"What is going on?"
The election of the Arch-Cardinal was forced to a halt. Griffith was instantly surrounded by his erstwhile allies. He didn't have the energy to blame them for their earlier betrayal; after all, from their perspective, he was the one who had initiated this inexplicable mess. Mobilizing the dregs of the Mid-level to create such a commotion—no rational person would do such a thing.
"I don't know! I thought one of you did it!" Griffith snapped. He already had the support of four Cardinals; he only needed to sway two wavering colleagues to his side. "Only an idiot would plan this. Believe me, brothers, this was not my plan."
"Could it be a spontaneous movement from those commoners?"
The Cardinals looked at Griffith. They knew each other's characters well; none of them possessed the kind of saintly reputation required for such spontaneous adoration.
"However, we might be able to use this. Griffith, don't you have some influence in the Underhive? Can you pull some strings?"
Hearing this, a realization hit Griffith like a bolt of lightning. Dammit, this has to be Yuki's doing!
He couldn't go down to the Underhive now. The passages connecting the Underhive, Mid-level, and Spire were choked with pilgrims, and communications were effectively severed.
"Find a way to open a channel between the Underhive and the Spire. I need to find someone..."
As he spoke, Sig—the scribe-sister who had first brought Yuki to the Spire—appeared. She whispered a few words into Griffith's ear, and his brow furrowed deeply.
"Wait here, everyone. I'll handle this."
Following Sig to a reception parlor, he found three people sitting inside. One was a blind young girl; another was a mysterious figure hiding their face and body under a black robe. Sitting between them was Yuki.
"Well? Griffith, I've handed you a secure future," Yuki said.
"Are you insane? Why did you do this? Didn't I tell you to keep things stable? If a fire starts, do you think those people in the Underhive and Mid-level can withstand the Emperor's wrath?"
"That's the nature of a gamble. It seems I bet correctly—the other factions don't want to escalate this, and my people haven't caused much actual damage. Of course, they could cause a great deal of damage."
"What exactly do you want!" Griffith was fuming. If the other Cardinals discovered this was truly linked to him, he could forget about becoming Arch-Cardinal; he'd be lucky if the Emperor saved him from being nailed to a cross.
"To give you a hand. Now, you can go and handle this as the chosen candidate."
Griffith finally caught on. "You mean..."
"Only you can resolve this situation. Furthermore, the other factions will urge the Ecclesiarchy to settle this quickly."
Griffith's eyes widened. He knew exactly what this meant. If he controlled the scale, exercised a bit of management, sought some external support, and leveraged this crisis... he could take that seat.
He fought to suppress his excitement, warning Yuki: "You must make this look spontaneous! We cannot be discovered!"
"In that case, let me present their conditions first."
"Theirs?"
"To mobilize this many people, even I had to promise some benefits."
Griffith frowned as he read the document Yuki handed over. It contained a long list of demands. As he read further, his brow gradually relaxed.
"These are all acceptable, Yuki. I thought you would be greedier."
Yuki gave a small chuckle. "I'm not that greedy a person."
The brief meeting ended quickly. Griffith didn't want anyone to see him with Yuki, and Yuki was in a hurry to get back and manage the crowd. The people who had brought their gangs to support the scene didn't necessarily have high ideals. A significant portion of the participants were Genestealers; Yuki permitted them to expand their influence during this event, as the Genestealers were, essentially, part of his strength. He just didn't particularly like the species.
"Boss, this isn't a job for humans," Elia complained, exhausted. She and her brother were running everywhere, coordinating personnel. The most important thing was ensuring these people didn't wander off or starve to death. This was a massive challenge for her, given her limited education. Even her brother, Ilya, who usually struggled with speech, had nearly cured his stutter from the constant talking.
"But you're doing a great job. No major chaos has broken out yet."
There was no helping the scale; at least eight figures' worth of people had been incited. Even though they were managed through lower-level organizations and other gangs, casualties were inevitable with such a large base. Today alone, thousands had died from hunger, trampling, and various absurd causes.
"Tell them to be careful. We stay in the Mid-level at most. Ultimately, the people of the Underhive and Mid-level are just bargaining chips for those above."
Yuki understood perfectly. He had only been able to start this because, after a series of events, the authorities were afraid of wasting the "Emperor's Currency" (human lives) in large quantities. But if he pushed too hard, they would resort to lethal force without hesitation.
"Now we just wait for Griffith to come and negotiate. Whatever struggles happen up there has little to do with me anymore."
Yuno turned her head, scanning the distance. "Better hurry. The other side is preparing to use force. I can detect at least five psykers."
Yuki shrugged. The opportunity was now before Griffith. Whether he could seize it was up to him.
...
"Dammit! Those people proposed these conditions? How can we agree to this!" Griffith's main rival returned empty-handed. The twelve Cardinals were at their wits' end... except for Griffith.
The "believers" had proposed insane demands, such as building the largest cathedral on the planet in the Underhive or demanding the entire Underhive be cleansed with holy water. Facing these ultra-loyal requests, the Ecclesiarchy couldn't outright refuse without losing face. Other factions also saw this as a chance to strike at the Ecclesiarchy and demanded a peaceful resolution.
"What do we do now?"
Griffith did his best to hide his triumph. He stood up with a solemn and weary demeanor. "Brothers, things have come to this. Let us prepare a final set of conditions we can accept. As for the negotiation... let me handle it."
Everyone could sense that this had something to do with Griffith, but the situation was urgent, and they had no better options. Besides, if Griffith could mobilize such a massive crowd, it proved his influence already surpassed the remaining candidates.
When the discussion ended, Griffith changed into his formal robes. Without any attendants, he walked calmly into the midst of the "believers." Later, those who witnessed this scene recalled that at that moment, they truly believed Griffith was the chosen one—that the Emperor had selected him to be the Arch-Cardinal.