Chapter 1294: Empires Falling Apart: Part-1
A few days later, after the announcement about the Sixth World and the strange scoreboard, the rulers declared they would soon give a deep clarification about the situation, and the people had been eagerly waiting for that clarification ever since.
They more or less started to guess, whispering along with rumours of their end soon coming, yet still they waited patiently for their rulers’ official decree.
Ever since the removal of Arcane energy, the people were nothing but ordinary, which was something they never thought of or felt before.
And because of that, unrest swelled like a tide.
There had been countless cases of fighting among them, as if they had been waiting for this very chance to vent their pent-up anger on anyone higher than them... and because of this, most of the noble houses were now heavily fortified.
The situations were shifting like storm clouds. The people now tried to seize whatever they wanted without hesitation... and those who had once stood arrogant and proud because of their powers now crumbled before them in horror, unable to defend the places they had claimed.
Sure, if justice demanded punishment, it would be accepted. But the thing was that the situation escalated far beyond justice.
Some were even setting fires, dragging children into the streets, hurting elders in their rage... and amidst this chaos, robbers and hidden criminals crept out from the shadows, using this chance to do their vile deeds unchecked.
Royalty was now under suffocating pressure.
Their soldiers, once chosen with the finest powers and rare talents, had become no different from the masses... except for a handful who still held true skill in physical combat. They managed to hold the lines, but even they strained under the weight, and still it was not enough.
This was a panicked and most dangerous situation, and if things continued to escalate... soon the economy itself would collapse. The people had already begun losing faith in their rulers.
A delicate yet dangerous situation... One wrong word could shatter order forever.
They needed to address it carefully... after all, something had been stirring in these past few days... something that made Aether himself begin to question his thoughts about people, about their nature, about whether they could truly be trusted with freedom at all.
Since the Pyra Empire obeyed the Dragon Emperor, there had been no great issues, except for those who had abandoned the empire when it had been drowning in danger, only to return and be forced to serve.
Those ones now tried to overthrow others to regain their stolen place... of course, the Generals dealt with them swiftly and without mercy. For traitors of that kind, the end itself was the only mercy left.
They had left without hesitation when the Empire fell.... Still, the Emperor accepted their choices, and they came back when everything was over with expectation... Still, the Emperor accepted their return, but though he opened his gates, he did not embrace their expectations.
And now, they twisted that acceptance into something rotten, trying to destroy the very mercy that had spared them.
They deserved nothing anymore!!
Supreme General Drakhairs hovered in the sky, his figure casting a heavy shadow over the Empire, his dark expression like a storm above the mountains. His daughter stood beside him, wings spread in fury, her eyes burning with contempt.
"I cannot believe these people..." Lyirrs’ voice trembled with both anger and disgust as she pointed down toward the city, where mobs gathered in the streets. "Was this how they truly were? Look at them—forming groups like jackals, trying to overthrow the local Captains, tearing apart the order our Emperor gave them!"
Drakhairs hummed low as he rubbed his cheek with a calloused hand. His gaze never wavered from the chaos below.
"Before the Emperor took the throne," he began, "the previous one controlled all of them with its horn. Bound their wills. Shackled their desires. But after the new Emperor rose, he chose a different path. He refused to bind them, refused to strip them of their will. He gave them a purpose without chains. He let them live as they wished, free from control." He paused, his eyes narrowing.
"And that is why you see their true colours now, Lyirrs. This is what freedom reveals. Not glory. Not gratitude.... But the rot inside their hearts."
Lyirrs clenched her fists, "Then perhaps freedom was wasted on them, Father" but then she frowned, her brows knitting tightly. "So... our Emperor was wrong?"
Drakhairs slowly shook his head, his gaze steady as stone.
"There is no right or wrong in ruling. It is not for us to decide such things... we can only judge what has been done. And in our judgment, the New Dragon Emperor is still Our God.
There will always be someone who hates Our God, no matter what he does... even if he brings light, there will be those who curse the brightness of it."
"I... I don’t understand, Father," Lyirrs muttered as she wondered what exactly her father was trying to tell her now.
Drakhairs let out a low chuckle and shook his head. "You still have much to grow, child," he muttered, his eyes sharpening as he noticed the Commander arriving at the local station.
But such things were not only happening in here... but also in Zephyra, Naiadae... even Aurora.
Zephyra... where the lower-level tribes and territories were now seizing this chance to claw their way up the ladder.
They had been weak ever since birth, bound beneath the weight of the higher-ranked. But now, with everyone stripped to the same level of strength, those who once ruled above them were reduced to the same fragile state.
Tribes began challenging each other fiercely, duels erupting one after another, the rankings shifting faster than even Maelona had expected.
The people were not wasting this opportunity... Not one bit!!
"This is why I hated becoming rulers of these fucking shit-heads!!" Aria spat furiously, her eyes burning as she watched a man of a high-ranking tribe collapse under the combined assault of a lower-ranked tribe that had grouped together to exploit the advantage granted by law.
"The moment they had a chance, they stooped to the lowest depths! Shameless bastards... fucking assholes!!"
After all, the law demanded that the high-ranking grant the lower-ranking a slight advantage in duels... meant as a safeguard, a measure of balance.
For the higher-ranked had always claimed all, while the lower scraped by with nearly nothing. To make it fair, the law was made... only now it had become a weapon, twisted into sabotage by the very ones it was meant to protect.
Maelona stood beside Aria, her face calm yet cold, blankly staring at the chaos. The tribes were locked in violent clashes, desperate to seize new ranks, their blades and roars filling the air.
In truth, it was not wrong to fight for rank.... They were using their opportunities, the same as anyone would.
There was nothing inherently wrong with that... except for doing it now, of all times.
Trying to tear down what little stability remained while they were all barely clinging to survival?
That was the folly.
"We cannot change it... that is how emotions work," Maelona said at last. Her eyes were hard, her tone resolute.
"They have been put down for a long time, being looked down on by others... being treated down by others... and now they want to rise, using this chance. And they are doing it according to the law.
There is nothing wrong with it."
Aria clenched her fist, her teeth gritting. "Tsk! I cannot believe you are siding with them, Mother!"
Maelona only glanced at her daughter, shaking her head slowly.
At that moment, Liora appeared and leaned close to Maelona’s ear.
Maelona’s eyes widened. "The Third Ranking Tribe... they want to fight us?"
Aria’s expression turned murderous, her lips curling into a furious grin. "Haha... so that’s where those cowards were hiding." She clenched her fist tighter before immediately striding away.
Maelona frowned, her face growing more severe. She did not doubt her daughter’s strength, but... she knew the truth.
The situation was crumbling, the foundation of their world trembling, and this was not the time for reckless bloodshed.
"What is the Emperor doing?" Maelona asked.
Liora let out a long sigh before speaking, "He has been struggling with the empire’s economy. It is collapsing faster than anyone expected. And also... the elders are circling him like vultures. They are trying to pin all of this upon him, saying it happened because he is not talented enough... they want to break him, to tear him down."
"Tsk." Maelona clicked her tongue, her expression twisting in annoyance. "The man just became Emperor, and already the situation is escalating too much for even his hands to handle."
He barely had time to think about his personal life... but then again, it was not just him. Everyone was barely holding together, crushed by burdens that left no room for their own personal struggles.
Maelona tilted her head back, staring into the sky. The strange scoreboard still lingered there, suspended above them, its light flickering gently like an omen that refused to fade.
"Whatever it is..." she whispered, her voice softer now, carrying a fragile edge.
"Please... don’t go hard on us."
Her words were laced with both pain and hope.