The ball was in the Polymath's court. After the shadow of the Seleucid had seemingly been roused from the splinter kingdom, the entire dynamic of the ongoing struggle had changed. The situation no longer appeared to be as one-sided as before. Not even the Polymath could have predicted that the Kingdom of Mechs was not as empty as it appeared. Who could have known that one of the ghosts of the Progenitors of Mechs would appear and judge the Polymath like a criminal on trial? Certainly, Ves did not think that the Star Designer could have foreseen just this outcome despite how logical its appearance may have been in hindsight! Ves did not know anything about the 13 Progenitors of Mechs. He did not know how old they were, how powerful they had become, how deeply they used to be embedded in the Five Scrolls Compact and what led them to rebel against their own organization. In fact, he didn't even know how they were individually called! This was the first time that he and a lot of other people learned of the title of one of the legendary figures that had established the supremacy of mechs in human society that had persisted to this day! Given that the representation of a literal ancestor of the mech community declared the Polymath to be completely unsuited to take over the splinter kingdom, Ves developed the slight hope that she might see reason and accept this rebuke with grace. That... did not appear to happen. As the seconds dragged on, the atmosphere grew increasingly more ominous. Throughout this moment, the Polymath's expression had defaulted to an impassive state. This was not an expression of a woman who was ready to acknowledged defeat. She looked as if she received her judgment... and simply set it aside. "Your time has passed." The Polymath audaciously spoke. Few people expected that the Polymath had the guts to talk back against one of the founders who created the prosperous mech community that served humanity well all of this time! Just this act alone caused everyone's opinion of the woman to sink even further. It appeared as if there was no limit to how many taboos that she was willing to violate in order to fulfill her ambitious goals! "You had your time." The defiant Star Designer continued. "We live in a different era now. The Age of Dawn demands a new set of rules and paradigms. A new form of humanity must rise. Only I have the vision and the determination to repair the flaws that have become exacerbated as a result of your increasingly more detrimental policies." No one expected the Polymath to defy the shadow of the Seleucid so openly! The response from the remnant of the Progenitor was a repeat of his earlier message. [Unworthy.] "I reject your judgment." The Polymath responded as her momentum steadily grew. "I see the Truth of your existence. Your authority is hollow and your power is only a fraction of what it used to be. I admire how the Progenitors of Mechs have retained an echo of their own id in their greatest and only pinnacle work, but even they could have never foreseen that their creation would be split in two uneven pieces. Your base of power is no longer as large and extensive as before. You are alone, cut off and incomplete. You are a remnant that is only one step away from nihility. BEGONE." The crown that rested on top of the Polymath's head exploded with power! Ves and many others sitting in front couldn't help but experience an invisible force that pressed them backwards! Although Ves found it difficult to track everyone's moves as most of it was happening out of sight, he could feel and sense that the Polymath not only managed to fend off the Xenotechnician, but also started to make gains in assuming control over the splinter kingdom! The Polymath never ceased her projection of the splinter kingdom. This allowed everyone to see that she was slowly causing it to pulse again despite the best efforts of its final protector to deny her access! Throughout it all, the representations of the other Star Designers and god pilots tried to help in various ways, only for their ripple effects to threaten to cause greater harm to the already fragile splinter kingdom! Ves and many other people started to lose the optimism that they had just gained as the current situation continued to unfold. Though the Polymath had to direct more of her power to wrestle for control of the splinter kingdom, it was clear to see from the increasingly faster pulses that she was making actual progress! This had a profound effect on those who witnessed her in action on a surface level. The youngest Star Designer looked like she was fully in her element. Despite the accidents and unforeseen development that had occurred, she still retained enough reserves to handle all of the issues with poise and determination! It made her look even more all-powerful than before. The Polymath had chosen her dress strategically. Not only did she look like an empress that had already gained control over everything, but the addition of her crown wonderfully cemented the increasingly inevitable truth that she was about to become the first ruler who united all of red humanity. The aura of victory and invincibility radiating from the Polymath had a profound effect on the Survivalists. Ves hadn't remained unaffected either. It took conscious effort for him to break away from the spell generated by the Polymath's impressive performance and turn to the others to see if they intended to make their own moves. Nothing happened. Though the Xenotechnician was still putting up a fight, the rest looked at the odd struggle between the Polymath and the shadow of the Seleucid with strange and complex expressions. Ves narrowed his eyes. There were people who still gazed at the remnant of one of the Progenitors with literal eyes of worship. There were also people who looked at the Polymath with concerns about what she might do if she ever succeeded in her coup. Unfortunately, there were way more of the latter than the former! Ves grew increasingly more dismayed when he saw that the Survivalists did not seem to care as much about the judgment issued by the remnant of one of the ancestors responsible for creating their entire industry. Apparently, their deep respect for the thirteen ancient heroes quickly started to make way for a growing sense of awe and belief in the power of the Polymath! Ves slowly realized what was taking place. The Survivalists... were indoctrinated to support whoever came up with the best plans and solutions that could save humanity from extinction-level threats. Though the actions taken by the Polymath were anything but proper, it was undeniable that she had been remarkably effective! Not only did she demonstrate enough cunning and intelligence to checkmate a large amount of powerful players, she also displayed the raw strength needed to resist the Xenotechnician and the shadow of the Seleucid at the same time! As the Polymath exerted more pressure, the splinter kingdom slowly began to resonate with her again. In the meantime, the remnant of the thirteen Progenitors visibly began to exhaust whatever reservoir of energy it retained after the traumatic split of the original Kingdom of Mechs. The Polymath had been right about the severe weakness of this mystical echo! The impact of all of these sights was profound. People started to drop their open displays of hostility. Instead, the attitude of the Survivalists towards the renegade Star Designer became increasingly more.... accepting. Ves wasn't stupid. He figured out what was going on. This entire attempt to take over the splinter kingdom and subsequently the rest of red humanity was basically an audition. There was no other way to put it. The odd set of rules, customs and traditions that made up the Survivalist Faction produced a circumstance where the Polymath could win everyone over so long as she succeeded in completing her outlandish coup! The underlying logic wasn't all that hard to decipher. One of the most uncertain claims about the Unity Plan was whether the Polymath possessed the competences needed to resist the overwhelming amount of alien opponents from both the Red Ocean and Messier 87. If the Polymath was able to prevail against every red human True God as well as the final contingency measure of one of the Progenitors himself, then would definitely prove her qualifications to lead red humanity to a better future! This explained why Ves couldn't get rid of the suspicion that the Survivalists continually held back when they could have employed more measures to hinder the Polymath. He even began to suspect that this entire setup actually turned out to be an elaborate conspiracy from the start! Most of the Survivalists had never been serious about presenting a choice from the start. The Unity Plan had been the predetermined choice all along, but it would be too outrageous for the faction to push it onto the rest of Red Humanity straight away. Hence the need for a voting session. If the Survivalists showed that they gave serious consideration to a bunch of alternatives but ultimately voted for the Unity Plan, then that might help to make everyone accept this result. That was probably Plan A. When Ves and a bunch of cowardly Survivalists threw a wrench in the original plan, the Polymath immediately switched to Plan B. If she could not convince the red humans to adopt her Unity Plan by granting her a mandate, then she would do so by force! By demonstrating all of the qualities that people could reasonably expect from a self-crowned empress of an entire civilization, the Survivalists would be able to guarantee the ascension of one of their own kind! The Survivalist Faction stood to gain immensely once the Polymath assumed total control. Her strong connections and familiarity with many other Survivalists meant that all of the people in the assembly hall were bound to rise up and assume greater positions of power! Though Ves had no hard proof that the Survivalists had explicitly hatched this conspiracy from the start, he at least felt that it was likely that it had become an implicit idea that gained increasingly more support. The Survivalists did not even need to communicate with each other to adopt this mentality. It was just a product of their values and traditions! The more these elite mechers started to show open acceptance towards the Polymath, the more Ves grew disgusted by their lack of principles. Something broke inside Ves. The time he spent alongside the Survivalists during the conference had steadily increased his respect in the Survivalist Faction. All of that progress disappeared. In fact, whatever respect and belief that Ves possessed in any greater authority had crumbled forever! It turned out that all powerful states and organizations were the same. The Survivalist Faction and the Red Association turned out to be no different in the end. They were all as flawed, corrupt and unreliable as the other powers that stabbed him in the back. Ves could no longer muster any admiration towards any greater institution no matter how noble they might seem. To think that he started to appreciate the fact that he had become an honorary member of the Red Association. He no longer appreciated the brand-new tier 3 galactic citizenship badge pinned on his chest. It had become a tainted symbol of a hypocritical organization. Ves closed his eyes for a moment. "If you guys aren't willing to take action, then I will." Determination flowed from his body as he became more resistant towards the Polymath's aura and everything the Survivalist Faction stood for. His rejection of everything that had happened today urged him to do anything in his power to spoil this secret audition! Whether it was enough to make a difference, Ves had no idea. All he knew was that he needed to make his move now before it was too late! With but a single thought, a certain spiritual fragment appeared in front of him out of the blue. "EMMA! Heed my call!" "Miew."