King Felix II and Knight-Captain Rhea used the deep geological fissure as a sheltered highway, moving silently away from the chaos of the Lunio border. The Fissure was a scar on the land, too ancient and non-aesthetic to be mapped by the Global Flow Net. It was cold, dark, and utterly silent—a world without the Flow.
Rhea, physically and mentally drained, leaned against the rough stone wall. "We are now the most wanted fugitives in two kingdoms, Your Majesty. Lunio thinks we're spies, and our own Command Center thinks you're either captured or dead."
"Worse," Felix corrected, clutching the scroll of The Original Confession. "Evelyn knows I escaped. She knows I know the truth. My one-way warning shot—'The Shadow is inside the palace'—will be dismissed as enemy propaganda, but she knows exactly what it means."
He looked at the scroll. "The Original Felix created the problem, and I am the one tasked with solving it. But Evelyn understands every move I would make within the Imperium's system. She built the system."
Felix realized that his only chance was to leave the Flow-centric world entirely.
"The war is Evelyn's perfect stage," Felix declared. "Every move we make with the Flow—a high-tech escape, a Flow-Bank heist, a direct message—is something she anticipated and designed defenses against 200 years ago. Her revenge is absolute, and it operates on the logic of the Imperium."
"Where do we go, then, Sire?" Rhea asked. "There is nothing outside the Flow territories but the dead zones and the Wastes."
"Exactly," Felix replied. "The Original Felix created a system that demanded Self-Actualized Focus. Anyone who rejected that focus, he simply ignored and deemed un-aesthetic. Evelyn never bothered to create defenses against those who never used the Flow in the first place."
Felix produced an ancient, heavily stylized map he had copied from the Lunio archives—a map considered "archaic and irrelevant" by the Aesthetic Imperium.
"We go north, to the Northern Wastelands. We must seek the Nomad Clans."
Rhea was skeptical. "The Nomads? They are un-aesthetic barbarians, Your Majesty. They survive without technology or the Flow. They live by myth and the old ways. They will despise you."
"They will despise the Original Felix," Felix corrected. "The Nomads existed before his Flow Dynasty. They have knowledge of the world before the Rituals of Gooning became law. They are un-aesthetic, which means they are invisible to Evelyn's Flow-based defense system. They are the only true neutral party left."
Their goal shifted: find the Nomad Clans, gain their trust by proving the corruption of the Flow Dynasty (using the Confession), and use their ancient, non-Flow based knowledge and resources to create an unexpected counter-strategy.
Meanwhile, back in the heavily guarded Command Center, Chief Strategist Evelyn addressed the Imperium's remaining high-command. She was a pillar of stability and flawless logic, the perfect wartime leader.
Felix's final communication—"The Shadow is inside the palace"—had been intercepted and immediately dismissed.
"The Holy Kingdom of Lunio is employing vicious psychological warfare," Evelyn announced, her voice calm and compelling. "They have captured our King and are now broadcasting falsified messages, attempting to sow chaos in our ranks."
She projected the message's Flow signature onto the main screen. "Note the erratic, non-aesthetic nature of the signal. This is clear evidence of Psychic Contempt Magic, intended to create distrust in the chain of command. The King is safe in the hands of the enemy, and we must not let his temporary state weaken our resolve."
She issued her first decree as acting Commander-in-Chief, a decree that simultaneously consolidated her power and set a trap:
"Knight-Captain Rhea is declared an ideological traitor for abandoning her King. King Felix II is declared a prisoner of war. The Aesthetic Imperium will proceed with the immediate, overwhelming mobilization of all Flow assets toward a decisive strike on Lunio."
Evelyn was now in complete, unquestioned control, directing the war straight into the ruin the Original King had predicted. Felix and Rhea had been successfully pushed into the strategic wilderness.