Peter’s dome, twelve cardinals ᴀssembled in a marble-walled chamber deep within the Vatican.

Chairs arranged in a perfect circle awaited them—equal distance, equal weight—symbolizing the gravity of their task.

Cardinal Vincenzo Morelli, dean of the college, stood at the entrance, his weary eyes reflecting the months of whispers that questioned Pope Leo I 14th’s unconventional leadership.

The secret vote to preserve or replace the pope was about to begin.

No words were spoken as each cardinal took a pristine ballot from a small wooden box at the center.

The ballots, blank and bearing the Vatican watermark, awaited their silent verdict.

One by one, pens scratched names onto paper—the sound echoing like whispered guilt in the still air.

When the final ballot was cast and counted aloud, an impossible discovery stunned the ᴀssembly: every ballot bore the pope’s own signature.

The cardinals were frozen in disbelief as another inscription appeared above the signature in ancient script: “No vote can replace what heaven anoints.