Turmoil erupted in the Holy City. Noe VII was trapped in the Sanctuary, his fate unknown.
The vast resources he had gathered in the name of "setting things right," which he'd intended for his reforms—the poor-relief systems spread across every parish, the de facto control over church property—instantly became ownerless.
Or rather, they became a coveted prize.
The College of Cardinals, led by Saint Cyril, was eager to bring these resources back under their control and make them their own, so as to provide the material and legal foundation for the upcoming coronation of a new Pope and the subsequent restructuring of power.
And to achieve this, the most direct method was to let the system left behind by Noe VII completely fail, collapse, and even become the "source of chaos." This would provide them with the perfect excuse to "set things right" themselves.
