Inside The Great Hall
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It had been a week since Long Xiao got selected. Not once did he pay respects to the now Eleven Higher Gods. His lack of manners had become more than an inconvenience. It was an insult to them.
The divine court sat in tense silence, scrolls stacked, halos dimmed.
Goddess Jiang Meng slammed her fan against the marble table, her voice sharp as thunder.
"Insolent brat!" She snapped. "Does he think himself above divine order?"
Lord Ye snorted. "I always knew he was an insolent brat."
Lord Run Yu, ever composed, adjusted the jade ring on his finger and spoke coolly.
"Did he not receive the scroll with our stamp?" He asked, though his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.
Lord Zhan exhaled sharply. "Of course he did. He just never paid his respects. Not once since his appointment."
Lord Ming coughed into his sleeve. "Why did you vouch for him then?" turning to Run Yu.
Lord Run Yu's lips curved like a blade. "Because the scroll chose him. Not me."
Goddess Yaa, swirling her tea cup asked, "And what's that supposed to mean, great elder?"
Lord Run Yu sighed, fingers steepled beneath his chin, breaking the silence.
"I was about to overlook his qualifications," He said slowly, "but I felt divine intervention."
Lord Ming raised a brow, swirling his tea with a jade spoon. "Divine intervention?" He echoed, tone skeptical.
Lord Ye''s eyes narrowed. "From who?"
Goddess Jiang Meng leaned forward, her fan snapping open with a flick.
"Lord Haotian or Mother Scarlet?" She asked, her voice sharp.
Lord Run Yu shook his head. "I don't know..." He admitted. "It just happened."
He lifted a scroll from the pile, holding it delicately between his fingers. "His qualifications were buried under multiple scrolls. But after analyzing the one in my palm, it was suddenly on top with the others beneath it."
He paused, eyes scanning the room. "I felt that the position was his."
A soft chuckle came from the far end of the hall.
Lord Li, ever the quiet observer, adjusted his robe and spoke with a calm smile. "Sometimes fate rearranges the order we think we control."
Lord Yue, leaning against a pillar with arms crossed, scoffed. "Or someone tampered with the scrolls. Divine Intervention or Divine Mischief, who can tell?"
Goddess Wei, seated beside a floating lotus basin, dipped her fingers into the water and watched the ripples. "Regardless of how it happened, the choice has been made. And now the chosen… he's nowhere to be found."