The Martial Unity

The Emperor of Harmony had engaged in the seizing of assets and property upon the advent of the Beast Incursion as well, but had limited himself to that of the upper class of the nation, eradicating the elite of the nation in one feel swoop.

He then set up incentive structures that heavily favored innovation and contributions from the people of the Kandrian Empire, creating a culture that allowed for the people of Kandria to become hyperproductive, motivated by the prospects of immense rewards.

It was precisely these political and economic institutions that had enriched the people, but also the nation, with their many contributions, among which were the World Bridge. A game-changing strategic development that gave the Kandrian Empire an astronomical advantage.

And it was precisely because of the prosperity that the Emperor of Harmony had brought about, yet again, that the people of the Kandrian Empire did not fall into a panic upon the advent of the Unfolding, no matter how fearful the event was and how much their instincts screamed.

Their faith in the Emperor of Harmony was absolute.

Within the depths of the Kandrian Empire, the Emperor of Harmony sat in the luxurious chair in his Royal Office with a severe expression. Opposite him stood several officials of the government, each in charge of an important ministry or department.

Emperor Rael furiously read through the countless intelligence reports and articles upon the advent of the Unfolding, scouring through all the data gathered the major developments.

The air grew heavy with tension.

The silent atmosphere tingled at the nerves instinctively.

“The most pressing development has been the disruption of the day-night cycle, Your Majesty,” the Minister of Environment and Ecology informed him with a pressing tone. “We must make sure that we tackle this appropriately. There have been other environmental disasters in the past few hours alone that have been monumental in and of themselves. These disasters together could potentially destroy the entire world and all of human civilization in the long run.”

The Minister of Defense glared at his colleague with a fierce expression. “Nonsense. We are not in a position to care about mother nature and what ails her. The biggest issue is the national security threat! We have no idea what just happened to the world! What will you do if it’s a threat that can destroy the world?”

Nobody could deny the possibility of the recent anomaly being caused by an existential threat to all of human civilization. The sheer size and scale, the sheer depth to which the very fabric of reality, such as day-night cycles and the curvature of the horizon, had changed were so unfathomable that whatever was responsible for the event surely had the power to destroy the Kandrian Empire and human civilization.

“The Beast Incursion was an existential threat,” the Minister of Environment and Ecology retorted. “And yet, because we ignored the environmental aspects of the Beast Incursion, we paid the price with disrupted communication through the continent because of the esoterification of the continent, did we not? Do you want to make that mistake once again?”

“The Beast Incursion appears to have ended,” the Minister of Defense growled, throwing a scowl at his disagreeing colleague. “And we solved the communication crisis with satellite systems that have served as well. For now, our most immediate concern should be immediate survival! You never know if whatever caused this might be harmful to human civilization.”

“The disruption of the day-night cycle and the curvature of the planet does harm our people,” the Minister of Environment and Ecology insisted. “Our people and the people of human civilization will suffer. The disruptions will ravage the ecosystems of our continent even further, disrupting our environment and making it more and more uninhabitable to human civilization. These are just as existential threats as actual physical harm to our nation.”

“I’m not saying we should ignore them,” the Minister of Defense snorted. “But in the absence of our Martial Sages, we need to focus on gathering on safety and security while gathering intelligence on what the hell just happened!”

A few hours after the Unfolding, the true world had settled down in its new state, and human civilization had yet to fully comprehend the sheer insanity that had just happened. The maelstrom of chaos emerging from the immediate consequences of the unfolding on their people and their environment had kept them busy.

Each nation was desperately scrambling to gather as much intelligence and data so that they could fathom what in the world had just unfolded upon the very fabric of reality that hosted them all.

Try as they could, none of them could even begin to explain how the curvature of the planet had reduced significantly and how the night turned to day. It was such a magical phenomenon that it disrupted everything they understood about the world and shattered their worldview.

“Enough.”

Emperor Rael’s tone cut the bickering debate between the Ministers of the executive government.

“Your agendas are not mutually exclusive,” the Emperor of Harmony’s tone was stunningly calm and composed despite the madness that had unfolded. “We can secure our borders and address the environment and our security by gathering more data on this unfathomable anomaly. These are not conflicting with each other, and I have long declared a state of national emergency in this nation, as have all other polities in human civilization. For now…”

He shifted the documents aside, leaning forward as he steepled his fingers in deep thought. “…I have gone through all major intelligence reports. To summarize our situation, here’s what we know.”

He raised a finger. “The most prominent changes that the world has undergone, as the Minister of Environment and Ecology has mentioned, are the conversion of night to day and the reduction of the curvature of the planet. The two of these…”

His eyes sharpened with grave severity. “…are clear proof that our planet has undergone some incredibly fundamental change on a structural and ontological level. Until we understand what these changes are and evaluate the threats to national security and environmental stability, we will remain in a state of national emergency. Make no mistake…”

His tone grew more grave.

“This anomaly that has changed the very metaphysics of the world may very well be more dangerous to all of human civilization than even the Beast Incursion.”

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