Chapter 141 - Episode 20. God of Yesterday (5)
Chapter 141: Episode 20. God of Yesterday (5)
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[Someone has succeeded in liberating a Plant!]
No matter how quickly they captured Plants, this pace should have been impossible. At first, it happened once every thirty minutes. Before long, it became once every twenty minutes, then once every ten.
Rene muttered with a dazed expression.
“What on earth is he doing?”
Watching the pillars of green light rise at a terrifying speed on the other side, Rene spoke to the others.
“We cannot lose either.”
They had to bring even one more god over to their side while there was time left.
Seizing Plants was only the beginning of the Seventh Floor.
Then something even stranger began to happen.
“I-I’ll do it! I’ll do it, so please do not send me over there!”
“What?”
“I have wanted to become a Terrorist for a long time!”
The gods Rene had awakened began climbing out of their cocoons on their own. They watched the pillars of light rising from the other side, trembling with a strange terror in their eyes.
[Someone has succeeded in liberating a Plant!]
[Someone has succeeded in liberating a Plant!]
Several hours passed as the messages continued appearing one after another.
[The Plant liberation requirements for the ‘Election’ have been fulfilled.]
[The number of residents supporting the ‘Terrorists’ has exceeded the required threshold.]
[The ‘Election’ begins.]
At last, the second phase of the Seventh Floor had begun.
“Already? This is the first time I have seen Phase Two come this quickly.”
“It is finally starting.”
Runald stood blankly amid the people rushing about.
“What is starting? Jaehwan-nim has not returned yet.”
“Runald, look up.”
The drones in the area began gathering in the sky above the Seventh Floor. Like a swarm of bees, they formed a square formation in the air, then became an enormous screen.
A video began playing across the screen made by the drones.
[Selecting candidates to run in the ‘Election’.]
[Eligible candidates will receive a ‘Declaration of Candidacy’.]
A message appeared before Runald as well.
[You have currently accumulated enough influence to run for office.]
[Write your ‘Declaration of Candidacy’.]
A declaration of candidacy, out of nowhere?
Rayray explained it to Runald, who still did not understand the rules.
“The second phase is the ‘election campaign.’ Terrorists who built influence with the residents during the first phase can run as ‘King candidates’ in the second phase and earn votes.”
“If you win the vote, do you become the ‘King’?”
“In principle, yes.”
“So that was why you told us not to offend the gods.”
Runald looked at the declaration of candidacy before him and thought for a moment.
“But can I write one too?”
“Of course. We do not know which one of us will win.”
In that case.
Clutching his small head and groaning, Runald began writing his declaration. Andersen fluttered her wings beside him and offered suggestions.
“Will promises like that be enough? You need to win the gods over. Look, you should at least write something like this…”
“What would you know, God-nim? Please be quiet.”
A little later, Runald finished writing his promises and pressed the send button.
The other candidates seemed to have completed their preparations too, as they waited for the results while watching the screen in the sky. Rene’s face flushed at the thought that they had finally made it this far.
“Gods! I believe in you!”
[The candidates’ campaign promises begin!]
Then footage began appearing on the screen.
[Candidate A. The God of Yesterday ‘Arteina’.]
Amid cheers, Arteina appeared on a terrace in the video.
[Make the Seventh Floor of the Metaverse into Paradise. Return once more to the ‘Yesterday’ we dreamed of.]
It was an introduction reminiscent of an advertisement for luxury apartments.
As if every scene had already been prepared, the next shots showed Arteina personally caring for the gods of the Seventh Floor, one by one.
[The perfect care service for gods who do not want to work.]
[Followers who grow up just fine without my care.]
[Even a personalized Part delivery service that keeps up with the latest trends.]
The Seventh Floor’s personalized service used countless Dolls and drones to care for the gods in their cocoons, as well as their Worldviews. One after another, gods smiled happily like babies.
[The gods’ hard work deserves to be rewarded.]
[You who spent your entire life working only for your Followers, find the self you lost on the ‘Seventh Floor of the Metaverse’.]
[The candidate only for you, Candidate A, the God of Yesterday ‘Arteina’.]
For any god who had struggled to climb this far, it was an advertisement that could bring them to tears.
One Anonymous God was even sniffling, apparently deeply moved by the advertisement.
“We cannot lose either.”
Rene clenched her fist and shouted.
[Candidate B. ‘Rene’.]
As if she had prepared for this day, Rene in the introductory video spun around in a dress of soft colors.
[‘SirwenTV’ grumbles that the concept overlaps with theirs too much.]
[‘Slashing Only TV’ cheers for Rene!]
[‘Anonymous God 583’ cheers for Rene!]
Then Rene’s promises began.
[I am Rene, running as Candidate B!]
Unlike the refreshing opening, most of Rene’s promises were straightforward.
She clearly distinguished what she could and could not do, and she did not promise conveniences she could not provide.
The crucial difference between her promises and Arteina’s was this.
[I will return all trust unfairly exploited from the gods by the ‘Alliance’!]
Rene’s prepared video also exposed the reality of the Seventh Floor, created by the Alliance’s exaggerated advertisements. It showed the gods’ Worldviews slowly declining despite receiving the Seventh Floor’s services, as well as the fate of gods who were driven from the Seventh Floor once all their trust ran out.
[‘Anonymous God 94’ shouts that it is a fake video!]
[‘Anonymous God 986’ suffers while watching the video.]
The next candidate was Drake’s Vicegerent, Pilgrim.
[As Drake’s Vicegerent, if I become King, I will remodel the royal palace with dragon bones to raise the spirit of dragons, and hold a ‘Dragon Hunt’ event twice a week...]
...
Next came the God of Flash, Rayray.
[W-Well, if I, I become King...!]
[‘Anonymous God 48’ asks why their friend, who usually spoke so well, is acting like this.]
[‘Anonymous God 535’ says they cannot vote for someone like this.]
...
The mid-grade god Gale was there too.
[If this body becomes King, there will be benefits fairly distributed among all mid-grade gods on the Seventh Floor...]
[‘Anonymous God 94’ tells that mid-grade god nobody to get lost!]
Runald patted the shoulder of the dejected Rayray.
“It is okay. You did well.”
“D-Damn it. It was my first time speaking in front of this many gods... Are you next?”
“Yes.”
Runald nodded energetically.
A moment later, Runald’s face filled the screen.
[Candidate F. ‘Runald’.]
Runald cleared his throat softly and opened his mouth.
[Uh, hello.]
Perhaps because it was rare for a child to appear as a candidate, the gods showed interest upon seeing Runald’s face.
[‘Anonymous God 48’ shouts, “Go, Runald!”]
[‘Anonymous God 148’ says Runald is the real deal after all.]
Runald calmly recited the speech he had prepared.
[If I become ‘King’, I will give every god on the Seventh Floor one million trust!]
...
After the round of campaign promises ended, Runald sat huddled together with the other gods, staring at the screen on the ceiling.
[The real-time vote count will be revealed shortly.]
“Can we win?”
“Even if we win with your ridiculous promise, where will we get that much trust...?”
As Rayray muttered darkly, Rene said,
“It is enough if we can get even one more vote. We will unify our candidacies at the end. Since the Terrorists are at a disadvantage, we can shift votes even during the ‘Election’.”
Rene’s strategy was to field as many candidates as possible to split Arteina’s votes, then gather the divided votes back in one place.
[Current voter turnout: 54.4%]
The problem was that turnout was not rising easily from 54 percent.
Runald asked,
“It seems quite a few gods have not voted yet.”
A moment later, the results appeared in the sky.
[The real-time vote tally is revealed!]
+
Current count: 38.3%
1st: Arteina, 405,434 votes
2nd: Rene, 157,123 votes
3rd: Runald, 34,123 votes
4th: Rayray, 8,731 votes
5th: Gale, 351 votes
6th: Pilgrim, 163 votes
+
“Wow, I am in third place! I got thirty thousand votes!”
Runald sprang to his feet in surprise.
The other gods did not look pleased.
“We do not have nearly enough votes.”
From second-place Rene to sixth-place Pilgrim, the Terrorists barely exceeded two hundred thousand votes even when all their votes were combined.
Arteina, on the other hand, had surpassed four hundred thousand votes, exactly twice as many.
Rayray muttered bitterly.
“That means there are that many gods who do not want the times to change.”
The election was racing toward its middle stage. At this rate, it was painfully clear who would become the next King.
[A new candidate has appeared.]
Then the seventh candidate appeared.
* * *
royal palace 〈Yesterday's Noon〉.
Arteina shared celebratory glasses of champagne with the advisors while watching the vote tally.
“You all worked hard again this time.”
“What are you saying? It is all thanks to Arteina-nim’s usual character.”
Arteina looked proudly at the advisors.
They were the advisors of Alliance 「Prayer」, who had served alongside Arteina for a full five hundred years.
From analyzing voter tendencies to manipulating public opinion. If an Election was a battlefield, these invincible advisors could never lose. Thanks to them, Arteina had enjoyed an unprecedentedly long reign for the past five hundred years.
This vote did not seem likely to bring any surprises either.
“So Justice really died to fools like those.”
The one called Naked Stab, who had supposedly cut down three of the Metaverse Six Gods in one stroke, bothered Arteina a little. Still, as long as the battlefield was the Seventh Floor, Arteina was confident of victory even if the Seven Divine Thrones came.
With such overwhelming support behind Arteina, there was even less to worry about.
Arteina watched Andersen, in the form of a fluttering crow, on the screen.
“You have changed a great deal, Andersen.”
There had once been a time when Arteina had climbed the tower together with Andersen.
The days when they were revered as the Four Heroes. They had not been bad days.
Yet the world Andersen wanted to create was fundamentally different from the one Arteina desired.
“Do you still dream of a world where gods and Followers are equal?”
Arteina liked neither gods nor Followers.
Arteina had climbed the tower in the first place only to put an end to all this conflict and build a small Paradise.
“Vermin.”
Arteina smiled coldly while watching the gods trapped in Plant cocoons, dreaming of Yesterday.
Those gods were the results of the God Rearing project Arteina had carried out for five hundred years.
Confine every god who entered 〈Metaverse〉 on this Seventh Floor.
Maintain the Alliance by drawing limitless World Force from them.
Make them helpless by providing every kind of convenience and pleasure.
In the end, turn them into Anonymous Gods and use them to sustain the Plants.
Five hundred years had passed since God Rearing began.
The gods gradually sickened, and Arteina’s Yesterday finally formed a complete system.
Now, the gods here had their World Force exploited without a single complaint. They vented their lost anger on 《Little Brother》.
Arteina even used that anger.
[‘Anonymous God 94’ points out that candidate ‘Runald’s’ promises are terrible!]
[‘Anonymous God 88’ attacks candidate ‘Rene’s’ usual behavior!]
By controlling those Anonymous Gods alone, Arteina could manipulate public opinion in 〈Metaverse〉 at will.
Arteina was certain now.
No matter who appeared, this kingdom would never fall.
[A new candidate has appeared!]
Even after seeing the message on the screen, Arteina scoffed.
“Running now? The election is practically over.”
Her advisors’ expressions were strange.
Realizing that something was wrong, Arteina asked,
“What is it?”
“W-Well, the final candidate’s approval rating is unusual.”
“The projected support has just exceeded 30 percent... No, 35 percent!”
That could not be true.
If it was, the Terrorists’ combined vote share would surpass Arteina’s.
Then the candidate appeared on the screen.
“So it is him after all.”
As expected, the final candidate was Naked Stab.
The moment he appeared on the screen, public opinion on 《Little Brother》 began boiling over.
That much had been expected. Naked Stab was the most dangerous competitor in this Election.
“What are his promises? How could he possibly...”
One of the advisors turned up the speaker volume.
A moment later, Jaehwan’s promise began playing.
“Yesterday is over.”
As he said that, Jaehwan took something from his chest.
Arteina narrowed those eyes and stared at the item in Jaehwan’s hand, recognizing it at once.
“Why does he have that...”
It was the [Time Cube] Jihan had possessed.
A Part made to imprison gods within a time prison with an accelerated time ratio.
Something even more shocking happened next.
“For the record, this is not a campaign promise.”
The moment Jaehwan activated the Cube, the Anonymous Gods trapped in Plants near him vanished in a dazzling burst of light.
Then, shortly afterward.
[‘Anonymous God 635’ cries out in pain!]
[‘Anonymous God 675’ begs to be spared!]
[‘Anonymous God 664’ shouts for it to stop now!]
...
Messages poured in at an abnormal speed.
About ten minutes passed.
Anonymous Gods began pouring out of the Cube.
“What on earth?”
The gods who emerged from the Cube had changed.
Unlike before they entered, their eyes were clearer and their expressions healthier.
It made no sense. If they had just awakened from their cocoons, they should have been lying limp and listless, without even the strength to move.
What were those dignified faces?
They lined up behind Jaehwan like an army. The god at their head draped a coat over Jaehwan’s shoulders.
Jaehwan dusted off his clothes as though nothing had happened and continued.
“From now on, you will live in ‘Today’.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion