After all, going through every individual one by one would take far too long.
"In short, after the upper echelons of New Eridu were purged, nearly seventy percent of them now support our plan. They're all participants—just not as openly as I am."
"So you don't need to worry that we're acting recklessly. Everything has been carefully thought through."
Inside the tent, the warm lamplight cast soft shadows across their faces. As Zane listened to Shin's words, his thoughts gradually began to settle into shape.
"Among that seventy percent," he asked quietly, "there should be Church members as well, right? How many people actually know the core of the plan?"
At that, Shin's expression tensed slightly. Zane had gone straight to the point. She nodded.
"Yes, that's unavoidable. After all, the original purpose of this operation wasn't what we wanted. The Church was bound to take advantage of it."
"Those who truly know the truth and can be absolutely trusted are few—but they all hold high positions. There are others we can trust, though they don't know the full picture. There's no need to worry about them."
Noticing Zane's look, Shin lifted a hand and waved it lightly, raising her voice just a little.
"Relax. The Church may have infiltrated us, but they're not all-powerful. After the last purge, New Eridu's leadership is far cleaner than before."
"I'm not worried about that," Zane said, standing up. "I just want to know who's passed the test—who can hold up a 'good person' card and actually mean it."
Though there were no true absolutes—no perfectly good or evil people—knowing who leaned which way made things far easier when it came to taking action later.
Success or failure didn't concern him.
In Zane's mind, failure simply wasn't an option. Perhaps, just as Shin had said, there were only two possible outcomes: all or nothing.
It wouldn't fail.
It couldn't fail.
"Next," he said, turning toward the tent flap, "there are some matters I need to discuss with your side. According to what you said, there's still time before the final operation."
"Arrange a meeting soon. I want to talk—not too formally. Just gather a few 'Spokespersons'."
He stepped forward, lifting the flap. Light poured in from outside, and Shin's gaze followed it.
She caught the deliberate "you all" in his phrasing and instantly understood his intent.
Instead of questioning his reason, she asked with mild curiosity, "And how exactly do you plan to meet the 'Spokespersons'? As the Fire Picker?"
Zane let out a low chuckle.
"Heh. A 'Spokesperson' naturally meets another as one of their own. I'll prepare a new identity—"
"The Fire Picker's Spokesperson."
Shin's face froze, her expression turning a little strange.
Wait. So he's... playing his own spokesperson?
Come to think of it, that girl's Fire Picker Society does have a so-called 'Spokesperson' role—but that one's fake. This one, though... this one would be real.
No, wait. If the Fire Picker acts as his own Spokesperson, is that a real Spokesperson or a fake one pretending to be real?
By the time she'd finished sorting through that thought, Shin's head was already spinning.
Zane, however, seemed perfectly calm, already preparing to leave. The Hollow Zero operation still needed time, and he'd use that time to adjust a few parts of Shin's plan.
"Oh, and Zane," Shin suddenly said, hesitating for a moment before adding in a half-warning tone, "don't threaten me with my wings again. For our kind—or rather, for Thiren—our wings are... sensitive. You can't just touch them whenever you want."
If this ever happened again, she'd look like she was just letting him push her around. Where would her dignity go?
But Zane didn't answer.
Instead, he reached out and casually plucked a feather from the pair of wings at her waist.
Shin immediately flinched, her body tensing as she glared daggers at him, teeth clenched.
Zane only laughed, amused by her reaction. With a flick of his wrist, the white feather drifted up, caught by the currents of the Hollow's air, and floated into the sky.
Bathed in the dim, golden light, Zane gave Shin a small wave before turning away.
Shin's eyes locked on his retreating back. She clenched her fists, suppressing the strong urge to kick him. Somehow, the old man's earlier misunderstanding flashed across her mind again.
"Tsk. As if I'd ever have those kinds of feelings for someone like him. He's already this bad—who knows how much worse he'll get later..."
She huffed, trying to sound indifferent.
Her relationship with Zane was pure friendship.
Pure. Totally pure.
In the sky, the white feather danced in the wind—twirling, gliding, and spinning like a lively spirit.
It rose and dipped, its trembling edges catching the light as the whiteness spread across the field of vision, growing wider and brighter until—
everything turned white.
A world of pure white.
...
"This place... it's changed again."
Zane sat quietly across a chessboard. Two days had passed since he'd left Hollow Zero. Today, he was meant to meet with Shin again.
By evening, there would also be a gathering organized by the Belle Group.
"Why say 'it's changed' as if you're unsure?"
"The scene before you seems perfectly real, doesn't it?"
A crisp, melodic voice broke the silence. Across from him sat a woman dressed in a snow-white gown, kneeling gracefully in the same colorless space. Her presence radiated a calm serenity that matched the world around her.
"It's just a habit," Zane replied, placing a piece on the board. "Certainty isn't always wise."
He still didn't understand why this consciousness micro-world had turned into an endless white expanse—but it didn't seem to bring any harm.
"The state you see now," the woman said softly, placing a white stone onto the board, "is what this world will look like if the plan fails."