The light from the magitek lamps bathed the interior of the imperial study in a dim glow. The high walls, closely guarded by black banners edged in gold, were lined with documents, conquest plans, topographical maps of Lucis, and projections of the magitek advance on the war fronts.

There, sitting behind a wide, polished obsidian desk, his fingers interlaced and his brow furrowed, Ledolas Aldercapt reviewed a report with a sharp gaze. Every word he read seemed to weigh in the balance of the empire's fate. There was no rest for an emperor. Not while the world still refused to bend.

Beside him, an electronic pen recorded each of his notes with precision. The faint tick of the hovering device was the only sound, until...

Knock knock.

A sharp knock on the door.

The emperor's fingers stopped in midair.

For a moment, silence reigned again, and only after a few seconds, his voice rose with the calm of someone unfazed by anything, not even the unexpected.

"Come in."

The tone was neither warm nor hostile. It echoed the voice of a man accustomed to even his greetings carrying political weight.