After the "attack" on Elronde's Temple, the entire skyscraper burns down. There are almost no survivors aside from Elronde himself and his 7 monks. The 8 escape in an elegant miracle that the media calls "The Float".
Shone, having lost Ea, is uncertain whether Nyeve should be awakened.
Her sister is missing, and her androids are being blamed for one of the greatest modern tragedies in Ri.
Shone decides to continue Nyeve's operations as a one-man team.
He wants to at least find the body of Ea, and focuses all his time on one goal: infiltrating the top ranks of Elronde's cult.
The primary target on Shone's list is Kye, Elronde's Second Monk which escaped the skyscraper through "The Float".
One hour after the attack, Kye becomes Elronde's appointed leader of the new android-identification 'security' system for Ri.
Shone hypothesizes the worst: that Kye and Elronde not only have knowledge of Nyeve's android operations, but also have knowledge that Ea, or Xetna, is related to Nyeve.
During Shone’s research on Kye’s background, Shone discovers horrific details about Kye’s rise to power in Elronde’s religion.
"Man Who Only Fears Himself"
Chief of the Android identification System
Ritual Master of: Cycle of Rebirth
Kye rose in the ranks of Elronde's religion through his extreme talent in political scheming.
Though Kye is Second in line among Elronde's Seven Monks which descended with Elronde,
all followers know that compared to Elronde's First Monk [순암],
Kye holds double the threat and power.
Even before Elronde, Kye openly reveals that his sect’s followers call Kye by the title "Man Who Only Fears Himself."
Ritual Master of: Cycle of Rebirth
The Cycle of Rebirth is one of Elronde's many rituals for political control in his religious organization. The Cycle of Rebirth involves a huge concrete mixer. Inside the concrete mixer, all materials needed to construct a complete two-hundred storey skyscraper are prepared: steel beams, drywalls, plumbing pipes, down to carpets and tiles are all laid within to slowly rotate. In Elronde's ideology, because all the materials, space, and energy is there, the contents inside the giant mixer will eventually combine to become a beautiful skyscraper over time.
Anyone who commits a religious mistake under Elronde's rules is killed, and placed in The Cycle of Rebirth. Elronde's reasoning is that these human bodies also contain all the matter required to form a new human being, and, with sufficient time and energy input from the concrete mixer's rotations, these religious-criminals will also be reborn as happy, obedient inhabitants in a new, beautiful skyscraper.
While most humans will see Elronde's reasoning for the Cycle of Rebirth as pure insanity, Elronde shuts down any suspicion of The Cycle of Rebirth with his clever religious manipulation:
"Every animal, every plant, rose from the basic building blocks of life. Molecules, stirring in a primordial ocean, a soup of biological materials, gave rise to your entire family. The Cycle of Rebirth operates on the exact same principles of time, energy, matter, and space re-arranging. Or, are you telling me you don't doubt my ritual, but that you doubt science, and that you doubt your own origin?" - Elronde
Through creating the Cycle of Rebirth ritual, Elronde successfully establishes a reasoning to support killing anyone who commits a religious mistake against him - because, in Elronde’s scriptural interpretation, these religious criminals are not killed, but simply given a new chance at a reformed life.
“I don’t kill. I give new life” - Elronde
Truthfully, behind the gates of the concrete mixer, the rebuilding of a skyscraper is not happening. The water pipes clash against the steel beams and are distorted. The carpet is torn by the mangled electric lines. Walls are bent to small pieces; while Elronde believes rearrangement will eventually create a shiny new skyscraper in the concrete mixer, the reality is that although there is recombination, the dominant process is chaos of disintegration.
Instead of shying away from Elronde's dark ritual, Kye stepped into the role of overseeing The Cycle of Rebirth. Kye further contributed a new development of the dark ritual: the Gate of Kye.
The Gate of Kye is a simple door installed inside the gigantic concrete mixer. Kye's idea is simple: the religious-criminal to be killed is shot with a fake gun in front of a crowd. Ritual Masters throw the person in, and once the person is thrown in, the person walks out alive through the Gate of Kye.
This of course, defeats the purpose of Elronde's Cycle of Rebirth. Kye's actual design has a second layer: for every person that walks out alive through the Gate of Kye, another follower, usually low-ranked and unimportant in the cult, walks in through the Gate of Kye to be shot instead.
This allows important, leader-monks to survive many rounds of being sent to the Cycle of Rebirth. They simply need to find a minor follower under their own jurisdiction to walk into the Gate of Kye for them.
Of course, no minor follower naturally will agree to being killed on behalf of their leaders. The Gate of Kye thus became a test of Elronde's leader-monks: if a leader-monk is tactful or oppressive enough, any mistakes they make can be forgiven, because they can coerce their followers into entering the Cycle of Rebirth for them. If a leader was unable to coerce their followers to enter the ritual for them, the leader would die in the Cycle of Rebirth themselves.
Thus, over time, all of Elronde's leaders were extremely skilled in mass-population control - because the ones that were not skilled, eventually died in the Cycle of Rebirth. Only the most scheming monks remained, and helped Elronded establish an unshakeable political structure in the Pinnacle of Man-Kings.
The Gate of Kye, though simple, accomplished this important social restructuring within Elronde’s religion. Elronde then appointed Kye as the top Ritual Master of the Cycle of Rebirth. With this power, Kye sends many of his political enemies - other leader-monks - into death via the Cycle of Rebirth.
Kye further impressed Elronde with new designs over time: in the most modern version of the Cycle of Rebirth, behind the scenes, there is a small levitating salon, with racks of designer clothes and a stylist team of fifteen makeup artists and hairdressers. If a leader-monk commits a religious mistake against Elronde, they would pretend to be shot in front of a crowd, and be thrown into the Cycle of Rebirth.
Once they enter, they will casually select their new outfits and new look with the stylist team that is eager to please them. In the meantime, through the Gate of Kye, a minor follower would be led into the concrete mixer, and shot beside the stylist team while the new makeover is happening. These minor followers usually die while remaining nameless, and walk into the concrete mixer with a number inked on their neck just for tracking ritual-statistics.
"No one is shocked by the sound of the gun any more. The minor follower is killed, while the stylists and leader-monks joyously discuss eyebrow colors and the newest fashion trends".
Once the makeover is complete, the leader-monk walks out of the concrete mixer through the Gate of Kye. Usually, they will make a reappearance on a live stream in a few days.
To most followers, this became strong-enough evidence that Elronde's Cycle of Rebirth was indeed a place of supernatural rebirth. They saw their leaders shot, thrown in, and returned to them with a fresh new appearance. "They were reborn," most followers would say.
"An entire crowd of two thousand people watched them get shot. The gunshot was so loud, and the ritual masters threw the body into the concrete mixer that Elronde himself watches. Now they are on TV and looking younger than ever. Can you explain that? You can't doubt the eye witness of two thousand people." - inhabitants of Ri
After The Float, the world lived in fear of a second "attack by androids". Almost all nations eagerly waited upon Elronde's creation of the android identification system. Kye was selected by Elronde to lead the development of this system that will "protect the world" be identifying hidden androids pretending to be humans. Kye became the manager of multi-million dollar funds that were voluntarily donated by nations across Ri.
Elronde's announcement of Kye's leadership struck fear into the hearts of Kye's political opponents. Kye's arsenal of schemes would now contain a brand new strategy: while the whole world lived in fear of future android strikes, Kye now can use his "system" to label any human being, and any of his political opponents, to be an android. Then, the world would put that human being to death based on mass hysteria alone.
After “The Float”, no one, including Shone, would be able to access to Temple's collapsed remains. With Nyeve's operation completely covered up by Shone, Shone becomes a one-man operation.
Shone spends his days on learning everything he can about Elronde and the Kye. If Nyeve's android empire will have any use in the future, it will depend on whether Shone can find flaws in the android identification system. Kye becomes Shone's number one target.
One day, Shone receives a message slid underneath the door of the small apartment Shone and Nyeve are hiding in.
I want you to come visit me.
But as a gift, bring me what I ask:
bring me the only thing I fear.
And if you do not come to see me with my gift
I will go visit you, Shone.
In my new position as the leader of Android Identification, many envy my position
Any of my decisions could be branded as a religious mistake by the other monks who want to be where I am
Some of these accusations against me could land me in the Cycle of Rebirth
So if I am going to be sent to the Cycle of Rebirth, I need a victim ready.
I'm kind to my followers.
I have always found other people to die for me in the Cycle
So, come find me Shone, and bring me my gift.
Or, I will find you, to ink #71310 on your neck."
The note was found inside the apartment on the floor, four meters away from Nyeve's cryogenesis closet.
Shone immediately finds a new location for himself and a sleeping patient.
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