15 minutes earlier, in the town of Azmar.
With a population of around 18,000 people, this was a medium-sized town in Axelor which actually had a few unique features.
For one thing, it was the newest town in the Kingdom, only established 3 years ago by a retired general who had obtained the land and the permission to set up the town after his own name.
This wasn't a very uncommon circumstance. The highest rewards given by the government were always to those of the army, and this man had served for over half a century with a lot of honors to his name. In fact, he was even known to be one of the only Generals to have fought against all the other forces of the Continent, and lived to tell the tale.
He hadn't been very talented, nor had he been very intelligent.
Yet, his redeeming quality was that he pushed himself harder than anyone else could, and he was an expert in listening to orders and carrying them out in the best way possible without asking any questions.
This had, of course, made him well-liked, which resulted in him retiring to directly becoming a town Mayor.
In the land that he had obtained, he used most of his money to build the town that attracted people from villages all over.
When he was done, many expected him to milk this opportunity as much as possible by raising the taxes to exorbitant amounts. He would only have to pay the standard portion to the government, before pocketing the rest himself.
Only…defying all expectations, General Azmar's town had the lowest taxes in the whole of the Kingdom except for the Capital itself. On top of the Government's taxes, which were mandatory everywhere, there was only a very small amount that was just used for the maintenance of the town.
Hence, this became the prime location to live in, as it was also discovered that this man who had been ruthless on the battlefield, was actually just a kind citizen who wished to see the happy smiles on the faces of his people whom he had fought to protect.
Most of all, it became the hot destination for those looking for a new start.
The purges had resulted in many families being broken apart and ruined, forever. Often, remaining members of these families would commit suicide, unable to accept the fact that they had been deprived of their loved ones so suddenly.
Even though they understood that it was necessary due to the excessive propaganda that was blasted on them everywhere, from daily announcements to newspapers to even posters present in many places, they just couldn't reconcile with this fact.
Hence, to prevent this, government officials who still had good hearts advised people to move, so that they wouldn't have to be constantly reminded of whom they had lost by being in the same place.
And for those moving for this reason, Azmar was the first option, mainly because of the relatively calm atmosphere and the lower cost that would be needed to live.
Hence, over the years, with the increase in the number of purges, those moving for this reason had also increased, until Azmar became the unofficial haven for all those deprived of family or friends.
With more number of people gathering who shared a more or less common feeling, they found solace in each other, eventually resulting in a thriving town.
Today, all signs had pointed to this being a normal day. As no one had access to the Network, they didn't know of all the incredible things happening outside. All they did know was that the small army unit garrisoned in the town were a bit restless, which wasn't a very uncommon occurrence.
Lazon had opened his store as usual, and he had been waiting for the first customer to walk in.
He wore a bandana which covered his forehead and was tied around the back of his head, and many who came to avail his services always asked why he chose to wear this peculiar item of clothing.
If they knew that it was because he wanted to hide the round, ball-sized hole where his Mageroot had once been before he gouged it out by himself, they would definitely have been pretty damn shocked.
He touched that spot from the outside now, and as he did so, the moment which triggered this came into his mind, as it always did.
An elderly man out to grab breakfast for his beloved wife, who came back to find a barrier around his apartment with his wife waiting for him, faithfully, like she had always done throughout their life whenever he left for work.
Unhesitatingly, he had stepped through and hugged her, and Lazon had been reminded of all the times during his childhood when he had been in the middle of that hug.
Somehow, by coincidence, he had been the one in charge to cast the wind blades to purge all those in the area in which his parents were standing.
But how could he? He had stopped, and that was when he saw his father turn towards him and recognize him for who he was.
He had no idea what to expect, but he could never have thought that his father-the man who had raised him…would actually move to another area so that he wouldn't have to be the one to commit the ultimate sin.
And at that last moment, when he had waved goodbye…Lazon had completely lost it.
He had fainted, and the first thing he did after waking up was to cast wind blades to cut out his own Mageroot, as he didn't want this thing which had been useless in protecting the people who mattered to him most.
He had been diagnosed with PTSD and given involuntary retirement with a hefty pension, as this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
The Mages in Axelor were already numbered, but incidents like these brought that number even lower, leading many ministers to request the King that he should consider stopping such 'targeted' purges.
Of course, he hadn't listened.
Blinking hard to get rid of these thoughts, Lazon heard a commotion outside which made him wonder whether the local drunkard was throwing a fit again.
The street he was in was near the center of the town, and it was usually jam-packed at this time.
However, when he walked out to see what was up, he found the streets empty.
Puzzled, he looked around, and finally saw a large group of people gathered together in front of something.
Curious, he walked forward to the group and saw many people who had faces which had been drained of blood. They were standing rigidly while staring into space, which made them look quite eerie, and tears had started to flow down the faces of a few who collapsed to the ground as soon as he appeared and started to cry.
In a bid to ask them what the heck was going on, he took another step forward, but stopped and adopted the same position as the others as he felt himself being swept away before appearing in a scene where the King of Axelor, whose face he could never forget, was flying in front of him while gesturing to a town below them.
His words finally made Lazon understand why the others were having those reactions.
"Hehe, just a little ploy to make sure that that brat can never succeed at turning the people of this Kingdom, even if he succeeds in somehow entering it. They all think he's responsible for all the purges being carried out, as he wants to conquer them, the same way that he 'conquered and enslaved' Eldinor. I swear, time has only made all these people dumber than they were during the Empire. It's so easy to manipulate them! A whisper here, and a casually smuggled in newspaper there. That's it! Oh, I can't wait to see how it'll be when a village gets massacred by soldiers touting his name. Maybe they'll start burning him! Or maybe I should think of something even more creative…"
Allowed to witness this from up close, Lazon had no doubt that it wasn't real. He didn't know how it had been made possible, but as he returned to his own body, he, too, collapsed, once again losing himself in the tide of those painful memories.
Yet…instead of causing sadness, they made him angry.
Angry…that he had to go through all that, that he had had to see his parents die, just because their King was fearful of the King of Lanthanor.
"F*CK YOU, SAFIROS!"
Unlike the others, he had no qualms in screaming this, which made those around him stand up with red eyes, too, as they tried to control the rage that pumped through them along with their blood.
However, that was when they saw a familiar figure in the center of the group, who was holding aloft a glowing trinket that was shaped like a conch.
His face had been the one on the posters that always made their way to villages and towns, so that the people could know whom they had to blame for the purges. In many places, his face was plastered with mud and even feces in order to give a little bit of satisfaction to the citizens.
Only, now, with that vision…it became clear who the one that was supposed to be pelted with feces was.
The surprising thing was that the King of Lanthanor had an expression of sadness on his face as he saw those crying with sadness, frustration or anger around him.
Turning to Lazon, who had been staring at him with a puzzled expression on his face, he beckoned him forward with his finger.
Lazon could tell that that conch was the reason behind them being shown that vision. He was grateful that he finally knew the truth, which was something he had questioned a lot, as it had never been clear how that man in that apartment had gotten that trinket which caused the purge in the first place.
When he reached the King, the man spoke in a low voice.
"I know how you feel. And I am truly sad that all this happened, in a way, because of me. I wish to set things right. I cannot explain everything now, but I need you to do something for me. Can you gather more people who have been affected by the purges? I need at least 2000 of them. You probably feel powerless against the King. But know that by doing this, you will be helping to cause his eventual downfall."
Lazon was a soldier, so he was trained in partitioning his mind so that he could fight whenever it was needed. Now, he used that skill to put the anger aside before nodding. He didn't know if the rest of what the King was saying was true, but he was sure that everyone else deserved to find out the truth, just like him. And that would happen most effectively with the vision, as it was better than any other means of communication.
Nodding, he was about to leave, but he stopped when he remembered the army.
"The soldiers-"
"Will not stop you. They're all trapped in their barracks by a barrier. I made them chase me there before trapping them all inside. Go, and be quick."
With another nod, Lazon left, and while he did, he heard the booming sound of the King's voice echo in the place where the people were gathered.
"People of Axelor. The truth has been shown to you. I do not have long, so I will be brief. If you wish for revenge, there is a way. Bend the knee and swear to follow Lanthanor, and retribution will be yours. If you do so, I will swear an oath to all of you, right here and now, that it will happen. I only ask this because it is essential. The choice is yours."
…
5 minutes. 5 minutes had been all he needed.
Using a loudspeaker trinket, Lazon had decided to act smart. Going to each apartment, he had shouted, "Reports have come that the King might be purging the remaining family members of all those who have already died in purges. Only the town center is safe! Head over there if you wish to live!"
This had been more effective than any other method. Scrambling, hundreds of people flocked to the center and were subjected to the vision.
Daneel had been afraid that it might take time to gather a lot of people. This was only a clone of his that had been deployed on his orders after he had reached the location of the Grand Inheritance, so all he could do was walk around and deploy trinkets. He had an arsenal of them that he had prepared for this plan beforehand, which he had put to good use to trap all the soldiers in barely a minute.
His whole objective behind asking Faxul to gather data regarding purge victims had been to make this happen. In Axelor, he needed a pocket of at least 1000 people whom he ruled, so that he could activate the Ruler's Inheritance.
He had been lucky in picking that soldier, who called people here in that innovative way to save him time. His real body was delaying the transport of that block of earth for this reason, too: he needed to be done here before his main body approached this location.
Thankfully, in just 5 minutes, over 3000 people had gathered in the town center.
With each loop, he stated his message again.
But people were still lost in their emotions, and very few had bent the knee.
This wasn't working as fast as he had hoped it would.
So…Daneel improvised.
Putting away the conch, he gathered the attention of all those in front of him by using a loudspeaker trinket.
"I know why you are doubtful. All you know about Lanthanor is that it is a cruel place where people are always oppressed. Am I right?"
Many people nodded, as that was the propaganda that had always been spread by Safiros.
"Well, just like what you just saw, the King was lying to you. Lanthanor is a place where people are free to do what they wish, and they are even supported by the government to fulfill their dreams. You don't believe me? Then look for yourself."
Saying so, Daneel made a display trinket appear which began to show the scenes all around the Kingdom, including the train station, happy, laughing families going about their work, calm streets filled with laughter, et cetera, et cetera.
With each image, the people of Axelor realized what they didn't have.
"This is what I promise you if you choose to follow me. This, and the revenge that you deserve. Safiros needs to die. And I swear that it will happen. The choice…is up to you. Either bend the knee to me, and take the chance of gaining revenge. Or don't, and be left wondering whether you should have done it for the rest of your life."
Daneel was out of time. And this needed to work.
Clearly, he had underestimated just how effective a lifetime of propaganda and fear was, and how much time he needed to change someone's allegiance. After all, this was the first time he was dealing with something like this.
The Mageroot was quickly tiring in his main body, so he couldn't dally any longer. Even though the main body was only being robotically controlled by the system while his main consciousness was here, he could tell that this was the case.
That last statement finally resulted in a little change, but nothing much happened.
Until…one man walked forward to stand in front of him.
He was the same one that Daneel had asked before to call the people, and now, in front of him, he turned around and addressed them.
"I am Lazon, an ex-soldier of the Army. This man speaks the truth. In the army, I heard rumors regarding this, but talking about it was treason. The King of Lanthanor is someone who has committed many glorious feats throughout the continent. I…believe him. And I am willing to take this chance, as I know that otherwise, all of us are powerless in defying the King. Even if there is the tiniest possibility that I can avenge my parents, I am ready to take the plunge. People, I know you are afraid, but it is now time to put that fear aside."
He turned around, and said, "We Axelorians are a hard race. We have been beaten to the ground, again and again, but we always survive. I want that to change. And I hope to see that change under you. I, Lazon Fellharn, swear to follow you for the rest of my life."
Saying so, he bent, which resulted in a domino effect.
One by one, the Axelorians knelt to the ground, swearing to be ruled by him.
'Well, this was sloppy,' was the thought that came in Daneel's mind, but he was just glad that it had worked.
997, 998…1000.
As soon as the magical number was reached, Daneel smiled broadly, and said in his head:
"Ruler's Inheritance…activate."