Lord of the Foresaken-Chapter 260: The First Blank Vote

The Archivist that had never made any choice at all stood like a monument to indecision, its form a disturbing absence that hurt to perceive directly. Unlike the fragments or the council members, this entity existed in a state of perfect neutrality—every possible action it could have taken suspended in eternal equilibrium.

"Running will solve nothing," it said, its voice carrying the weight of infinite postponed decisions. "The cascade has reached its inevitable conclusion. Reality itself has become unstable because too many editors seek to revise the same manuscript."

Behind them, the shattered remains of the Blank Council continued their chaotic debate as infinite versions of the Originless materialized from discarded possibilities. The air itself groaned under the pressure of competing realities, each one demanding recognition, each one insisting it held the correct interpretation of existence.

"Then what do you propose?" Shia demanded, her form blazing with desperate energy. "We let them tear reality apart fighting over who gets to perfect it?"

The Neutral Archivist’s empty features shifted into something that might have been a smile. "I propose we settle this the way all editorial disputes should be resolved. Through competition."

Lio felt a chill run down his spine. "What kind of competition?"

"Each faction will write their version of reality. One Chapter. One complete vision of how existence should unfold. Then..." The Neutral Archivist paused, savoring the moment like a predator before the strike. "Only one version will be allowed to exist. The others will be permanently discarded."

The chaos behind them gradually quieted as the warring Originless variants heard the proposal. Slowly, impossibly, they began to turn their attention toward the Neutral Archivist.

"A contest of creation," mused the mathematical Originless, its geometric form calculating probabilities. "Efficiency would suggest this approach has merit."

"But who would judge?" demanded the tear-crystallized variant. "Who has the authority to determine which vision deserves existence?"

The Neutral Archivist spread its arms wide, encompassing all of them. "Everyone. The fragments, the council, the discarded—all will vote. Democracy of the fictional."

The original Archivist laughed bitterly. "Democracy? You want to hold an election to decide which version of reality gets to exist?"

"Not an election," the Neutral Archivist corrected. "A blank vote. Each faction writes their Chapter, and then consciousness itself will choose. Not through reasoning or preference, but through pure resonance. The version that rings truest to the fundamental nature of existence will survive."

The silver-haired fragment stepped forward, her reflection multiplying in the crystalline debris. "And the losing versions?"

"Will be erased completely. Not discarded, not forgotten—erased. As if they never existed at all."

The silence that followed was pregnant with cosmic tension. Every Originless variant, every fragment, every discarded possibility seemed to be weighing the proposal. It was elegant in its simplicity and terrifying in its finality.

"How many competitors?" the warrior fragment asked, her blade still gleaming in her grip.

"Three," the Neutral Archivist decided. "The Originless Council will collaborate on one version—their vision of perfect order. The fragments will create another—their interpretation of chaotic growth. And the discarded possibilities will craft a third—their argument for alternative existence."

The child fragment tugged at Lio’s sleeve. "What about us? What if we don’t want to compete? What if we just want to exist as we are?"

The Neutral Archivist’s hollow gaze fixed on the child. "Then you will be incorporated into whichever version wins. Your fate is no longer your own to decide."

Lio felt something cold settle in his stomach. This wasn’t a competition—it was a trap. No matter who won, the nature of existence would be fundamentally altered. The Neutral Archivist wasn’t offering a solution; it was forcing a choice between three different forms of tyranny.

But before he could voice his objection, the consensus Originless from the council spoke. "We accept. Our vision of ordered perfection will demonstrate its superiority through direct comparison."

A chorus of discarded voices rose from the void. "We accept as well. Finally, we will show that alternatives deserve to exist."

All eyes turned to the fragments. Shia looked at Lio, her expression torn between desperation and determination. The original Archivist was staring at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. The warrior fragment had her blade ready but seemed uncertain what to fight.

"We need to discuss this," Lio said finally.

"You have one hour," the Neutral Archivist announced. "Then the writing begins. The fate of existence will be decided by midnight of the same day. Three Chapters, one winner, infinite consequences."

As the various factions dispersed to prepare their strategies, the fragments found themselves alone in a small pocket of stable reality that Shia had somehow carved out from the chaos.

"This is insane," the warrior fragment said bluntly. "We’re being forced to gamble the nature of existence on a writing contest."

"Not just any writing contest," the original Archivist said quietly. "We’re being asked to write the story of what reality should be. And only one story gets to be true."

The child fragment was crying—tears that sparkled with unwritten futures. "I don’t understand. Why can’t all the stories exist? Why does one have to die?"

"Because," Shia said, her voice heavy with terrible understanding, "that’s what the Neutral Archivist really is. It’s not the Archivist who never chose—it’s the choice to end all other choices. It’s the editorial decision to stop revising and commit to a single version."

Lio felt the pieces clicking together in his mind. "It’s not neutral at all. It’s the most biased entity here. It wants to force finality on a multiverse that thrives on possibility."

"So what do we do?" the silver-haired fragment asked. "If we don’t compete, the other two factions will decide our fate. If we do compete, we’re participating in the destruction of infinite alternatives."

The original Archivist looked up, and in his eyes was something Lio had never seen before—resolve. "We compete. But not to win."

"What do you mean?"

"We write a Chapter that can’t be chosen. A story so fundamentally opposed to the concept of singular truth that it breaks the voting system itself."

The warrior fragment grinned fiercely. "A story that refuses to be the only story."

"Exactly. We write the Chapter that argues for the right of all Chapters to exist."

Shia was nodding, her form beginning to brighten with possibility. "But that’s dangerous. If we succeed, we don’t just save the alternatives—we might prevent any decision from ever being made again."

"Maybe that’s what needs to happen," Lio said, surprising himself with the certainty in his voice. "Maybe the real enemy isn’t the Originless Council or the discarded possibilities. Maybe it’s the idea that reality needs to be edited at all."

The child fragment stopped crying and looked up at them with ancient wisdom in young eyes. "You want to write a story that protects the right to write stories."

"Yes."

As they began to plan their impossible Chapter, none of them noticed the shadow that detached itself from the edge of their safe space. The thirteenth fragment—the shadow of unchosen paths—had been listening.

And for the first time since its creation, it smiled with genuine joy.

"Perfect," it whispered. "They’re going to write themselves into the same trap that created me. And when they do, I’ll finally have the companions I’ve been waiting for."

The hour was almost up.

The competition for the soul of existence was about to begin.

And somewhere in the space between choices, something that had been sleeping since the first story was ever told began to wake up.