Tip-Tap...!!! Tip-Tap...!!!
Two figures were walking in a dark, narrow corridor. The older adult following the first figure was the Emperor's butler. The Person walking in front was none other than the Emperor of Dune Sovereignty. Throughout History and Regions, he has been called different names.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He has been called the 'War Seeker'. 'Blade Tyrant!'
'Steel Reign!'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})'Shift Maker!'
'Rise Architect!'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})And His given name was Charles, Charles Flameheart. The Emperor of The Dune Sovereignty had long black hair reaching 6 inches below his shoulders. He had tied his hair into a bun. He had a black, well-trimmed beard, just 3 inches long, which gave him a very mature Aura. A few patches of his once-dark beard were now flecked with white, hinting at the long life that the Emperor had lived. He was 6 feet 3 inches tall. He had strong and broad shoulders. His red pupils were calm and collected, and his aura was calm and mature. But those who knew him knew it wouldn't take a second for his quiet and Mature Aura to change into something vicious and violent. He was fair-skinned. He had a sharp jawline, which made his beard look even more pleasing to him. Since a young age, Emperor Charles has been one of the most Handsome Men in his Empire. Even before he became the Emperor, Charles was already very popular with the ladies. Just like Garrick, in his younger days, Charles also regularly slept with different women. However, this habit disappeared once he married his wife. After his wife's death, from time to time, Charles would sleep with some women to better help manage his stress. Even the cold and cruel Emperor very dearly loved his wife. Though he absolutely hates the fact that women get involved in politics. This was the reason why His wife had no political authority at all. Unfortunately, Soraya suffered the same fate. She had no political power. Since birth, she should have had an equal claim on the Throne of the Empire as Prince Garrick. But after her birth, the Emperor declared that Garrick would be the Crown Prince. Charles was the reason Soraya's life was so miserable. Despite being a princess, she felt like a prisoner. "Edward, did the Kingdom of Thera accept our proposal?" Charles asked while walking towards the cell. Though, after being the Emperor for more than 15,000+ years, Charles could already guess from his experience that the King of the Thera Kingdom had refused their proposal. "Unfortunately, our attempts were unsuccessful." Edward was Charles's butler. He was the longest and the oldest servant of this Empire. Edward has been serving the Royal Family since the foundation of this Empire, and he takes pride in that. Edward's whole family were dedicated servants of the Royal Family, and the Emperor and the Royal Family really trusted him. Edward was an old man. His face was wrinkled. Unlike the Emperor, whose youthful appearance had hardly changed ever after 15,000+ years, Edward had grown old. Edward had very poor cultivation talent. He was still a Peak 1st-order. The Emperor had given him resources to cultivate, but as a dedicated servant of the Emperor, Edward completely dedicated himself to serving Emperor Charles. This is the reason why his cultivation barely made any progress. "I am not surprised. After becoming the Istarin Empire's ally, the Thera Kingdom's economy has grown by 7.4 times. The Kingdom's military and political strength have also tripled since then. The Kingdom has access to all the Powerful weapons that the Istarin Empire uses."
"And mainly because of the protection of the Istarin Empire, this small kingdom has been rapidly growing. Before, the Thera Kingdom was to be the second poorest Kingdom in the six continents after the Istarin Dynasty. Still, within such a short span of time, the Thera Kingdom was one of the richest Kingdoms in the six continents." Although Charles was a very prideful man, he still had to acknowledge Aditya's ripple effect on his allies.
Aditya was like a Sun shining on his allies. The light coming from him protected his allies and stimulated his allies's growth. It was primarily because of him that his allies continued to become powerful. This is why Charles was initially so interested in joining the Cosmic Tide Alliance. "Your Majesty, since you knew that the King of Thera Kingdom would turn down our offer, then why did you send our men there?" Edward could not help but ask. He could not understand the reason behind this. Hearing this, Charles smiled. "There are actually two reasons. First, I want to see how the King of Thera Kingdom would react to our offer." Under Charles's command, his men must have offered various tempting offers to the King in exchange for joining their side. These offers were very tempting for the King of a small nation. "Since King Ren managed not to fall for these tempting offers, it suggests he is not greedy. His loyalty lies with Aditya. "As for the second reason, you will know later." Charles did not give any explanation. After walking for a while, they arrived in front of a cell. Inside the cell, there were seven prisoners. All the prisoners had become very skinny and looked severely malnourished.
It looked like these prisoners had been starved for days now. These prisoners were soldiers of a Kingdom that was currently at war with The Dune Sovereignty. Charles believed that through constant war and fights, the weak roots of the Empire could be eliminated, and only the strong ones would survive. Since the foundation of this Empire, he has moved forward with this belief. Although the Kingdom they were at war with was very small and weak, and the Kingdom could be defeated in a single day using The Dune Sovereignty's main force, Charles used this war to train his soldiers and let them gain experience. If this Kingdom were to fall, The Dune Sovereignty would target another small Kingdom, and the Process would continue. Charles has been repeating this process countless times. He believed this was why his Dune Sovereignty rose in power. In Charles's view, the weak ones were not fit to live in his Empire. To make his Empire the most powerful and the best, there shouldn't be and there cannot be any place for the weak. The Prisoners could not see Charles and Edward because of the special magically enchanted crystal wall.
The Dune Sovereignty was the Capital of Advanced Magic research, so enchanted crystal walls were normal in the Empire. "Edward, these soldiers look too skinny. Did you not feed them?" Edward did not know what to say in response. The Emperor never ordered him to feed the prisoners. These soldiers' Mana Hearts had been destroyed. They were no longer cultivators, which meant their bodies were no longer superhuman or capable. In such situations, Edward knew by experience that he had to remain silent. "Edward, Feed Them Good Food.....!!" Charles gently said. "Our sacrifices should not involve starving like this. Sacrificing them like this will only bring us bad luck. Until the day of the sacrifice, ensure that these prisoners were well fed and kept well."
"Understood...!!" Edward just nodded his head. The Sacrifice that Charles was talking about is a Holy Ritual that has been practiced since the foundation of this Empire. The Emperor himself held this Ritual every month, in which a living being was sacrificed. The Emperor himself cuts the Head of the Sacrifice, uses the blood of the sacrifice to cleanse his body, and then takes a bath in its warm blood. Charles believed that offering sacrifices brought good luck and prosperity to the whole of Dune Sovereignty. Charles strongly believed that the blood of the sacrifices removes bad luck from his body. This kind of practice was very a secret to the outside world. This was considered a Royal Family secret. Delicious food was placed inside the cell under the command of the Emperor. Seeing the food, the hungry prisoners began to use both hands to consume whatever was given to them without caring if their food was poisoned. Charles watched the prisoners devour food like wild animals with a satisfied smile on his face. "I am done here. Let's head back. My children should be waiting for me at the dining table." Charles turned around and walked away. Edward looked at the cell for a few seconds and then followed his master. Deep in his mind, he could not help but wonder if this was considered mercy. Charles's steps were slow and steady. He didn't take big or small steps. He unhurriedly walked to the dining table. Soraya and Garrick were already sitting facing each other. Seeing Charles, both of them stood up as a sign of respect. They did this not only because it was the Emperor but also because the Emperor was a respected elder. After Charles sat down, Soraya and Garrick sat down. "Good morning, father!!!" Garrick sounded very happy and somewhat excited seeing the Emperor. "Good Morning!!" On the other hand, Soraya did not sound too pleased. Her voice sounded dead and hollow. Her face was the complete opposite of the emotions that Garrick showed. Charles was still happy. He just nodded his head. This nod meant that he had responded to their greetings. Edward skillfully began serving breakfast to the plate of the Emperor. Breakfast was very simple and light. Charles did not eat food that was not served to his plate by his most trusted butler, Edward. Garrick and Soraya served themselves only after the Emperor started eating. Since they were in the presence of the Emperor, only the Emperor was served food by his butler, and whoever ate with the Emperor, regardless of their status, had to serve themselves. This was another of the Emperor's many strange laws. This highlighted and reminded everyone that the Emperor was in control. He was the one with Supreme power. And in front of him, no one's position matters. If they are not mindful of their action, then they could be punished to death.
The Family of three silently started eating. Soraya felt very uncomfortable in the situation. She wanted to leave the dining table and return to her bedroom as soon as possible. This uncomfortable feeling was nothing new to her. Things had been like this for as long as she could remember. The only place where she could show her emotions or be herself was her bedroom. If she hadn't been able to vent her emotions, she would have turned into something else long ago, and she would have lost herself completely. Every single day for her was a torture. It wasn't physical torture. Rather, it was mental torture. Sometimes, she even felt that her father and her brother were secretly having a competition to see just how much they could mentally torture her. She felt like they wanted to see just how much more mental suffering she could endure. The only reason that she was living this tasteless life was because of a promise. She had promised her mother that she would live. That she would never take her own life. Soraya was very young and immature when she made this promise, but now she regrets it. This promise had become an invisible chain that kept her tied. This invisible chain prevented her from taking her own life and finally being free. She loved her mother so much that she wasn't willing to break the only promise that she made to her mother. This was a single thing that Soraya hated about her mother. She sometimes wondered why she had to go through all of this.
There wasn't a thing about her life that she didn't hate. Even the food she was chewing was the food she hated most, yet because it was the favorite food of the Emperor and her brother, she had to eat it almost every day. 'Someone, please take me out of this place.' ----------------
