The Red Empress simply shook her head. In her small, chibi-like form, she looked up at him and spoke again.
"Just do it," she said. "There's no need to ask so many questions. It's for your own good. If you don't want to, then don't."
She paused briefly, then added casually, "But don't regret it later."
With that, she vanished as suddenly as she had appeared, leaving Ethan standing alone in the corridor, her words lingering in his mind longer than her presence did at this moment .
The Red Empress, unlike other game AIs, was aware that the world she existed in was nothing more than a game. Ethan had always dismissed this as a glitch. No other player with a companion like her possessed such a feature.
Much of Ethan's success in this game world, the very thing that allowed him to dominate it and crush many of his fellow players, forcing them to delete their characters and restart in entirely new galaxies, was not just due to his talent for leading others. His progress in the game relied heavily on her.
That was something he was grateful for.
Without the Red Empress, he would never have been able to revitalize this once-crippled empire. Without her guidance, he would not have climbed to the very top of the leaderboards or reached the brink of completing the first chapter of Interstellar Battle. He was only moments away from receiving legendary rewards that others could only dream of.
Sigh…
Ethan let out a deep breath and spoke aloud, not just to himself, but to the Red Empress, whom he knew was nearby.
"Alright. I'll do as you say."
With that, he turned and began walking toward the palace's main gates.
Hidden within the folds of space, the Red Empress watched Ethan move forward. She murmured softly to herself.
"It's good that you listened to me, Ethan. It will do you good when the time comes. It will spare you regret later. This world and the people within it are not what you believe them to be. Soon, you will realize it… when everything becomes real."
The closer Ethan came to the palace gates, the louder and clearer the voices grew.
"Emperor, hear us just once!"
"Emperor, don't leave the throne!"
"Emperor, this empire belongs to you!"
The chants rose in waves, overlapping and echoing through the air.
Ethan sighed once more. No matter how much he told himself they weren't real, that they were only NPCs, he couldn't stop the emotions stirring within him.
"Why the hell did the game creators make it so emotional at the end, huh?" Ethan couldn't help but curse the unknown figures behind the game—whose names remained a mystery even now, more than five years after launch.
Well, whatever. Ethan shrugged his shoulders as he continued walking. Not far in front of him were Imperial guards, along with a few ministers! Seeing them, he was not surprised; after all, someone needed to talk to the people. If not him, then it had to be them!
Meanwhile the Imperial guards and several ministers stationed near the gates froze when they saw him approaching. Moments later, they bowed deeply. The guards snapped into a salute along with the two ministers.
"We greet the Emperor!"
Ethan nodded calmly. "At ease," he said. "Minister Anakin , minister Josephine , walk with me to the wall. Let me meet my subjects one last time. I will address them."
His gaze hardened with quiet resolve. "It will make my brother's ascension easier… and calm the people as well."
With that, the Emperor of the Ishvara Empire continued forward, toward the waiting voices beyond the gates.
Standing above the gates, Ethan looked down at the massive gathering. The crowds had literally flooded the Main Street, spilling into the roads, parks, and every open space near the palace. Looking toward the palace walls, they continued their chants—a sound he learned had been ongoing since last night, when he was climbing the walls with his two ministers.
This caused his emotions to churn involuntarily. Sigh. They are far too real. These protests—if they could even be called that when performed by NPCs—really made his heart ache at their show of resolve. Once again, he had to admit that whoever the creator was behind this game had truly added a touch of reality. If he didn't know this was a game, he would never have guessed that these people and this world were created with code.
Letting out a deep breath, Ethan looked at his two ministers and gave them a nod. As if understanding his gaze, they nodded back. Minister Josephine tapped a watch-like device on her wrist, and several small-scale drones appeared in the sky, flanking him on his left and right.
Suddenly, his projection appeared on a gigantic holographic screen above the walls. Catching sight of his presence, the massive crowd grew frantic, shouting in one great momentum, "Emperor, please take your decree back! You must not leave the throne! Under you, we can prosper even more!"
Hearing the voices of millions, their chants so synchronized that he felt a massive aura pressing upon him like the very will of the people, Ethan was shocked for a moment. He quickly regained his wits, looked toward the people below, and raised his hand.
"My dear subjects!" he spoke.
Those words alone caused the millions gathered below to shut their mouths immediately. It wasn't because they feared him, but out of the pure respect they held for their Emperor.
"My people! Those who are gathered here and those watching me from your homes through different worlds, hear me! First and foremost, my decree will not change. I will leave the throne and pass it down to my dear brother, the glorious Chief Admiral and Duke of our Grand Empire!
His reputation precedes him; he is no lesser than I. What you are doing now only causes disturbance in the Empire—something I do not wish to see.
Times have changed, my subjects. Our Empire is in a phase of rapid growth, something I find myself struggling to manage. While I may have led countless battles and won every one of them to stabilize our power, that was not achieved by me alone—a fact all of you seem to forget!"