Royal Capital, The Rose Empire
About 982 km away from Achut, this place is known as the Rose City. A city blooming with life under the rule of the Emperor Rose. The country and the capital city were named after the Emperor who was the Monarch.
The people were attending their daily lives with no fear of anything whatsoever. Some people were going to the market, some were gearing up for adventures, some were enjoying drinks and coffee etc. This was the city's condition before Achut appeared.
6:36 AM, Before Achut arrived, Emperor's Sleeping Chambers, The Castle
"Your Majesty, today the schedule is pretty much empty."
"So that means today is holiday, am I right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. But I don't think we have the luxury to mess around. We should invest the time in planning the future."
"Don't lecture me! I know what I have to do!"
The two gentlemen arguing were the Emperor and his advisor. The Emperor was sitting on the sofa at the centre of the room while the advisor was standing behind him.
The Emperor wears a black enchanted cloth that covers him from head to nose. He has blue hair and black eyes. Possessing bestest of the talents in the world, he was somewhat inhumane.
He is very well known for his cunningness and strength. Capable of wiping out an entire army singlehandedly, he was a five star threat.
"I will now enter my bath, prepare my breakfast."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After the order, the Emperor entered the bath available for Emperor's family only. He cannot remove his black cloth due to certain circumstances however, it doesn't affect his bath, feast, sleep and other daily activities.
This cloth has been with him right after his birth. It isn't affected by bad smell or dirt. In fact, it is an enchanted cloth that controls his excitement and protects him from any physical harm.
The Emperor Rose entered the bath. The bath was very beautiful with utmost meticulous. The tub itself, covered almost half of the room. The steam coming out from the tub made the atmosphere humid.
However, it was not because there is a hot spring underneath but in truth the dragon mouth from which the water was drawn was enchanted with magic.
Such pleasure, making anyone feel the heaven's presence. The water was also enchanted with stress relieving, wound healing, mind calming magic effects.
"Ah~, I never want to leave this bath~ What do you think, Dark?"
"I agree, Your Majesty!"
"But you know, you don't have to follow me to the bath as well. I will be fine inside."
"I humbly apologize, Your Majesty but I cannot compromise on Your Majesty's life."
"I know you are worried about me but you are invading my privacy, you know."
"There is nothing I can do about this, Your Majesty. You have to bear with this until I draw my last breath protecting you."
".....Fine! Do whatever you want."
Dark is Rose's personal knight. He got his name from the armour he wears. A body filled with scars, he is the only one who survived with Rose during Evolution Ritual. They both are best friends and know each other more than anyone.
"Dark, am I a bad ruler?"
"No, you are not--"
"Stop that 'Your Majesty' thing! You are the only one I can talk to openly! We are friends right?!"
"I am sorry. You are the Emperor Rose, you know. I have to show you some respect."
"This curse, when will it leave me? This cloth, it makes me feel suffocated! I can't stand this!"
"It is for the safety of you and the others around you."
The smile from Dark was clearly visible now. The steam moved up and Dark's face was now completely visible. He has blonde hair and cyan eyes. His face was filled with scars that ruined his natural face.
Looking at him, Rose couldn't help but feel guilty. After all those scars were his fault. Rose started crying and hid his face out of embarrassment.
"I am sorry, Dark."
"Eh....!? Why are you crying?! More importantly, why are you apologizing?!"
"Those.....those....s-scars. It's my fault, I am sorry."
"Ah~, you mean these scars. Don't sweat it. You don't have to feel guilty, Rose."
"If...only if you hadn't met me, you.....you would have never gone through that hell."
Hearing those words Dark felt angry and slapped Rose leaving red palm marks.
"What was that for?!.....Eh? Huh?! Why are you crying?!"
"Never...never...ever say those words again! I don't regret meeting you and will never regret dying for you but.....don't you dare say those words again!"
The situation got intense. The more they talked the darker their conversation went. Rose laughed it off with a gentle smack on Dark's forehead.
"Idiot! Why would I not want to meet you? It just that I feel guilty for what I did. Only you and my mother know about it. My damn father was a piece of shit. Those innocent lives that were sacrificed, I just can't atone for the grave sins I have committed."
"Why not forget about the dark past and move on? You have millions of souls to satisfy, you know."
"I know that but, how can I look at them, you and those who lost their lives, in the afterlife?"
"Straight into the eyes?"
"Yes! Straight into their eyes!"
Rose cried out louder and louder with each word he spoke of. The pain he felt cannot be relieved, the wounds he received cannot be cured and the things he did cannot be undone. However,---
"Then, atone for your sins."
Rose felt shocked. The mistakes he had committed cannot be atoned so easily. Even dying a thousand times would not suffice.
"But how? It's impossible! I cannot bring back my fallen friends nor my brothers and sisters. I can only kill myself!"
"No, there is a way. I, no, we know that you made a great mistake that can't be undone however, we also know that it is not your fault. If you just give up now and think about dying then you are just mocking those who were sacrificed!"
"What do you mean?"
"I just said, didn't I? You have millions of souls to satisfy. You have a country to feed, people to protect and a reason to live. Even I find it difficult to forgive you but as your knight, no, as a citizen of this country, I want you to become the greatest Emperor in the history of mankind."
Rose's eyes widened and he cried openly after that. The tears dropped like a waterfall without any end.
"Will.....will I....be able to look at them....in the eyes?"
"Of course, you can."
Rose cried for ten minutes straight. The mistakes they are talking about is related to their past. The Evolution Ritual requires hundreds of sacrifices. Through this very ritual, a person can evolve their status. A peasant can evolve into Nobility, Nobility into King and finally an Emperor.
For a peasant to be an Emperor, it requires 100 sacrifices.A hundred innocent lives for strength?This, as well, is a way of entertainment for the Gods.
"Then, let's talk about the future of the Empire, okay?"
Rose nods and washes off his tears. He, now, had a reason to keep fighting.
"So, what have you planned for the future?"
"I am thinking about invading the Kingdom."
"I agree, the Kingdom has corrupted to it's core. The King's negligence towards the citizens is unforgivable."
"Last time we signed a treaty with them and took one-third of their land but this time, I think it would be better to put it under the Empire's protection as a new province."
"According to the treaty, we cannot attack them until the next decade. How will you begin the invasion?"
"Don't worry, I have a plan. Due to the flood this year, the Kingdom has sustained great damage. The citizens have escaped and seek refuge in the Empire. We can use this as an excuse to invade. We can just say 'the Kingdom was sending refugees and didn't do anything.'. What do you think?"
"I see. Basically, a casus belli, eh?"
"Uh-huh, the Kingdom doesn't have enough soldiers to stop our invasion. The war shouldn't last more than a few weeks."
"Considering it's land area, two weeks should be long enough."
And just like this, they started mapping out the future. With laughter and jokes they forgot about their breakfast.
About 3 minutes before Achut arrived, Emperor's Working Chamber
"Ros--Your Majesty, your personal knight has arrived."
"Stop with your formalities, Dark. How many times do I have to tell you?!"
"I can't help it. Your Majesty is the Emperor first and foremost and only then my best friend."
"I can't argue with you, can I? Have a seat then. The breakfast is being prepared."
"As you wish."
"Eh? You carried out that order immediately without any second thoughts!"
"Well, it depends on what the order is. The first order was just meaningless compared to this."
The working chamber of the Emperor was not so flashy and decorated. It was plain and simple like a regular office room. With a table infront of a massive window, filled with piles of documents, there was only a sofa and bookshelves to look at.
A maid opened the large door and delivered her message.
"Your Majesty, advisor Chris has arrived."
"Oh! He is here, send him inside."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
The enormous door slowly opened and advisor Chris entered the room. He was an old man with decades of experience. With bald head and a flat belly, he wore a blue priest clothes.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant is here to serve you."
Chris was overjoyed to see the Emperor. He ran and knee-slid towards Rose. It was an embarrassing sight for Dark however. For the advisor to show such behaviour, how embarrassing!
"S-sorry, I didn't see you there. Knight Dark."
Chris got up immediately on noticing Dark and coughed. Rose burst out laughing. He struggled to hold his laugh, pinching his stomach and wiping his tears.
"So what are you here for? Advisor Chris, I thought I gave you an order to take a day off, no?"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty but how could I slack off when Your Majesty is working so hard here."
"N-No, you don't have to push yourself too hard."
Rose had lied to Chris about having no work today. He wanted Chris to enjoy at least one day off. Pushing an old man like Chris to work hard would just add more sins for Rose to bear.
"What--......."
"........"
"........"
Everyone was shocked, unable to move. What was that feeling just now? It was exactly the time Achut appeared, 7:24 AM. Everyone in the vicinity of 2000 Km immediately felt his presence. That ominous aura, filled with killing intent could terrorise anyone regardless of their strength.
"Wha-What was that just now?!"
"I-I don't know, Your Majesty."
"Knight Dark, is this an enemy attack?!"
All three of them couldn't think of anything. Even if it was an enemy attack, there was no way they can enter the Castle through those barriers that covered even the underground basement.
"Enemy attack! Investigate the whole castle! Don't leave even a single room or corner!"
Rose panicked and gave orders without thinking. The knights outside the door informed other knights and the castle went into an emergency state.
Knight Dark and Advisor Chris, both became unconscious being unable to withstand the pressure. This was happening all over the capital city.
This day more than ten thousand people committed suicide for some unknown reason and everyone in the city fell unconscious. People remember this day as 'Dead Rose Incident'.
To be continued