The Martial Unity

"What?!"

"He's suddenly his son and his chosen heir?!"

"Unbelievable..."

"The Kandrian Throne War has changed forever."

"Who could have known..."

A wave of murmurs erupted from the crowd as the Emperor made his final declaration.

Rui himself was frozen where he stood, shell-shocked.

"...What?" A single whisper escaped his mouth.

The Emperor did not respond to him, instead waving his hand.

A servant walked over to Rui with a prepared ostentatious tray with a ceremonial blade and an insignia atop it. A platinum-gold adorned insignia that bore the crest of the Royal Family.

"Commence the blood seal," The Emperor commanded.

Rui had no idea what that meant, but the circumstantial context and evidence were enough for him to rapidly infer exactly what was expected of him. He took the knife, cutting his palm, allowing the blood to fall on the insignia.

VMMM!

The artifact absorbed the blood, shaking and glowing, before finally subsiding.

"The Royal Insignia is proof that you are of the Kandrian Royal Family," The Emperor declared. "And the Royal Sword of Kandria…"

He extracted his sheathed ceremonial blade from his robes. "…

is proof that you are my heir."

Rui stared at him with uncertainty.

"Come forth, my son, and accept my offering of heirship." The Emperor commanded him.

walked over to the throne with a measured gait, ascending the platform before

eyes bored into

as he bestowed his Royal Sword upon the kneeling Rui. "The

CLASP

ice-cold ceremonial sword. His mind jarred back to reality as he broke out of his shell of shock. The surreality of what was unfolding

Uncertainty grasped at his heart, squeezing it in

he was having

Quarrier Orphanage as just another ordinary orphan blessed to have been

denied his deepest

he was somehow a Royal Prince, son of the Royal

around with uncertainty as he returned to

Sword weighed down on

It was heavy.

burden he didn't

burden

was thrust upon him against his

even reached the part where he could calmly evaluate his

his own circumstances. He didn't even know how to begin processing everything that had just happened. He didn't even

"My subjects."

the tumultuous atmosphere as the

"My children."

the royals gathered closer to

his tone reflected the weight of the circumstances.

one aside from the Emperor himself,

with all might, against this curse that addles my body for

everybody with his powerful gaze. "This is my final act. This is my will. I believe that this, even as I inch closer to

weight of his words was

gathered within

The air grew electric.

person in the hall understood what

prince had

bore the will

had emerged from the woodwork. It was bound to

great opportunity if