The Reverend of Reckoning clenched his fists as he understood that the Emperor of Harmony had anticipated his resistance.
And had prepared for it ahead of time.
“…This is blackmail,” the Patriarch of the Namgung Dynasty glared at the Emperor of Harmony. “You’re using the safety of my nation to coerce me to become part of your power.”
The Emperor of Harmony simply stared at him with knowing golden eyes. “The old you would have snorted arrogantly and declared that no force can overcome your Order, or whatever.”
His eyes sharpened keenly.
“You have changed, Patriarch Jinryong. You have changed a lot.”
The Reverend of Reckoning’s expression hardened.
Yet, he didn’t refute those words.
“If your battles had been even remotely easy, you would have retained your overconfidence and arrogance,” the Emperor of Harmony remarked, thinking out loud. “And yet, in the past eleven years, your arrogance has gone down. I can’t imagine that any ordinary quasi-Transcendent beast gave someone of your caliber trouble, then…”
His golden eyes lit up with realization.
“It must have been the eldritch chimera which showed you your limits, yes?”
The Reverend of Reckoning simply glared at the Emperor of Harmony, irritated at how easily he was being read.
“I’m glad that that monster beat the arrogance out of you,” the Emperor of Harmony mused with a knowing tone. “For it has allowed you to understand that you are far from invincible. Which should allow you to understand that the Namgung Dynasty will likely end up like the Sekigahara Confederate if you don’t accept my offer. So what will it be?”
The Emperor of Harmony gazed at him knowingly.
“Will you gamble and hope you can protect your nation, or will you make the sensible decision to partake in my Martial Insurance Pact?”
The Reverend of Reckoning breathed deeply, heaving a sigh.
“You win, Emperor Rael. Prepare the finest luxury quarters for myself and my warriors.”
He got up, leaving the Royal Office after having made up his mind.
The Emperor of Harmony smiled. “Will do.”
His golden eyes shifted to the Solaris Queen who still folded her golden arms, glaring at him with defiance.
“…If you accept this pact, I will return some of all the blood children that we seized from you,” the Emperor of Harmony continued which a calm tone. “As long as you swear a personal oath to make sure that they grow up in prosperity and happiness. If you fail this condition, then I will once more seize the blood humans from you without allowing you back out of the Martial Insurance plan.”
“Deal,” Queen Linliana quickly agreed to his offer with eagerness.
The blood children had been seized while she was away, depriving her of a priceless treasure and asset that was crucial for maintaining their future power. She was more than gladly willing to become the Emperor of Harmony’s henchwoman if she could secure this treasure for her people.
She too departed from the room, leaving only one last peak Sage from the Gen Temple.
Bodhisattva Maitreyi gazed at the Emperor of Harmony with a knowing expression. “In Martial philosophy, power is said to reveal who you are, helping Martial Masters reach the Sage Realm. I cannot help but wonder what it will reveal within you when you become the emperor of human civilization.”
The Emperor of Harmony shrugged.
“I am whoever I need to be.”
Such was the resolution of the Emperor of Harmony.
“Who was your talk with your granddaughter?” the Emperor of Harmony asked with a lighter tone and knowing eyes.
Bodhisattva Maitreyi heaved a shaky breath. “…She has changed. She has become… impure. A power lust she inherited from the Progenitor has integrated itself into who she is. And yet…”
Her eyes grew warm with affection.
“…I love her with all my heart nonetheless.”
The Emperor of Harmony gazed at her with a knowing expression.
“She is my granddaughter, no matter what. She has suffered and overcome that suffering with great difficulty. Ten thousand years of reliving her life and Esil’s life have changed her and who she is in the process. And yet, I love her nonetheless.”
Bodhisattva Maitreyi was at peace with her unconditional love for Amare.
“…And what decision do you think my son will make when he wakes up?”
The air grew tense.
Bodhisattva Maitreyi shook her head. “Amitabha. I cannot say.”
The Emperor of Harmony heaved a deep breath, getting up from his chair as he departed from the Royal Office.
“Pardon me, I have somewhere to be.”
He traveled absentmindedly, accompanied by the silent Sayfeel.
There was no new intelligence on the true world and the annexation of Martial Sages was almost complete, leaving him left with little do for the moment.
An extremely rare situation for the Emperor of Harmony in the past eleven years.
It wasn’t too long before he eventually reached the manifold, entering it, and heading towards a highly guarded compartment within it.
VMMM…
The automatic doors opened, revealing a medical room with a bustling number of medical teams all absorbed in their work, monitoring the condition of just one individual.
He lay unconscious upon a medical bed at the very center of the room with all manner of instruments and machines connected to him, monitoring his vitals.
His hair was pitch black.
His body had a strange, ephemeral dark tint to it.
His presence was profound.
As though he were a different entity from the rest of them.
Within him was power unlike any other Martial Sage could even begin to fathom.
Amare sat by the side of his bed, gazing at him with melancholy, affection, and longing.
The Emperor of Harmony heaved a deep breath.
“How is he? Will he awaken any time soon?”
The doctor overseeing his patient shook his head.
“I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. We have formed special diagnostic criteria to evaluate the condition of His Highness when he uses that… power, of his. He falls into a temporary coma for a period of time that can be estimated by monitoring his brain activity, which rises slowly until it reaches normal activity levels, which triggers his awakening. However…”
The doctor shook his head.
“He has abused that ability for sustained periods of time in his battle. In the past, he only used it for five minutes or ten minutes at most. But this time, he used it for well over an hour, approaching two hours. And correspondingly, the coma time period has also risen proportionally. Based on the slow rate of recovery of his brain activity, we can project that…”
The doctor’s tone grew grave.
“…he will be in a coma for fourteen months.”
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