filled with contempt.

【Annihilation】 did not understand. Although He had no need to care about 【Truth】's vote, He still turned to 【Truth】 and asked:

"【Fraud】 meddled how many times, your experiments destroyed how much of your pursuit of truth, and you actually still vote for Him? 【Truth】, are you mad? Or is it that 【Prosperity】's son is about to become 【Fraud】's son!?"

At these words, 【Fraud】's gaze turned strange, and 【Truth】 offered no comment.

Hong Lin, however, was startled into a shiver, half-reclining in his chair as he kept thinking:

I don't have such a grown son......

Seeing 【Truth】 so cold, 【Annihilation】's eyes flickered. He found it hard to imagine what chaos would befall the cosmos if the most troublemaking 【Truth】 joined hands with the most reckless 【Fraud】.

Of course, what He could imagine even less was that even without 【Fraud】's alliance, 【Truth】 alone could punch a hole through the heavens—and had already done so once.

The voting continued; the next few votes were without suspense.

【Birth】 murmured "Child... child..." and then abstained;

【Death】 cast a vote of approval without hesitation;

【Iron Law of Order】 solemnly expressed resistance to 【Void】's disruption of order, and voted against;

【Chaos】 said not a word, raised a hand, and cast a vote of approval;

【Folly】 abstained, as expected, the mockery in his eyes growing thicker;

【Fate】 cast two votes of approval without a word.

When the gods present saw 【Fate】 cast two votes, they were all stunned, and 【Annihilation】 questioned outright:

"Why does He have two votes? Whose voting right has 【Fate】 exercised on behalf of? 【Justice (Order)】, you owe the gods an explanation!"

【Justice (Order)】 was about to explain when 【Fate】 spoke coldly:

"Matters of 【Fate】—why must I explain them to you?

At this moment, the greatest connection between you and me is that I foresaw your future of falling from the divine throne.

Beyond that, you are not even worthy of speaking My name.

If you have doubts, strike directly. Compared to taking your divine seat, I would rather send you back to true annihilation with my own hands."

A cold wind from the depths of the Void tore through the star curtain and began to churn above the 【Void】 seating area. 【Annihilation】 stared fixedly at 【Fate】 and said, word by word:

"I, Annihilation, destroyed the offering 【Fraud】 chose for your own good, yet you can't tell right from wrong and bite the hand that feeds you. 【Fate】, sooner or later your destiny will be dragged into the abyss by 【Fraud】. I will personally watch you regret it, then turn back and beg me!"

"You won't see it, because you die right now!"

Whoever touches destiny becomes 【Fate】's enemy.

At this moment, the voting and everything else no longer mattered in 【Fate】's eyes. He rose in fury, carrying boundless biting wind that poured indiscriminately upon every god present.

Only the destined one was spared.

The expressions of all the gods changed, but upon watching, there was no panic—only helplessness.

This was not the first time 【Fate】 had tried to drag the cosmos into collapse; it was just that the occasion chosen this time was wrong.

Although 【Justice (Order)】's authority was limited and could not handle matters outside the 【Covenant】, as long as it involved the 【Covenant】, He was the convergence of all authority, the unity of all divine power.

At the convening of the Divine Covenant, no god could use force to violate the prohibition. So the next second, the flowing-light-framed scales blazed forth, and the ancient sound of order spread across the cosmos in the rhythm of stars brightening and dimming. In but a moment, the endless biting wind of the Void transformed into a gentle breeze that brushed past the gods' eyes, and the enraged 【Fate】 was dragged back to the 【Void】 seat by an inescapable force of true 【Order】.

【Justice (Order)】 looked down from above and warned in a humming voice:

"Any act that disrupts the fairness of voting at the Divine Covenant convening will be stopped. This is one warning. If there is a next time, Fate, you will lose your voting rights."

【Fate】 stared back coldly, the corners of his eyes turned upward, looking as if He wanted to fight 【Justice (Order)】 too. But the corner of His eye caught sight of the believers hiding toward 【Fraud】, his brow furrowed, and He silently abandoned the impulsive act.

Seeing this, 【Justice (Order)】 turned again to look at 【Annihilation】 and said:

"【Fate】 exercised 【Prosperity】's voting right. This matter is in compliance and needs no questioning."

【Prosperity】!?

But wasn't His voting right in 【Truth】's hands?

【Annihilation】 looked coldly at 【Prosperity】, only to see 【Prosperity】 resting with closed eyes, utterly at ease. He then turned to 【Truth】, finding it hard to imagine what price 【Void】 had paid to gain 【Truth】's support and the 【Prosperity】 voting right in his hands.

【Fraud】 watched this scene with a grin, guessed the other's thoughts, and thought to himself that the price was indeed not small—we had consumed a 【Truth】, after all.

Oh, right, plus a 【War】.

Since 【War】 did not attend the convening, his vote, like 【Corruption】's, would be counted as abstention at the final tally. Of the 14 present, 10 have now voted, with a ratio of 6:2:2 (approval: against: abstention).

Although the approval votes led, in 【Annihilation】's eyes, the remaining few had almost no motive to vote in approval. So his demeanor grew increasingly mocking, and his gaze at Luo Luo Bosi was full of playful derision.

At this moment, the most nervous person in the entire hall was undoubtedly Luo Luo Bosi. Cheng Shi at least had some understanding of who would vote; He was relying entirely on his own guesses to see which gods would lean toward the 【Void】 camp.

Although currently leading, the next votes—every single one—were unpredictable.

Cheng Shi was also nervous. He had been staring at 【Memory】 and 【Decay】, wanting to see exactly how these two "I-know-it-all" types actually knew.

The eyes of the entire hall were focused on these few. Before long, 【Existence】 acted first; 【Time】 silently cast his vote, then left the venue directly.

As expected, He voted approval.

The gods were not surprised by this vote. After all, He was Cheng Shi's patron, fused with 【Void】, and this topic was clearly related to Cheng Shi and 【Void】. Supporting one vote was merely putting the attitude of cooperation out in the open.

But 【Memory】's vote exceeded everyone's expectations among the gods present.

He abstained.

That's right, abstained!

【Annihilation】 was extremely bewildered, but still breathed a sigh of relief. For Him, abstention was the same as opposition—both were "assistance."

Only He had never imagined that as 【Fraud】's counterpart, the opposite of 【Void】, this steadfast believer in 【Primordial】 would not have voted against.

The gods shared the same doubt. They looked at 【Memory】, only to hear 【Memory】 laugh:

"Someone told me that the universe will ultimately drift toward 【Void】.

Perhaps this is the era of 【Void】, where everything draws closer to 【Void】, and even my embryonic spirit cannot escape the trend.

But......

I am 【Memory】, the manifestation of 【Existence】, every little fragment that comes to mind when 【*He】 looks back upon this stretch of starry sky.

I cannot draw near to 【Void】, nor may I draw near to 【Void】, because memory cannot be without meaning.

Therefore I cannot cast that vote of approval.

But if everything returning to the void is the projection of 【*His】 will in this era, I cannot go against it either.

Therefore I cannot cast that dissenting vote either.

Thus, I choose to abstain."