11:30.
The clock appeared on every major command screen in the world.
Washington.
Beijing.
Moscow.
Delhi.
The timer had started.
30:00
29:59
29:58
The seconds began falling rapidly.
---
Inside the White House—
the President stood in the center of the war room.
Screens flashed with warnings.
Economic systems unstable.
Defense networks compromised.
Financial markets frozen.
His advisors spoke over each other.
"Sir, we cannot maintain control—"
"This isn't a cyberattack, this is system-level override—"
"If this continues, global markets will collapse—"
The President raised his hand.
"Silence."
The room went quiet.
He looked at the countdown.
27:12
Then he picked up a secure phone.
"Connect me to India."
---
New Delhi.
The Prime Minister answered almost immediately.
"Yes."
The President spoke directly.
"We're lifting everything."
A pause.
The Prime Minister listened.
"All restrictions on Albert—"
"Accounts, assets, aircraft—everything."
"We're restoring full operational access."
The Prime Minister remained silent for a moment.
Then he said quietly—
"Understood."
The President continued.
"And one more thing."
His voice hardened.
"You support Albert."
The Prime Minister frowned slightly.
"That is a strong request."
The President answered calmly.
"This is no longer a request."
"It's survival."
The countdown continued.
24:03
The President added one final sentence.
"Also…"
"We're blocking Arthur."
There was a brief silence.
Then the Prime Minister replied.
"…I understand."
The call ended.
---
Within minutes—
systems began unlocking.
Accounts restored.
Aircraft permissions cleared.
Financial restrictions removed.
Across the world—
Albert's empire came back online.
---
Meanwhile—
in a private high-security office—
Arthur stood frozen in front of multiple screens.
"Why are our systems failing?"
His voice was sharp.
His team rushed around him.
"Sir—our accounts are being restricted—"
"Multiple governments are blocking our access—"
"Our transactions are being denied—"
Arthur slammed his fist on the table.
"No."
"This is impossible."
His mother stood behind him, watching quietly.
"Not impossible," she said.
"Expected."
Arthur turned toward her.
"What?"
She stepped forward slowly.
"You thought he was still the same boy."
"The one you could control."
Arthur's expression tightened.
"He is nothing without us."
She shook her head.
"No."
"He was nothing."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"But now…"
"…he is something else."
Arthur stared at the screens as more systems went dark.
For the first time—
he felt something unfamiliar.
Not anger.
Not arrogance.
Fear.
Because the "poor boy" he once ignored—
had just forced the world's most powerful nations…
to choose his side.
---
Back in Delhi—
the countdown stopped.
00:00
The message disappeared.
All systems returned to normal.
---
In Albert's room—
Bilal looked at the restored systems in disbelief.
"Everything is back."
Albert stood quietly near the window.
He didn't look surprised.
He didn't celebrate.
He only said one thing.
"Good."
Because now—
the real war could finally begin.