Palace, Imperial Capital Ragna, 04/09/2,572 Imperial Calendar
Emperor Luke Berga Flüm Helia Regelstein Ghabart Von Granderia or Gralux in short, sat in his chair with both his elbows resting on top of his desk as he mimicked a particular commander who forces his own son to fight monsters.
He has neatly styled brown hair, yellow-colored irises that spoke immense wisdom and fair white skin that makes him look weak. He wore an Imperial royal attire that almost looked like a military uniform if it weren't for the precious metals adorning it.
For someone who's still relatively young - since he was still in his early twenties - he has already achieved great feats, some even surpassing the achievements of the previous emperors back when their Empire was still a regional power. Some even called him a military genius par with Admiral Ceasar Roland himself, the God of War.
Gralux had immense foresight in predicting numerous important events before it even happened. He was also the reason why they defeated the Kaine Divine Kingdom and its allies with less casualties and destruction than anticipated.
The World War or the War of Armageddon - which was called by many - lasted for years in which not only the Kaine Divine Kingdom participated, but also other countries that doesn't want the Empire to be the sole superpower in this world.
They won despite the overwhelming disadvantages they had. If it weren't for Gralux's decisive decisions, the war might have lasted for at least a decade.
He reminisced the days where he was forced to make countless decisions as the moon casted its light - since the cloud blocking it moved on - making his room lit up.
He then looked at his wristwatch in which it read 11:23 PM, almost midnight in which he should have been asleep - since being an emperor required tremendous amount of mental fortitude and energy.
But he can't, after all, this day would be remembered across different worlds because of its importance. The day he knew would come the moment he was reincarnated.
He tore his gaze away and looked at nothing. There was this uncomfortable feeling creeping in his stomach, as if a war was being waged there.
Was all his efforts for naught? Did he make a mistake somewhere? Was he ready for what was about to come? Would it even happen?
Countless questions, doubts and possibilities assaulted his already torn and tired mind. He is the emperor - not just some kind of figure head - making hard and important decisions were also his duty. But making those always left him with anxiety and fear as the factors that could make all his hard work meaningless, endless.
In all honesty, he still doesn't have a concrete plan and direction despite the countless years of preparation he did. After all, the being that gave him this second chance barely briefed him to what was to come.
He sighed, thinking about all of this makes his head hurt. He might be smart, but he still needed time and information to think about all this through.
He thought that he already steeled his resolve. Why is he doubting himself right now?
He looked at the closed door as an idea surfaced in his mind. He stood up and head towards the door and opened it.
Opening the door, he then walked through the seemingly endless hallway. He journeyed through the abundant paintings hanging in the right wall as the moonlight shone in his left side, making him cast a shadow
Most of the paintings were about great achievements, feats, battles, and important historical events across the Empire's history. Their country which came from a peasant region constantly raided by barbarians to a superpower capable of fighting almost the whole world itself, making Gralux himself proud more than his previous homeland.
As he walked, he then came across a painting with wrecked ships and debris floating in the ocean, where only a single battered yet still working battleship stayed afloat. The ship coursed through the seas as if it was his own and with no opposition whatsoever.
Outnumbered and surrounded, the ship still proved its worth as it battled against the course of time. Outdated and almost rendered obsolete, it still shook the waves as its hulls endured countless shells and torpedoes and as its main batteries still wrecked its foes.
To call it a battleship was an understatement. With a full length of 262 meters, a max width of 38.8 meters, a displacement of 72,809 tons, a speed of 30 knots and armed with triple-barrel 45.7cm guns, triple-barrel 15.2cm secondary guns, and triple-barrel 25 mm AA guns.
A monster to be reckoned and peerless under the heavens, it was the pride of their navy, the Grade Atlastar. The battleship that shook the world in its very core. Countless battles tested it again and again, yet even Kaine's and its allies' navies couldn't sink it.
He looked at awe and satisfaction as he ran his fingers across the painting. He should have prevented building this, after all, he knew that battleships would become obsolete in the near future. Aircraft carriers are much more efficient than huge chunks of metal that are only a big target for torpedo bombers and submarines.
Investing in aircraft carriers early on is much wiser than building battleships. He knew that, yet irrationality reigned supreme in his mind.
It was a chance where he can finally revive it, his previous country's pride, the Yamato. Hence he approved the construction of the Grade Atlastar in order to at least have a resemblance of his previous country's superweapon.
He continued to marvel the painting as the pride of their navy stay afloat with its enemies in wrecks and debris.
It's just too hard to believe that his previous country was once a superpower that can field a monster like that.
His country, an economic power with a self defense force to cope with its increasingly hostile neighbor, was a shadow of its former glory.
That country was Japan, in which he barely has attachment nor love for. Why should he fight or even be nationalistic for a country that was doomed to collapse? Demographics, low birth rates, and rising debt are one of the problems among piles of it.
Thinking back, maybe if he was reincarnated as the emperor way back before even the Russo-Japanese war, then maybe he could've prepared Japan for the problems it will face in the far future.
Maybe if Japan never attacked pearl harbor or maybe way before that when they were about to initiate the second Sino-Japanese War. If they just kept their hands and put their effort in to try and maintain their status quo, then maybe all the faults and problems of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century wouldn't have happened.
Maybe they could have preserved their national might and power if it wasn't for the arrogance of their current emperor and generals.
He sighed, he knew that the emperor and their generals aren't all to blame, after all, the populace still played a huge role when all of it happened and maybe their country was already doomed to fail at the beginning.
After a couple of seconds, he then tore his gaze away at the painting and continued walking.
Each step reverberated across the hallways as he walked monotonously to his destination in which he saw more paintings. Every piece, different from each other when it comes to context and design.
He came across a painting about the invasion of the so-called fortress region of the Kaine Divine Kingdom, called Garðr. The painting depicted a last-ditch effort of the Kanians to hold and defend their very last fortification in the region, only for it to eventually fall to the Imperial's hands.
It was a modern fortress as not only two hundred fifty thousand Kanians and allied troops were defending it, but geography also favored the region as mountains and hills covered it. Covered with numerous anti-air fortifications with land based anti-ship artilleries, they proved to be quite challenging for the Imperial to invade.
Yet they successfully invaded Garðr with no more than sixty-five thousand battle hardened marines.
Now that he thought about it, misinformation really played a key role in successfully invading that region.
Just like what the allies did in D-Day, he let the IJID create false information regarding their plans about the invasion in which it was then intentionally leaked through the Kanians and its allies.
They believed it, and it cost them tremendously.
Another painting depicted a battle in which the Kanians vastly outnumbered an encircled Imperial division in which the Gra Valkans made a last attempt to break through enemy lines and regroup with the main army.
To call it a bloodbath was an understatement. Bullets flew, shells exploded, and waves of human meat overwhelmed the already battered, weakened and encircled Gra Valkans.
Legend has it that not even one survived the battle as every Imperial fought to the bitter end. Either they were brave or just plainly stupid, he doesn't know, but it's more likely the latter.
Across the years of his rule, overconfidence and pride ruled his military. After all, being the strongest nation in Ygddra has that effect.
It was quite challenging for Gralux to change the overall mindset of his military when it came to philosophy and doctrine because of the old general staffs and officers that greatly dominated their forces.
Hence he did the best he can do by introducing the doctrine Auftragstaktik which was surprisingly, wasn't introduced in his empire until now.
After all, why would you improve your already effective tactic and strategy when you have the resources, manpower and technology to cope with. Besides, most of their enemies before was either incompetent or already weakened, making them think that they're superior in every way.
Yet all changed when they were literally outnumbered at all theaters as countless nations banded together to end their reign once and for all.
Also, the overall mindset in their military were failure and defeat were frowned upon was changed. Rather than crucify and punish them - like the Carthaginians did in North Africa - their defeats and failures were studied as they tried to find reasons leading to those outcomes.
Gralux encouraged competence and meritocracy rather than through political connections as corruption were rampant in his army, making even him question their superpower status as a nation because of how corrupted their bureaucracy and military organization was.
Nonetheless, the introduction of this doctrine greatly boosted his army's effectiveness at a cost of some old generals and officers who were greatly disappointed and angered by this sudden change, retiring or outright disobeying his orders.
Changing the overall mindset, philosophy, and doctrines of their armed forces were greatly frowned upon by others as they were seen as weakness and against their tradition. Yet all changed as its effectiveness were shown in full display across the whole corner of their world.
He then found the balcony, making him stop as he breathed in a handful of air. He stepped in and a great sight greeted him.
Stars swam across the sky as each tries to outshine the other. The moon shined brightly as it accompanied the already bright stars in the skies, making Gralux smile.
For all the years he was on this world, he still can't stop admiring how beautiful the sky was in the night.
After all, this was the sky he can't see in the urban regions of Tokyo, as pollutions and tall skyscrapers blocked most of its view.
He then looked at his wristwatch in which it read 11:57 PM, three minutes left before midnight.
Sighing, he thought about all the things that happened to him and the empire. One of the recent major events was the War of Armageddon, in which they've won, making even the military experts and his generals and admirals surprised.
How could they not, conquering the second strongest wasn't an easy feat despite the overwhelming advantage they had when it comes to technological prowess and brilliant scientific minds. They even defeated all enemies they had. Based on his generals and admirals, it would take at least a decade in order to achieve victory if everything went on plan or maybe more than that if there were some unfortunate setbacks.
Gralux, not only did he change the general staff's plan, but he also manually commanded his own forces.
Well in reality, he don't really know if his gambit would work, after all if it didn't, they would be in a very bad position. The war might have gone longer than anticipated, leaving them to their own defeat.
He was afraid, yet he pressed on.
A smirk appeared across his face as he reminisced his past life. He made a promise the moment he got another chance to live again that he would never be the spineless coward he once was.
He hated creating and enacting decisions as the responsibility greatly weighed on him, but he knew he has to change. Nothing would have changed if he still became the person he once was on his previous world.
Maybe the life he had before was a blessing in disguise, since he used most of his experience for reference. Being born an emperor without his past life experiences would have probably make him an arrogant, prideful, and irrational fool, leading to his nation's demise.
The moment he thought about that, the sky then shined brightly, making him wince for a moment. He raised both of his hands, trying to block the light.
As if a thousand nuclear bombs initiated, he swore that he saw some of his vessels in both of his hands, but there was something wrong.
He should have been blinded if that was the case, but the only thing he felt is discomfort, not pain. Nonetheless, it continued for a minute or two as it slowly returned to the initial dark sky he saw before.
That was it?
He asked as confusion and uncertainty plagued his mind. For an event that could change the fate of their empire, it was quite anti-climatic.
He sighed for the umpteenth time. Exhaustion crept on his body as his sleepless eyes closed.
He did countless decisions before regarding this day so that all would go into plan. More than a decade of preparation wasted so that he could prepare his empire for the worst yet not even a grand entrance was given?
Sure a blinding light appeared exactly at midnight, but maybe that so called God might have given him something more.
Maybe a sound of trumpets that reverberated across his mainland or maybe a sound of bells being hit in which inaudible and weirdly beautiful chants were sang across the sky as a heavenly intervention was being made.
I guess I'm just asking some pretty unreasonable stuff.
He thought as a yawn escapes his mouth, prompting his to cover with his right hand.
Well, I guess a cup coffee isn't that bad.
xxXxx
07/11/1638 Central Calendar
Fear, anxiety and uncertainty plagued the room as each individual varying from different fields and sectors sat in the very long table.
The room displayed overwhelming wealth as expensive paintings, chandeliers, and furnitures were seen in each cranny and corner of the room. The chairs themselves have gold and complex engravings, with the long table adorning precious metals.
Among the people present in this room, an old man in his forties sat in his chair with no visible emotion whatsoever, despite the current situation their empire was in.
He has grey aging hair, wrinkles across his face, and a shaved face in which he wore a plain black suit for the occasion.
His name was Johan Holland, the minister of Propaganda and Public Information. Information was his to alter as he has the second most control in the flow of information.
As the minister of Propaganda and Public information, most of the news they publish were either modified truths or lies as the emperor once told him about his views regarding it.
The emperor told him that people perceives information as truth because we give that information value to be called the truth. Hence if we call the lie the truth and perceive it as the truth, then it will become the absolute truth.
Like gold whom we gave value despite it being not a rare metal, but something so hard to extract and purify, we perceive it as valuable because of this so called factors. Just because it has a non-oxidation property that most metal don't have, we believe it is rare as pre-industrial technology had some great difficulties acquiring it in large quantities.
Johan and the emperor both knew that such centralization and manipulation of information would have drastic effects among the population hence they kept it in a manageable rate.
The last thing they want their population to have is ignorance, and they both knew that ignorance is a bliss.
While he was in thought, he surveyed everyone present in the meeting with his light, blue-colored irises.
Most of the people present were either sweating profusely or trembling except for others who view their situation as nothing but stupid and illogical.
And among those pile of ministers and politicians, sat a woman with an emotionless masked equipped on her face.
He saw the secretary of the Imperial Joint Intelligence Department or the IJID in front of him.
She has long and white hair that probably ends in her waist, with a beautiful pale face that makes it seem like she never felt the sunlight. Her violet-colored irises were thought to have superheated gas by many because of how beautiful and natural they are.
A single gaze from her can pierce the most cold hearted veteran that is, if it wasn't for the mask she always had everyday.
For all he knew, she might have pierced countless hearts of men literally.
Nonetheless, she was quite beautiful for someone in her early thirties, especially if that person never take care of herself and always overworked her body to the death.
Her clothing was a black military uniform, devoid of any medals and decorations except for a violet brooch in the middle of it, which in Johan's mind, was so out of the place.
For a moment Johan's light, blue-colored irises met the secretary's violet-colored irises. Both of them stared at each other, revealing no emotion nor hints of life behind both of their eyes.
Johan lied so much that all of them became the truth as all the masses believed him, except for a limited amount of people. He did it because he wanted power, riches, authority and a little out of loyalty. He might be the Mephistopheles because of the things he does in his line of work, but the person in front of him was different.
This woman who had the utmost talent, ability, determination, and knowledge, never cared to have ambitions for herself, except to blindly obey and follow the emperor's orders.
Living for someone else's sake sickens him to the core. Why would a person such as her do that? The natural instinct of a person is to prioritize his own survival. Yet why would a person sacrifice her own livelihood for someone she won't gain anything from?
Was it the irrational thing called love? Or was it because of the lie called loyalty?
He shook his head as he interjected both of his statement. Both may very well be the same for her.
To be a slave to something is nothing but pure stupid and irrational, but you must become one in order to progress or at least strive.
Being a slave to money makes you spend countless energy and effort to get a salary or a profitable business, hence improving your wealth. Being a slave to academics makes you question suffering itself as you spent agonizing and countless days and nights awake continuously, just to get a Bachelor's degree, hence giving you an edge in society.
Then doesn't that mean that being a slave is required for all of us to strive and live?
Johan sighed as he finally decided to end his philosophical thought there.
Hence he waited and focused on more important matters.
The only person they were waiting was the emperor himself so that they could go on with their agenda.
And thus, they waited as an eerie silence dominated the very room, with each individual pondering on their current situation.
It's been exactly four in the morning, making everyone's faces looked worn out and pale as they've been interrupted in their slumber, except for some who was used to such conditions.
Something unimaginable happened to their whole mainland. All contacts across their colonies and allies became silent the moment a bright light appeared in the sky at exactly midnight, according to the eye witnesses.
This was catastrophic nonetheless, not only were they alone, but they were also vulnerable and unprepared if any attack or invasion were to occur.
Though the possibility of being attacked and invaded were quite low, they still can't deny the probability of such an event happening.
Their thoughts were then interrupted as the emperor himself came through the huge double doors accompanied by soldiers with their new prototype assault rifle akin to that of a Mauser Lag G1.
Without wasting a second, the people present in the room stood up and then raised their fists and struck the left side of their chest, imitating a particular salute of a military branch that slays human like giants.
"All hail the Gra Valkas Empire! All hail Emperor Gralux!" They shouted in unison as they saluted.
The emperor also imitated their salutes and sat in his chair, in which everyone also followed suite. The soldiers left and only the important people remained.
After that exchange, there was silence. The eerie silence that dominated the room before, tripled the moment the emperor came.
Their throats were dry, despite their occasional audible gulps. No words were spoken as each individual save for the emperor, looked at each other in anticipation. No one wants to be the bearer of the bad news.
Hence, he did the pose he was all too familiar with, in which he let both of his elbows rest in the table while his hands hovered above his face, making only his eyes visible.
Everyone present in the room began sweating profusely as they tried to find the courage to explain everything that has occurred.
"I believe that everyone is here, and I think all of you know why you are here." Emperor Gralux began as he glanced at every individual in the room.
"So, what is our current situation?" He asked sternly.
Johan, gulped and prepared to speak.
"Your highness, no matter how much we try, we still can't contact our allies and colonies outside our mainland. It's the same with our overseas military bases and garrisons." Johan grimly answered.
For a moment he thought that the emperor smirked, in which he then immediately dismissed. After all, why would the emperor be happy at their current situation?
"Are you sure that this isn't a potential attack or malfunction?" Asked the emperor as he immediately and professionally hide his glee.
"It would be quite impossible to orchestrate such an attack where all our contacts outside our mainland are severed your highness. It also can't be a malfunction, after all, the probability of it happening is near zero." Continued Johan.
For him at least. Their enemies were numerous yet inferior in anyway except resources and manpower. For all he knew, a large scale jamming system is far too impossible, let alone a malfunction.
"Then all of this has transpired the moment the bright and blinding light appeared in the sky?" Gralux probed more.
"Yes, your highness. It can't be a coincidence." Johan concluded.
The people present in the meeting were silent as they waited for the emperor's reaction.
Nonetheless, the emperor gave no reaction nor emotion to the bad and unprecedented news. He remained silent for a couple of seconds where he then began speaking.
"So you're saying that we're not in Yggdra anymore?" Emperor Gralux asked.
"We don't know, but it's possible." Answered Johan.
Emperor Gralux then stopped for a couple of seconds before making his moves.
"Because of this unexpected situation, I hereby declare martial law and I want it in full effect as soon as possible. Ration all the food and fuel because of the possibility of being blockaded or attacked in a large scale that could warrant the risk of the self-sufficiency of our nation.
Prevent anyone from leaving the country until we have the sufficient information needed. Start mobilizing our armed forces and start commissioning our decommissioned ships. Empty our military storages and begin retooling our old tanks, APCs, IFVs, planes, and ships, I want them full operational as soon as possible.
Also, alert all our forces and that if someone or something invaded our territorial waters, they must be brought for information gathering and if they must resist, they are allowed to use necessary force."
Gralux said calmly as if he foresaw this event years prior.
The people traded confused and undecided looks while Johan scrutinized Gralux's expression.
The emperor's mask never fell of from his face as the emotionless and pose he did remained unmoved.
For a man in his age, he was quite the genius when it comes to strategic and tactical decisions, but Johan knew something was up.
He just doesn't know what is, but for someone as smart and decisive, he knew that the emperor won't do such a thing just because of the severance of all their contacts.
A man in his fifties with brown aging hair and a fit physique then coughed to garner their attention. He was the secretary of the Imperial Ministry of Finance, Adelmar Siegel.
"Your highness, with all due respect, the possibility of an large scale invasion is near zero and the possibility of being another world is nothing but pure science fiction. Sure there is the light that appeared at exactly midnight but that could just be a rare and normal occurrence." Adelmar answered.
"It could, and it could maybe not. The point is that we don't know what happened for sure and I rather be prepared if something out of the ordinary happened." Gralux rebutted.
"Bu-" Adelmar tried to reason but was then cut of by Gralux.
"Yes I know that restoring and retooling some of our old equipment, ships, planes, and vehicles are quite the cost, let alone maintaining them, but we are in an unprecedented situation. Unlike the War of Armageddon, we know who our enemies are, but right now when we're all on the dark, we don't know if we even have one or not."
"Yes bu-"
"Even if nothing wrong happened, we could just cancel all of the retooling and restoring of our old weapons. It's not like we'll lose something that could warrant the end of our nation by doing so." Explained and reasoned by Gralux as he cut off Adelmar yet again.
Murmurs of agreement was heard across the room as most of them agreed with the emperor's decision in which Adelmer sat in silence as his argument was shot down be
"What about the declaration of martial law your highness? Isn't that going too far? Also, rationing our food and fuel would have drastic effects in our stability, we don't want to have riots across our country just because of an unprecedented situation where we aren't even sure if its catastrophic or not?" Asked the Minister of Agriculture and food, Sigi Meier.
And here I thought that the average IQ of an Imperial plummeted. Maybe the War of Armageddon straightened these arrogant, spineless, spoon-fed, cowards of a poor excuse of a politician.
Johan thought as he watched the whole scene unfold. To call their politicians, generals, and even their populace ignorant and incompetent was an understatement.
In all honesty, the empire for him was not that powerful to begin with. The empire both used the incompetence, ignorance, and arrogance of their enemies before when they were still a regional power.
Their armed forces were technologically advanced, discipline driven, and loyal to the fatherland, yet even with those factors, their military was almost a paper tiger.
Rampant incompetence and corruption plagued the military as an officer can get a promotion via political connections, making their senior officers and commanders virtually ignorant and unwise.
If it weren't for the current emperor, our empire might have not survived.
His mind was then returned to the task at hand as he realized that he wasn't paying attention anymore.
"Yes, it could just be like a magnetic storm like years before when it disrupted our operation against the Confederate states of Sectiori. Though the operation still succeeded despite that unfortunate event, we still can't change the fact that it may be different." Gralux once again explained and reasoned.
"I agree your highness that such ignorance can have drastic effects, but can you please at least reconsider? Maybe if we try to contact one of our allies that lies east of us via our navy, then we might get the necessary information needed to make decisions later." Answered carefully by Meier as he doesn't want to come out disrespectful.
Gralux pondered for a couple of seconds as the meeting returned to the almost quiet and eerie silence if it weren't for the occasional whispers.
"Well then, send the twelfth feet east of our coast in order to try and make contact with one of our allies. If they were to find something strange or out of this world, then they are permitted to retreat. But if the assailant fired or attacked them, then they are permitted to counter attack." Gralux decided.
Most of the people in the meeting agreed while others were undecided, nonetheless the emperor made his final decision. With no more things to discuss, Gralux stood up to gather all of their attention and began speaking.
"I know that most of you are either fearful or indifferent because of this situation, even I is not immune to such things. Yet I ask you... No! I order you to be calm and logical in this dire time. Treat this situation like the empire's existence depends on it, and always remember..." He then raised both of his hand as he felt power coursing through his veins.
"In struggle we shall succeed! In defeat we shall learn! And in death we shall finally fulfill our duty! For us Imperials knows no bound! For we shall strive! For we shall conquer! For we shall suffer through agonizing pain for victory!" He inhaled as overwhelming euphoria crept on his body.
"All HAIL THE GRA VALKAS EMPIRE!" Gralux shouted as he immediately struck his chest with his fist.
"All hail the Gra Valkas Empire! All hail Emperor Gralux!" They shouted in unison as all of them stood up and saluted.
The die was cast and Johan knew that something was up. Nonetheless, he chose to not think of it and hoped for the best.
Yet little did they know it was the beginning of a new era for their empire.
An era of pain, suffering, destruction, and anguish.
