Lieutenant Mara's POV:
The moment King Chris stepped into the war room, the air changed. Every officer in sight stiffened — the kind of silence that made even the ticking wall clock sound like a bomb.
I followed behind him quietly, heart pounding. The king was still in rags, dust on his skin, no guards, no crown — just raw power bottled in human form.
The ministers, generals, and tech officers didn't even know he was coming. A few of them were laughing, watching the BBN highlights on the massive wall screen, talking politics and bragging about their "loyalty."
Then he spoke — calm, but deadly.
"So this is how my defense headquarters operates."
Every man froze. One of them — the communication head — stammered, "W–Who let this civilian in here—"
Before the sentence finished, Chris grabbed the remote and smashed it against the screen.
The TV shattered with a crack that silenced the room completely. Sparks burst. Bits of glass hit the floor.
He didn't stop there. He flipped the conference table over with one arm, papers flying, coffee spilling across the command map. The next second, he slammed his fist against a monitor bank — screens shattered, alarms blinked red.
"Loyalty?" he hissed, eyes blazing. "You sit here feeding on comfort while my army softens. You speak about loyalty with your mouths full of lies."
One of the generals tried to step forward. "My king, please, we didn't kno—"
Chris kicked a chair out of his way and turned sharply. "You didn't know? That's the problem. You people never know! I walked in here dressed like a beggar, and not one of you recognized your king."
He picked up a shattered piece of glass, looked at his reflection in it, then threw it against the floor.
"This empire doesn't fall from war — it falls from rot inside."
No one dared to move.
I stood near the door, breathing slowly, watching the storm unfold. He looked like a man betrayed by his own creation — powerful, furious, yet heartbreakingly calm under the rage.
Finally, he turned to General Soren, who had been standing at attention the whole time, face unreadable.
"From tomorrow," Chris said coldly, "you'll rebuild this place. No excuses. No weak link. Any officer who isn't loyal — burn them out. I don't care how."
Soren nodded sharply. "Yes, my king."
Chris walked past the ruins of the room — the broken screens, the scattered documents, the silent soldiers — and said quietly, almost to himself:
"Let them remember who rules this empire… and why."
The doors closed behind him.
And I stood there, staring at the wreckage, realizing something that sent chills down my spine —
when the King loses patience… the world bleeds.
—To be continued...—