King Felix II held court in the Royal Command Center. He had defeated the rogue Ego-Cultivator, Selene, and now faced the consequences of their ideological attack. He needed a show of force.
Chief Evelyn (RC), standing beside the King, presented the finalized proposal with crisp, flawless professionalism.
"Your Majesty, the Aesthetic Corridor is the most stable geopolitical move," Evelyn stated, her eyes sharp with strategic counsel. "It asserts our power without requiring us to fire a shot. It is a symbol that forces their ideological hand: either they accept the inevitability of the Flow, or they confirm their medieval hostility."
Felix approved the plan, trusting his Chief Strategist implicitly.
Royal Decree: The Aesthetic Corridor (Mandatory Construction)
The decree demanded that Lunio allow the construction of the Imperial Flow Conduit—a perfectly smooth, hyper-aesthetic, diamond-paved superhighway—to bisect their most sacred lands. It was a deliberate, necessary insult to Lunio's austere aesthetic, designed to force a clear, immediate diplomatic response.
When the diplomatic decree was transmitted, a critical flaw occurred.
The massive, complex data packet carrying the decree and the King's holographic portrait was too large for the newly expanded Global Flow Net. The transmission suffered a devastating technical breakdown.
The Transmission Failure: The decree arrived, but the accompanying high-AI image of King Felix suffered a severe, unexpected corruption. For a split second, the image displayed a sickly, distorted application of the Muted Pastel Filter.
The Interpretation: The austere leaders of the Holy Kingdom of Lunio, already ideologically opposed to the Flow, interpreted the corrupted image not as a technical flaw, but as a deliberate and profound spiritual desecration—a sign of the King's intrinsic corruption.
Felix and his team believed this was the work of the residual "Shadow" energy or simply a flaw in the massive infrastructure upgrade. They were unaware that Evelyn had merely ensured the packet was just too big for the compromised network.
The Holy Kingdom of Lunio rejected the demand instantly and venomously, their response delivered by a low-level, un-aesthetic messenger—a deliberate sign of disrespect.
> TO THE KING OF THIGHLAND:
> YOUR PROPOSAL OF AESTHETIC CORRUPTION HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND REJECTED. THE DOCTRINE OF UNDIVIDED LIGHT DOES NOT TOLERATE THE MADNESS OF SELF-ACTUALIZED FOCUS OR THE VANITY OF UNNECESSARY ORNAMENTATION.
> YOUR IMPERIAL FLOW CONDUIT WILL BE MET WITH THE PURITY OF CELESTIAL POWER. CONSIDER THIS THE FINAL WORD.
> – THE HIGH COUNCIL OF LUNIO.
>
Felix was enraged by the audacity. "They have confirmed their hostility! We are being treated with contempt!"
Evelyn immediately provided the next, perfectly logical step:
"Your Majesty, an electronic rejection is meaningless. You must demonstrate our supremacy in person. You must lead a heavily armed, aggressively aesthetic delegation to the Lunio border. This is the only way to force them to the negotiating table. Only your presence can save the peace."
Felix, believing this was the necessary show of strength, agreed. He had to go to the Lunio border.
As Felix prepared his personal combat-diplomacy vessel, Chief Evelyn (RC) approached him with a final, specialized piece of defensive gear. Her tone was caring.
"Your Majesty, we must assume Lunio will deploy powerful light-based magic designed to disrupt your internal focus," Evelyn explained, presenting a long scarf woven from a matte, dark material.
"This is the Flow-Dampening Scarf," she stated. "It isolates the wearer from the external psychic environment. It will protect your mind from Lunio's targeted attacks, ensuring your personal DF remains perfectly stable for the negotiation."
Felix, appreciating her attention to detail, accepted the defensive measure. He did not know that the scarf, upon a simple magical activation command known only to Evelyn, would completely sever his connection to the Global Flow Net, rendering him magically isolated and vulnerable—the perfect prerequisite for his kidnapping.
King Felix II is now fully prepared to lead the delegation to the Lunio border.