In the ruins of a shattered building, moonlight spilled through the jagged hole where the ceiling had once been, dust drifting in the pale glow. Amid broken pillars and blackened rubble, Nero Claudius, the Fifth Emperor of Rome, last of the Julio-Claudian line, sat slumped against a heap of stone.
Her red dress was torn, her pale skin smeared with soot and blood. The wounds were mortal. She could already feel the summoning contract unraveling, her spiritual form fading grain by grain.
Across the floor, what was left of her Master lay still, his command seals burned out, his eyes forever closed.
Nero exhaled a long, almost theatrical sigh.
"So, the curtain falls… far too soon," she murmured, voice still holding a trace of amusement despite the pain. Her gaze found the moon, its light shining through the broken roof, hanging above the ruin.
"Perhaps… in the next performance, I will have a grander stage." Her hand reached up to the moonlight, until her body had completely disappeared.
…
—The Saderan Empire—
Night loomed over the capital of Sadera, its proud palace rising like a monument to ambition, resembling palaces built by the Romans. Marble columns gleamed under the torchlight, and bronze statues cast long shadows over the manicured gardens. Guards stood at every gate and corridor on high alert. Tonight would mark one of the most important nights of the Empire's history.
The Empress — a striking woman with hair like spun gold — lay back upon a bed draped in crimson, her hands gripping the sheets as pain wracked her. A circle of maids and midwives surrounded her, murmuring encouragements to her Empress..
"My lady, breathe—push! Just a little more!"
With one last, shattering cry, the child came into the world. A midwife caught her quickly, washed her clean, and wrapped her in soft linen.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty," the woman said, bowing slightly. "A daughter."
The Empress's breathing slowed. Her eyes softened as the baby was placed into her arms. The newborn's eyelids fluttered open, revealing a bright, unnatural shade of green that matched that of the finest emerald.
The room bustled, water being poured, linens being changed, but the child's mind had already formed a thought no infant should have.
'EEEHHHHHH?!'
Her cry rang out, loud enough to startle even the stoic guards at the door.
The heavy double doors opened with a deep, resonant groan, and every maid and midwife froze mid-motion. Two guards stepped in first, the praetorians that protected the royal family and the Emperor himself. Behind them, draped in a cloak of deep imperial purple, strode Molt Sol Augustus, the Emperor of Sadera.
The Empress shifted, sitting a little straighter in bed despite her exhaustion. "My Emperor," she greeted softly.
Molt's gaze went first to her… then to the baby in her arms. He stepped forward, the sound of his boots on the mosaic floor slow.
The Empress lifted the swaddled infant toward him. Nero, despite herself, blinked up at the towering man. 'Ah… a father, is it? Hm. Decent bearing, but his stride could be grander…' The Emperor could not have guessed that he was already being criticized by his newborn daughter.
The Emperor reached down, surprisingly gentle as his calloused hands accepted the baby. He studied her green eyes, his own narrowing faintly in curiosity. He noted that the child didn't cry like a normal newborn would, instead, he saw her eyes studying him. He gave a small smirk that no one but the child in his hands could see.
"She will bear the name," Molt intoned, "Nero Claudius Augustus"
'Hoh? Even despite my current form, you were able to discern my true name? I guess it is only obvious that I, the Emperor of Rome, the Flower of Olympia cannot be hidden from such discerning eyes! She nodded her baby head solemnly, confusing the Emperor for a moment.
The court scribes at the edge of the room murmured as they etched the name into parchment. Molt handed her back to the Empress. He was somewhat glad he didn't have another son. He already had three, if he had another, there would be a high chance his sons would start a civil war for the throne. With a daughter, he had more opportunities to create alliances by having her marry. But that was for the future.
"I want regular reports on her wellness" He spoke briefly to the Empress.
"Yes your Majesty"
The Emperor turned and made his way out of the room. His praetorians followed him out. The attendants bowed deeply until the door shut. He made a note to increase the guards around the Empress and the newly born princess.
Nero watched him exit, he didn't stay in the room for long. She understood, as a former Emperor she knew the work needed to run an Empire. 'So this shall be my new stage? Umu! I shall make it a grand one! I shall remake My Rome!'