Logout Error: My NPCs Now Worship Me

The throne room of the Royal Palace of Lyria was a tomb. The vibrant banners of the Kingdom of Elysia seemed to droop in mourning, and the sunlight filtering through the high windows seemed weak and pale, as if afraid to shine too brightly.

King Theron IV sat on his throne, but he looked less like a king and more like a condemned man awaiting the executioner. In the two days since the tattered remnants of the Holy Crusade had limped back to the capital, he had aged a decade. His face was a mask of grief and exhaustion.

The great hall was filled with his nobles and what was left of his command staff. Their usual arrogance and bluster were gone, replaced by a thick, cloying atmosphere of fear. General Valerius stood with his head bowed, his spirit as broken as his army. Seraphina was there, a ghost in mithril armor, her presence a constant, painful reminder of their failure. Archbishop Thallan was absent, confined to a padded room in the cathedral, his mind lost to incoherent, blasphemous ramblings.

They were all waiting. They knew something was coming. They could feel it in the unnatural stillness of the air, in the way the shadows in the corners of the room seemed just a little too deep.

And then, it arrived.

Not with a crash of thunder or a demonic roar, but with a silent, elegant grace that was somehow more terrifying. In the center of the throne room, a [Gate] opened. It was a perfect, swirling vortex of deep purple energy, framed in polished silver. It hummed with a power so immense and controlled that every mage in the room felt a wave of nausea.

From the portal stepped a single figure: Rose, the Head Maid of the Great Tomb of Nexus.

She was the picture of courtly perfection. Her immaculate red gown flowed around her, her serene smile was unwavering, and her posture was one of supreme confidence. She did not look like an envoy from a dark god. She looked like a queen visiting a lesser court.

The Royal Guards instinctively raised their halberds, but a weary wave from the King stopped them. What was the point? They all knew that if this being wished them dead, they would be.

"I am Rose," she announced, her voice smooth and clear, filling the silent hall without any effort. "I am the humble mouthpiece for my master, the Silent Sovereign, Lord Kaelus."

She gave a slight, almost condescending curtsy to the King. "I am told this is the customary greeting. I trust you are the one designated as 'King'?"

King Theron could only nod, his throat too dry to speak.

"Excellent," Rose said, her smile never faltering. "My master has sent me to deliver his terms for your kingdom's continued existence. He is a benevolent lord and prefers order to chaos, so he wishes to make this transition as smooth as possible."

Transition. The word sent a shiver of dread through every noble in the room. This wasn't a negotiation. It was a hostile takeover.

Rose produced a scroll of black parchment, tied with a silver ribbon. She didn't hand it to anyone. She simply let it go, and it floated in the air before her, unrolling itself with a whisper of magic. The text on it glowed with a faint, crimson light.

"The terms are as follows," she began, her voice taking on a formal, inexorable cadence.

"One: The Kingdom of Elysia will cede all territories east of the Amber River to the domain of the Sovereign Lord Kaelus. This new nation shall henceforth be known as the Dominion of Nexus, with Oakhaven as its capital."

The nobles gasped. That was a third of their kingdom, including some of their most fertile farmland.

"Two," Rose continued, ignoring them. "The Kingdom of Elysia will offer a formal, public recognition of the Dominion of Nexus and the supreme sovereignty of Lord Kaelus over its lands and people. All hostilities will cease immediately and permanently."

"Three: The religious institution known as the 'Church of the Sacred Light' is to be immediately and permanently disbanded within Elysian territory. All its assets are to be seized. The worship of the entity known as 'Luminara' is hereby declared an outlawed practice. Public monuments to this entity are to be dismantled."

This brought the loudest outcry. To abandon their goddess? It was unthinkable. It was a damnation of their very souls.

"Blasphemy!" a duke cried out. "We will never forsake the Goddess!"

Rose's smile finally vanished. She turned her head slowly and fixed the duke with a look. It was not a glare of anger. It was a look of profound, chilling pity, the look a physician might give to a terminal patient.

"Your 'goddess' watched your army burn," she stated, her voice losing its warmth and becoming as cold as her master's. "Our Lord saved his people. You are debating the merits of an empty promise versus a tangible, if terrifying, reality. Choose wisely."

The duke fell silent, his face pale.

Rose's smile returned as she turned back to the King. "And the fourth and final term."

She paused for dramatic effect, letting the tension build to an unbearable peak.

"His Majesty, King Theron IV, will travel to Oakhaven within one week's time. There, in a public ceremony, he will kneel before Lord Kaelus and swear an oath of fealty, acknowledging himself and the remaining Kingdom of Elysia as a vassal state to the Dominion of Nexus."

The throne room erupted.

"Never!" General Valerius roared, drawing his sword. "We will die before we see our King bend the knee to a demon!"

The other nobles shouted their agreement. It was a final, desperate surge of pride. They had lost their army, they had lost their territory, but they would not lose their dignity.

Rose watched their outburst with an air of detached amusement. She waited patiently for them to finish shouting. When they were done, she simply raised an eyebrow.

"You have a choice?" she asked, the question a silken dagger. "Let us be clear about your position. Your army is gone. Your god is silent. Your people are terrified. And my master... is patient, but not infinitely so."

She made a graceful gesture, and the scrying image of the black parchment was replaced by another image. It was a live feed of the capital city of Lyria, seen from high above.

"My master's Warden stands ready," Rose said calmly. "It can level this city, block by block, from a distance you cannot hope to cross. If you choose 'death before dishonor', my master will generously grant you both. He will start with the Grand Cathedral, as a courtesy."

The nobles stared at the image of their beautiful, white-stoned city, so peaceful under the midday sun. And they imagined it turning to rubble, just as the cliffs at the Amber River had.

The last of their defiance guttered out, replaced by the cold, hard reality of their utter powerlessness.

Rose let the image fade. "You have twenty-four hours to give us your answer. If we do not receive your acceptance, the Warden will begin its work at noon tomorrow."

She gave another perfect curtsy. "It has been a pleasure delivering my Lord's message. I do hope you make the wise choice."

With that, she turned and stepped back into the [Gate]. The portal swirled and vanished, leaving behind only the damning silence and the smell of ozone.

King Theron IV sat on his throne, his face in his hands. He looked at his nobles, their faces filled with despair. He looked at his General, his sword now seeming like a child's toy. He looked at Seraphina, the hero who had been sent to save them, her face a mask of anguished defeat.

There was no choice. There had never been a choice. There was only the will of Kaelus, and the terrifying, empty silence of their abandoned goddess.

"Prepare the carriage," the King whispered, his voice broken. "I... I will go to Oakhaven."

The Kingdom of Elysia had not just been defeated. It had been conquered without a single soldier of the enemy army ever setting foot in its capital. The war was over. The game had been won.