Berlin, Germany,
19 November 2044 :
The year 2044, a year that is considered to be the most peaceful. Wars had stopped, poverty was slowly being dissolved. It was overall a great time to live in. But Humanity was not prepared at all for what would transpire next. Humanity had gotten too cozy and comfortable in their peaceful society.
Then it happened.
The Cascade as it was called.
They had all seen the signs that something was wrong. The time was getting erratic, Some places became brighter, darker, colder, and so on and so forth. In research facilities, energy readings all over the world spiked and more anomalous things happened.
The world had braced itself for a major event. Governments from all over the world thought that this may be something like a solar flare or even a black hole forming somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy but no one could prepare them for The Cascade.
They had thought that Humanity was prepared for anything. After all, Humanity had survived through World War 3, an event that could have easily wiped out the planet. Oh how wrong they were.
Bruno was just a student studying abroad in Germany when it happened.
He was going to go grab a cup of coffee and maybe get some sleep when he saw the cloud of darkness slowly encompassing Berlin and immediately ran.
His heart was pounding a hundred miles a second all the while the local news station was cackling with urgency, the smell of blood and Oil from the car accidents nearby lingering in his nose; “Dear god…We-we have confirmation that China is also hit. We suggest all citizens stay indoo-Russia is also hit?! What do you mean it’s also he-?! I…I am Avery Johnson and this may be my last broadcast.””
But Bruno had not much time to ponder on the information as the darkness was quickly catching up to him and then out of nowhere, he tripped, Sending him tumbling onto the road while the sounds of panic drowned out his grunt of pain.
People paid him no mind as they ran as far away as they realistically could from the darkness that was enveloping Europe . Most of them were not fast enough as Bruno saw them one by one getting consumed by the Cascade
Seeing this, he tried to run, only to trip and he screamed. Looking down, he could see that a stray piece of glass had pierced his leg, most likely from one of the many broken windows; “ARGH! COME ON, I NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”
And that was when he saw her, a woman casually walking from within the Cascade like it was normal.
Her skin was pale. She had dark purple hair, eyes with violet irises that seemed to glow dimly and a pronounced pair of fangs along with a pair of pointed ears.
Underneath her royal looking dress is what seemed to be feathers like that of a raven, black as the night. Same could be said for her arms and legs. Her feet and hands similarly also looked like that of a raven
She then lifted a stray piece of rubble using a shadow tendril and threw it away violently towards a building, utterly demolishing it before then looking over to him but instead of killing him, she offered her hand and gave Bruno a soft smile; “Hey, you okay?”
Bruno immediately tried to back away from her before remembering about his injuries; “S-stay back!”
The woman gave him yet another soft smile; “Hey, don't worry. I don't bite innocent people.”
Bruno was hesitant at first but considering the fact that he was injured, he finally took her hand and tried to stand up; “T-thanks-”
That was before he felt lightheaded, most likely due to blood loss and the last thing he saw was the worried face of Leila Arcanna
====
Germania, Dunkel Reich 9 A.C.(After Cascade):
HOOOONK!
“AH!” Bruno screamed before falling off of his bed from surprise due to the sudden and abrupt honking noise. Bruno was wearing shorts and a baggy shirt, rubbing his crimson eyes while his pointed ears twitched.
Different from about 4 years ago, he was a tiny bit taller, now having sharper nails and fangs, pointed ears, reddish purple hair and crimson eyes.
His body was now also covered in fur and a pair of bat wings protruded from his back.
He then saw an airhorn roll to him and saw the culprit, cackling at what she just did. The culprit was Leila Arcanna, the queen of the Dunkel Reich and the Darkness Hyferion aka the same woman who saved him years ago.
Bruno then rubbed his temples between his horns before glaring at her; “Leila, I know I'm supposed to be your royal guard but why the hell did you wake me up this early?!”
Leila then leaned closer to him, her face having a cheeky expression; “We got a UN meeting today sleepyhead~ Or do you want to miss out on breakfast?”
Bruno rolled his eyes before letting out a quick yawn and stretching his wings; “Yeah yeah…just, let me take a shower real quick.”
Leila then exited his bedroom, likely getting ready for the aforementioned meeting; “10 minutes top!”
Bruno grumbled in annoyance when she left the room. Don't get him wrong, Leila is a great person overall but he'd be lying if he didn't say that she doesn't annoy him at times.
He was about to go take a shower before looking at the framed picture of his parents on his desk. He picked it up before shaking his head; “Focus Bruno. You can visit them in Mexico next week.”
====
Leila's throne room :
Inside the throne room, Leila could be seen on her throne with Bruno standing right beside her while John Alrx, a noble of the Dunkel Reich, kneeled down in front of her.
“My Queen, the divide between our people is getting worse. Just yesterday, a fight broke out in a Serbian bar between a Vampire and a Daemon Lord which escalated and now? The local Daemon population is demanding justice to be served after the Daemon Lord was killed.”
Leila rubbed her chin before letting out an exaggerated sigh; “I’ll see what we can do. You are dismissed.” The Noble then bowed and left. Right as he left, she groaned and buried her hands in her hair.
Leila groaned, voice clearly filled with frustration and stress; “Why did I have to take over this area?! Why can't me and Icy swap places?!” This made Bruno who was in his official royal guard uniform frown a bit
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Bruno pulled a nearby chair and sat beside her. He then tried to cheer Leila up by trying to find a silver lining in the situation; “Hey, look at the upsides. At least the Empire gets a lot of resources right?”
Leila stood up and groaned; “More like a curse. Now we need to focus an entire sector of our government to manage the export of resources.” Leila looked down on the city below her, Germania or as it was formerly known, Berlin.
The city was different from how it once was 4 years prior. Roots jutted out from the side roads, gothic styled buildings and modern buildings of the past combined seamlessly.
Leila could smell the scent of meat and blood in the air, most likely from the Vampire restaurants serving Blood berries and an assortment of grilled meat.
She did have to use her enhanced vision from time to time due to the Darkness Cascade's lingering darkness on Europe but it wasn't that much of an issue for her. She is the Darkness Hyferion after all.
Looking down at the city Leila had helped fix, Bruno let out a small chuckle; “You know Leila, comparing Europe to how it was 9 years ago is kinda like comparing the USA with the North American Union. Both are just completely different and unique in their own rights.”
Leila gave him a soft smile before turning around and shaking her head; “Just doing my job Bruno. Didn't expect to be transported here but hey, might as well adapt right? Plus, this whole continent is now my responsiblity too.”
Bruno then took a glance outside into the courtyard and saw that their ride was ready; “Leila, the plane taking us to Washington is ready.”
Hearing this, Leila immediately raised a brow; “I thought the main HQ was in Switzerland?”
Bruno crossed his arms and looked at her with a deadpan expression; “Did you forget about the fact that it's missing the roof after the last meeting?”
Leila blinked; “Huh, I kinda forgot about that.”
Leila then had a shit eating grin on her face; “Well, let's go then, Broken Wings!”
Bruno immediately flushed with embarrassment; “Oh, come on! That was one time and like 8 years ago!”
=====
NAU United Nations Building,
6 hours later :
“Still can't believe how many stars the flag has now.” Bruno said plainly, referring to the 92 stars of the NAU while the two were walking down the hallway to the meeting room of the remaining countries.
On the left was the flag of the NAU, USA, Maphilindo Federation and the United Kingdoms.
Bruno took a look at the flag at the United States of Arabia with a thought; ‘They literally just copied the old US flag. Like, can’t you be more creative than just, I dont know, putting 10 stripes in a triangle?!’
Bruno then took a look at the flag of the MaPhilIndo federation and gave an approving smile; ‘Now that's how you do a flag! Combine the flags of the countries that make you up into something that actually looks good!”
On the right side of the wall were the 5 flags of the New World, Slavic Socialist Empire(SSE), controlling the Cold sections of the world, Heiru which controls the hot area, Druid’s keep, controlling Latin America, Domain of Light which controls the part of the world affected by the Light Cascade and Lastly, the Dunkel Reich a.k.a, her kingdom controlling Europe.
Bruno looked over to the world map, specifically at The Dunkel Reich; “I still can't believe you managed to actually unite West Europe under one banner. This part of the world used to be the hardest to unite.”
Leila shrugged in response; “I mean, the people were desperate and I'm the strongest person in Europe so it makes sense when countries flock to me for protection…Even if some were unwilling.” At that last part, Leila winced when she looked towards the most problematic part of the Dunkel Reich, The Balkans.
Leila then casually walked through the hallway, already thinking of the drama that may occur; “I wonder what type of drama might happen today?”
Bruno rolled his eyes while scrolling through his scroll; “Probably just a few border demands and a few limited trade deals by SSE. You know how Ice King is.”
After entering the hall, Leila was surprised to see that 3 of the chairs were empty; “Lily, Vrystk and Hans are missing. That’s kinda weird for Hans and Lily” Leila was looking towards their chairs which instead of the rulers, only had representatives. Vrystk was as per usual, only there as a projection
Leila almost jumped from shock when she heard a voice next to her; “It isn’t very unusual considering what had occurred during the last meeting.”
Looking beside her, she could see Ice King sitting on his chair, wearing a formal suit while sipping on a drink, most likely something he bought from the local convenience store.
Seeing her friend just relaxing made Leila smile a bit; “Icy! Long time no see!”
This response made Ice King chuckle; “We've had this meeting last month your majesty. Anyways, the meeting is about to start soon. I do not know about you but I would rather enjoy it if this meeting were to pass by as soon as possible.”
Leila took a look at the nearby clock and immediately went to sit down in her seat while Bruno just stood beside her while smirking; “You should ask him out you know?”
Leila, clearly not expecting this sort of response immediately let out a bright blush; “Bruno! We're just friends!”
Bruno then once again smirked; “Yeah right. I take it that friends hug each other tightly where you're from? Or they text each other every night?”
Leila wanted to retort but couldn't find a good comeback so she just shut up and pouted.
Eventually, the president of the NAU arrived, followed by the representatives of the MaPhilIndo Union, the U.K. and the Kiwi Empire. This immediately put the meeting into session and it went on as normal, countries negotiating border changes, trade deals and the such.
One thing that Leila found a tiny bit interesting was the Maritime issues ; “We demand that Domain of Light's forces withdraw from the South China Sea. Not only is this a violation of our maritime borders but this is also a direct threat to our sovereignty and safety. This, along with the fact that we share a border makes us feel as if the Domain of Light is getting ready for a war.”
Vrystk just sat in her throne back in Tokyo, her projection just showing her with a bored expression; “Fine. I suppose I'll move my fleet to Manchuria then.”
As soon as Vrystk said this, half of the leaders in the room immediately put their hand on their face and let out a sigh; “Empress Vrystk.What I think President Mohamed here is saying is to not invade another country's maritime borders…like how you were doing for the past 3 years.”
Ice King sat back down into his chair, shaking his head while Leila just sat in her chair.
Next was Vrystk's turn for requests and she immediately turned her gaze to Leila; “We demand a port in Italy after the sinking of the Xuan Xi. We would appreciate it if you give one that has a lot more room.”
This sentence alone made Leila spit the coffee she was drinking at the utter absurdness of the request; “You were the one who sailed your warship into my Iberian coasts! Why should I give up my port for that?!”
Ice King, watching the interaction just chuckled at just how obvious Vrystk's intentions were; “Ah. Empress Vrystk. I thought we had all made an agreement to not attempt to steal another Hyferion's Singularity?”
Leila's eyes widened at the realization while Vrystk just let out an annoyed ‘Tch’. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the room got a lot darker.
Leila stood up, her eyes full of fury; “We’ve already agreed to not even think of this! No one should try to steal another Hyferion’s Singularity unprovoked!”
Vrystk just rolled her eyes and all the orbs around her head lit up as she flared all 10 of her wings while she herself was glaring at Leila; “And why should I follow the orders of a lesser? Why should I, an objectively superior being, bow down to someone I can easily defeat?”
Hearing this made Leila grit her teeth while everyone could feel the pressure in the room increasing; “You want to have a go?! I'll gladly go up to your place and shove your arm down your throat!”
The two continued glaring at each other, Leila’s wings flared out in an attempt of dominance. Bruno, seeing the situation had obviously gotten too hot, tried to calm his boss down; “Leila, let's not blow the roof of this building off okay? Breathe in, breathe out. In…out…”
Ice King on the other hand was still sipping on his drink, ignoring the glare Vrystk was giving him; “This is all your fault! If you had only kept your mouth shut, this entire operation would have been easier!”
Ice King however just ignored her and stood back up, dusting off any dust before just walking out. This made President Colt of the NAU raise a brow; “Your Majesty, I believe this meeting is not yet over?”
Ice King just gave him a simple glance; “To me it is. Now if you don't mind, I would like to stabilize my Empire because a certain someone did not keep their Manchurian citizens in check. Maybe I will stay next time if you don't keep demanding Alaska from me.”
Ice King then glared at Vrystk before letting out a sigh; “If you do need me, I'll be at my cadtle. I suppose we'll meet again next month.”
Ice King gave a two finger salute before using bardic magic to open a nearby window and flew off into the distance.
Bruno and Leila then also stood up; “We will also be taking our leave. My Queen feels like this demand is not only an attempt to humiliate us but is also threatening the lives of her citizens.”
Bruno was ushering Leila out of the meeting room, not wanting for Vrystk to anger her even more. All the while, Vrystk was just looking at her with a malicious smile.
The president of the NAU, President Emerson sat back into his chair with a sigh; “This place used to be a place of formalities and respect.”
======
Dunkel Reich, Leila's throne room,
3 Hours later :
“-I just don't understand! What's her problem with me?!” Leila was ranting in her throne room, away from any public eyes while Bruno just watched with a frown
Bruno spun his fingers in a circular motion, leaving a spell circle behind.This spell circle collapsed into itself and opened a drawer which then pulled out a stress relief ball Leila keeps in one of the nearby tables for when the situation becomes a tad bit too stressful.
Bruno then handed over the ball to Leila; “Here, hopefully this'll help a bit.” Leila immediately took the ball and squeezed it multiple times before handing it over back to Bruno
She stood back up from her throne, clearly less stressed than before; “Thanks dude. I…really appreciate that.”
Bruno rolled his eyes affectionately and just shrugged; “Least I can do for you after you saved my life and took me in.”
With her energy renewed, Leila immediately straightened herself and combed her hair a bit before looking at Bruno with a bright smile, ignoring her Oracle spirit telling her that something is amiss; “You know what? Let's just forget about all this diplomatic stuff and have a day out! Nothing and I mean no
thing will disturb us toda-”
Right as Leila was about to finish, an Italian Noble suddenly came barging into the throne room, his expression filled with panic; “My queen, we have an issue!”