Order Had Gone Wrong

"Lidyaala, I would like to ask, have you who have long held high positions forgotten what blasphemy is?"

Even if you have doubts about your Lord of Grace, you shouldn't point them out to his face. With your power and status, you should have plenty of ways to form alliances and gather all available forces to slowly overthrow, or rather, correct Him.

Why not choose a more conservative approach?

Cheng Shi was actually right, but Lidyaala's eyes flickered, and she denied him in an extremely complicated tone:

"Because Laquis is... the Grand Justicar!"

If even the Grand Justicar cannot uphold Justice openly and honestly, then how can Order?

"..."

Cheng Shi fell silent. What a simple and unpretentious reason.

At that moment, a strange sense of respect appeared in his eyes as he looked at the old man in the middle.

But...

Ha, how absurd! The most devout and revered Believer in "Order" are currently imprisoned in the most secure and Despair "Order" prison.

"And what about you?" Cheng Shi asked again. "Lidyaala, as the Grand Investigator, were you imprisoned here because you agreed with Lord Laquis's views at the scene, or because you chose to investigate quietly on your own after he was imprisoned?"

I guess it's the latter, and you even found out, right?

You've discovered that what the Grand Justicar said is the truth, and that your Lord of Grace who bestowed the "Iron Rule of Order" upon the Grand Inquisition is no longer in Order, is that right?

Unfortunately, your little trick was discovered, so you ended up here too, becoming 'roommates' with this poor, Grand Justicar.

Lidyaala pursed her lips self-deprecatingly. "Who... are you? You are not Believer of my Lord."

"Truly devout, even in his current state, he can still call Him his Lord of Grace." Cheng Shi clapped lightly and smiled. "I am indeed not His Believer, but I like Order, or rather, when I cannot establish Order, I can only like Order."

So you can rest assured that, at least on the path of 'correcting' the Order, we are still fellow travelers.

Lidyaala looked Cheng Shi up and down and nodded.

Cheng Shi was taken aback, then laughed and said, "You believe me?"

"You're not here to correct 'Order'; you have ulterior motives."

But I can see that what you want to do doesn't conflict with what we do, so I think you can trust us.

Sharp!

As expected of the Grand Investigator in the Grand Inquisition, who is most skilled in evidence gathering and interrogation, he can see through a person's intentions with just a few words.

"Very good. In any case, trust is the foundation of cooperation."

Since Lidyaala also wants to cooperate, why don't you tell me what you know first? After I verify everything we know, we might be able to draw some interesting conclusions.

These conclusions will serve as an important reference for guiding our next steps.

Cheng Shi spoke these words with earnest persuasion. The Grand Investigator raised his eyes to look at him, neither refusing nor directly responding, but weakly saying:

"First, tell me what you mean by the so-called 'Order' Fire Seed."

Oh? They've started negotiating terms?

Cheng Shi laughed, a happy laugh.

If the other party is willing to negotiate, it means that the subsequent dialogue will be much smoother, because Cheng Shi has too many Chip in this intelligence exchange.

He has no obligation to take responsibility for a figure who has long since vanished from history, even if that person was a devout Believer in "Order" and, broadly speaking, a universally acknowledged good person. But that good person is dead, dead in the past.

Therefore, he doesn't even need to use real Chip; he can get enough juicy information from the other party using only some virtual Chip that are full of Deception.

Because he is Master of Deception!

Cheng Shi spoke, and what he said was an undisguised lie.

"Your path to [Order] has not been severed."

Perhaps in your eyes, "Order" has deviated from its own will, like an old man staggering away from his own path, but all of this is an illusion.

However, despite my lack of talent, I am particularly adept at discerning the true nature of things amidst various illusions.

I have good news for you: the "Order" you have met, who protects the Grand Inquisition but has also encountered problems, is not actually your Lord of Grace.

Don't be surprised, this means that "Order" still exists, and perhaps it has not yet deviated from its own will.

But there's also bad news, as you know, fortune and misfortune are always intertwined.

The bad news is that the true Order... is trapped.

Like the three of you, I'm trapped in a place inaccessible to outsiders.

"!!!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a terrifying glint flashed in Lidyaala's eyes. As if she had regained her strength, she abruptly raised her head, staring intently at Cheng Shi with eyes like a predator, and said, word by word:

"What you're saying, is it true!?"

"Certainly..."

Cheng Shi smiled and nodded, but in his heart he added:

... It's fake.

Yes, Cheng Shi is lying; he has no idea what the "Order" is like.

All he knew was that the Iron Rule of Order had usurped the Divine Throne of Order, and that an entity called Order (Fear) had taken Order's place in the Trials.

As for where true Order has gone...

Who knows?

He was probably imprisoned. If He had not been imprisoned, why would He have abandoned His Believer?

Therefore, these were all Cheng Shi's guesses, which he presented as facts to the Believer of "Order".

The Believer in "Order" believed, but what she didn't know was that what she thought was the truth Cheng Shi said was actually a lie, while what Cheng Shi said was a lie was actually the truth.

Thus, at this moment, in this situation, a small twist of Destiny has come to a close.

Lidyaala's "last burst of energy" lasted only a moment; she quickly weakened again. But the resilient Grand Investigator mustered her strength and, trembling, asked another question:

Where is He?

Cheng Shi was momentarily moved by the other party's devout attitude, but as a heartless liar, he refused to answer the question.

"Now it's your turn to answer the question, Lidyaala."

"Tell me first how you discovered that He had a problem?"

"Since you already know that He is not Him, what's the use of knowing this?"

"Naturally, it is useful. Most people only care about the result, but I am different, or rather, the people behind me are different. We care about the process."

To achieve our vision, understanding everything about Him is a necessary process.

Of course, "them" here refers to those who are of the same kind as "them" who replaced "Order".

Lidyaala's gaze sharpened, and she asked with some surprise, "Who are you?"

"The God Worshipper".

We acknowledge that each divine position has its own rightful owner, and we firmly believe that the gods of the Cosmos are irreplaceable.

We are fanatical Believer who worship God, and God Worshipper will clear everything away for His Divine Throne.

Those God Worshipper...

Lidyaala repeated the three words several times, then nodded weakly and began her story.

"It all started when Laquis discovered Loart's unusual behavior..."

Cheng Shi didn't know who Loart was, but that didn't stop him from listening patiently.

After listening for a short while, he figured out the cause and effect of the whole thing.

Putting aside the conspiracies and treacherous human nature in the story, this matter is actually very simple.

The Supreme Court of the Grand Inquisition is usually staffed by three Chief Judge on a rotating basis. During their terms of office, they review new laws and promulgate new policies. However, for some unknown reason, one of the three Chief Judge, Loart, disappeared.

The Supreme Court began a two-person rotating presidency between Essares and Kainlaur.

This was against the constitution of the Grand Inquisition, so the Grand Justicar pointed it out several times, but the other two Chief Judge blocked it each time on the grounds that Loart possessed a unique oracle.

Until one day, the Grand Justicar attempted to bypass the Chief Judge, retrieve the Iron Rule of Order, and personally request an audience with Order to beg for Justice. It was at this moment that he discovered the Iron Rule of Order Order, bestowed by Order, were missing.

He then realized something was wrong and began searching the highest court, which enshrined the Iron Rule of Order.

Soon, he found the missing Iron Rule of Order, and also the missing Chief Judge, Loart.

But when the Grand Justicar found "He" and "him," the two were in a standoff.

Loart's eyes were bloodshot and his breathing was rapid. The broken chains of the Law still clung to his body. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to want to tear apart the Codex bestowed by [Order].

He's blaspheming! Laquis made his judgment quickly.

The one who was desecrated was suppressing Loart's madness with the supreme power of [Order].

Upon witnessing this insane scene, the Grand Justicar stood frozen in place.

15-character long comment in the interactive thread, cough cough, just reporting my results: I drew three times, 3000 gold coins...