“Check”

The man advanced his pawn onward, threatening the opponent’s king. By then the game had gone on for a while. The black side had a considerable advantage in numbers, but a comeback was still possible.

The opponent took his time to process it, “Well, if it keeps going like this it might end soon.” Said the opponent, analyzing the board’s current state. He moved his king to the right, rightly avoiding its capture, “Think I’ll be safe for a while.”

“This will end like it always does.” said the man, “You have committed too much of the same mistakes.”

“That so?” he asked sarcastically, “I might as well do my best until the end.”

The opponent glanced onto the man’s eyes. They were hidden under the helmet he almost never removed, yet the purple from his eyes barely managed to come out. They stared each other as rivals in a friendly game yet convicted to achieve victory. There was always something to learn with every move.

“Am I to take your confidence as a sign you have finally fixed your weakness?”

“It’s not a weakness.” He insisted, “My strategy is simply different than yours, that’s all.”

“It’s a bad one at that, given how it never works out for you.” He said, “You will never win if you don’t make the right sacrifices.”

The opponent lifted a smirk, clearly seen as he wore no helmet. It wasn’t born of mockery, but sincerely from enjoyment.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Kind of…”

He laughed gently. His slightly curly and light brown hairs waved aside as he scratched them to think on the next move.

“Alright, I’ll take that pawn of yours.” He said, knocking the black pawn over. It rolled off, hitting the bottom of the carriage.

“Ah, my fault… Let me just…” he leaned off his chair, reaching for the piece.

“Don’t worry about it, Lord Brunus. Leave it to your servant.”

Her voice was as cold, to the point and assertive as ever. She let go of her spear, knelt from her standby position. She picked the pawn and delivered it back on the table, quickly returning to her post.

“Oh, thanks Minerva… I’ll try not knocking it over again…” Brunus said, in Latin, the common language of the world.

“If you, or even if Princeps Gaius does, I’ll have no problem in picking it back up.” She said, almost like a machine relaying its programming script. In fact, that was exactly what she was. For her to behave in any other way would have been the only thing of note in the affair.

“You don’t need to say sorry.” Said Gaius in his powerful voice, “They are just AI’s, if I must remember you once more.”

Brunus’ purple eyes squinted at Gaius’ remark. Getting back in his position, he sighed, “And if I must remember you, that is no reason to treat them poorly.”

“I don’t treat them such, it’s only a matter of not pretending for them to be the same as us.” He said, “You need to be careful not to forget this isn’t real.”

“Yeah, I know, but still...” Brunus continued playing as they spoke, moving each piece as best he could, “At the end of the day, I can’t tell them apart from real people.”

His comment brought up some great concern, “If you are ever in such a position of confusion, just try to use any in-game function. It’s the easiest way to find out.” He said while moving the black horse forward,” If for some reason you still aren’t sure, just talk to any NPC in English like we do and see their reaction.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He said as he finished his counter move, “It’s not a matter of identifying them, it’s just that we are forced to check at all that concerns me.”

“I see.” The man said, “I cannot deny Artificial Intelligence has gone a long way.” He knocked out the white tower, setting up a complex tactic Brunus seemed not to notice yet. The victory was a few moves away.

“Are all preparations ready for the triumph?” asked Brunus.

“Of course, I made sure it wouldn’t be all that extravagant. It will only be a ceremonial crossing through the streets to the palace.”

“We should be very near to Rome given we have passed the mountains quite some time ago.” Brunus glanced at the soldier who had assisted him beforehand, “Minerva, could you check the road for us?”

“Definitely, Lord Brunus.”

She left her guard post, opening the carriage’s window. The spring’s winds flew inside. The cheers from thousands of civilians growing outside. Minerva swiftly looked at what laid in the path.

“The Imperial Walls of the Eternal City lay a few paces away, we will arrive soon.”

“Thanks.” Brunus smiled, “It not just for us, you know? You did a great job yourself!’

“I do not deserve such praise.” She said, “It is my duty to be of service to the Emperor and all of his lineage, now and always.”

Brunus was visibly nervous at her display of pure loyalty, “Err… That’s good! I appreciate it…”

“Of course.” She said, returning to position.

Switching back to English, Brunus whispered “Geez bro… Did you have to make her so dutiful? It’s a bit weird…”

“She’s as she should be.” Gaius replied, “You should blame the emperor I based her personality out of.”

Gaius spoke in a joking tone, a rare practice for him these days. He couldn’t help but relax a little when his favorite historical topic came up. Few could ever match his interest in the Roman empire, therefore making any discussion about it a rare occurrence. He had to indulge himself whenever the opportunity was presented.

“She’s not in anyway the weirdest Divine Legionnaire you can point to.”

“Agreed… And speaking of NPCs…”

Brunus talked with a progressively fainter voice. That was one of his habits and a clear sign something was bothering him, even back when they were kids it was so. It was a skill as an elder brother for Gaius to detect these behaviors from him.

“Let me guess, is it about our enemies?”

“Yeah…” Brunus said, “I’ve been thinking about it lately, especially after our last campaign…”

The topic he referred to was a can of worms that would best be avoided yet given the importance of the day it would be best to deal with it as soon as possible.

“You mean the war against the Lupus Wolfpacks?”

Brunus’ head lowered, “Yes, about them…” he rested his white cheek on his palm, “I couldn’t get them out of my head ever since we left the north.”

“I can imagine what is in your mind.” Gaius said confidently, “I can assure you the descendants of the survivors will thank us for bringing them into the empire and away from their barbarian lifestyles.”

“Ugh, you always give the same excuse…” Brunus replied, “I can’t deny the benefits they will have once properly integrated, I’m just conflicted about the way we achieved it.”

“I sent the envoys, but their elders denied the ultimatum of annexation.” He knocked Brunus’ last horse off, “And as you know, membership in the empire is not, and has never been voluntary.”

Gaius waited for Brunus’ next move. His brother took unusually long this turn, breaking the silence after a moment.

“… That one Lupus, you know, the last one…”

As the topic evolved and the image of Gaius’ last time in the battlefield returned to his mind, the mood officially changed from a friendly game to a serious discussion.

“What about him?”

“He was wearing Imperial Armor, wasn’t he?”

The question was simple, yet it was important to answer it as delicately as possible. Gaius’ hands met over the table, resting his elbows on it and head on hands. “Indeed, he was most likely an auxiliary to a local legion.”

“An auxiliary…” Brunus whispered to himself, “Then, he was fighting for the empire before the attack, right?”

“Either that or he stole the armor from a legionnaire, however, that theory is a bit shallow, given how his set seemed specifically made to suit one of his race.”

“No, I’m positive he must for sure have been fighting in the legions before the attack, which makes me think …” Brunus finally took his move, resting to finish his thought, “… Couldn’t we have done things more peacefully?”

“We tried that, and it didn’t work.”

“We shouldn’t have set on just one ultimatum.” Brunus cut in, “We could have tried to bring the issue to the general population, and try to incentivize them with promises of citizenship, food, and such.”

Gaius chuckled, “That’s absurd Brunus. Not only would that be costly and time-consuming, but it would most likely never work. The Lupus are among the least civilized of all races in Impera, every player knows that. They will not bow to any authority unless it is enforced upon them, much like dragons or vampires.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. We could have made a show of force and it would have been enough to convince them, wouldn’t it?”

“Again, you are letting your naïve side take over. Even if we showed them all our legions, they would still fight for their independence. They are not concerned about their lives as much as their pride and traditions. They would act as illogically as you could expect from barbarians, therefore force is the only effective method.”

Gaius had lost count how many times he had explained this to Brunus in one way or another. It was a classic of his unwillingness to do what was necessary to succeed. It was bothersome his own brother had such a differing worldview than his, but at least it made for a least one person that could honestly debate him. Anyone else would be too scared of his status as emperor, especially NPCs. It was this unfortunate arrangement that made his brother the only one who he could talk freely with, not worried about how their thoughts and words were predisposed to pleasing him. If he had to put up with some repetition, it was well worth it.

“Adding to that, we simply could not allow the Lupus wolfpacks to threaten the Empire anymore. A final punitive expedition to reduce their numbers and subdue the rest was not only needed, but well deserved. Now that all other opposition has been dealt with, they were the last foreign threats we had to defeat.”

“But, there’s still something that doesn’t make sense in your logic.” Brunus said, “What about that young Alpha Lupus we spared? He was clearly sad about losing one of his kind.”

“That you spared.” Gaius corrected, “I swear, letting a monster of his caliber live will come to hunt us in the future.”

“It was the right thing to do, it was only a puppy completely uninvolved with his elder’s decision.”

“Puppy…” Gaius gruntled, “It was an Alpha Lupus, no matter the age.”

“Hadn’t you killed enough of their kin by then?” asked Brunus, “When I saw him grieving, I couldn’t allow you to just kill him.”

“Mercy is the key to committing mistakes. No matter if innocent or not, he will grow up to terrorize and kill many citizens before he is finally put down. All your leniency achieved was to get more NPCs killed in the future.”

Brunus lowered his shoulders, “I… I thought that maybe he could end up like his companion, and eventually join the legion if we showed them clemency. The Lupus don’t have to be our enemies.”

“They don’t and won’t.” Gaius looked at the ceiling, “We will force the survivors to adapt, and soon they will be all the merrier for it. With the northern monster tribes also brought under the fold, we can rest easy.” He closed his eyes under the helmet, “… Finally, after everything, the world conquest is complete.”

The relief flew in his veins. An extasy only achievable from a monumental burden being lifted off one’s shoulders. All his wars, battles and struggles up until then had not been in vain and knowing that felt too good. Looking back to his brother, he did not find the same satisfaction in his face. Gaius was ready to ask why it was so, but Brunus spoke.

“I’m happy for you.” He said, “Disregarding that matter, I know very well it’s been your ambition since we started playing, and you deserve it.”

“… Thank you.” Gaius said, smiling behind his helmet, “And by the way, check.”

Brunus’ king piece was cornered, threatened by many enemies. Hs staring base had been taken over and only a few pieces were left to his side. There were still ways to prolong the game, and maybe even turn it around. Brunus, however, said, “I give up.”

His announcement of defeat hit Gaius as preposterous, “It isn't check-mate.” He reminded him, “You can still save your king if you sacrifice that pawn.”

Brunus recognized the pawn Gaius was pointing to with his armored finger, “No, I surrender.”

His insistence was beginning to hit a nerve. It was fine to lose if he did not see a way to win or if he was tired, but to purposely chose not to abide by a saving move made no sense to the emperor, “Just sacrifice the pawn, what’s important is the king.”

“That’s wrong,” Brunus said. His confidence was surprising, to say the least, “The pawn doesn’t have to die if I give up, consider it a tactical retreat!” He blinked jokingly.

“That’s nonsense, there’s no retreat in chess, only victory or defeat.” Gaius knocked the white king down, “It’s a game of life or death, you must choose which.”

Brunus looked at his fallen king, picking it up and knocking the black king with it, “There, I win!”

His younger brother remembered Gaius of the very first time they had played chess, and Brunus had pulled the same childish move. Bitter with defeat, he simply knocked his king off and proclaimed himself the winner. It was oddly nostalgic, however just as mildly frustrating. Chess had clear rules that he as a young adult was aware of.

“Tell me then… How is it your king won?” Gaius asked, indulging his brother’s joke.

Brunus laughed, shrugging and saying “I don’t know, perhaps… They had a duel?”

“A duel? A duel to decide the fate of an important battle?” Gaius asked, “And I thought you were already deep in the realm of fantasy…”

Brunus took in Gaius’ slight mockery, “Well, it’s a nice way to settle the dispute, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps…” Gaius once more eyed his brother. He had his match of chess, and it proved to be an intriguing enough distraction for the trip. No matter the awkward result, maybe there was something to learn from it, be it for him or Brunus.

“… Minerva.”

“Yes, Princeps?”

Her tone was even more serious than it was for Brunus. To be directly addressed by her creator and master must be a scary prospect indeed. There was an inner discomfort created whenever his NPCs showed too much devotion to himself. To be respected by such a large margin over others was nice, yet a feeling of not deserving such reverence still resonated. In their eyes, he was a god-emperor. In reality, he was just a Strategy Gamer in his early twenties. Nevertheless, the façade was necessary to maintain his position.

“How much longer until we reach the gates?

“We should have arrived by now. If you permit me, I shall take another…”

The carriage stopped in the middle of her sentence. The cheers from outside sounded much louder as it did. There were thousands of different voices of men, women and children alike. The horns played, announcing their presence.

“We’ve arrived!” said Brunus. He ran to the front of the carriage, opening the frontal window. The gates of the Imperial Walls bore the banner of the empire, a proud roman eagle extending its wings on a red background, grasping onto a globe with its sharp claws. It’s meaning not anymore, an ambition, but a reality. The world belonged to the empire and the empire to Gaius. It was time to celebrate.

As the gates opened, a path through an enormous crowd of hundreds of thousands of spectators formed. They were guarded by many columns of legionnaires aiming to keep the path clean for the emperor. The four Pegasus drove the carriage forward in a splendor of victorious celebration. They were countless diverse races of beings present, ranging from Humans, Taurus, Daemons and many more. The assistance of the event threw flowers, gifts, and ornaments in their path, shouting “Ave Gaius!’

The legionnaires put their closed fists to their chests and extended their arms forward. As they saluted their emperor, they followed with the civilians, “Ave Gaius!” they shouted. The Emperor nodded to their reverence, a simple sign of acknowledgment. He had many victories during his playtime and experienced many triumphs. At that moment, facing his final one, an unwavering accomplishment overflew within him. No one could no question he was the best player in Impera. His power in the battlefield as outmatched as the strength of his legions. His immense wealth and resources as vast as the experience he gained in battle. Power was everything in that game, and Gaius had it the most. He toyed with the idea of changing the weather into something more cheerful, yet the clouded sky seemed to oddly fit with the moment. His road to World Conquest had been anything but pretty after all.

“Man, our tiny settlement sure has grown, hasn’t it?” Brunus got to his brother’s side, waving off to the roaring masses.

“It has…” Gaius reflected, “It’s hard to think back when it was merely a village and still say it is the same place…”

”Aww, look at you getting all emotional!”

Gaius twisted his head to eye Brunus, “I’m not emotional.” He expressed, “I just… We’ve made a lot of progress.”

“Yeah, these days it’s the largest city in the game. New players often start their playthroughs here, and old players often settle here as well, the same for NPCs.”

“It’s truly the world capital I had once envisioned… A center of cultural, economic and political power. A single foil to bring an entire world together… This is what Rome should have been like in the real world. Had they succeeded, we could have lived under a worldwide united empire. An all-powerful entity to enforce the peace and secure the common well-being of all, shifting away from any petty rivalries and forcing all to recognize one single authority.” He clenched his fist, “From this day onward, we have brought the Pax Romana to Impera.”

“… Right, what you said…”

Brunus looked awkwardly at his older brother, no doubt because he had little idea of what he was talking about. Gaius knew Brunus would not exactly understand what and why the world conquest had been such an obsession for him, and even if he tried he would need a lot of historical contexts. To explain the entire rationale behind war and politics would only further alienate him from the subject. It was enough to say Gaius enjoyed the Roman Empire and wished to emulate them in many forms.

“… Anyway, it’s been a fun journey of war and conquest, but now we have to change from a military focus to an administrative one.”

“That sounds very boring…”

“It won’t be, but if you don’t want to be involved in the direct administration of the state, you can always just go have your own adventures out there.” Gaius gestured onto the distance, “There’s still plenty of monsters out there we haven’t killed.”

“Not really.” Brunus cut in, “You were very methodical when you set into geocoding specific races…”

“Is this about the Dragons again?” Gaius asked, “They deserved everything they got, and more.”

Brunus took one tiny step away, “I see you are still obstinate about that… At least you allowed a few to survive.”

“Beyond monster hunting, there are still lots of things you can do yourself.”

“Is there?” Brunus asked, “With no international conflicts and frictions there aren’t many grand adventures to embark on anymore. The crazy days of when the game launched are far behind us.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” Gaius asked, “You don’t mean to say you want the chaos of the past to return?”

“No… Well, it’s hard to explain…” Brunus shook his head, “There was just so much going on back then. The alliances, betrayals, last stands, and heroic plays. The world felt very alive if you know what I mean.”

“It’s just as alive as it was, I just put a leash on everyone else.”

Brunus laughed, “You see, that’s the thing! You have done such a great job in conquering the world I can barely see anything exciting ever happening again… Nothing that wasn’t your intention, anyway.”

“Is that really such a bad thing?” Gaius asked, “To be completely honest, I’m quite drained from the whole affair.”

“Drained?” Brunus asked, widening his eyes, “Wait, you are saying even you had enough of war!?”

“I’m not a war addict, you know…”

Gaius stared into Brunus’ eyes. Their purple lights met once more, and Brunus was the first to break contact.

“… Are you sure of that? Your track record paints quite the different picture…”

“That’s a bit unfair.” Gaius waved in the air, quickly reducing the sound of the crowds in his in-game settings, “Every war fought had its purpose in defeating an enemy or assisting in accomplishing an objective that would make it easier to do so, be it Dragons, Vampires, Sirens, Taurus, or even damn Succubuses. The Lupus, for example, was just the last piece of the puzzle, the final threat at the edge of the continent. Every time the empire has taken to the field we had some casus belli, to say the least.”

“Huh, I’m impressed!” Brunus exclaimed, “And I here thought you would still come out with some excuse to battle someone…” Brunus tapped Gaius in his shoulder pad, “But then, if we are to have peace, then what shall you, the emperor do if there are no more enemies to conquer?”

“I will rule.” Gaius said, “It’s not as if violence will cease. On the contrary, it might even increase in certain circumstances. As conquering the world was merely the first step, and now the true test begins. There will be players who will judge their time of prominence has come and will mount insurrections against my rule. There will be certain races who will feel unrepresented and exploited. There will be those who are close to us and will still look for an opportunity to betray me. We will have to deal with all those problems, and much more. No matter who or what the enemy is, I will defeat it to keep the World Empire intact. That, Brunus, is what I will do.”

Looking at Gaius as if his ambition was manifesting itself into being, Brunus sighed, “Ugh… And I thought you would chill for a moment… Maybe settle back in reality and take a break.” He shook his head in mild disbelief, “I feel like I need to be the one to remember this is just a game, no?”

“Indeed, I haven’t forgotten that.” He said, his seriousness diminished, “Even still, it is my duty as emperor to ensure the empire we have put so much effort in creating lasts since, as history teaches us, empires tend to fall when mismanaged.”

“Okay, I see that despite your change in focus, your underlying reasoning is still the same,” Brunus said with a frown.

His face, once again, indicated something bothered him. Asking him there, however, was a dropped idea once the carriage reached the end of the triumph, onto the huge steps leading upward into the Imperial Palace. It was the largest building in the city, housing thousands of residents, uncountable halls, rooms and relics befitting the personal property of the emperor. It carried countless imperial banners and pieces of Roman architecture. At its sight, Gaius realized how short his triumph had been and wondered if he should have made the event to last longer. It should have been his crowning achievement, and yet the celebration did not ring as true to the actual conquest. He was victorious, and it was enough.

“Allow me to escort you inside, Princeps.” Said Minerva, who had been silently guarding the brothers. She opened the door outside. Gaius was the first to exit, stepping out with his right foot and progressing calmly up the stairs. Brunus almost tripped and was saved from a faceplant at the last second by Minerva.

“Ohh… T-Thank you again, Minerva…” he said, composing himself.

“Please, do not mention it, Lord Brunus.”

The clumsy younger brother got to his elder’s side, and Minerva followed at a respectable distance. At the top of the stairs, tens of Divine Legionnaires, all wearing similar sets to that of Minerva saluted to their emperor. Gaius made a quick count of those present, reaching the conclusion less than a hundred of his created NPCs had managed to outlive the World Conquest Wars. They were still more than enough to act as a personal bodyguard force, yet their diminished numbers did pose a threat in the future. Was an ambitious player with a high position in the legions take his shot in trying to be the emperor, how many men would he need to overrun them? How much could he rely on them to fulfill their purpose? Most of the battle-hardened veterans, such as Jupiter and Neptune had long since perished in the coalition wars, which is why Minerva had to assume as the Divine Legate. They would not betray him as the historical Praetorian Guard had done. The point of having an elite force of custom made NPC bodyguards was that they would be both competent and loyal. Even so, the seeds of doubt could not be easily removed from his mind.

Gaius halted his advance, and Minerva quickly stepped forward. She raised her spear up, “Open way for the emperor.”