A Glimpse of the Esper Emperor had made its way onto the airwaves, his act in the harbor had caught the interest of many in the government. To be able to do something so simple, it broke every standard they could muster. The disappearance of "Trash Islands" in the World's Oceans was a bigger story though.
-"What exactly happened? Some people are calling it retribution, a price paid by the many lives it took from the world. What do you think happened?"
-"I live in India, we've always shared a border with China, our industries compete, we produce much of the worlds garbage right along side them. Its now a living eyesore, what are we to do?"
-"I would move."
-"This is my country your talking about, don't you think I have something to say about this? I mean, how did it all get there?"
-"HOLD ON LADIES! WE HAVE FOOTAGE! OMG."
-"Look, there on the screen, you can see the figure people call the Esper Emperor." He hovered and then bits of sewage, waste materials, discarded medical supplies, cars and bags of garbage started pouring from his left hand. In his right, he held the giant paddle like hammer. "He's dumping trash! Why is he dumping trash on China? and how did he get so much of it... OH MY GOD! IS THAT?? NO.. NO WAIT, IT CANT BE.. THAT THING IS KILOMETERS WIDE, RUN" The cameraman dropped the camera. He could be seen running, a shadow eclipsing the area.
-"..." The international community was quiet on the matter for a moment.
-"What is he doing now? Who are those people?" Several figures surrounded the Esper Emperor then lined up alongside him.
-"What are we watching?"
Slowly, the landscape started to curl, tear and twist. A bunch of roots, different than the Wandering Vines started to chew up the region. Buildings fell, chasms formed. Destruction, a scale which could have only been described in stories started to unfold in front of the world press. People were quiet, crying.
-"It seems like the Zao Clan found those responsible for the bombing."
-"That's ludicrous, where's your proof! Don't badmouth China just because they are getting annihilated! Shame on you!"
-"I'm not making accusations, just pointing shit out! Their actions are way different than anything until now and the Emperor did say he wouldn't show mercy, sort of."
-"OH MY GOD, I can't believe you people! People are dying!"
-"Yeah, Billions of them"
-"You're sick"
-"Hey, I didn't bomb a peaceful gathering."
-"Neither did the Zao Clan."
-"Why you!"
-"Don't make me laugh, they might have just as well set off a bomb. Look at the rolling death toll, people can't even get away from the disaster zone."
-"I wonder how this will play out"
-"What do you mean?"
-"With the Espers. We keep underestimating them, and now they decimate.
-"Whatever the excuse is, this is a slaughter."
-"Agreed, but he warned the entire world."
-"So what if he warned the world, who does he think he is?"
-"OOH! GOOD ONE.. HE IS THE ESPER EMPEROR! NOW BOW DOWN IDIOTS!"
-"What are you talking about you've gotta be nuts to think this is okay, are you trying to say that the people of China themselves are to blame for the attack! No, its their government! Why would slaughtering an entire people be okay?"
-"Look at the monitor, Stop freaking out and look at the stupid screens you fools."
-"Yeah! I'm sick of this BS. Look at the screen! He's not killing civilians."
-"What are you talking about, the earthquakes, the upheaval, you're saying there is no loss of life?
-"Yes. We have reports that people dressed in black have been appearing out of the shadows and moving people rapidly. It seems rather coordinated."
-"OMFG, WTF! You guys are stupid. This is the problem with instant access communications, they create rumor mills. Shame on the first commenters!"
-"What are you talking about, I said look at the devastation! How can you possibly think no one died in that! Realistically speaking, There should be millions, billions dead."
-"A Hacker Group calling itself the 'Esper Truthers' have released satellite images of the area, check this out."
-"The Esper Emperor has hackers? What are you talking about?"
-"/sigh You people have no life."
-"OMG I just saw them, what is that? a pictograph?"
-"It was written in chinese, but it was a logo, the logo for the banner of the Zao Clan."
-"OH MY GOD! That is AWESSSSOOOOMMMMEEEE!"
-"The work of Gods"
-"F### you, That was China, now what is it?
The people were in an uproar over the happenings, the brand of the Zao Clan had been etched into the landscape, visible from orbit. The Crest of the Zao Clan was raised by a two hundred feet, the garbage had been buried, turned to compost. Buildings changed altitudes, streets broke apart. Highways and waterways were diverted.
China would never look the same, Ever.
-"I have news that the Esper Emperor is about to make a statement."
-"What? So soon?"
-"Yeah, lets here his excuses! Devils, DEVILS ALL OF THEM!"
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
The Tower sat in the middle of the Jungle City, Its stature was unmistakable and visible from long distances. Qu had been sealing off special rooms and entrances to sensitive areas as per protocol, Xuan Kim Li's defense ideas were pretty good. "What isn't seen isn't bothered"
Hallways that had lush decoration were covered in a solid metal plating. After disaster relief teams had returned, the Cheng Twins had been spending the rest of each day expanding the Pagoda's interior. Millions of people needed to fit, it was physically impossible to fit so many into the pagoda. Perhaps half a million could fit inside if they all stood close together. It left Qu and Xuan Kim Li at a stand still, they had to come up with a way to dramatically improve the spacial dimensions inside.
"Can't we just build up?" It was an innocent question, one that should have been asked earlier. Xuan Kim Li had been asking himself the question all day while trying to figure out how they were going to transport everyone.
"Yes, so long as we have the capability to recreate the stone its made of." Qu laughed and waved his hand. A few of the remaining guards had been left to defend the City, they nested in the Arena. Qu summoned them, they hadn't even woken up when he made the transfer.
"WAKE UP" A call came into all of their ears, Qu was pressed for time, his Emperor had given him strict instructions to make the impossible, possible.
"We have work to do" Qu pointed at a hologram, he wanted to make it bigger. His Core could support any size vessel, the problem was always the size of Tower when it expanded. Displacing the things in its path was a signature trait. 'We don't have a choice' His mind was made up, Qu prepared himself and gave out instructions.