The news of the coronation ceremony continued spreading through the lands of Necrovia, eventually reaching the Dune’s Hive, which then slowly diffused to the Dune’s Diamond thanks to the new relationship the two towns have established ever since the meeting.
Therefore, to keep tabs on the going ons at the capital, Tonya arranged for a handful of the traders that travel between towns connected to the kingdom’s capital and the Dune’s Hive to be at the coronation ceremony and provide a steady stream of updates on Mila’s latest actions. To actually facilitate that, Ver was responsible for training the trader to use the Kraken’s shell as the communication Cast, and an additional safety feature was added for the shell to disappear in the case of the trader’s identity being exposed.
“Keep us posted on anything and everything that's happening in the capital in the next few weeks.” Tonya said as she glanced around the table of a handful of traders who each held a single piece of the Kraken’s shell, “And you will be generously rewarded for your efforts. In any case of danger, you may activate the safety for the shell, and it shall disappear, leaving you as none more than a regular trader. I am sure all of you are smooth enough otherwise.”
As the traders all departed one after another after taking a small proportion of the gold each as down payment, Augen tapped Tonya lightly on the shoulder as she turned and smiled at him.
“Look at you now…a leader and all…” He joked when she slapped him in the shoulders lightly and stood up.
“Let’s go see the others.” She said, “Wu said he’s been working on something for a few days…”
In the meanwhile, the preparations at the capital neared their ends as the coronation ceremony for Mila was merely a day away. The inner district streets were cleared out, the buildings locked up and secured, and the banners of the Nekova family flew high with PORA agents positioning themselves on each of the street corners and vantage points in case any third party dared think about ruining Mila’s moment in the sun. Though all intel pointed towards a smooth ceremony, Ilia found himself unable to relax on such a momentous day.
The ceremony was set to start at dawn, signifying the dawn of a new age for Necrovia, so the capital city had already been beaming with life and energy since midnight with people celebrating and strolling from stall to stall around the outer districts.
Mila, in the meanwhile, awaited her moment as she was dressed up by the servants with Mus Ongaku watching from a communication Cast.
“Stop staring at me so much~” Mila said as the servants lightly brushed the makeup around her cheeks. Her pale skin was lightly reddened to match the darker skin tones of the Necrovian people, and her dark brown hair was smoothed and straightened behind her before they were tied into an elegant updo with braids looping just over the back of her neck.
Golden ornaments ran through her hair, matching the golden lining along a glorious red dress with patterns of branching rivers along its front and back. The dress made by the best tailor in the whole of the inner districts was slim at the waist and tight at the hips, emphasizing her the roundness in her physiques while diminishing her muscularity to match the more traditional standards of feminine beauty.
All though Mus and Mila both enjoyed her strength, the people often desired something different from their queen, and the fashions of the royals oftentimes directly drive the fashions of the people in the coming years, so Mila relented to letting the tailor and the cabinet decide what’s best for her on the appearance front.
When she was hanging out with Mus, he was admittedly more interested in her without her clothes on, and so he was helpless when it comes to picking her outfits. Ilia, on the other hand, had fully occupied himself with the matters of security, even though he knew that Mila’s own strength was far beyond any ordinary assassins or fighters from within Necrovia.
“How do I look?” Mila slowly stood up and spun around as the servants straightened the dress behind her.
“Royal.” Mus said, “I…I wish I can be there with you, but you know you have always been my queen, so it doesn't really matter. I am happy for you though.”
“Oh...my darling...” Mila smiled lightly before she put on her serious face, “My job here isn’t done until the plan to restore the blood of Necrovia is complete.”
“You haven’t found a cure for the poison?” Mus asked, about to offer up his help before he stopped himself. Mila’s particularly stubborn about any and all matters when it comes to Necrovia, and she would want to do everything herself beyond the most basic of aid from PORA to get things started.
“The cure lied with Tonya and her companions.” Mila said, “I am sure you have heard of this Wu guy by now?”
“Yes.” Mus nodded, “Rote had informed me of his identity before his demise at the Ethereal Realm. Quite a pesty one, he is. He was a mistake that was made when the plans of the Inverted Questions were foiled...and to think a fraud like him has matured into such a pain in the ass all across the world…”
“His story will end here.” Mila shook her head, “He won’t leave anyone behind, so when I move on Tonya in the West, he will undoubtedly stay and fight. That’s where we take him down. You do not have to worry about him.”
“I am not really worried, just cautious.” Mus said, rubbing his chin as he continued eyeing Mila who took a sip of water and carried the communication Cast with her as she stepped out from her dressing room, where Ilia was still busy sorting through the latest reportings, “Whether he’s really supposed to be the fourth savior, and whether the legends of the saviors will continue to hold…he and his companions are just not going be strong enough to stop what’s coming. He’s here for all but a handful of years, yet PORA had been preparing for a millennia.”
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
“You seem interested in him?” Mila asked, lowering her voice as she walked straight past Ilia, "How are things for you over there?"
“I'd hardly be an organization that swore to undo the damages done by the previous saviors if I do not pay attention to the one that's about to become the fourth one.” Mus said, “Plans are going smoothly. Quite a handful of the Pillars have arrived. But it will still take some time to set up a Cast of that magnitude.”
“Be careful about those geezers.” Mila warned, “I don’t trust a single one of them.”
“Don’t worry.” Mus smiled confidently when he was suddenly called upon, “Anyway, I have to go. Have fun out there today, and…I love you.”
“I know.” Mila said, blowing him a kiss, “I miss you.”
“Invite me to your royal bedroom after, I will call you my queen all night.” Mus said when Mila rolled her eyes and shut off the communication Cast.
“We are ready to proceed,” Ilia said as Mila slowly turned around, and her dress swirled around her body. Ilia’s eyes widened, and he swallowed before blushing slightly, “You look…good.”
“Just good?!” Mila placed her hand on her hips, “I need to train you on how to give proper compliments to a girl!”
“That wasn’t taught to me during my training, okay?” Ilia said when the trio of servants had come to fix up his dragon scale armor, dusting off the pieces and painting the gold pieces with brighter colors of red and yellow. His eyes still looked as tired as always, but there seemed to be a new burst of energy contained within it.
“Then I shall teach your queen shall also be your teacher.” Mila said as the ministers came from the other end of the main hall and gestured towards Mila that the people are ready.
She reached a hand to Ilia who took it, and he was surprised by how warm her hand was as he swallowed nervously, “Come on, let’s put on a show.”
They started walking through the main hall towards the edge of the palace of a Thousand steps, where massive projector Casts were set up and focused at the very top of the steps.
“For the record, I have no idea what you are about to say,” Ilia said, holding onto Mila’s hand with great care as she strolled and looked ahead at the rising sun far out in the distance. With every step she took, she moved closer to the light, eventually coming into the full view of the Necrovia people as applause started to fill the air and rise up in intensity the same time as the morning sunshine.
Good luck. Ilia let Mila’s hands go before mouthing his last words and standing out to the side with his hands awkwardly held in front of his body. Mila, in the meanwhile, stepped into a red circle marked in the ground when the projection Casts lit up all around her, and her image was shown clearly and fully to the people of the Dune’s Eye.
This is the moment. Mila thought to herself as she glanced down at the ocean of people with all of the heads merging into a uniform wave of tiny dots. She waved her hand, addressing her people’s cheers with a warm smile as the PORA agents set off the fireworks Casts into the air as the people cheered.
“My people of Necrovia…” Mila said, her angelic voice smoothed and emphasized by the project Casts as her voice became heard around all corners of middle and eastern Necrovia with every man, woman, and child standing watch among their town squares, local bar, and school grounds, “It is with great regret that I had to announce the tragic passing of the previous king and queen, the beloved Glaza family, not too long ago. However, when I was offered the crown of Necrovia and asked to be her next queen, I saw it not as an opportunity, but as a responsibility.
“I was nothing special. I was the daughter of the Nekova family of the Kingdom of Basha, a nobody worth nothing more than an offering of peace and a pawn of manipulation. But in my years away, I have learned many things, many things that I never would have been able to do had I not been exiled before. Yet despite everything, Necrovia, the old king and queen, they loved me like family, like a true daughter of Necrovia despite what my birth parents have done.
“I harbor no hatred for the old queen for my exile due to my parent's crimes, instead, I had only admiration and respect for the values that they all swore to uphold. From the moment they stepped foot into the main hall of the palace of a thousand steps, they were offered the power not to rule over the people, but to serve them. And I intend to carry on that spirit.
“For years, the people of Necrovia had adapted to, survived through, and fought against the harsh lands all around our bodies, and the dry sands under our feet. Without the ability to access and use the Wave to shape our lives as we see fit, we still maintained our strength as a pillar of the Western continent.”
“However, a new future is coming. One that is inevitable, unstoppable, and unimaginable. One where the Wave is returned to our everyday life, where children can finally achieve what they had always dreamed of, and where adults can ease their physical pains with a wave of their hand.
“The blood of Necrovia, a long-held secret by the royal families and those in the royal inner circles, is a vast network of underground rivers where the natural environment had taken and hidden all of our Wave to. It was once accessed only by the inner circles of Necrovia, and its potential was barely touched upon. However, with the aid of our allies from the Prime Order Revolutionary Army, PORA, we have successfully reintroduced Wave into a few dozen test subjects!”
Mila stopped briefly as Ilia projected the images of the kid making his first light Cast as the crowd gasped before cheering on.
“I know my skin does not match that of yours, but I bleed the same Necrovian blood as you all do. The future is here, and I will do everything I can to make it happen. If I could, I would have returned the Wave to all of Necrovia already, but two weeks ago…a treacherous group of foreign individuals, accompanying the once innocent princess Tonya Glaza had poisoned the underground rivers, and had taken refuge in the Dune’s Diamond.”
Transitioning and disconnecting the junctions for the projection Cast, Ilia then showed a live look at the closest branch, as the ink-black river was presented.
“They alone know the solution to their crimes, and I will no longer let this stand. We shall march upon the Dune’s Diamond, and we shall demand justice for our people, justice for Necrovia! I ask that you all stand with me, and march onto the future together!”
At that moment, the roar of the people was so loud that it was rumored that all thousand steps of the Palace were shaking at the same time. As anger mixed with drive and joy, Mila forgot about his racing heart as people started chanting her name again and again.
Are you hearing this, Tonya? Mila smiled and turned away from the spotlight as the Dune’s Eye continued its rumbling.