In a quiet street of a remote planet, Zion duchy:
A cloaked figure moved about the lifeless crowd, passing by men and women trying their best to earn today's fill.
No one knew who broke the news but rumors of the Duke's treasury mortaging all the critical assets spread.
The Zions who could flee fled to other duchies. Many of them had no such opportunity. They swallowed their pride and sought refugee in provinces they usually looked down upon.
But it was still just a fraction of the whole. Most of the population was stuck inside the duchy where life grew increasingly difficult to survive.
The situation wasn't as bad as they thought. It'd take a whole generation but things could get back on track.
But someone was fanning the flames, creating chaos and pushing the possibility of Zion recovering closer and closer to zero.
The cloaked figure turned at the fruit stalls that were now selling half-rotten stuff at ten times the usual price.
A small house carved out of a greystone appeared at the edge of the street. Keeping his presence low, the figure entered the house and slammed the door shut.
Opening a secret compartment, the figure entered an underground floor and trotted to a large screen.
As he entered a special pass, the screen lit up after a few seconds.
An elegant woman, seated in a throne, with her caramel blonde hair tied up and her wings spread out.
Her face was blurred, but those green eyes seemed to pierce through the screen and dig into his soul, seeking the hidden truths.
"Your Highness," The cloak fell off, revealing a middle-aged zion.
He's a well-known adventurer in this border region. He's not strong, but he had a lot of connections thanks to his long career. He could've easily escaped into other places but stayed to take care of his daughter.
Unless she recieved special treatment, she wouldn't be able to bear any long space travel.
And this woman contacted him through her channels and promised his daughter treatment in exchange for loyalty.
As such, the man used his network and gathered information for his benefactor.
"The star system Q-23A is giving out no signal. Some of my friends are supposed to recieve essentials but no one is responding from there.
A pirate…acquintance of mine said that there were shockwaves in that region. It appeared like a simple battle and no one would suspect anything. But his experience said that they were unnatural, subdued versions of something much greater."
The man reported with a bow.
"Hm," Hazel merely hummed in response. "This is an important information. If it is verified, you'll gain a 2nd-class citizenship along with your daughter."
"Thank you! Thank you, angel!"
Ignoring his cries of gratitude, Hazel cut off the call.
In front of her were hundreds of floating screens, each containing reports from spies she built through the migrant fairies working in Zion.
The fairies spread the rumors and returned swiftly, escaping suspicions. The rumors broke the back of the duchy's economy.
The sudden implosion of poverty made many Zions desperate—some of them were even willing to be spies.
The Zion spy network worked under the radar, only gathering information and not performing any mission.
The intelligence agencies were busy trying to quell the rebellious forces that sprang up in troubled times and executing the immigrants who knew critical information.
'They must be aware that someone is monitoring the activities. But it isn't special. Every other province and duchy nearby is also buying up spies to monitor what's going on. But they'd never imagine I'm spying for someone from the Alliance.'
Hazel let out a sigh and activated a crystal.
The crystal took almost twenty minutes to establish a proper connection. When it did, the familiar voice of the man rang. "How is it going?"
Hazel's wings subconsciously folded and her shoulders bent slightly. In an obedient tone not unlike the spies reporting to her, she said. "A star system is destroyed. One of the princes is likely to be dead."
"Might be dead. Most likely, not. The candidates for the crown prince position don't just die that easily." Varian's words implied it was a speculation but his tone conveyed conviction.
"Based on the information so far, it should be the reckless Prince Merov. But my guts say it's Rudolph."
Hazel carefully raised her voice. "What should I do about the prince and princess? They're in deep incognito. I doubled the spies in the capital, but there's nothing on them."
"Don't bother actively searching. Just have an eye on all the developments and keep me informed."
"Will the Zion duchy survive?" Hazel voiced out words that would've caused her to be executed in public.
"The capital definitely won't," Varian's voice was casual, as if he was talking about the recent movie he watched. "So, how are the preparations coming along?"
"The ones who could leave left. But most of the rank 4, 5, and 6 are bound by the military oath. A few of them tried to escape. They were executed along with their family and friends." Hazel interlocked her hands on her thighs and said. "In public."
"Eww, public executions shouldn't be done unless necessary. But deserters," Varian's voice was filled with disdain. "deserve all the death."
"…" Hazel didn't reply.
"You disagree with my opinion?" Varian's voice was neutral, puzzling the fairy how he would respond if she did reply.
"Yes. They don't deserve death. They're just looking out for themselves."
After voicing her opinion, Hazel immediately covered her face. 'Why can't you keep your mouth shut at times like this? Now I'm done.'
Varian didn't immediately reply, causing her to grow more tense. He spoke after a while. "It might be correct for an individual, but for the army and society itself, it's the nastiest of crimes."
Hazel wanted to disagree again but Varian carried on, as if he knew she was about to refute.
"But this is the best scenario for us. Contact them and get as many of them here as possible. Once it starts, the army can't stop them."
"I-If the army finds…"
"Doesn't matter. Just throw the blame on other duchies. And we can afford to be found a few times. I've built enough space cracks this time."
Of course, it was all done by splitting the original space crack created by the Abyss Emperor. The man himself would have never imagined Varian to turn his greatest threat into the greatest opportunity.
Such a feat would've been impossible without slivers helping stabilize the chaotic space cracks upon a split but Varian had the slivers and the multiple space cracks were a reality.
Hazel's wings spread out and she nodded fervently. "I'll do my best!"
