Chapter 195: The Seal of Kingship, I Am Your Father
Information linked.
Spirit particle comparison confirmed. Authority comparison confirmed.
Kingship granted.
In the vast star filled void, the satellite that circled Earth like a silent blade of light spoke in a crisp, emotionless tone.
On the far side of the Moon, in a region no living observer could reach, a colossal crystalline structure unfolded.
It manifested without fanfare.
A presence that pierced distance itself, turning into an invisible rainbow glare, like the cold focus of an eye. That gaze slid down through the dark between worlds and fell upon the western lands of the planet.
Rome.
A quiet street.
Only two breaths remained.
Nero Claudius stood frozen, golden hair catching what little light reached the alley. Her clothes were still too fine for this place, too bright, too royal. Yet none of that mattered now.
The man before her was not something she had ever prepared for.
Even facing Caligula after his descent into madness, even when he looked like a beast wearing a crown, she had never felt this kind of pressure.
This was different.
This was suffocation by scale.
Fear locked around her heart. Blood seemed to turn heavy in her veins, as if her body was trying to become stone before something larger noticed it.
Yet the man did not strike.
He only frowned and scanned her from head to toe, as if she were a puzzle whose answer had been written in an unfamiliar language.
Rowe's mind remained calm.
He had come from the Thirty Six Heavens of Divine Land. The moment he stepped into Rome, something tugged at him, a scent made of pure information.
Moon Cell.
That was the point of this journey.
And yet the girl in front of him did not feel like a super quantum computer with Solar System scale influence. Something like that could wear a human body as easily as a cloak.
Her face, however, was unmistakable.
Nero Claudius.
But Rome's emperor was irrelevant compared to Moon Cell.
So it was not her.
Then it had to be on her.
Rowe moved a step closer. His robe of white linen, ancient in cut and severe in presence, made the narrow street feel smaller.
Nero wanted to run.
She wanted her legs to obey.
She did not want to die. She still wanted to save Rome. She still wanted to understand why her uncle had shattered into something monstrous.
She forced herself to move.
Her body refused.
Authority confirmed.
Approved.
The mechanical voice rang inside her chest like a verdict.
Rowe halted.
A brilliant beam slammed down from the sky, striking Nero's position with a roar that shook dust loose from old stone.
Rowe lifted a hand. The descending radiance fractured and dispersed, like light torn apart by an unseen boundary.
But Nero was gone.
Rowe's eyes narrowed.
His body shifted forward, and a short sword whistled past his back, missing by a hair.
The attacker had not aimed to kill. The intent was to knock him down, the same restraint Nero had shown when she dropped the Imperial Guards earlier.
"Umu, he dodged it?"
Her voice carried real surprise.
Nero had appeared behind him, already retreating, red dress swaying as she sprang away to create distance.
Rowe turned to face her.
So she had regained mobility.
The sensation a moment ago was not her own strength. It was a permission layered over her.
Rowe smiled slightly.
"Of course. It is on you."
He looked at her without blinking.
"Your Highness, Nero Claudius."
Nero's emerald eyes widened.
"You know me?"
She tightened her grip.
"Are you another assassin my uncle sent?"
Then, with a hint of disbelief, she added, "Would a warrior with an aura like yours also fall to his madness?"
"Caligula?" Rowe answered plainly. "No. I do not know him."
He gestured toward her hand.
"My name is Rowe. I came for something on you."
"Something?"
Nero flinched, then reached for the ring out of instinct.
Her fingers closed on air.
Gone.
No, not gone.
Her gaze snapped to the back of her hand.
A red pattern had appeared there, etched into her skin like a brand. It did not look exactly like the ring, but it was close enough that she recognized it instantly.
Rowe moved before she could react. In a blink, he was in front of her, holding her hand and examining the mark with a tight frown.
"So it really is this. It fused with you."
Nero tugged once, out of reflex. Then she froze, caught by his words.
"Fused?"
"It is a fragment of Authority," Rowe said, voice precise. "It comes from a massive machine beyond the heavens."
He released her hand.
His conclusion was firm. The thing connected to Moon Cell had been in her grasp. Most likely, it had recognized her and latched on. In that instant of recognition, Nero had broken through his oppressive presence and moved.
"Machine? Authority fragment?" Nero's brows twitched. She did not look excited. She looked weighed down.
"I do not understand, but I assume it is powerful."
Rowe's expression softened by a fraction.
He could have tried to take it. He chose not to.
Something that had already chosen a host was not easily stripped away, and Rowe had no interest in tearing power out of a young girl's flesh.
Besides, he could feel it.
Moon Cell's attention was already on Rome.
This fragment would not be the only one.
Find the rest. Collect them. Fuse them.
Then seize the vast computation behind them.
Either die, or grow stronger.
Rowe turned as if to leave.
Nero's voice stopped him.
"Are you very interested in it?"
"Very," Rowe answered, glancing back. "Do you have more?"
"No. But I know who does."
Nero drew a slow breath, steadying herself.
"Caligula. The current ruler of Rome. I stole it from him."
Rowe's gaze sharpened.
Nero continued, voice firm.
"Yes. My uncle went mad because of it."
Caligula's reputation now was that of a tyrant, a monster wrapped in imperial purple. Yet Nero remembered the beginning. He had once been capable. Even beloved, by citizens and by the old nobles of the Senate.
Rumors claimed his madness came from the Moon, that a crazed blood moon loved him.
Nero knew the truth.
"The Moon is involved," she said. "But not because of some blood moon's favor. He came into contact with something that fell from Moon Mountain."
Rowe's eyes narrowed.
"You mean the thing that fused with you."
"Umu. Yes."
Nero met his gaze head on, emerald eyes burning with resolve.
"The ring was taken from him. He should have more."
"Should," Rowe repeated.
"I heard it was not even found," Nero said. "It fell from Caligula's body."
Rowe's thoughts moved.
So the fragments were shedding. Spreading. Infecting.
It matched what he had sensed.
He did not ask the next question.
Nero answered it anyway.
"I want you to help me."
"Why?" Rowe asked.
"Because you are powerful," Nero said, without hesitation. "Because you know why he is mad."
She paused, then added quietly, as if trusting her own sense more than logic.
"And I can feel you bear no ill will toward me."
Intuition.
Rowe's gaze slid to the small strand of hair that stood upright on her head, stubborn as a flag.
He reached out and pressed it down.
It sprang back up, unimpressed.
Nero blinked, puzzled rather than offended.
"Umu? What are you doing?"
Rowe withdrew his hand.
"Nothing. I tested something I have wanted to test for a long time."
Then he nodded once, decision made.
"If you trust me, then I will go with you. Let us see what is truly happening to your uncle."
Nero's shoulders loosened, but her mind immediately shifted into planning.
"Umu. Then before we go, we need a detailed plan. The palace defenses are tight. Entering unnoticed is not easy."
Rowe had already turned and started walking out of the alley.
Nero stared, then hurried after him.
"Eh? Where are you going? Umu, wait for me."
They stepped into Rome's main streets.
Despite Caligula's brutality, the city still lived. Most of his cruelty had remained confined to the palace. Under the domes washed in sunlight, crowds moved. Dust danced in the air. Markets shouted. Life kept pretending it was normal.
Nero kept her voice low, eyes scanning for recognition.
"Where are you going, Lord Rowe?"
Rowe glanced at her, completely unconcerned.
"To the palace."
Nero stopped walking for half a heartbeat.
"The palace? Directly? Without a plan? Without checking guard rotations?"
Rowe did not slow.
Nero hurried to match him, panic rising.
"Are you serious? I know you are strong, but the palace is guarded by a god."
"I know."
"Our patron god," Nero insisted. "The chief god of Rome. Mars."
"I know."
Nero stared at him as if he were the insane one.
"You know, and you still go?"
Rowe's tone remained calm.
"Why would I not?"
Nero had thought she was bold, breaking into Caligula's bedchamber alone, stealing the ring, escaping. She had not expected to meet someone who treated the entire Roman Palace like an inconvenient door.
A single man, walking into an army.
Walking into a god.
A moment later, Nero gritted her teeth and followed.
If she brought him into this, she would not let him die because of it.
At least not where she could see it.
They arrived.
The Roman Palace stood ahead, and the Imperial Guards had already spotted them. Red plumes swayed as soldiers moved in coordinated precision. Spears lifted. Shields locked together, forming a wall.
"Your Highness Nero Claudius," the commander shouted, riding forward. "I did not expect you to deliver yourself to us."
He raised his spear.
"Lay down your weapons and surrender. We guarantee you will not be harmed."
They had recognized her instantly.
Nero sighed.
"This will be troublesome."
Rowe stepped forward.
"Troublesome? No."
The legion held formation, ready to push and grind down anything in front of it. In a siege, it was brutal. In an encirclement, it was also efficient.
It was also the worst possible formation to take if the enemy did not fight like a man.
As Rowe advanced, golden ripples spread through the air.
Chains erupted from those ripples, countless and precise, snapping into place around every soldier and every spear.
The entire wall of shields became a trapped beast in a single breath.
"What sorcery is this?" the commander shouted, stunned.
He tried to move, and the chains yanked him from his horse.
Rowe lowered his hand.
"This is not sorcery," he said evenly. "It is a binding Noble Phantasm."
Nero stood there, dumbfounded.
Then the air above the palace shook.
A roar like thunder rolled down from the sky.
Mars had been stirred.
"Who dares trespass upon the court guarded by great Mars?"
The god's shadow had not yet arrived, but the pressure of divine presence crashed down hard enough to silence the street.
Nero tried to speak, tried to warn him.
Her voice barely carried.
"Rowe, run."
Rowe walked forward anyway, raising his eyes toward the unseen divine source of the voice.
Mars demanded again, louder, colder.
"Who are you?"
Rowe answered without blinking.
"Your father."
For a heartbeat, even the heavens seemed to pause.
"What?"
.....
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