The Dirrium kingdom act 14: The finale
The balcony of the Grand Administrator's estate offered a panoramic view of a kingdom in the midst of a violent, beautiful transformation. Below, in the training grounds of the capital, the Royal Knights moved with terrifying speed. After five months of the "Divine Tonic," they had become titans—shattering stone with their bare hands and outrunning horses.
But Leornars, watching from above, didn't see heroes. He saw candles burning at both ends. He watched as one knight, mid-sprint, suddenly stumbled, his frame seemingly shrinking, his heart finally "forgetting" the rhythm of life.
Leornars swirled his wine, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "With Lumiya gone, the variables have finally aligned."
Beside him, Stacian stood in her formal Duchess attire. "The Prince has boarded the ship for the Northern Empire. If he reaches the Empress, he will undoubtedly seek an alliance to reclaim his 'stolen' throne."
"Let him," Leornars said, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "If he joins the Queen, they'll be annoying, certainly. But I have a plan for every contingency. A prince in exile is just a story; a kingdom in transition is a reality."
Over the next two months, the very fabric of Dirrium changed. Leornars began to flood the city with demi-humans—elves, beastfolk, and dwarves who had been hunted and oppressed for generations. He stripped away the ancient racial laws with a stroke of his silver pen, forcing the new generation of students and workers to live and breathe alongside those they once called monsters.
Dirrium was no longer a nation of raw, human strength. It was becoming a nation of forced unity.
But deep within the palace, the old guard was rot. A secret council of the remaining High Nobility gathered, their faces twisted in fury.
"The King has lost his mind!" Duke Valois hissed, slamming a fist on the table. "He allows these... animals to walk our streets? To take our jobs? We are the blood of Dirrium!"
Among them sat one man who remained silent—a minor noble who hid a beastfolk wife and a hybrid daughter in the shadows of his estate. He watched his peers with a mixture of fear and disgust.
"We must depose Jilim," another noble whispered. "He is under the spell of that boy, Leornars. We strike tonight."
Suddenly, a tiny, vibrating red dot appeared on the center of the speaker's forehead.
One by one, red beams of light began to dance across the room, illuminating the terrified faces of the nobility like a macabre light show. A split second later, the room was filled with the hiss of high-energy mana. One by one, the conspirators fell, their heads pierced by silent, long-range projectiles from the shadows.
The "King" stood up from the head of the table. He didn't look horrified. He didn't even look angry. As he walked toward the balcony where another "Leornars" stood, his very skin began to ripple.
The regal features of King Jilim Hilin Kutomia began to soften and melt away like hot wax. The heavy robes sloughed off, revealing the sharp, black-clad frame of the true Leornars. Simultaneously, the "Leornars" standing on the balcony flickered and vanished into a mist of silver mana.
The silent noble with the hybrid daughter stared in absolute shock. "You... but the King..."
"The King died six months and three weeks ago," Leornars said, his voice echoing in the blood-stained hall. "The day he summoned me to apologize for 'wrecking my cargo.' He was a man of limited vision. He tried to apologize to me, so I removed him."
Leornars walked back to the throne, waving a hand. A fresh shimmer of light coalesced in the seat, forming a perfect, breathing illusion of the King, sitting stoically as if nothing had happened.
"For nearly seven months, I have been your King, your Auditor, and your God," Leornars said, glancing at the silent noble. "I exiled the Prince using his father's voice. I poisoned the knights using the King's seal. And now, I have cleared the path for your family to live in the light."
He walked toward the exit, Stacian falling in step behind him. He didn't look back at the corpses of the old world.
"My job here is done," he said, clicking his silver pen. "Dirrium is no longer a kingdom. It is an outpost of Avangard. Let the Prince tell his stories to the Queen. By the time they arrive, they'll be invading a fortress that has already forgotten their names."