Death Date

The King sat silently, his forehead practically glued to his hand as he stewed.

Just days ago, news of the destruction of the Natural Order Sect took the Kingdoms by storm and was obviously not a matter that could be ignored. Although the various Clans and Sects were hesitating with the Immortal Plane in mind, everyone was very much aware of the fact everything was now working on a very fast timeline, one that was taking them all for a ride.

When the Kingdoms learned of the reason behind the Natural Order Sect's destruction, they felt emboldened. Not only did this news likely mean that their other Sects weren't in danger, but it also proved that it wasn't their fault that the Ores Kingdom lost their backer.

With these reasonings in hand, the Kingdoms felt justified in splitting the resources of the Natural Order Sect among them, but there were a few problems that still lay in wait for them.

For one, although they dared to split the resources of the Natural Order Sect, they didn't dare to do so while stepping outside the rules set by the Immortal Plane. Since the Natural Order Sect had been destroyed, this meant that the matter of splitting their resources was entirely left to the 'Secular World'. This was because it was Ores Kingdom – a secular world construct – that was defending this now abandoned land. Essentially, this meant that remaining Sects could only have minimal involvement in the coming events.

Secondly, they were on a timeline. King Ores was already very close to the Spiritual Severing Realm. The moment he stepped into this realm, all of their planning would be for naught. As for the reason this was true, it was simple. If the resources of an entire Sect were suddenly funneled into the Secular World, not only would the three remaining Sects be unallowed to retaliate, but the Ores Royal Clan would suddenly become far stronger than their respective Kingdoms. Although it was true that even if this came to fruition, the Ores Kingdom would never take the initiative to attack three enemies, it would be more than enough to hold them off until the Sect could be rebuilt.

Simply put, if King Ores succeeded, the Ores Kingdom would gain great power while still following the rules imposed by the Immortal Plane. At the same time, the Sects would be unallowed to interfere since Ores Kingdom would still technically be part of the Secular World. The only caveat would be the King Ores also wouldn't be allowed to interfere directly. If these events occurred in this way, it could actually become a blessing for Ores Kingdom.

Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, if they wanted to band together to deal with Opes Kingdom now, they had to minimize as much infighting among them as possible. The only way to do this was to decide a method of splitting their treasures without causing internal disputes. And this, this was where the Co-Kingdom Coronation Games came into play.

According to the plan, the Kingdoms would introduce their Coronation Games together, allowing all of their heirs to compete with one another. This would work out perfectly since all of their heirs would be eighteen long before King Ores was estimated to breakthrough. Plus, with the competition that often occurred between these four Kingdoms, this seemed like a logical next step.

None of them believed the Ores Kingdom would reject this chance either. This was because after the Natural Order Sect was destroyed, their Fate took a massive hit. If nothing was done soon, they would begin experiencing terrible natural disasters in the coming years. However, if they did well during these games, then they'd be able to raise the confidence their citizens had in them and their future.

The final step of this plan simply relied on the rankings. Simply put, they'd give the Opes Kingdom a lane for survival. If they placed first amongst them all, then their Kingdoms would back off and never think of the Natural Order Sect's resources. However, if they placed anywhere but first, the treasures would split four ways based on rankings. This way, a war didn't even need to be fought!

Still, there was only one problem… These events had to take place before King Opes' breakthrough or else it would all be meaningless. And unfortunately for Ryu… He was by far the youngest of the Royal Clan heirs… While all others would reach the eighteen-year-old threshold, Little Ryu wouldn't.

When some Ministers raised this issue, they were received with disdain. So what if the Coronation Games were supposed to happen when one turned eighteen, did anyone here believe that Ryu would be able to improve enough to have any sort of mark with just an extra few years? Raising this point was laughable.

After multiple rounds of debates, many pointed out that the Third Prince was only two years older than Ryu, yet no one was worried about him. Clearly this was a matter of lackluster abilities and not youth. Why would you pity a young man born with everything who decided to do nothing with his life? Such an existence shouldn't be allowed in the Royal Clan to begin with.

Others still argued that the Third Prince was actually closer to three years older than Ryu, having been born slightly more than two years and a half earlier than Ryu. If they went through with the timeline as it currently stood, Ryu would be by far the youngest at fifteen while the Third Prince would have already crossed the appropriate eighteen-year-old boundary. But… These arguments fell on deaf ears…

By the end, King Tor managed to push off such talks until today. And obviously, this now had an evident ending.

Finally, King Tor spoke solemnly. "Tell the Kingdoms that we accept their proposal. Four years from now, the first Co-Kingdom Coronation Games will take place… It's best to not tell the Fourth Prince about this in order to avoid any more mishaps, write it into law if you have to…"

With those words left lingering in the air, the King turned and left.

**

While his death date was being decided, Ryu had slipped into what would become a coma of several months. By the time he awoke, he would find only Imperial Doula Miriam by his side.

The old Doula was so excited when Ryu's eyes finally fluttered open that she almost threw a small party for the two of them. It was only under Ryu's insistence that she gave up on the idea.

Still, Ryu felt a comforting warmth. Maybe others would be hurt by this reality, but, at least in the endless cold he faced, there was at least someone who was by his side.