A play. What an ancient and unfamiliar word.
As a noble, Herod did have a slight interest in this form of entertainment, lost since the ancient, prosperous era.
In the legends, when people could eat food made of meat and vegetables every day...
...in their leisure time, they would gather in magnificent halls with countless marble sculptures to watch stories from ancient legends performed by clever actors.
He would have liked plays.
But definitely not when there was a knife at his neck.
"You are in no position to refuse."
Perhaps noticing his resistance, Fulgrim placed her hand back on the hilt of her sword and said faintly.
Instantly, Herod felt a chill on his face.
Subconsciously, he tremblingly touched his cheek.
It was blood.
In that single instant, she had precisely drawn her sword, sliced open his skin, and sheathed it again.
And he hadn't even been able to see her movements.
Force.
The purest, most primitive form of display and threat.
Herod couldn't help but swallow.
"Fine... I'll go."
"Boss! That Fulgrim lady is so nice! Not only did she not give us any trouble, she even invited us to watch a play!"
"A play! I've never seen—"
"Shut up, you noisy idiot!"
Following behind Fulgrim, Herod cursed his brainless follower under his breath.
After he was forced to agree to her request, Fulgrim strolled casually through the upper streets of the fortress.
"Fulgrim, where exactly are you taking us?"
"As far as I know, there is no theater in Kalliston Fortress."
Even if there once was, it would have been dismantled and destroyed countless years ago.
"Fulgrim?"
She just walked silently ahead, not answering Herod's question.
Until her steps came to a halt in the center of the widest upper plaza.
There were quite a few people in the plaza.
Not far away, he could even see members of other noble families waiting there.
"We're not going anywhere."
"All of Kalliston... is our stage."
As her voice fell, the electric lights that had illuminated the upper fortress for countless years instantly went out.
Silence enveloped everything.
"Turn off the lighting equipment. Open ventilation panel 29-13."
[Acknowledged]
[Sound array system calibrated. Outputting according to instructions]
[All existing projection equipment in the factories has been linked]
[Outputting projection]
Standing in the main control chamber inside the fortress, Kasjia vigorously rubbed his temples as he adjusted the countless buttons of the fortress equipment.
Currently, his combat ability was not much higher than that of an ordinary person.
If he went down to organize the uprising with Fulgrim, he would probably just slow her down.
Therefore, after entering Kalliston through the secret passage, they split up as planned. He would control the fortress's mechanical systems to support Fulgrim's campaign.
He had previously suggested that Fulgrim adopt a simpler and faster method to suppress the fortress.
But she had flatly refused.
"No. It shouldn't be that simple."
"This is not just our battle to reclaim the fortress, but the starting point of our magnificent conquest of this planet, of this universe."
"Only the most splendid and magnificent heroic epic of an opening can be worthy of it."
"And in the future, all the scholars, historians, playwrights, or simple audience members who read of this history will be captivated and awed by it."
The reply was very much in her style.
But it wasn't so pleasant for Kasjia.
According to Fulgrim's plan, she would use a play to awaken the ideals and dreams in the hearts of everyone in Kalliston.
And Kasjia was promoted to the position of backstage manager for the play.
Although he wasn't a mechanical expert, during the month he had studied with Fulgrim, he was still able to operate the machinery according to instructions.
[Campaign C-1 is about to begin]
Darkness.
Everything returned to darkness.
"What's going on?"
"Did the power supply system fail?"
"Run! If you don't run, are you going to wait for that woman to come and chop off your head?!"
In the dim plaza, the many nobles gathered there were in a constant state of commotion.
But in the next moment, their hope of escape immediately turned to despair.
THUD!
Heavy blast walls descended, sealing off all the passages around the plaza.
"Damn it, what trick is she playing???"
"She's not killing us... is it to humiliate the nobility even more?!"
Herod angrily pounded on the blast wall.
Even though it didn't budge an inch.
At this moment, it was not just the upper fortress that had plunged into darkness.
The lower factories of Kalliston were also shrouded in darkness.
"Damn it, why did the power go out!"
"It's over, I'll never meet my quota now."
"Why now of all times..."
Amidst the noise in the factory, a projection screen slowly descended, almost unnoticed by everyone.
"Brothers and sisters, come and see, what is this?"
As the voice fell, just like before a movie starts, the entire factory fell silent for a moment, with only a few whispers still echoing in the hollow darkness.
What is this?
A large tapestry hanging in the sky?
Wait, there are colors on the tapestry!
With several gasps of surprise, it lit up, it came alive!
Everything appeared clearly!
Colors!
Colors spreading across the tapestry, like the real world!
On the originally pitch-black tapestry, a beam of light suddenly appeared, adorned with a graceful figure.
"It's Sister Fulgrim!!!"
"This is something Sister Fulgrim taught us, it's called a screen!"
A childish voice, full of pride, came from beside the workers.
Since Herod came to power, child labor had returned to Kalliston.
But perhaps it was these children, whose childhoods had been touched by color, who could recognize the form of ideals and dreams.
"Fulgrim? Didn't she murder the Sherlock patriarch to become a noble, trying to seize power and control all of Kalli—"
"You're lying! Sister Fulgrim is a good person!"
Before the person could finish, the child retorted angrily.
"Child, don't mind that fool. Quick, tell us, what is Fulgrim doing?"
Why did she suddenly leave us all, and why has she returned at this time?
"I... I don't know either."
The child hesitated for a moment.
"But Sister Fulgrim promised us before she left that she would perform a play for us."
"In the play, we can hear the best and most interesting stories."
Tap, tap.
Her footsteps were slow and clear.
Under the sole beam of light in the entire venue, Fulgrim slowly walked to the front of the stage.
At some point, she had shed her aristocratic robe and changed into the simple clothes worn by the workers.
Facing the nobles before her and the countless workers waiting behind the screens, she slowly began to speak.
"Brothers and sisters, the story I tell here is no heroic epic; just as all things have their beginning, this one stems from the past."
A voice as crisp as a lark's song rang out, in harmony with the musical score she had composed herself.
"The sky then was still clear, endless stars twinkled in the night; merchant ships to and from Chemos vied in a stream, like pearls adorning a silver plate."
Countless materials and riches were gathered then; the Chemos of the past was such a paradise.
Her intonation was cadenced yet incredibly gentle; the ornate yet simple words piled up, and even the restless enemy, Herod, was drawn deep into it.
"The people of that time jointly elected several administrators; under their oaths and promises, Chemos would be forever prosperous."
"But—"
Fulgrim's tone began to shift. A contagious sorrow cast a thin mist over everyone's hearts.
"The universe is so cruel: before people could even enjoy it, a raging storm instantly filled the entire sky."
"When they looked up again, the brilliant river of stars was no more; the sky now held only raging yellow sand and endless void."
But the people of Chemos at that time did not give up.
"The administrators and workers ate and lived together, everyone was united, facing difficulties and obstacles together."
"In the future, no matter what difficulties we face, we will overcome them hand in hand!"
-------
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