"And so it begins," Herman muttered to himself as he watched footage of Legion Twenty-Three marching out of Kyiv spread across the internet. Every major news outlet within the European Union had immediately begun broadcasting the recordings, while reporters desperately searched for any information they could uncover. Media organizations had reserved a dedicated amount of satellite bandwidth specifically for emergency situations like this, and now they were using every bit of it. Unfortunately for them, none of the journalists knew why the legion had suddenly mobilized.
Even without official confirmation, reporters quickly realized that this was no ordinary military exercise. Numerous civilians had reported hearing the emergency alarm echo throughout the city, and within less than an hour, thousands of soldiers were already marching through the streets toward the border. The military deliberately used a different alarm tone for training exercises to prevent unnecessary panic. Realistic drills had been reduced over the years because repeated false alarms eventually caused personnel to become complacent, something that could cost precious minutes during an actual emergency like the one unfolding now.
"Yes, I have to admit, it's an effective strategy," Rian said while observing the same footage with an intrigued smile. "All they have to do is trigger a single Secret Realm and allow the corrupted creatures to move naturally toward our territory. Thanks to the river, they don't even need to guide them, since the monsters will instinctively follow the easiest path forward." He folded his arms as he considered the simplicity behind the operation, clearly appreciating the tactical efficiency even if he disliked the intent behind it.
After a brief silence, Rian shifted his attention toward Herman. "So how are we going to retaliate?" he asked with a questioning expression. "This attack clearly isn't meant to inflict massive damage. It's simply a low-cost test to see how we respond under pressure, which means we can't just ignore it." In his eyes, every action demanded an equally calculated response.
"We aren't going to retaliate," Herman answered calmly, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Rian stared at him in complete disbelief. "What do you mean we aren't?" he asked, his eyebrows rising in confusion. "That doesn't match how we've always handled situations like this. We normally answer every provocation with one of our own to discourage future attempts."
"It actually makes perfect sense," Herman replied without hesitation. "There is very little we can do that wouldn't escalate the conflict even further. Besides, nearly everything worth targeting has already been relocated into heavily fortified cities, making meaningful retaliation both expensive and politically dangerous." His tone remained steady, suggesting he had already spent considerable time thinking through every possible option.
"But couldn't we simply do the same thing to them?" Rian asked while pointing toward another location displayed on the strategic map. The terrain there resembled the current situation almost perfectly. Instead of rivers protecting Europe, however, towering mountain ranges acted as natural barriers while Secret Realms lay dangerously close to Russian territory. From a purely military perspective, the opportunity seemed almost too obvious to ignore.
"No," Herman answered immediately, his voice leaving no room for debate. "We will not interfere with the Secret Realms." There was an unusual firmness behind his words, accompanied by something Rian almost never heard from his longtime friend. Beneath Herman's certainty was a faint trace of genuine fear.
Rian narrowed his eyes as he carefully studied Herman's expression. "What is really going on?" he asked quietly. "I've known you for most of my life, and you're not someone who scares easily. If you're afraid of provoking the Secret Realms, then there has to be a reason you're not telling me."
Herman slowly leaned back in his chair before straightening his posture once more. The playful smile he had worn moments earlier disappeared completely, replaced by an expression of absolute seriousness. "You're right," he admitted. "I suppose it's time I ask for your opinion on a theory I've been developing." Even before he spoke another word, Rian instinctively knew this conversation would go far beyond ordinary military strategy.
"You already know that every creature emerging from a Secret Realm is corrupted," Herman began. "Everything we've observed suggests that this corruption spreads to every living organism it encounters. The frightening possibility is that it might not stop there. It could potentially spread to entire ecosystems, continents, or perhaps even planets themselves."
Rian listened carefully without interrupting. Although the theory sounded extreme, Herman was not someone who indulged in wild speculation without evidence. That alone made every word far more unsettling than it otherwise would have been. He silently waited for the conclusion Herman was building toward.
"Now imagine something else," Herman continued. "Suppose there exists an entity responsible for overseeing Earth itself. If that being suddenly discovered that humanity was poisoning the planet with corruption originating from the Secret Realms, what do you think it would do?" His gaze remained fixed on Rian, refusing to look away.
"I would punish whoever was responsible," Rian answered immediately. To him, the response seemed obvious. If someone deliberately endangered an entire world, punishment would naturally follow. Only after finishing his sentence did the implication behind Herman's question fully sink in.
"...Wait." Rian's eyes widened in shock as realization struck him. "You're serious, aren't you? You actually think something like that could exist." He leaned forward in disbelief before asking the question that truly bothered him. "Can the System even do something like that?"
"I honestly don't know," Herman admitted. "And that's exactly what frightens me." He folded his hands together as his expression grew increasingly grim. "I've suspected this possibility for quite some time now, but recent developments have pushed my confidence far higher than I'd like. If I had to bet, I'd wager that I'm closer to the truth than I'd ever be comfortable admitting."
"What changed your mind?" Rian asked. "I haven't noticed anything significant happening recently."
"China," Herman answered without hesitation.
Rian blinked in surprise. "China?" he repeated. "I haven't seen them behaving much differently during diplomatic meetings. Their statements have been fairly consistent over the past several months." He mentally reviewed countless negotiations and international conferences, searching for anything unusual that he might have overlooked.
"It isn't their policies that changed," Herman explained patiently. "It's their demeanor." He leaned forward and pointed toward several diplomatic reports displayed on the screen beside them. "For years they acted like predators on the world stage, but something always felt artificial about it. They projected confidence because they wanted to, not because they genuinely possessed it."
"They were still growing into their position as a superpower," Herman continued. "Unlike the United States, whose political instincts had been shaped through generations of maintaining global influence, China still carried traces of uncertainty beneath the surface. They looked dangerous, but there was always a sense that they were consciously playing the role expected of them." He paused briefly before speaking again.
"That changed this year."
Herman's voice became noticeably quieter as he continued. "It was subtle at first, but eventually impossible to ignore. Their hesitation disappeared almost overnight, replaced by complete confidence. They no longer looked like a nation pretending to be predators. They behaved like genuine apex predators that had finally confirmed their place at the top of the food chain."
Rian slowly nodded as fragmented memories resurfaced. The changes had indeed been small enough to escape casual observation, but once Herman pointed them out, they became impossible to dismiss. Negotiations had become calmer, more calculated, and strangely more intimidating despite containing fewer overt threats. It was as though China had suddenly become certain of something the rest of the world had yet to discover.
"I suppose you're right," Rian admitted after several moments of thought. "Now that I think about it, their diplomatic style really has changed over the past few months." He rubbed his chin while following Herman's line of reasoning. "If there truly is an entity representing Earth, then China would actually be the ideal place for that being to reveal itself first."
"Exactly," Herman replied with a nod.
"They already possess one of the most advanced internet firewalls on the planet," Rian continued thoughtfully. "Information entering or leaving the country is already heavily monitored and filtered by the government. That would make controlling public reactions significantly easier than almost anywhere else. If such an entity wanted to study humanity's response while minimizing worldwide panic, China would be an incredibly logical testing ground."
"It goes even further than that," Herman said. "Religious beliefs and cultural traditions there differ substantially from those found across Europe and much of the rest of the world. Those differences would provide valuable insight into how entirely separate populations respond to the exact same revelation. From the perspective of an observer gathering data, it would be the perfect first experiment."
Rian slowly leaned back in his chair as the full implications settled over him. The theory still sounded unbelievable, yet every piece fit together with unsettling precision. If Herman was even partially correct, then the political struggles currently occupying the world's attention were merely a small part of a much larger picture. For the first time in years, Rian found himself hoping that his oldest friend had misread the situation entirely.
"I reached the same conclusion," Herman admitted quietly after a long silence filled the room. "Just imagining the chaos that would erupt if such a being revealed itself here in Europe is enough to give me nightmares. Entire governments could collapse under the weight of public panic, religions would be thrown into turmoil, and every nation would scramble to redefine its place in the world. Compared to that possibility, a border crisis involving Secret Realms almost feels manageable."