A fresh snowfall dusted the cobblestones of Imperial Vienna. Bells rang in the cathedral towers, welcoming a guest unlike any the city had seen in decades:
The Reincarnated Kaiser.
He arrived not with tanks or thunder, but in a black steam-powered limousine escorted by German volunteers in mismatched uniforms—half Prussian, half patched-together modern armor. They called themselves the Thousand Sons.
Hans watched from the Palace balcony as the procession advanced slowly up the avenue. Eliska stood at his side, a tight expression on her face.
"So… he really looks like him," she muttered.
Hans narrowed his eyes. "Wilhelm II… with youth and charisma. Convenient."
The Kaiser emerged—tall, with sharp blue eyes and golden hair swept back like fire. He wore a tailored coat bearing the old imperial eagle but carried no crown.
Instead, he smiled. A simple wave. Not to claim—only to be seen.
Inside the Council Hall, an informal meeting was arranged.
Hans sat at the head of the crescent table, flanked by advisors and officers. The Kaiser stood opposite him, hands behind his back, posture perfect.
"I come not to claim," he said, his voice rich, almost magnetic. "I come to speak as a son of Germania, to a brother of Europa."
"You stir uprisings across the Rhine," Engelhardt accused. "Some of our border guards report defections."
"I did not ask them to follow," the Kaiser replied coolly. "But in absence of order, hearts seek direction."
Hans leaned forward. "What do you want, truly?"
The Kaiser's smile thinned. "Unity. Restoration. Not war. But I have seen visions, Emperor Hans. I awakened, just as you did. And I saw Europe burning once more."
That silenced the hall.
"You've awakened?" Eliska said, surprised. "What is your power?"
The Kaiser looked directly at Hans. "The power of memory. Of every leader before me. I walk in their thoughts… sometimes, I think, even in yours."
A long silence fell. In that instant, Hans felt something—a pressure, a whisper in the back of his mind. Familiar.
Too familiar.
Later that evening, in the war room, Hans reviewed documents brought by intelligence officers.
Photos. Audio logs. Maps. Testimonies.
"Riots in Bavaria," said Officer Lind. "Some claim they saw the Kaiser calm an entire crowd by speaking a single sentence. Others say… he touched someone, and they fainted for days."
"He's not just a charismatic leader," Hans murmured. "He's an awakened threat."
"And worse," Eliska added, dropping another dossier. "Some of your generals—those with old loyalties—are writing him letters."
In the nursery, Anna and Karl played without care.
But Hans stood in the doorway longer than usual, watching them.
The world was shifting again. France was red. Germany unstable. Monsters retreated, but men—men with ambition—rose from the ashes.
He whispered to himself, "We built a Phoenix Empire. But now we must guard it… against a shadow in the east."