The Empire did not fall quietly.
It collapsed.
Messengers rode until their horses died beneath them.
Signal towers lit up across the land like a chain of fire.
Every region, every fort, every commander received the same message:
"THE EMPEROR IS DEAD."
At the center of the chaos stood a man who did not panic.
General Kael Varion.
The Empire's greatest strategist.
A man who had ended wars before they even began.
"…Report," he said calmly.
A soldier, pale and shaking, stepped forward.
"There was no army, sir."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"No army?"
"No banners. No formation. No magic circles detected. Just—"
The soldier hesitated.
"—a single object."
Silence filled the war room.
"…What object?" Kael asked.
The soldier swallowed.
"A… stone, sir."
For the first time in years—
General Kael Varion frowned.
"…You're telling me," he said slowly, "that the Emperor was assassinated…"
"…by a rock."
"Yes, sir."
Kael turned toward the shattered wall of the palace.
The hole was… unnatural.
Too clean.
Too precise.
Too absolute.
"…Not a rock," Kael muttered.
"A weapon."
Meanwhile—
Miles away.
Completely unrelated to the collapse of an empire—
Lira was struggling.
"…Hmm."
She stood in front of a tree.
A very normal tree.
"…Hungry."
She reached up.
Missed the fruit.
Tried again.
Missed.
"…Tch."
So she did the only logical thing.
She lightly tapped the tree.
BOOM.
The tree didn't shake.
It didn't fall.
It ceased to exist.
Where it once stood was now a perfectly round crater.
Birds fled.
Animals screamed.
The forest went silent.
Lira blinked.
"…No fruit."
She turned and walked away, leaving behind what would soon be labeled:
"The Second Impact Site."
Back in the capital—
Kael stood before a map.
Two points were marked.
The palace.
And now… the forest.
"…It moved," a commander whispered.
"No," Kael corrected.
"…It acted again."
A chill spread through the room.
"Sir… what are we dealing with?"
Kael closed his eyes.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Breaking down impossibilities.
No magic signature.
No known weapon.
No visible enemy.
Two attacks.
Both absolute.
Both… effortless.
"…A being," Kael said quietly.
"Not a person."
The commanders stiffened.
"A… monster?"
Kael opened his eyes.
Cold. Sharp. Certain.
"…A calamity."
And for the first time—
Fear entered the Empire.
Meanwhile—
Lira found a river.
Her face lit up.
"…Water!"
She ran toward it happily.
Then stopped.
Tilted her head.
"…Fish?"
A small fish swam near the surface.
Lira crouched.
Focused.
Eyes wide with determination.
"…Catch."
She slapped the water.
BOOOOOOM.
The river split.
Water blasted into the sky.
The ground shattered.
Fish, rocks, and mud were launched into the clouds like offerings to an angry god.
Lira blinked.
A single fish landed beside her.
Flopping.
"…Got it."
She smiled proudly.
Far away—
Kael stared as a third signal flare lit the sky.
"…It's spreading…" someone whispered.
Kael clenched his fist.
For the first time—
He felt it.
Not confusion.
Not doubt.
But anticipation.
"…Find it," he ordered.
"No matter what it is…"
"…we will identify this calamity."
He paused.
Then added quietly—
"…before it decides to do something worse."
Meanwhile—
Lira happily munched on her fish.
"…Hmm."
She looked at the sky.
Then at a mountain in the distance.
"…Big rock."
She smiled.
"Throw?"
And somewhere far away…
an entire mountain trembled.
To Be Continued…