Bro, I'm not an Undead!



As the days trickled by, the snow that always followed the ground-smothering tradition... persisted. In this region at least, even when the sky decided to turn brighter, its warmth elevated by several tens of degrees, the cold fought back.

It was as if time was moving slowly, but the terrible news that had spread throughout Pelian, about the fall of the Belvion Union after one of its cities suddenly erupted with mysterious phenomena, some cataclysmic and some hysterical, but magically cynical, made all feel the pace of world grow more sombre.

Tales of a man who carried above him a treacherous thundercloud that spilled dazzling and destructive bolts of lightning; a mad boy who wreaked havoc with his immense physical strength and resilience, killing indiscriminately with a large smile on his face; a haunting ghost that spat out curses, turning the commonfolk pale... these were but a portion of the mysteries, all of them that at first seemed too ridiculous to be true.

...Until each of them walked amongst those who claimed to have the most sense.

Pelian knew another great bout of unrest.

Just a few months ago, the Isise had suffered a similar incident that crippled one of its cities, Evic. The story had been more subdued initially, but the fact that it had ties to the undead fanatics, the Green Neolists, gave it great weight within the gossiping circles of citizens.

But this current collection of stories had no need for relevant pretext. The evidence was more pronounced, and no one had any idea what had caused it.

The more superstitious and religious among the commonfolk screamed in the streets that the Deities were upset, while some claimed that this was a mysterious punishment aimed at giving a much needed jolt to the hibernating Royal Family.

To make them know that aligning with the Sif was a terrible choice.

Everyone wanted to find something blame, regardless of how ridiculous it was.

Everyone was restless.

The same could have been said for Genhuis City which was the same throughout the year, but no, after the rebuilding, life went on as usual.

Even the stories of these mystified human beings did not cause much of a stir.

After all, if there was any place on Aigas where time seemed to keep endlessly still, it had to be here, where the bright suns kept the grand city alight in the eternal winter.

Even with the atrocity that had happened weeks ago, the rebuilding had strengthened the hearts and minds of the people. None of them had died after all, and with the passing time, they were as good as new.

The snow remained, after all, giving them a firm sense of permanence.

That said, it was no mere fable that the world seemed to be turning stiff, as if preparing for a rough trouncing that was to come, and who was to feel it better than its inhabitants, even if they remained unshaken by anything else that had happened in the nation.

What was coming?

Even the common noble folk and street rats could tell.

The sparks of dormant blessings in their bodies, attached to the Divine seemed to warn dully.

The throng of rattling events seemed to cry out for preparations.

But... perhaps it was just an emotional ruse.

Hmph.

Things like this happened all the time.

Besides, there was the Royale to look forward to. With time, it had drawn so close, peering around the corner.

The finale of the contest for the ages.

***

The abodes and estates of Families were gorgeous and heavily designed, excessively fortified with visible obstacles and guards donning enchanted armour.

Being showy about the prowess they held was a way to deter being challenged, or being looked down on by anyone from the outside.

It worked at times, and sometimes it didn't.

Different from the Families however, the Houses preferred to stay out of sight.

Most among commonfolk and exalted men did not even know where these legendary bastions of Pelian resided.

This had been why the announcement of the Premium Age Royale had been so marvellous and shocking, because none had seen it coming or even imagined that it would happen in their lifetimes.

The Houses were like phantoms, and even to this day, the most widely known, were House EverSword and House Shannazah. The latter was mostly recognised for their appearances twice in history to intervene where the common Capital Service personnel had been challenged for long durations; one well-known, the other less so.

The former, well, they were as secretive as the others, but this time, they had become a pillar, acting as an example of what the Houses were.

"It's finally come time."

A voice spoke, seeming relieved that the long wait was over.

"Yes. The day after tomorrow... it begins, Rias."

Deep within a massive forest, a SACRED FOREST with sparse vegetation that endured under the harsh sun, umbrella shaped canopies being shared traits among its trees, and a golden shade of leaves being a familiar feature among coupled shrubs, an enormous castle with multiple towers on and around it could be seen.

It shone in a blinding gold, as if it had been birthed in the womb of the dirt like a giant valuable mineral.

It was beyond mystical to see, as if one added on the fact that it was floating over a still lake that looked like a smooth disk of polished steel, their jaw would sway agape.

Two men sat at the edge of the lake side by side, looking at the castle.

"Did he say it's ready?" Rias asked with a dead tone.

"It's been ready for a week now. All that's left is to let the Royale run its course and leave the rest to them," Rearren replied with a smile.

Rias nodded.

"That... council, they didn't give you trouble again, did they?"

"Well, they tried again after that strange incident in Genhuis City, but they couldn't refute that the Control Seals saved them from a great deal of trouble – maybe casualties – by transporting the common civilians to the Venue. They did not have that situation under control. We singlehandedly limited the uproar and mess they would had on their hands if the millions of people in the city weren't distracted from what had happened. So... they owed me."

Rias nodded once more.

It was actually funny that the Governor and the others who wanted to shut down the Royale allowed it to end after admitting that Rearren was right.

They had first investigated whether or not Rearren was involved, but seeing as there were no traces of the EverSword House's involvement, and quite honestly, little belief that Rearren would do something that stupid, they released him as a suspect.

Rias had been concerned that the Governor and his support would pin this on them and use it as leverage to shut off the Royale, which would be difficult to deal with. If both the Purity and Capital Service actively tried to stop the Royale in full force, it would be a losing battle, not because the EverSword House couldn't fight back, but because the setup of the Royale itself wasn't that hard to dismantle.

That fragility was one of the Creeds used to keep the game and its intended result afloat after all.

Thankfully, there wasn't any evidence that supported the Governor's accusations, so Rearren managed to buy time. Also, the game was almost over anyway, which helped his case.

The Governor could attempt to plead with the Royal Family to stop Rearren if he got too desperate, but on this end, Rearren was confident.

Even if the Governor managed a timely audience, the Royal Family of Pelian, the Royan line, was like a headless giant. All authority but no voice.

They never did anything.

They were the ones who allowed the Premium Age Royale to be conducted in the first place.

Rias turned back to his father.

"Is HE ready?" he asked.

Rearren turned to his son, and wore a grin.

"Oh yes. He's been ready for centuries. I believe we are about to witness something VERY interesting."

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