"So, you all came here early in the morning looking for a deeper understanding of the revolution?"
At an extended dining table pieced together from several smaller ones, Cipher spoke through a mouthful of steak, his bloodshot eyes betraying his exhaustion.
"Nothing beats discussing revolution over a good meal," he added cheerfully.
"Perhaps finishing the meal before speaking would be more dignified," Silco commented dryly.
Cipher grinned. "But where's the fun in that?"
The commotion caused by Viktor and the others, along with Heimerdinger, had been too much. It dragged everyone out of their rooms, even Lester caught wind of it and insisted on joining in.
Since no one had eaten yet, Cipher simply waved his hand and decided they should eat first, talking things over at the table. He always preferred discussing business over food, after all, nothing in life was more important than a good meal.
The simple breakfast Silco had prepared was no longer enough.
Cipher and Viktor stepped in to help, taking an extra hour to get everything ready.
"I wanted to know…"
Viktor hesitated, glancing around, his gaze lingering on Lester with obvious uncertainty. With a Noxian present, he wasn't sure if he should speak.
"Perhaps some matters should be discussed... privately," Viktor suggested carefully.
"It's fine, Viktor, no need to worry. We're partners with him," Cipher said, swirling his wine glass before clinking it against Lester's with a smile. "In Zaun, our partnerships are as transparent as our air used to be."
Lester smirked. "And just as toxic, I imagine."
The gesture signaled to everyone that Zaun and Swain had a solid partnership.
Viktor trusted Cipher's judgment. To him, anyone capable of writing The Book of Revolution had a far greater understanding of the world. Since Cipher said it was fine, he wouldn't concern himself with Lester's presence any longer.
"Alright… I wanted to ask how to deal with that monster. I've been analyzing every variable, every possible solution... I've been thinking all night and still haven't come up with an effective solution."
"And found none that satisfy your need for perfection?" Cipher asked, studying Viktor's expression.
Viktor's hands clenched slightly. "The variables are too... human."
"Viktor, what's your view on the inherent evil in human nature? Or, to put it another way, how do you perceive humanity's flaws?" Instead of answering directly, Cipher posed a question of his own.
Everything had two sides, it was never as simple as a single stroke to erase the problem. One man's monster was another man's salvation.
In the original story, Viktor had always pursued a vision of glorious evolution, only to descend into madness, determined to perform frontal lobe removal surgery on every citizen of Piltover and Zaun.
At its core, it was because he had suffered from disability since childhood, subconsciously striving for perfection, without realizing that perfection itself was a form of imperfection.
He had once fused the Hexcore to build an ideal community for humanity, only for his closest friend, Jayce, to fire a cannon blast straight at his face without hesitation.
The community was destroyed, and Vander, who had just regained his sanity, fully transformed into the Mad Beast of Zaun.
A young girl, Isha, sacrificed herself to stop the rampaging wolf. Jinx and Vi were orphaned once again.
Ambessa's Noxian army suffered heavy casualties. Viktor's followers were completely wiped out, reduced to empty husks.
Countless people became nothing more than tragic casualties, suffering endlessly.
Watching it all unfold, Viktor finally snapped. Near death, he uttered the words that cemented his decision to abandon humanity: "Humanity, our very essence, is inescapable. Our emotions, rage, compassion, hate. Two sides of the same coin, intractably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil."
He no longer wished to be human. He would strip everyone of their humanity, turning them into perfect machines.
Cipher had immense respect for Viktor but remained cautious.
Guide him away from the path of ascension, or face a future where humanity itself becomes the imperfection to be corrected.
There was always the fear that one day, Viktor might lose faith in humanity entirely, deciding that human nature was nothing but a useless burden.
If he made that choice, if he ascended through arcane technology and sought to perform mass frontal lobe removals on the entire city, Cipher would lose it. Forget about any plans; he'd drop everything.
A godlike Viktor, wielding celestial technology, might only be countered by a fully realized Galio. But even if he was defeated, the people who had lost their frontal lobes would never recover.
Otherwise, in the original timeline, the white-robed Viktor wouldn't have needed to keep traveling through different timelines, desperately searching, until he finally found the one Jayce capable of stopping him.
Because of this, whenever Cipher had the chance, he instilled advanced ideas in Viktor, deepening his understanding of human nature and society, just to prevent him from one day deciding to ascend as a god.
"I believe that those who hinder humanity's path to perfection are nothing but waste. They must either be improved or eliminated," Viktor said without hesitation. "Just like that monster, it was born from the evil within human nature. Without that evil, it wouldn't exist."
His response came quickly, revealing that this belief had long taken root in his heart.
"Viktor, your perspective is too one-sided. Perfection itself is a form of imperfection. True perfection lies in imperfection, everything has two sides." Cipher shook his head. He had expected Viktor to still hold onto the idea of mechanical ascension and immediately began explaining.
"Fascinating how you Zaunites philosophize about strength," Lester commented, examining his wine with apparent disinterest.
"And how Noxians mistake simplicity for wisdom," Silco shot back.
Heimerdinger cleared his throat. "Perhaps there's merit in both perspectives?"
"There's merit in everything, Professor. Even monsters have their uses. The driving force behind human progress stems from what is often called the evil of human nature, desire."
"Take Zaun, for example. We refuse to accept our harsh living conditions. We want to live like real people. We want respect."
"We want our children to breathe fresh air, to drink clean water, to eat proper food, and to live on land free of toxins."
"For that, we endure hardships, shed blood, and never shy away from sacrifice. We press forward, one after another, all for the shared vision of Zaun's rise."
"Because we desire more, we strive tirelessly, working to build a better home and embrace a brighter future."
As Cipher spoke passionately, he appeared composed on the surface, but deep down, he was sweating.
If he couldn't change Viktor's way of thinking, he would one day end up on the receiving end of his frontal lobe removal surgery.
With his presence in this world, the timeline had already deviated entirely from the original.
The future was uncertain, there might not be a top-lane resistance king like Jayce or a jungle-ganking Ekko to fight a god-ascended Viktor.
The burden of Piltover and Zaun's future rested entirely on Cipher's shoulders. He couldn't afford to relax for even a second.
"Viktor, your pursuit of perfection also stems from a desire, your desire to be perfect. If I'm not mistaken, it originates from your congenital disability, your leg."
"That leg has tormented you, subjected you to the cold indifference of the world."
"But think about it, perhaps it is precisely because of that imperfect leg that you developed your vision of perfection, that you have relentlessly pursued advancements to benefit humanity and help the world."
"Good and evil, right and wrong, they are two sides of the same coin, inseparable."
Cipher's argument was directed mainly at Viktor. The others felt little impact, especially Lester, who acted as if he hadn't heard a word.
Noxians believed in only one philosophy: survival of the fittest. Without strength, nothing else mattered.
"But isn't tragedy also born from human desire? Take that monster, for instance, if it weren't for the greed and malice in human nature, the Upper City wouldn't have exploited the Undercity for over two hundred years."
Viktor remained silent for a long time before finally voicing his rebuttal.
The idea of removing the evil within human nature had been deeply ingrained in his mind since childhood.
"That's a great question, Viktor. The problem of the monster, and all other issues caused by desire, is actually quite easy to solve."
"Have you ever heard of beast tamers?"
"We can take a page from Noxus and establish absolute laws that everyone must follow, laws upheld by firm iron-fisted discipline to choke the life out of all evil desires."
"Anyone who disobeys? Six strikes per second until they start howling. In no time, that monster will be tamed into a loyal beast that serves the people."
"Trust me, it's simple, effective, and far more civilized than your idea of erasing human desire altogether."
Cipher raised his glass one final time. "Even the most fearsome monsters become obedient under proper guidance."
He chuckled.
That monster might be ferocious and ruthless, but under the loving guidance of the hammer and sickle, even it would be reduced to nothing more than a well-behaved husky with clear, obedient eyes.
As for the reactionaries? Just paper tigers. Their threat wasn't even worth a single strand of Viktor's hair.
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30 advance chapters!
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