Chapter 84 - Former Prince

"OBSERVERS!"

The shout resonated like a thunderclap in everyone's mind, plunging the terrace into utter silence. Vern, too, felt an invisible force pressing down upon him.

As the oppressive silence grew, The man broke it with a dramatic flare of his arms. "I, Akira Ferrovane, stand before you today," he declared, "to shatter the veil of ignorance you have willingly draped over your eyes."

However, before the man could even finish the sentence, the floor rumbled.

THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

Vern watched on in astonishment as, one after another, everyone around him fell on their knees, and it only hit him a little too late, He is a Ferrovane! Not wasting another breath, he bowed his head and fell down on one knee.

Even the men and women that followed behind the prince were down on their knees. The only exception to this demonstration were the two Kingsmen who looked on apathetically from the sides.

Then, as if everyone had rehearsed this a million times, the whole crowd bellowed in Unison, "WE GREET THE FORMER PRINCE!"

Vern simply mouthed the words, barely keeping up with all that was happening.

However, this didn't seem to faze the Captain at all. In the midst of looming towers and the oppressive weight of silence, he stood—a figure both enigmatic and imposing. His hair, long and pale as moonlight, fell about his shoulders wild and untamed.

A blindfold, as dark as an abyss, concealed his eyes, yet it didn't evoke an ounce of pity but instead suggested a vision far more penetrating. Clad in an onyx coat adorned with intricate yet delicate tracery and the subtle sheen of velvet, he bore the weight of authority and finesse of the regal aristocracy.

Epaulets, heavy with ornate embellishments, spoke of rank and burden of command while the cravat embedded with a ruby brooch wrapped around his neck in delicate folds of lace, expressing his eye for detail. Finally, his cuffs, edged with patterns of delicate frost, added a touch of gentility amidst the strength.

As the winds toyed with his alabaster locks, his high cheekbones—sharp as a blade of guillotine—cast deep shadows, imbuing him with a sculptural quality. Even without the shape of his eyes obscured by the blindfold, his face was a landscape of power, every contour meticulously crafted by nature to command respect and evoke a sense of enigmatic allure.

With a dismissing wave, he commanded, "Rise, Observers. Today, I am not here in my capacity as a former prince but rather as a fellow Observer. Someone that reveres the laws of the world as much as a criminal venerates the laws of the land."

None dared to laugh at his witty remark but still stood back up. Vern, not really sure what to make of this, looked at others to gauge the weight of this revelation. Fervor, panic, and a hundred other feelings were bare on everyone's face to see, clearly suggesting no one expected this.

Vern chided himself for not knowing scrapshit about this city's political situation. However, it did make some sense that the 'former' prince would establish his organization at the 'former' imperial palace.

It was still surprising in its own right, though. Not one of the three members of Vigil he had talked with let it slip that Captain Akira was a former prince. And what was the meaning of 'former' here? Was he a candidate in the last succession?

But that didn't make much sense. From what he knew, the current Emperor was well in his fifties and had been at the helm for over twenty years. He considered it a miracle that he remembered even this much.

Vern shook his head. He couldn't just analyze his way through questions like these. Context mattered a lot, and he didn't have it.

"Now, Let us begin…" the blindfolded prince held up his hands and clapped softly. And the moment he did, the whole scenery changed.

The city beyond the tower's parapet suddenly turned dark, and a moon hung up high while the skies took on a dark hue. What was interesting, however, was the fact that there was no gash in this sky. Maybe because it was just an illusion?

A quick look at the flabbergasted candidates told him that he wasn't the only one seeing this.

The girl next to him, the one that was messing with those double-edged knives in the hall downstairs, muttered, "How did he force us into a Vision? This…this shouldn't be possible, even if his perception is shades beyond ours—not when there are hundreds of us."

Vern was wondering about the same thing himself. But most of the others seemed to ignore that fact for the spectacle it created out in the city. Before things could devolve into a hubbub again, Captain Akira spread his arms and started, "This is the day which will live on in infamy forever."

Everyone moved closer to the edges of the tower, looking beyond the parapets at the sprawling cityscape, illuminated by countless lights and outlined by masterfully crafted structures. Even the destroyed peak in Starfall Heights was back to its original pristine state.

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Vern realized what was going on. It's what the city looked like on the night of Duskfall.

After letting the crowd take in the sight for a while, the Captain continued, "This is the day when the world lost its charm. Wives lost their husbands, and fathers lost their sons. Families lost their heirs, and cities lost their leaders. The day when the skies wept fire."

BOOM

An intense explosion went off far in the distance, a mushroom of fire growing rapidly, but the prince didn't stop, "This is the day when billions vanished into thin air and the civilization halted."

SHRIEK

The haunting sound of emergency sirens echoed, fading into a ghostly wail, but the prince's words cut through, "This is the day when laughter died in the streets, and children lost their protectors. Homes turned to ashes, and communities crumbled."

CRASH

Hundreds of buildings, a distant silhouette against the night, collapsed under their own weight, sending clouds of dust throughout the city. Yet, the man's voice remained unyielding, "This is the day when the fabric of reality was tainted, and representation of the planet itself was polluted."

Then, he stopped and faced the sky, and suddenly, everything halted in its steps. The expansive city turned quiet all at once, and the world lost its radiance. With an inordinate amount of emotion in his words, he yelled, "THIS IS THE DAY WHEN OBJECTIVITY WAS SHATTERED."

CRACK

Everything exploded in a frenzy of particles. The buildings making up the city underneath turned hollow and transparent while the sky twisted and turned. The fiery explosions became white, and the moon distorted.

When nothing was left but darkness, the prince calmed down and shook his head before continuing, "It was the day that could have been the end of the world. Just like in the tale of First Observer. But we survived."

The man waved his hand, and the darkness beyond the tower receded, making way for the day sky of the real city underneath. The mountain to the north was back to being in shambles, its peak missing entirely.

Yet the prince went on, "But know that true Objectivity is shattered. You may think it a blessing to view the world subjectively, but it's just as much of a curse. Every law you change, every Vision I impose, every possibility we Observe, we bend the very fabric of reality."

He then held up his hands, and everyone turned their eyes over unanimously. With a snap of his fingers, a minor black distortion appeared in his palms, and he spoke, "However, unlike in the Genesis era, the world now knows to heal. To return to its Objective state."

As if to prove his words, the black distortion was ripped to pieces and eroded away as his words came to an end. Even Lucian nodded alongside many others, already privy to such a simple fact of life.

Captain Akira's gaze swept over the crowd, capturing every eye with the gravity of his words. "But it's getting weaker. Every day. Every minute. Every second. Even in this very instant, Objectivity is getting polluted. The hold of reality on itself is slipping, spiraling down an inevitable doom."

He paced slowly, his every step measured. "Now, there's one simple solution to fix it—have all Observers forfeit their Viewpoints and let the world heal." A conflicted expression appeared on everyone's faces, but none dared deny the point.

But Captain shook his head, "Yet, it is nothing but a flight of fancy. Ten or so unrecognized Observation Records are already circulating throughout the city, and one can only imagine what's happening in the rest of the world. The Pandora's box has opened, and it is impossible to shut it close."

Captain turned slowly, his posture an embodiment of solemnity, facing the spire that pierced the twilight sky. His voice, when it emerged, was a soft murmur laden with an ineffable dread. "But there is yet a deeper, more profound disturbance that plagues us. In the wake of our tampering with reality and barely surviving, we have invited the inexplicable into our midst."

He stood still as if sensing the very air around him. "These entities, these anomalies, defy all attempts at explanation. They are not creatures of logic or reason, but manifestations of the world's growing madness, born from the depths of the unfathomable."

The crowd grew restless at the mention, but he carried on, "Their influence seeps through the cracks of our world, an invisible miasma that warps the mind and matters alike. Their very presence rends the fabric of sanity, turning the familiar into the bizarre, the rational into the absurd."

"So tell me, Observers." He snapped his head towards the crowd, his blindfolded gaze piercing deeper than the captains standing behind him. "Tell me. What have we done to stop this? What are we going to do to stop this? Every one of us jumped at the opportunity to enlighten ourselves, to observe the world through our chosen viewpoints, to bend the reality to our will."

His voice softened, betraying a hint of sorrow, "But what have we done? What have our families done? When the Dusk fell, the very nobility that was supposed to protect the city from such dangers turtled up in their shell, refusing to lend a helping hand."

"Thousands upon Thousands have been converted into destructive ideologies in a mere span of days. Forced enlightenments, Mass Observations, large-scale sacrificial ceremonies, systematic mental manipulation, or anything you can imagine that could push our reality further onto an edge—it's being committed right now."

"Why? Because our government decided to 'tighten the net' and secure the inner districts. Because most of the latent Observers in our city were too busy cowering in their homes. Those early days after Duskfall were when the public was most susceptible to these antics, and if our latent Observers had done something about it…"

His head bowed slightly as if shouldering the weight of their collective negligence. "I tried. All my friends and colleagues behind me tried. Many that you don't see right now because they're risking their lives at this very moment tried as well. But we were not enough. We are not enough."

Taking a short breath, he shouted, "Yes! We live in a cruel world where selfishness is one of the most essential qualities. Yes! Your life is more important than everyone else’s. Yes! It’s not your fault that the world went to hell.”

“But let me hammer this home. If we don't do something about this right now, the city of Elmhurst as we know it, will be no more."

"The world as we know it will be no more. It will be nothing but an echo of the past. Our streets, homes, families, societies, our very personalities—everything you can conceive of—will undergo a subtle yet relentless transformation. Their inherent characteristics will be tainted, corrupted beyond recognition. Gradually, imperceptibly, we'll reach a point where we will fail to notice the changes, and all that we cherished will have lost its essence irrevocably. And that will be the end."

He completely stilled, "Now I know. Many of you are still beyond skeptical of every word I've spoken. And I don't blame you. So…let me offer you proof."

Extending his arm to one side, he slowly drew it back, pressing his hand close to his heart. His voice resonated with a deep, unwavering conviction, "I, Akira Ferrovane, will show you the pure subjective reality. What the world looks like without the reinforcement of its Objective counterpart."