Ten hours ago in the hall of heaven.
[Humans are the best. Look how far they have evolved,] the first god uttered with an amusing smile on his face.
[Who cares. They are annoying pests, nothing else,] the second god retorted with a scoff.
[What are you saying? They are a perfect race. We put them in a completely new world, with somewhat similar mechanisms mixed with fantasy and video games they love so much. And yet, they have learned to survive. If that's not great, then I don't know what is,] the third goddess said with a shoulder shrug.
[That's because we are letting them survive,] the fourth goddess asserted in a haughty tone.
[It doesn't matter what we think. We are talking about the facts here. Humans are truly an exceptional race,] the fifth god remarked.
[What fact are we talking about? We went easy on them and gave them all they needed. We have given them food and shelter in our online world too. If we hadn't, they would have to learn everything the hard way,] the sixth god stated in an annoyed tone.
[This game was supposed to be their redemption. And I am satisfied with how things are going,] the seventh goddess said with a smile on her face.
[I agree with the sixth. It's not 'surviving' if 'we' are the one letting them survive,] the eighth goddess seconded sixth.
[I still don't understand the point of punishing humans. Seriously, when did we become so petty?] the ninth god asked in disbelief.
[We are not petty! We voted for it, and the votes were in favor of yes!] the tenth goddess shouted with a furious expression on her face.
[Argh! There they go again,] the eleventh god sighed out loud.
[We have some serious temper issues,] the twelfth goddess muttered.
[No matter what any of you say, humans are the best creation of the gods!] the fifth god declared. [If you don't want to admit it, then don't. It won't change the truth.]
[Ah, yes. Gods and their well-beloved, cherished humans,] the sixth commented as he laughed out loud.
[Aria and Erza were the ones who created them. It was their idea, and I have to admit that they did a good job,] the first god said.
[….]
[….]
[…]
The hall of heaven went silent after the first god mentioned Aria and Erza.
It was a taboo topic for them.
[Wait… a minute…] The third goddess stood up from her throne and said, [Who exiled them from the heavens?]
[Did you forget it already? Well, it has been 80 thousand years, so I am not surprised. But you should know since we always vote our decisions,] the tenth goddess responded with a sneer.
[Yeah, I know that. But… weren't the votes equal?]
[That's right! It was a draw!] the fifth god yelled as he realized what the goddess was trying to say.
After that, the entire hall of heaven was filled with whispers. All the gods started talking with the one sitting beside them.
[Wait, wait, wait!] the first god yelled. [Silence!]
Everyone turned silent and looked at the first god.
[What is the meaning of this?] he asked. [Aria and Erza provided us with equal power. They gave us equal authority, so we need to vote when we make our decisions.]
[If the voting was equal, how did Aria and Erza get exiled?]
[Maybe someone faked their vote?] the sixth god wondered.
[But why would someone do that? Even if they had voted against Aria and Erza, it's not like they would have done anything. So why pretend to be in favor?] the third goddess asked curiously.
[No. You are wrong. They didn't fake their votes to look bad; they did it to fool us,] the fifth god stated.
[That doesn't even make any sense,] the sixth god remarked. [Everyone here knows we don't give a fuck about what one thinks of others.]
[What's going on?! Who is the traitor?!] the third goddess yelled.
[Wait a minute. Let's first clear up one more doubt,] the twelfth goddess quipped.
Everyone turned to the twelfth goddess and waited for her to speak.
[What about the Gods' Impact? We punished the humans. But who voted for who?]
[I voted for no.] – first god.
[I voted for yes.] – second god.
[I voted for no.] – third goddess.
[I voted for yes.]- fourth goddess.
[I voted for no.]- fifth god.
[I voted for yes.]- sixth god.
[I voted for no.]- seventh goddess.
[I voted for yes.]-eighth goddess.
[I voted for no.]- ninth god.
[I voted for yes.]- tenth goddess.
[I voted for no.] – eleventh god.
[I voted for no.]- twelfth goddess.
Everyone glanced at each other and counted the votes.
[There are five votes for 'Yes'. And seven votes for 'No.']
[….]
[…]
The tension in the hall of heavens grew even more after they realized a liar and a traitor was sitting among them.
The clouds rumbled with thunder as the golden rays from the hall of heaven slowly turned dark and red. The heavenly atmosphere had turned eerie.
All the gods summoned their respective weapons in their hands and banged them on their pedestal.
[I never thought this day would ever come where the heaven would become corrupted,] the fifth god muttered.
[Who is the imposter among us?!] the eighth goddesses yelled.
[It has to be one of us…] the eleventh god uttered.
[Wait a minute. We can narrow down the imposter by checking the votes,] the twelfth goddess suggested.
[It is one of the seven who voted for no. Out of them, one is pretending to be good,] the fifth god asserted.
[The ones who had voted for no, raise your hands,] the first god ordered.
The first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth gods and goddess raised their hands.
[And how many of you voted with 'yes' when we exiled Erza and Aria?]
Out of the seven, only the eleventh god raised his other hand.
[….]
[So it was you—!]
[It wasn't me. I simply voted with yes because I was bored. I wanted to see some drama. But even with my vote, the result was a draw! So it's not me!] The eleventh god defended himself.
====
Author's Note -Guess who the imposter is.
Thanks, @Bill_collector, for the gift!
