Tosig had always been busy, there were always things to deal with and he would always find files waiting on his desk whenever he got to his office in the morning.

  It went past what was previously normal these past months though, what with the new power in the ocean coming out of nowhere, the fact that Sticky Reefs almost awakened, and finally, the Empire pushing for the marriage between the Princess and the Crown Prince to be brought forward as soon as possible. He felt that he barely had time to breathe while trying to juggle all those different matters.

  So he wasn't that surprised when the door to his room in the agency was knocked on while he was having his first, and extremely late, break for the day.

  "Come in," he said after he swallowed the bite in his mouth.

  "Sir!" his secretary first saluted before continuing after Tosig acknowledged him, "We've got a signal, the paper reacted, it got activated."

  Tosig continued chewing as he took in the man's words, a sigh almost leaving him. He knew that another mess was about to start.

  They had released that paper to the world and didn't have much hope for it. The chance that the other party would come to the Dynasty next was slim. Yes they had disappeared from the Empire's land for a while and they couldn't be found anywhere there, but that could have meant that they had returned to their homeland just as much as it could have meant that they were heading to the Dynasty.

  It was their just in case attempt, the chance of them heading to the Dynasty was low, but it wasn't zero. Plus, those papers didn't take much time to make. Getting them to the secluded areas was the hardest part, and even that was nothing more than a bit annoying.

  Sighing silently to himself, Tosig stood up as he made his way to his office, his secretary by his side, continuing with his explanation:

  "It happened just a few moments ago. We are already contacting all the villages that had the papers sent to them, to see if they have noticed any suspicious individuals in the last few days."

  Tosig just nodded as he walked. He had been there when they were discussing what to put on the paper, and he was the one who made sure that no tracking spells or anything like that were put on them. He didn't want to risk offending the other party by including such a thing. Sincerity was the way to go about this, and he wanted to show that they wanted the relationship between the two to be peaceful and respectful.

  "Send them to me as soon as we get them," Tosig said, "And contact the Navy around the capital. I doubt the other party would accept the invitation so soon, but I want them to know what might be coming their way and how they should carry themselves. We can't have things turn south at the last moment."

  "I will make sure to relay that to them," the secretary said.

  Tosig then let the man go as he sat down and started writing his report to the Empress. Same as him, she had been quite interested in the other side. Especially after hearing about their tools and how they seemed to be unlike anything they had ever seen. The Empress had made it quite clear to be notified whenever anything new was found about them.

  As he was still working on the report -taking his time as he awaited further news from his secretary- the man finally returned, holding a bunch of papers in his hands.

  "These are all the reports we got from the villages and towns that we gave the papers to," he said as he put them on the table, "I've organized them from the most likely to be our target to the least. Those at the top are the ones who might need your full attention."

  Tosig thanked and dismissed his secretary before focusing on the reports in front of him. After going through all of them, the one his secretary put at the top of all the other files stood out the most to him. A group of three old ladies escorted by two young men visited Lonely Ridge Village early that morning. Leaving in the afternoon after going through the library and a bookstore.

  They acted a bit weird, and even their course of action was similar to what their spies in the Empire said the group did when they visited a certain village before.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  As Tosig began writing the full report to the Empress, he couldn't help but wonder when he would hear about the other party making contact with the Dynasty. It was outside his jurisdiction, but he was going to try and push himself into that meeting anyway, out of sheer curiosity at how things would turn out.

  ***

  Admiral Kain stood atop the King of the Oceans as he looked outside. They were at the capital, and he had already sent most of his people to have some rest, leaving the King under the care of the people at the harbor and the other sailors, but he didn't leave. The King could move with some of her crew absent or some less knowledgeable or able people on her, but she wouldn't be able to move without him on her, he was pretty much essential for the ship's existence. Plus, for him, no other place was closer to home than the King.

  The possibility that anything would dare to attack the Capital was low, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He understood that the world wasn't what it was just a month ago.

  The new power out there wasn't the only thing on his mind. With his privileged access to what the Empire was planning, he knew what was coming soon, and it was going to be big.

  The Emperor pushing for the marriage between the two nations to be brought up as soon as possible was for sure going to put the Alliance on edge. And who knows what those rabid dogs would do when they realise that their biggest enemies were about to become even closer.

  He knew that the Alliance's ace in the hole, their ship, was still under construction, probably months away from completion if he was being generous, so he probably shouldn't be that worried about them interfering. Yet he just wasn't able to calm himself. Something was going to happen for sure.

  As Admiral Kain was still lost in his thoughts, he suddenly saw one of his men approaching. After returning the man's salute, he asked:

  "What is it?"

  "The Emperor has asked for you, sir," the man said respectfully.

  Kain frowned a bit, he could think of plenty of reasons why the Emperor would be asking for him. With all that was going on, and what was coming, meeting the man and doing some preparations was only natural, but he felt that this was something else.

  He first dismissed the man before getting to work. He went around and made sure everything was ready and working. Leaving the people with some instructions before heading to the palace.

  He was sure that many would have marveled at how magnificent and breathtaking the place was, a miracle built by mortal hands. After visiting it so many times though, he grew sick of it. As a man who experienced what was out there in the open ocean, the magical and frightening sights there and the effect they had on people, he couldn't muster much interest in a big building anymore.

  Plus, at his rank, what other palace hadn't he seen? He had been part of expeditions and visits to the palaces of all the major nations.

  As he awaited the Emperor's call in a waiting room that was probably worth the annual budget of a minor noble house, Kain's mind went through all the possibilities of what was to be brought up with him soon. A few of those would be more welcome than others, while one was something that might well drop the world into true chaos.

  "Sir." A maid suddenly entered the waiting room, bowing as she said, "His Majesty is ready to meet you."

  Kain just grunted as he stood up and followed her through the luxurious, well-lit corridor.

  After passing through the door to the Throne Room, and with the Herald's voice echoing in the room as he announced his arrival, Admiral Kain fell to a knee, paying his respect.

  "Admiral Kain Montclair greets his Majesty!"

  "You may rise," the Emperor's voice sounded, deep and strong.

  As he stood up, Kain's eyes scanned the area around as he verified what his senses had told him, no one was in the hall other than them. It wasn't that surprising really, nor was it the first time something like that had happened. Whenever that had happened though, it meant that they were about to discuss something extremely important that was to be for his ears alone.

  "What is it this time, your Majesty?" Knowing that the Emperor understood that he wasn't one for small talk, and that he didn't really care much for that, he went straight to the point.

  "Kain," the Emperor said, his voice heavy and authoritative, "I'm sure that you've had some questions about some of my more recent actions."

  Kain didn't answer, he just looked at his liege, he knew that what was about to be said was something that was going to have ramifications throughout the whole world.

  "It is time," the Emperor continued, and with just those words, Kain understood what the man meant. "Prepare yourself, it's time for you to take that last step."

  Kain's heart, which had been stable for years, even when he lost the Supreme Captain Title, started beating ferociously. Chaos was incoming.