She charges through enemy lines in her centaur form, ice shattering underfoot. The thunder of hooves and the green aurora crash together against the imperial gates, revealing the person inside.
...
You should address me as the Frostheart Emperor, [player name].
I knew we would meet again, [player name].
And Rosetta. You and your comrades have fought admirably in this war. You are truly worthy subjects of my Arctic Route Union.
All that remains is for you to submit to my authority. Do this, and the war ends. With its two Ultimate Amalgamators, the Arctic Route Union will resume its campaign to amalgamate this world...
I will not surrender, nor will I partake in this foolish delusion of "Amalgamation"!
It is this fractured, squabbling world that is the true folly! Rosetta, [player name], have you never pondered what it would truly take to defeat the Punishing Virus?
Of course. [player name], you have seen countless battlefields.
But of those conflicts... how many were utterly needless? Do you even know?!
Your actions demonstrate resolve, but merely "responding to threats" is not enough!
One who is truly committed to this cause must do more than fight endlessly. One must find the means to eliminate unnecessary conflict at its root!
Unnecessary conflict?
Infighting.
His voice carries across the desolate plain, calm yet heavy, its resonance like the toll of a bell.
I will not deny my role. But I will make this conflict the war to end all wars.
You may not see it that way. But what about the others?
Rosetta, [player name]. After fighting your way through Sophiasburgh, you must have learned of the tragedy that unfolded there.
When the Punishing Virus hit, panic consumed the people. The elite and the common folk turned on each other for scraps of resources. Social order disintegrated.
Amid that chaos, the Corrupted infiltrated the city's power core from the shadows, corrupting Sophiasburgh from its very heart.
To contain the virus, I was left with no choice but to detonate the city alongside a handful of loyal companions... It was not the Punishing Virus that destroyed Sophiasburgh. It was humanity, tearing itself apart.
And now... nothing has changed. Everyone pays lip service to cooperation while secretly calculating their own advantage, pursuing their own narrow interests.
Fighting in isolation led to our crushing defeat, to Sophiasburgh's ruin. And now, I see it plainly: humanity is poised to repeat the very same mistake.
These problems cannot be solved by forcibly unifying the world!
Wrong. This is precisely the problem that only world unification can solve. Human conflict springs from conflicting wills. But will is not innate; it is implanted in the mind by "memetics": societies, nations, ideologies.
It is these disparate, fragmented memetics that prevent unified thought and scatter humanity's strength. Conversely, if we forge a single, perfected paradise, we can erase these useless memetics.
Then, and only then, can humanity unite its full strength and return to our promised Eden!
It is fundamentally different. The Red Tide merely devours, reducing all to nothingness. My path will give birth to the strongest memetic of all.
As a son of Sophiasburgh, as one who sacrificed everything to become the Frostheart Emperor... I will have this memetic be named... the Arctic Route Union.
As Zack speaks the words "Arctic Route Union", his gaze is both sharp as steel and burning with fierce passion. What drives him isn't greed, but something closer to pure conviction.
He truly believes that only the Arctic Route Union can lead humanity toward genuine unification and strength.
This is my final offer... Swear fealty to me. Or stand as an obstacle to my amalgamation of the world.
...Your grand vision annihilates free will. I will never allow the Arctic Route Union to return to its past, no matter the cost.
Commandant, I will secure our victory!
Zack falls silent, his weapon sliding free as the crimson aurora churns overhead. Rosetta shifts her weight forward in her centaur frame, hooves pawing the ground as energy thrums along her blade. Both are poised for battle.
Come, then!
Prove your conviction with everything you have, as I shall with all that I possess! Let us see whose vision of amalgamation will claim this Arctic land... and become the future of this world!
