Chapter 434: The Second Blessed: End of Arc Eight- The Severian Plot

On horseback, Julius waved to the adoring people of Antila, their cries directed more at the holiday he gave to celebrate the end of the war and less at him. Despite that, Julius didn’t care; he was happy to finally have everything over, happy to have his throne, but most importantly, happy to have his revenge. Although he was bitter about not being able to deal with Constance, he told himself it was a price he had to pay for everything else.

Looking behind him at the long train of soldiers and carriages, Julius smiled. Within those carriages were the riches of the Maximus family. At the orders of Constance, Julius didn’t end the Maximus family. Cassius was imprisoned and would be tried for high treason, which would result in his execution, but Magnus’ children would be allowed to live. They would lose their title as Archduke, be relegated to a count, and three-quarters of their riches would be handed over as compensation.

It was a hard request to deny when Julius surrounded the lands, easily able to plunder all the wealth. The deal was a simple final mercy for the Maximus family and a way to put them in their place. With his lands divided amongst loyalists, Julius marched back home, not forgetting his promise and letting his men have a share of the wealth taken from Magnus.

Julius arrived at the gate of the Palace. The common man usually couldn’t get so close, but in a time of celebration, Julius allowed it, albeit with heavy security. Jumping off his horse, two lines of soldiers stood parallel down the path, holding the flags of the Cosmatos dynasty and the Severian banner, creating an arch for him.

At the end, Constance stood at the head, the upper half of his face covered in a white veil, showing only his pure smile.’What a fake.’Julius chuckled to himself as he walked through the arch, seeing the rest of the council behind Constance. Constance stepped forward to greet Julius.

"Brother. Or should I say Your Majesty?" With a polite voice, Constance didn’t lower his head at all.

"Please, if you don’t have me call you Your Holiness, then there is no need to be formal. We are family after all." His tone, when replying to Constance, was sharp, the final words emphasised. Constance’s pure smile grew wider hearing that. It was sickening to Julius, who knew his true personality. Despite that, he couldn’t help but respect how well Constance could play the innocent paragon of faith who led the church.

Turning to let Julius walk on, Constance took to his side and began, "We have a bright future ahead of us, Julius. Never before have the Holy Seat and Severia been so closely tied together."

"You must understand that I do not like you still." Julius made it clear, not wishing for Constance to get the wrong impression. The man froze for a second before softly chuckling.

"It’s mutual. I have no love for you after how you treated me as a child." Constance quickly said, but shook his head, "But we are adults, Julius. And with so much to gain, let us put aside these petty squabbles that benefit no one."

"Petty squabbles." Julius scoffed and grabbed his mask. Moving it slightly to show the deep scar to Constance, he cruelly smiled, "You’re right. In the face of a bright future, let us not be petty."

"The mask looks good." Constance ignored the wound he forced his brother to suffer, "Adds a level of mysticism to the second Blessed One of this world."

"What do you mean?" Julius narrowed his eyes, refitting his mask. Constance chuckled and pointed to the doors to the throne room. The two guards opened the door for him, and many nobles stood waiting in anticipation. Along the ancient throne room, statues of his Ancestors and the previous Emperors of the Servian Empire all stared at him, judging Julius’ every move.

By the throne, a priest stood holding a moon crystal. Constance leaned over to Julius and whispered so only they could hear, "Do not worry. The Church is truly ancient. We have found a way to trick the moon crystal test. With this, no one will doubt your resurrection anymore."

Julius looked at Constance, surprised by his actions and scaled the staircase up to the throne with him. Constance turned to the crowd of nobles and clasped his hands together. If they didn’t know he was a man, many of them would be at a loss to discern his true gender, his hidden beauty a blend of masculine and feminine ambiguity.

"When man was created, God let his Blessed lead us. He didn’t wish for them to be mistaken for normal humans, and so he create da test." Constance said proudly and fervently. Looking to the sky, he brought his clasped hand closer to his heart, "To let his blessing flow into a stone made of his child’s power. And whilst Khors became the trickster who dammed humanity, this test still lives on, for the Lords’ purifying light exists on these lands still."

Constance turned to Julius and slyly smiled before nodding to the priest before Julius. On the velvet cushion, two Moon Crystals sat next to each other. The man moved one closer to the other, nearly making them touch. Julius understood what was happening and knew he had to touch one of them when they touched.

"My brother, by Blessed brother, was purified in flames, suffered betrayal from those who should have protected him," Constance cried out and raised his hands to Julius, like he was an apostle of God, "And in it was guided to the warmth of God. Today, he will prove it to you."

Julius reached out and touched the moonlight crystal. The priest acted quickly and made the two crystals touch; the one Julius didn’t touch dimmed as the one in his hands lit up with a milky white light. It was vastly different to Alfred, who made the crystal glowed with a golden colour all those years back. Despite the differences, it didn’t matter.

The cries of joy from the nobles who saw the sight were enough to know that the trick had worked as they fell to their knees in awe at the sight of seeing what they believed to be the second Blessed One of the Years of Light. Many knew of Alfred, the first Blessed in hundreds of years, the Emperor of the West who had rapidly expanded his pitiful, almost unheard Kingdom into a major power on the other end of the continent, how his alliance with Alexie Brantov had let the Old Empire be reborn.

They felt awe at the sight of Julius, his silver mask reflecting the milky white glow of the Moon crystal. They couldn’t help but feel happy for the bright future ahead. The statues of the previous Severian Emperors, the Greats of a glorious past, look dull now compared to Julius.

Julius looked out at his people, at his vassals and suppressed his smile. His brother, in an exaggerated display, fell to his knees and looked to the sky, lifting his hands up to praise God.

"Remove it." Julius quietly whispered to the priest before him as he pulled his hand away. The priest acted quickly and separated the crystals, the dim one regaining its mysterious light once again.

Constance stood up and fixed his appearance. Turning to the awing crowd, he smiled, "Sol has not abandoned us. When his child in the West went rogue and abandoned his home, believing himself right, he sent another." His voice was angelic as he cried out the glory of Sol’s blessing, "We, the faithful, have been given a second chance. It is with great honour, great humility that I can stand here before you all, that I can witness the second miracle of our lifetime and proclaim, Julius Cosmatos, the fifth of his name, Emperor of the Severian people. All hail Julius Cosmatos, The Blessed Baptised in Fire."

"ALL HAIL!" The lord powered their head deeper towards Julius. Looking out at them, he looked at the throne he had been striving for for so long. Taking a deep breath, Julius moved towards it and sat down, sinking into its seat.

Another priest came forward and placed the Severian crown atop his head before hurriedly stepping back. Julius finally smiled, a proud smile that proved his status in the world. Nodding towards the courtiers, he opened his mouth.

"All rise." Julius leaned back into the throne. Watching his vassal, fear, respect and worship were written on their faces. Constance took his place by Julius’s side and peeked down behind his veil at his brother. Everyone in the throne room could tell it was a new ear for the Severian Empire. They had believed it would come under Theodosius when his son became Pope, but it was truly under Julius who would bring it about.

Everyone looked up at the two of the most powerful men on the planet, side by side. It didn’t matter if the two didn’t like each other; side by side, it sent a clear message to everyone present. The Empire and Church were tied together in a way that hadn’t been seen since the Empire’s founding. Thoughts of undermining Julius’ rule vanished. He wasn’t a simple Emperor but chosen by the divine.