Chapter 7: Emperor Of Eternal Night, Reinhard
Chapter 7: Emperor Of Eternal Night, Reinhard
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[Knowing that the marriage between Agrippina the Younger and Claudius IV was a calculated move to seize power, you were not surprised. After all, Agrippina's brother was the infamous tyrant Caligula, the previous emperor.]
[Realizing that Claudius IV's death was approaching, your feelings about this father were... complicated, to say the least.]
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"Rhine, my child, come here. Let me take a good look at you."
In 50 AD, Claudius IV, now 62 years old and in failing health, had already entrusted state affairs to Elric.
As the aging emperor watched the young man before him—radiant and full of potential, like the rising sun that illuminated the entire empire—he realized something: he had never truly looked at this child.
Nor had he ever tried to understand him.
"Father."
Half-kneeling beside Claudius IV, Elric regarded the man who had shaped his existence. For him, Claudius IV had never been a true father.
The emperor had dabbled in forbidden magic left behind by the tyrant Caligula, sacrificing lives and using his own genetic material to create Elric. His birth had been no act of love, but a calculated move to consolidate power.
And yet, the experiment had succeeded. Elric had shown extraordinary talent from an early age, proving himself far more fit to rule than Claudius IV.
It was precisely Elric's existence that had allowed Claudius IV to hold the throne for so many years without fear of rebellion.
"Rhine, my child, I'm sorry. I couldn't give you a strong Roman Empire."
The emperor's voice was tinged with regret. As he looked at Elric, Claudius IV—who had spent a lifetime as a soldier—realized he was now utterly alone.
The heroic dreams of his youth, the beauties he had loved, the generals he had trusted, the ministers who had flattered him... none of them remained by his side.
In the end, it was this son, whom he had scarcely paid attention to, who stood beside him.
A flicker of guilt appeared in his cloudy eyes. What thoughts crossed Claudius IV's mind at that moment? Was he lamenting his failures as a father? His inability to create the ideal Roman Empire? Or perhaps...
"Ah... it doesn't matter anymore."
A faint smile graced his lips. For Claudius IV, nothing mattered now.
As an emperor, he had enjoyed fine wine, exquisite food, the love of countless women, and the pinnacle of power. He had lived a life of excess and glory. Now, in his twilight, he placed his trust in his son. Reinhard would achieve far more than he ever could.
"Reinhard!"
Suddenly, Claudius IV called out Elric's name with renewed strength. Rising unsteadily to his feet, the aging emperor announced his final decree to the empire.
"From this day forth, Reinhard Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus shall inherit the throne!"
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Claudius IV's voice echoed across the Roman Empire. In the years to come, history would remember his successor by many names:
The most ruthless executioner in Rome's history.
The most tyrannical monarch.
The most fearsome dictator.
And yet, above all else, he would be known as the Eternal Night Emperor—Reinhard, the man who seized the throne.
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[With Claudius IV's passing, you ascended to the throne and immediately began reforming the Roman Empire.]
[The Senate, the nobility, religion, the military—nothing was beyond your reach. These were the foundations of the empire, and you intended to rebuild them.]
[No one anticipated your meteoric rise.]
[To everyone, Prince Rhine was undeniably a genius, but in their eyes, he was still just a prince.
He had no political power and no military force.
Stabilizing his position after ascending the throne was already seen as an insurmountable challenge.
No one could have predicted that you would strike first.]
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"Your Majesty, the members of the Senate have been detained. These are the records of their crimes."
"Your Majesty, the Guards have disbanded all imperial city troops, and the generals have pledged their allegiance to you."
"Your Majesty, the corrupt clergy have confessed. Here is evidence of how they deceived their followers."
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[With decisive and ruthless action, you swiftly eradicated all elements that threatened imperial authority. Everything you had carefully prepared as a prince now came into play.]
[You implemented sweeping reforms: rewriting laws, dissolving the Senate and the old nobility, and establishing an entirely new political system.]
[You reorganized the military to ensure tighter control and prevent dissent.]
[Leveraging the Memory Hall, you fused the most effective systems from various dynasties and Empire with the specific needs of Rome. The result was an unprecedented transformation.]
[However, these radical changes provoked fierce backlash. The entrenched nobility and defenders of the old, corrupt order denounced you as cruel.]
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[Murderous. Ruthless. Merciless.
In less than a month since your reign began, tens of thousands had died by your command. To many, you were no less than an executioner—an emperor even more terrifying than Caligula.]
[Yet to the common people, you were a savior.
You abolished countless unjust systems, ushering in a new era for Rome. Where others saw tyranny, they saw justice.]
[The previous Roman Empire, which had thrived on power cloaked in hypocrisy, was stripped bare under your eternal night. Though your reign began in pain, it also brought rebirth.]
[The people bore witness. Amidst the darkness of eternal night, they saw a flame that would never extinguish.]
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[By 54 AD, Nero—who, under the original timeline, should have been Claudius IV's successor—had risen to become the most respected judge in the empire. Every verdict she delivered was met with universal admiration, and her wisdom earned her the reverence of the populace.]
[Meanwhile, the Eternal Night Emperor Reinhard remained a polarizing figure.]
[The remnants of the noble class, the church, and the factions that once thrived under the Senate despised you with unrelenting hatred. They cursed your name and seethed with anger but lacked the means to challenge you.]
[In contrast, the commoners and the military revered you as a godlike figure. To them, you were the harbinger of Rome's rebirth, the divine force that had delivered the empire from decay.]
[Under your rule, the Roman Empire entered a new era.]
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[You had brought Rome to its knees, stripped it of its old identity, and forged it anew.
The Eternal Night Emperor Reinhard became a name forever etched in history.]