IBHJ 1052

Venus took her place at the UO Conference table where her siblings had already gathered. She glared at Saturn, who sat at the head. "I almost had my heretical thoughts cornered. Why call us now?"

"That's what I'd like to know. We didn't object when you used Mooncell's loophole to rush the wager, but why this meeting?"

"And another thing." Pluto rose from their seat, eyes fixed on Saturn. "When are you releasing Uranus?"

"You imprisoned Uranus?" Venus's chair scraped back. "What's going on?"

The room erupted with voices until Saturn raised a hand. The weight of his presence pressed down on everyone, bringing silence.

The black giant uncrossed their arms and turned to Saturn. "Why this emergency meeting?"

Saturn paused. "I met Tethys."

"What!?"

Everyone was shocked.

"That's impossible." Pluto gripped the edge of the table. "Tethys is dead. And there can't be a parallel version - she's unique."

"It was a phantom of her consciousness." Saturn's voice remained steady. "She wants to make a wager."

The black giant leaned forward. When it came to Tethys, nothing could be dismissed. "What kind of wager?"

Saturn said, "Fujimaru Shirou."

"Fujimaru Shirou?"

The siblings exchanged glances, confusion written on their faces.

"Fujimaru Shirou... isn't that the adventurer who defeated Pluto?"

"Yes."

"Moon-chan mentioned that name too."

"What Moon-chan, we should call her Arcueid now," Pluto straightened. "Wait - wasn't he the one who defeated Crimson Moon?"

"He is." Venus drummed her fingers on the table. "Tiamat, my heretical thoughts, even Gaia - they all gave him their power."

Saturn's voice held a note of interest. "It seems Gaia saw his potential and placed her bet very early on."

The black giant's shadow deepened. "What exactly did Tethys propose?"

"She wants to wager whether Fujimaru Shirou can defeat us."

"What makes him so special that Tethys would stake her bet on him?"

"He might be her successor."

"Tethys is a thing of the past. With the Lord of Salvation's arrival approaching, we can't waste time dealing with her ghost."

"True. I've already smelled the Lord of Salvation's stench twice now. The vessel must have manifested somewhere. We're running out of time."

Saturn studied the faces around him before turning to Venus. "Your thoughts?"

Venus met Saturn's gaze. "The bet doesn't matter. But I have to ask—how long will you keep favoring Gaia?" She rose from her seat. "Everyone knows about Uranus and Gaia's feud. You stationed Uranus at the final gate as soon as we reached this connection point. Then when chaos erupted in Mooncell and Uranus emerged through Gandharan's evil spirits, you intervened. Saturn, are you still acting in the solar system's interests?"

The room went quiet as all eyes turned to Saturn.

"I remain committed to the solar system's interests." Saturn folded his hands on the table. "I won't interfere in Uranus and Gaia's personal matters. But when Uranus merged with those evil spirits, his simulated personality vanished. Communication became impossible. I had to contain him. Once this is resolved, I'll release him."

Venus shook her head. "Then it's clear—we can't waste our time on Tethys's lingering ghost."

"I think... we should take the bet," said a suddenly appearing voice.

The unexpected voice drew everyone's attention. They turned to see it was Neptune, who had been silent until now.

"Neptune..."

Murmurs of surprise rippled through the room. Everyone knew that Uranus, Pluto, and Neptune shared a close bond due to their neighboring orbits. Yet here was Neptune, who should have stood by Uranus, taking an unexpected position.

"I'm not betraying anyone," Neptune said. "But since developing this simulated personality, I've been wondering—if we destroy Gaia, will that really stop the Lord of Salvation?"

Pluto hurriedly said, "Of course it will. By eliminating Earth, we prevent it from manifesting in our reality. It would only exist in fragmented timelines where Earth exists."

"I disagree." Neptune said, "The universe follows no rules or sentiment—it permits anything that ensures survival. The ancient civilization must have considered destroying Gaia and relocating to another planet to stop the Lord of Salvation. Instead, they chose to fight until the end, forcing it back into the Root. I believe destroying Earth won't help us. We might lose our first line of defense against the Lord of Salvation."

Mars frowned. "You have a point. A civilization that advanced wouldn't care about losing some planets. Yet they fought to the bitter end. And if destroying Gaia doesn't stop the Lord of Salvation, Mars could be its first target..."

"Tethys told me the same thing," Saturn said quietly. "That's why I've been hesitant."

The room grew still as all eyes turned to him.

"We all know what the Lord of Salvation is and what it wants." Saturn's fingers traced the edge of the table. "Our siblings who forced it back paid with their lives in ancient times. If it breaks free from the Root again, we won't stand a chance."

Venus lifted her chin. "Saturn, you've already made up your mind, haven't you? You're just going through these motions for show."

Saturn met her gaze but didn't respond. After a moment of silence, he straightened. "Let's vote. Raise your hand if you support taking the bet."

After speaking, he was the first to raise his hand.

The black giant shook his head. "I knew you'd already decided." He raised his hand as well.

"Whether we take this bet or not, we're gambling with planets either way." Neptune sighed and raised their hand.

"I won't let Mars become a battlefield." Mars lifted their hand. "Earth can remain the front line."

Saturn surveyed those with their hands still lowered. "Uranus counts as a 'no' by default, and Mercury abstains. That makes it four votes to four." He looked around the table. "Will anyone else join us?"

The remaining UOs exchanged glances, keeping their hands down.

Venus planted both hands on the table, giving Saturn a hard stare. "Tell me this, Saturn. How do you plan to set up this bet? Using pure force would be pointless, but anything else would be meaningless against the Lord of Salvation."

"We'll use Uranus and ORT." Saturn said. "We'll give all of ORT's fragments to Uranus, along with a portion of our authority."

Venus's brow furrowed. "You want to hand over that much power to Uranus? Let him run wild?"

"A solid plan." The black giant leaned back, stroking his chin. "Uranus is the only one who can strike Gaia without hesitation. If we combine our authority with his and he still can't stop Fujimaru Shirou from reviving Gaia..." He spread his hands. "Well, we'll have our answer. And if Fujimaru fails, Uranus can finish Gaia off. It works either way, though this approach..."

"How ruthless." Venus studied Saturn's face before slowly raising her hand.

"Venus!" Pluto pushed back from the table, staring at her.

Saturn closed his eyes briefly. "Five votes to three. That settles it." He opened his eyes. "Let's move forward with the wager. How many fragments are left?"

The black giant raised three fingers. "One with you, one with Neptune, and one with Uranus."

"Three pieces... which means you gave away the other six pieces by holding back?" Saturn's gaze passed over those who hadn't voted. They were the ones who had agreed to the bet, yet they had let the fragments be stolen. Those who disagreed with the bet, on the other hand, had simply been slacking off.

He turned to Venus. "Venus, hand over Gaia."

Venus hesitated, then waved her hand. A black hole opened in space, and the sleeping God's Brain drifted out, landing on the table.

Everyone stared at it with a mix of emotions. It was both ORT and the Gaia they had sealed away.

"What do we do with them?" Venus asked.

"Give them to Uranus," Saturn said, "along with these fragments."