My head feels freshly squeezed, both tired and relieved. I see five figures huddled around a table near the door. Alec stands right above my bed, hands holding holstered weapons. Among the five figures, I see the four primary members of my court: Tya Holy Castellan, Farly of whispers, Lila, Grand Commander of Naval forces, and Merl, the voice of the Empire. The fifth in this group is the bald, golden-cloaked, and green-eyed Vera.

I sit up and try to stand slowly. Alec instantly reaches down to assist me. Through the blur of fluttering eyes, I see the five figures slowly turn around, bursting to their feet. This is followed by the cries of "Your holiness!"

I only have one thought for these noble people.

"Tell me everything."

Tya immediately steps forth and opens up my dashboard.

"This should explain everything." Tya says while playing with the buttons.

I see myself standing there, gray and gaunt, with the colorful opals adorning my cape. My hand is up high in the air, and the High Lord Carlan is rapidly being squished into a tiny flesh ball. Slowly, I collapse to the floor as my eyes flutter, and I enter a state of seizure. My hands begin to shake as the leaves of the trees slowly close around the podium. The camera we watch suddenly cracks. My power is out of control. The sound is now completely gone as crowds begin screaming in a way as such death awaited them. Vera, on the podium, rushes to my side and starts to stroke my head. The shaking and violent use of my powers slowly ends. The hatch on the podium opens up, and Alec and other Wind Guard members hurriedly drag me into the hatch.

At least that explains what happened to me. The video suddenly stops as the camera detaches from its position and falls briefly until the image turns to darkness.

Tya fixes her posture as she closes the dashboard. "This is the only footage that survived."

"I suggested maybe bringing a doctor, but Farly suggested otherwise," Alec says in common speak.

Farly is a unique member of my court. I created its brain during the early days of my Empire. It possesses mild psychic energy over its body and has always acted as my Spymaster. Farly can change appearance on command and control a network of bugged people with chips injected into them. It might be the only being who can sit in my chair and not instantly experience a hemorrhage. Farly also sees visions but cannot completely understand to what extent my plans travel. Alec listened to Farly because they knew it was a creation from my image.

"Thank you, that was for the best probably."

"So what happened exactly, Emperor?" Lila says, sitting back in the chair at the table.

"That is no place for you to ask now is it?" Vera says confidently, spinning around to face her.

Lila is a pure-breed noble who is a fine admiral. If it wasn't for her heritage, she would not have this esteemed rank. This nobility makes her more defiant than most of the court, as she believes she holds power against me.

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The room stands silent as Vera and Lila vitriolically stare each other down.

"What happened after Alec took me away?" I said, breaking the awkward silence.

"The crowds became restless; some became rapid and tried to storm the lord's seating. One did get breached; we are still calculating their casualties as we speak." Merl says stoic and calculated. He begins to get ready to continue talking, but during the breathing gap, Vera slips in her own words.

"Not to mention the stampede on the lowest level that killed thousands of more commoners then nobles." Her words gravelling with her age but stabbing with their delivery.

"Of course and the workers." Merl adds.

"Basically, it was complete chaos, as commoners thought this was a sign of some divine message. Anyway, it's all basically under control now... well, as much as it can be. Caroline surrounded the exits with her drop troops, giving Vera time to take the podium and speak to the people. She assured them you were okay and that you were just drained from punishing the High Lord for insulting the gift." Farly says while casually waving his hands around.

"It is fair enough to say that Caroline and Vera solved this whole affair." Tya says.

"If you require a moment to rest, you should take it now because we will need to get you in the great hall in front of everyone as soon as possible. We need to show you are strong and alive."

My mind begins to race as I start comprehending the actual cost of what might have occurred. Have I just accidentally ended the possibility of creating a utopian universe? The courtiers continue to blabber, asking questions and making statements, but I can't focus. I need to find out. I need to know. Searching the vision plain, all I can find is darkness and blood. Each possibility I previously had is now gone. Wait, it's bright at the end of this path; one path is still open. The road to it, though, is covered in blood. More blood than the path I initially tried to follow.

After taking a moment of relief, I hear a voice. It's not that of the courtiers; it's too clear, and I have completely muted them mentally.

It's saying, "Aurel, do you want me to give you some space?" It's Farly; it connected to me psychically.

"Not yet, I will come back." I respond.

Leaving my mind, I slowly tune back to the conversation at hand.

"How are we going to deal with Heral?" Lila sternly says.

"It isn't essential right now. We need to figure out how the water was replaced with blood. Internal matters on this ship are of higher concern." Tya says.

"I agree. The commoners need to be put back in line, "Merl says, stroking his chin.

"Stop!" I yell, attracting the courtiers' attention. "You will all listen to me carefully. We need to deal with all the threats in front of us. Farly will investigate the cause of the blackout and the blood. Merl, you will organise an emergency meeting for the nobles in the Great Hall so I can address them. Tya will focus on cleaning up and working with me to maintain balance. Vera, you shall replace High Lord Carlan; you have proven your connection to the commoners and shall use that to prevent more violence. Lila sent a battleship to Heral and ordered him back. We need to talk."

Most courtiers offer an approving nod, Merl just rubs his chin, but Lila is preparing to argue. To scare her into submission, I force my eyes to emanate light, piercing her soul. She jumps back quickly, nodding back.

"You can now all leave." I add.

The room quickly empties except for Alec and Vera. Alec follows them, ushering out the courtiers, but Vera moves slowly, occasionally looking back with her mouth drooped. Shock holds her face like a mould.

This has caused an escalation. I will need to find a way to resist Vera's energy. Brutality is now going to be the order of the day, and I am now going to have to sacrifice many more. This is why I must persist to prevent the chaos of the Sun Deck.