Date: TC1853.10.21–22
Location: Imperial Palace, First Ring / Various Rings / Seven Peaks Border
Kael Xuan watched the broadcast three times before he moved.
The first time, he watched it as a prince. Analytical. Detached. Evaluating the political implications of what was playing across every neural net screen in the Empire — the garden footage, the girl wreathed in lightning, the man in Sanctum dress dangling from her hand. The confession. The declaration.
The second time, he watched it as a strategist. Mapping consequences. The neural net had already crashed once from traffic volume, been restored, and crashed again. The comment feeds — on the channels still functioning — were a wall of fury. Commoners who'd spent their lives being told they didn't matter, watching an emperor try to steal a child because their empowerment threatened his grip.
The third time, he watched it as Kael.
