The Emperor turned to Princess Ranea. "My daughter…It has been five years since we last spoke."
"…I was pleased to receive the news of your awakening," She said with a respectful tone.
"I recall that your ambition to cross the waters of the Great Nam Ocean had not ceased even after I told you about the dire threats that exist at the depths at the center and core of the Great Nam Ocean."
"…Yes, Father."
"And yet you wish to set foot in a domain we are powerless within to take on what is the Beast Domain of the ocean…"
"…Yes, Father."
"And you still wish to tear apart the delicate balance of the Kandrian Empire in an attempt to channel all of Kandria's power into this endeavor in pursuit of the many treasures that its treacherous depths have to offer, correct?"
"…Yes, Father."
"…"
He stared at his daughter, apparently speechless, before heaving a soft sigh.
"Your honesty is refreshing. Then, answer this question honestly as well. Tell me, my daughter, what is the crown to you?"
"…" She didn't reply.
"Do you seek the depths of the Great Nam Ocean for the sake of Kandria, or do you seek Kandria for the sake of the depths of the Great Nam Ocean?"
She shook at his question.
It struck at the very core of her drive.
"…" Her expression grew grave even as she held her tongue.
"Your silence is deafening, dear daughter."
"…"
He shook his head before issuing his judgment.
"Unworthy."
He glanced around at his children. "Two years have passed, yet is there nobody who can earn my approval? What have you accomplished in the past two years?"
His eyes shifted to Prince Raul, who winced at his attention.
"Ah…if it isn't my saint of a son," The Emperor snorted.
"…Father."
"The boy who thinks he can move the world by striking the human heart," The Emperor scowled. "Yet he doesn't understand that it is the mind that moves the world, not the heart. That is why he fails to draw enough power from across Kandria to his noble cause."
Disappointment flashed in the Emperor's eyes. "Raul…I…had high hopes for you. I had hoped that you would cultivate thought. Cultivate your understanding of the world. For how can you change a nation you know not anything about?"
His eyes grew sharper. "It took me but a single glance to discern that you haven't changed. That is why you, too, are unworthy."
Prince Raul lowered his head wordlessly.
He finally turned to the final of the seven princes.
"Raijun."
"Father." Prince Raijun narrowed his eyes.
"You don't need to put up a fierce facade, my son," The Emperor grinned. "I can see that you are deeply relieved and pleased that your rivals failed to gain my approval. Even if you yourself fail to do so, the final possible impediment has proven to not get in your way."
Prince Raijun's expression grew ugly as the Emperor effortlessly read his mind, seeing right through him.
"You are correct," The Emperor nodded. "You do not require my support, nor will you get it. I will die before I let Kandria become a Martial supremacist nation."
He chuckled at his own joke before shaking his head. "When I look at you. I don't see you. I see the Martial union."
Prince Raijun's expression grew even more ugly.
"You are a tool."
Prince Raijun gritted his teeth.
"A puppet," The Emperor snorted. "You are even more of a tool than Randal, Ranea, Rafia, and Raemina."
Rui shook where he stood as he realized the Emperor had somehow found out about his manipulation of the four royals. Chills went up his spine at this revelation.
But how?
He didn't know.
Prince Raijun glared at Emperor Rael. "Father, you-"
"Shut up."
The Emperor's heavy voice cut through his words.
His powerful glare pinned Raijun down. "Tools should remain silent and do as they're told."
Prince Raijun gnashed his teeth in humiliation.
"I am disappointed."
His words struck all of his children.
"Disappointed that not a single one of you is able to understand the harmony needed to rule Kandria."
His eyes narrowed. "Kandria is a nation with many pillars that support it. Anybody who does not understand the importance of balance between these pillars that support our great nation is unworthy and unfit to rule it."
The Emperor had issued his judgment.
A dark atmosphere settled into the throne hall.
It was not inspiring to know that the great Emperor of Harmony judged all of them unworthy of ascending the throne.
Many wondered if this marked the end of the Age of Glory for the Kandrian Empire.
Many wondered if the death of Emperor Rael truly would, as he declared, bring about a civil war that would bring ruin to Kandria, marking the dawn of decline. Perhaps Prince Raijun was right.
Perhaps civil war was inevitable.
Perhaps the Emperor of Harmony was the outlier, a rare individual blessed with the gift of harmonizing a nation.
At that moment, they truly did feel a hint of regret at his impending death.
"I have failed this Great Empire."
His words stunned those who heard them.
If there was anybody who had not failed the Kandrian Empire, it was Emperor Rael. If even he had failed the Kandrian Empire, then what about everybody else?
"I have failed this Empire by failing to impart harmony to my descendants."
Regret saturated his rich, deep, masculine voice.
"If the Kandrian Throne War cannot be averted, then so be it…"
His voice changed.
A new determination filled its depths.
"What I am to do may very well be my final act as Emperor."
A grave severity underlied his tone.
"It will be my final gift to Kandria."
The air grew electric.
It grew taut.
A deep amount of weight weighed down on all of them.
At that moment, a single realization dawned on all of them.
History was in the making.
They didn't know how.
Or why.
But the depths of their instinct felt this truth.
"I hereby commence the Kandrian Blood Ritual!" The Emperor's powerful voice boomed across the entirety of the throne hall, stunning the entire hall with his sudden declaration.
The Kandrian Blood Ritual. An age-old tradition and ritual that affirmed blood kinship between the Emperor and those who bore his blood within a hundred meters of the ritual. It was based upon an extremely rare esoteric substance that reacted to the very essence of the blood of a person.
Everybody instinctively understood that this was the culmination of this historic event.
Whatever was to come would change Kandria forever.
His servants stepped forth before him, kneeling down as they presented a strange ethereal orb to him.
"By blood, we live…" His voice quivered with emotion as he drew a ceremonial dagger.
SPLAT
The blade dug into the flesh of his hand.
"…By blood, we inherit." His voice grew severe.
DRIP DRIP DRIP…
It spilled upon the orb.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, the orb glowed, lighting up with a brilliant shine.
The princes and princesses began glowing, row after row, emitting a similar light. The orb recognized the blood within to be the same as that which was spilled upon.
Yet that wasn't all.
What followed shocked everybody to their very core.
No one.
Not a single person could have imagined what followed.
From within the depths of the arrays of guests behind the royals, another light glowed.
A light emanating from Rui Quarrier.
He was frozen.
Frozen in pure horror of what had just unfolded.
"Come forth," A grin emerged on the Emperor's face. "Come forth, Prince Rui Quarrier Kandria."
