The ministers and their deputies left late in the night. However, Piso himself was unable to sleep. He requested his elite guard to escort him back to the terrace, just a number of paces away from where the Farblosigkeit agent did his suicide mission. Fireworks filled the skies once more. Their deafening noises are matched by their shining beauty blazing through the darkness. The bombing of the palace did not dampen in any way the traditional way people celebrate.

For a while, they luminate brighter than the moon or any of the stars, and then burn themselves out. As he watches the fireworks, the dictator's thoughts wandered far away from Dalreida. In particular, he thinks of Bayan. His attacker knew about the Bayan mission, but who could have leaked such vital information?

Alus has travelled far from the capital. Is it possible that his tongue slipped during his many conversations along the way, and the information seeped to his enemies? Or perhaps, even the people he regards as closest to him have been involved in such designs? He has to be certain with all the intelligence they currently have, or the mission miserably fails.

Meanwhile, the focus of Piso’s thinking, his attendant Alus, prepares himself to meet with the Beggar King, who currently resides in one of the larger dome houses in town. The place was guarded by a number of beggars who were gambling outside the house.

“I’m here to see His Eminence,” he introduced to the beggars, “Is he there?”

“Oh, the foreigner,” one of the startled beggars who were engrossed in their game said in broken Dalreidan, “Um, well, sure. The big door inside. You can’t miss it!”

The beggars with him began to feel nervous to continue their gamble, but when Alus entered, their anxiety immediately vanished, and they can be found playing to their heart’s content.

The soldier then turns to Kisira, “They look queasy. Do you think they can see you?”

“I don’t know…,” she replies before holding the back of his robe, “But I’m having a bad feeling, too. Are you sure about this?”

“Don’t tell me you ate too much. I don’t see you being the hungry girl type.”

“You’re ignoring my question!”

Soon enough, they were at the Beggar King’s entrance. After a few knocks, the Eminence Noire confirms that they can come in. However, he sounded a bit under the weather compared to the past few days. His room was no better. The mixing of odors in the room produced an unsatisfactory result. It was not bad enough to be too unbearable, but for someone who had not been with the beggar community, it would not be a good place to be in. Seated behind an unsightly table full of scrolls and books, the Beggar King motions for them to sit on the richly decorated bench in front of him. They obliged, but it took some time to break the ice.

“Um, Beggar King,” Alus speaks first, “You’re looking well. Is it a good time to talk?”

“You can call me Brother MDK,” the tired beggar answers while he reads, “State your business.”

“I guess I’d stick with Beggar King. Say, you’re returning my stuff now, right?”

“Yeah, sure. They’re with the beggars at the front. I believe only the sword is with you, yes?”

“Alright, I guess…”

The Beggar King stops reading and looks up, this time with renewed enthusiasm, “I see. You came alone. Or not?”

“Wait, do you mean…?”

“If you’re talking about that Kisira, I’ll tell you honestly. I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“Oh…,” the soldier sadly looked at Kisira, who was forlorn about the Beggar King’s statement.

“But lately, I’ve been thinking. You see, I’m writing everything in life, before and during the Beggar Way. Most of us beggars are illiterate, but I write for the world to remember our cause long after we’re gone. If you’re not familiar, the Beggar Way is the philosophy which I espouse.”

“I’m quite aware,” Alus said as he turns his attention back to him.

“Interesting. Anyway, when I saw you the other day, I thought you’ve been driven mad. No offense, alright? But this is when I remembered a disconcerting entry I made a few years ago.”

“What does it say?”

The Beggar King grabs another parchment and reads it aloud, “A young girl approached me the other day. She looks quite educated and affluent. How can I say? She may be dressed like a beggar, yet she asked me about the possibility of living but not existing, and if I have anything in mind to solve such a problem if it were possible. That is something you do not get asked everyday by your ordinary beggar in the street. Also, such sensitive issues on instability in this world are rich people problems. You do not see a beggar worry about existing as long as he can eat and sleep. What is there to be depressed about if you are supposed to stay low your entire life? Honestly, I just winged my answers with memorized speeches on the Beggar Way. I said something in the lines of this: The more people have, the more they become anxious. Simple. After all, I was in a rush then, and if we were to engage in a discussion, I might get carried away because of its intellectual connections. She did not appear to appreciate much, but she thanked me anyway. Her name is…”

“Her name is…?”

“That’s it. Nothing follows.”

Alus throws his hands in the air, “What do you mean nothing follows?! You wrote it!”

“I know. I never made an incomplete entry, and the name doesn’t seem to be purposely erased. There can be a logical explanation. It is possible the one you call Kisira is the missing entry, and is involved in both of the cases.”

“Y-you think so?”

“Say, is this Kisira with you now? At this very moment?”

“Yes,” the soldier firmly answers after Kisira holds his arm.

“Good. You won’t have to find ways of explaining it better because this is going to be boring.”

Alus’s eyes narrowed, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t mind it,” the Beggar King responds as he stands up to pull a wheeled board from the side near the wall, “What I’m about to illustrate is result of forty hours of research, so listen.”

“Forty? Have you been sleeping well?”

“A beggar doesn’t have a place to rest his head. What else is new?”

“I don't know about that, but I’m okay if you are. Please continue.”

Drawing a piece of chalk from his pocket, the Beggar King discusses as he writes equations and formulas with amazing rapidity, “Scholars used to think of existence as something that is or isn’t, but it’s more than simply breathing or living. For example, a baby can be presumed dead even if it’s breathing, because there’s nothing to prove that entity’s existence. Subsequently, an aging person can also be presumed dead even if it’s breathing. Thus, to answer the question posed to me years ago, it can be possible to be living yet not existing.”

He erases everything and then creates new, elaborate diagrams, this time full of explanatory notes for each, “But we must realize that existence can be observed the same way as we can perceive information because we’re nothing more than entities representing certain agglomerations of data. In mathematical terms, such data entities can be represented by 1 and 0. The zero, the neutral entity, can no longer be observed, or can’t be observed to begin with. But a third state can be considered. The imaginary state, which is represented by -1. This means an inversion, an alter ego, an entity valued at -1, is translated into this world by someone who does exist, an entity valued at 1. Therefore, Kisira’s existence can possibly fall under this imaginary state. A negative entity that’s powerfully conceived by a positive entity as similar to itself, although it’s not exactly the case.”

The soldier does not understand much, but he goes on to hold Kisira’s hand, “But she’s not imaginary. She’s holding me and I’m holding her.”

She looks at him and blushes, but she does not let go of Alus despite her embarassment.

“As I see it, you’re just holding your own arm. Anyway, when I say imaginary, only the positive entity who conceived it must be able to perceive it. In sum, said negative entity must not be able to exist in the same plane as the positive entity in order to be observed by other positive entities. The negative entity remains in the figment of the positive entity’s mind, unless said positive entity introduces it to the others. However, there’s no guarantee that the other positive entities would recognize the negative entity. Conversely, even if many positive entities affirm the negative entity, it still remains as an absolute negative value.”

The way His Eminence discussed all these concepts are quite animated, they are not boring anybody. However, his rather pessimistic analysis is not giving the two any hope for Kisira's case. That is, until he continued his intellectual discourse.

“When I saw the incomplete entry, it gave me chills. Given that you’re the positive entity conceiving a supposedly existing negative entity, you didn’t introduce to me any negative entity prior to my writing. Heck, I don't even know you before this! So, what’s the missing link? Could have it been possible for me to observe a negative entity conceived by you beforehand? Or should a special approach be taken to resolve this paradox?”

“What’s so special about it?”

The Beggar King erases what he wrote and then sketches elaborate matrices before continuing.

“I’ll make it simple and understandable for you, alright? Each of us are positive entities valued at 1. There’s nothing we can do to change the absolute value of each entity. However, the perceived value of existence can be changed with recognition by similar positive entities. This means, the perceived value of an entity like the King of Bayan is significantly larger than the value of a beggar like me. In this case, perception becomes more potent than reality. For example, we can easily ignore people which we don’t recognize. In the same way, we can easily observe people which we recognize.”

With no intention of making his non-comprehension less evident, Alus scratches his head, “So, you mean, people can purposely not see you for some reason?”

“Correct. But Kisira’s a most peculiar case. Scientifically speaking, even if we don’t recognize a certain entity, we can’t deny that entity’s existence until we get to observe that the entity has reached the value of zero. That is, nothing. Somehow, we must still be able to perceive such existence with the measurement tools available to us, and if we’re unable to perceive this entity’s existence, it can’t be safe to assume non-existence. My writing is one good example. Even if it gets erased, the perception which inspired what I wrote must have still remained intact. But in reality, there’s no trace.”

After erasing what he wrote, His Eminence writes even more confusing formulas, his script becoming more Bayani than Dalreidan or anything else, “Another example can be the entity you say is with you. Said entity isn’t only invisible or untouchable, as far as I’m concerned. That Kisira must have been occupying space, has mass, and located in a certain time frame, but none of those can be observed. Thus, in order to resolve this paradox that seems to distort the sums of this world, I figured that Kisira must have greatly decreased her own presence along with the decreasing recognition of positive entities. Pointing out any one cause can be difficult, but whatever it is, the assumed cause is strong enough to at least deprive this entity of any way to be perceived and observed, and create this paradox. We as positive entities can only do so much in trying to deny a fellow entity’s existence, but if said entity also seeks to become non-existent, that’s a different story. After all, I think therefore I am. First and foremost, a positive entity can confirm one’s existence on its own before others do. This is how powerful the human mind can be. If there’s any consolation, we can say that an entity can’t be 1 and 0 at the same time.”

All these took Alus by storm, but somehow, it appears Kisira is able to understand most of the concepts. Is it probably because the soldier has weak Bayani vocabulary? Ignoring many jargons, he asks the Beggar King.

“B-but, okay, g-given she really wanted to be non-existent then, can it still be reversed?”

“Theoretically, yes. But I can’t give you any assurances,” the Beggar King says as he writes a value of one preceded by many zeros following a decimal point, “Even if we say this Kisira might still be existent, its perceived value as an entity has already gone dangerously near zero because nobody else can observe her. I don’t think sheer human will would be enough to reverse such an anomaly, because not only is the entity being unobservable to people, but also by all living and non-living entities. I don’t believe in any god or spirit, but as far as logic goes, this is what I can offer.”

“Alright, I guess… Following your theory, what do you recommend?”

The seemingly know-it-all beggar pauses, and then writes once more on the board before responding.

“My hypothesis posits that Kisira’s perceived value of existence must return to a safe level wherein she can be observed by all, but there are two issues that needs serious consideration. First, how can this safe level be determined? Does the entity need national media coverage to regain this? Or is it enough for just one other positive entity like yourself? But so far, I don’t see the second option doing much to improve the situation, so I doubt if the first option can do any better. Think this over. Second, could have it been possible that even if the entity seeks existence, the atmosphere around it doesn’t share the same sentiment? For example, you keep a clock activated light in a closed box. It’s supposed to give out light at a certain time frame, but you can’t confirm or deny that the box is already lighted up inside because it’s a closed box. What if the clock or the light was busted? Since there’s no slit to look through, you as an observing entity from outside the box should open it up to perceive the end result.”

“Uh, okay… A clock activated light, that’s cool… or hot? Never heard of it, but you said something can’t be 1 and 0 at the same time, right?”

“Yes, good, you’re paying attention. There can only be one truth. The light is on or off. The same goes for an entity’s existence, but it can only be confirmed when it gets observed from outside the box. In this case, it is the atmosphere that keeps the entity from being observed at all, and it needs external intervention to destroy this atmosphere that tries to use 0 as a placeholder for 1, even when in reality, the perception of its value has only been reduced to near zero, but is not exactly zero.”

Realizing that the soldier might be having an information overload, he takes out an old box to demonstrate his hypothesis before continuing his discussion.

“Going back to my light example, while we can’t fully observe what’s inside without destroying the box, we can take valuable and plausible hints to give us an idea of what’s going on. For one, light isn’t heavy enough to be measured by the tools which are available to us, but it doesn’t mean light doesn’t have any weight. Therefore, reason tells that if you get to weigh the box through a highly sensitive weighing scale, a lighted up box must be a little bit more distinct than a dim one. The same goes for this Kisira. You can perceive the entity right now, so you should just keep on perceiving it, because no matter how small the value might be, it’s still supposed to be an existing positive entity.”

“You talked about measurement. Is it possible for me to be unable to observe Kisira, too?”

The Beggar King sighed, “That’s a most likely possibility, I can’t deny that. We don’t know how it can happen, so better watch out for signs where you’re unable to observe things. But practically speaking, wouldn’t that be a more convenient setup for you?”

“How come?”

“You’re a solo traveler. A deserter. It’d be easier for you to take off such a burden, right? Besides, these are all theoretical exercises. It excited me, but as for the practical value of it…?”

When Kisira heard this, she looked away and tightened her hold of Alus’s arm.

Alus turned to her, and then to the Beggar King, “Then why go so far in studying it?”

The Eminence Noire spreads his arms and begins a wild expression of his feelings, “Because it’s stimulating the mind beyond compare! For all this time, I’ve been teaching the doctrine of nothingness. That all positive entities would become zeroes anyway, so why bother? We should exist and live on for as long as possible, but why be burdened if we can’t reach our goals? Moderation is irrelevant if there’s nothing to moderate, and all can be plotted out with carefully thought calculations made possible by a deeper understanding of the information around us. That’s true for beggars like us who can barely eke out a living! But of course, if earth is defined by data entities, heaven might be, too. This can only mean one thing. Our deaths are merely translations from 1 to 0 in this current data system, and from 0 to 1 in a future data system, which we call heaven. Otherwise, if there’s no future data system, then wala! We’ve gone from heroes to zeroes. Remember, any data entity can’t be both existent and non-existent at the same time.”

“I don’t get it. Not at all.”

The Beggar King puts away the board, “I told you already. I don’t believe in gods or spirits. Only in the value of information. The one who controls the data controls the world. But the lowest classes of society can’t be forced to learn these theoretical foundations. They need a philosophy that’s easy to understand. Enter the Beggar Way and the principle of nothingness.”

“What you’re saying is, you only simplified it for them?”

“Correct. You’re really getting into this. I wonder.”

“What?”

The Beggar King returns to his seat and brings out two things, Kayapa’s Kwan and Piso’s seal.

Alus rose from his seat, almost dragging Kisira up with him, “So, you’re the one who got them?! Please return them along with my other things!”

“Not so fast,” His Eminence said as he shielded the two things with his arms, “I gave you the information you needed. We may be brothers, but I should also get my fair share.”

“What fair share? You already had me undergo that unfair trial!”

“True, but think of it more like an exchange.”

The mad soldier walked towards the Beggar King, causing Kisira to lose her hold of him, and then bawled, “I’ve a mission to finish! Be a good brother and let me go on my way!”

The pauper shook his head, “I’m only being reasonable. I give you a favor, you give me a favor. It’s a cycle of exchange. Do to others what you want them to do to you. Besides, isn’t there anything else you would want to know about? Something more personal?”

Alus clenched his fists, “I suppose…”

“There we go. Bear with me then, okay? My first issue is this: are you really a deserter?”

“Why?”

“I can understand it if you don’t have these two vital things with you. But you have them. Be honest with me. What are your connections with the Dalreidan and the Bayani governments?”

Taken aback, the soldier gave a tight smile as his mind raced to find a believable excuse, “Where do I begin…?”

“I’m all ears.”

“Initially... I deserted the Dalreidan military and sneaked away with Piso’s seal to smoothen my escape. But when I reached Aramathi, the governor there caught on with my ploy.”

“Governor? Do you mean Horden?”

“Oh, no. You’re not updated. Kayapa’s the new governor.”

The Beggar King blinked, “Kayapa, you say?”

“Yes. Uh, why? You seemed surprised.”

“Interesting. Did this Kayapa fight with a staff, too?”

“Now that you mentioned it, he also does, actually.”

The surprised pauper slams his table, causing some of the scrolls and books to fall on the floor, “Confound it! That crazy old dog’s a Dalreidan lackey now?! I can’t believe it!”

“Wait, what are you saying?”

“I’m talking about Kayapa! Warana Kayapa!”

“Wha…?”

“Come on, who else could it be? Warana Kayapa fled Dulong Bayan during the initial years of Bayani occupation. He’s the pangakut who first administered Dulong Bayan before the civilian government was set up in Alittan, until he was persecuted for speaking up against the king.”

The pangakut is an official, usually a military officer, sent by the Bayani government to facilitate the transition of newly acquired territories from resistant to peaceful. The pangakut’s tenure essentially ends with the establishment of a civilian government composed of the pangawak for provincial level administration and the pangapak for local level administration.

“What pangakut? You must’ve misunderstood me. The person I’m talking about is Taraga Kayapa, the grandson on Warana Kayapa. He’s the new governor of Aramathi.”

“That’s even more crazy! You’re telling me Warana had a family of his own?!”

Alus scratches his head, “Really, from which era did you come from?”

The Beggar King laughs, “What an interesting turn of events! Let me guess, Kayapa the grandson sent you here to deal with Bayan? For revenge, perhaps?”

“Er, not exactly… In exchange of not divulging my desertion, he asked me to bring the Kwan to Kanlong Mountains. I guess even if he did betray my escape, I’d be safely in Bayan then.”

“And then?”

“And nothing. As a deserter, I can no longer be in Dalreida, but I can live in peace outside Dalreida. Bayan is the most logical choice to go, don’t you think?”

The pauper recover his calm as he rests his cheek on his hand, “Peace is a rare commodity in Bayan, I can assure you that. But of course, I can find reason in your narrative. You’re not the first to desert from the Dalreidan military.”

“R-really?”, Alus asked with some relief.

The Beggar King takes Piso’s seal, and then rips it to shreds, “I guess you won’t be needing this.”

The startled soldier screamed as he was too late to do anything about it, “W-wait! What’s the big idea?!”

“I’m doing you a favor, brother. If anybody else sees you with this seal, it’s over for you. It’s common knowledge in Bayan that even though we keep economic relations with Dalreida, there’s no way embassies can be made between these nations. You can’t play the role of being an ambassador to rationalize your suspicious entry to Bayan, not with Piso’s seal or anything else. Besides, an ambassador should have a convincing entourage. You don’t have any.”

“I guess…,” Alus said as he still tried to collect the remaining pieces from the wrecked seal, “But that doesn’t mean you can do anything you want with other people’s stuff.”

“As for this Kwan, I suppose Kayapa’s got his reasons for having this delivered, so here.”

The Beggar King hands over the Kwan, but when the soldier reached out to obtain it, he finds that the former has not yet let go.

“You’re forgetful already?”, the Beggar King continues, “This is an exchange. I’ll give it to you when you agree to my terms.”

“Oh, fine. Name it already,” Alus said with some irritation as he lets go of the Kwan, “I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?”

“The pangawak of Dulong Bayan and the pangapak of Alittan. We agreed to meet midway to discuss about the situation. Apparently, they recognized my strength after taking over Bangan and cutting a swath between Kabakbaka and Alittan.”

“I don’t have the slightest idea about your politics, but how did you conquer this town anyway? When I consulted fairly reliable sources, they said Bangan’s a safe trading spot with Cingis.”

“They’re not wrong. Bangan’s always seen as Dulong Bayan’s valve towards Cingis. But what we did was quite simple. Remember the sandstorm?”

“How can I forget? That’s the very reason I’m dragged here!”

“People say you can’t predict them coming, but when you gain understanding of the data surrounding these phenomena, it’s quite easy. I don’t believe in miracles, but I do believe in calculations. This is what we did. We set up several points releasing foul stenches from where the wind is picking up. Thus, before the sandstorm comes, the townsfolk of Bangan would have already fled because of the unbearable odor. How do we clean the place up? The sandstorm. Sand is not the most effective material to remove such odor, but when combined with a powerful force, it can definitely sweep the town off. We just remove the sand, and it’s done!”

“Did anybody tell you how you talk too much?”

The Beggar King smiles, “Bragging rights aside, I have to ask you an important role to fake.”

“Don’t you mean, to play?”

“The Bayani government thinks I fear the Dalreidan government, but in reality, they fear Dalreida even more than I do. The poor are everywhere. There will always be poor in the land. Allegiance to any one nation is the least of my concerns. Therefore, I want you… Or rather, I request of you… to act as a Dalreidan representative backing the beggar movement.”

“Oh, okay… I mean, no! Of course not! I refuse this setup! Haven’t you thought of the effects it might have between the two nations? This means war!”

“I told you. I don’t care whichever nation wins. Our struggle is not defined by national boundaries. Not by kinship or blood or any of those traditional affiliations. No… The struggle of the poor transcends the entire world, and poverty can only be eliminated completely when the world returns to its original state, that of nothingness.”

Alus stares blankly, unbelief being evident in his eyes, “What kind of mission have I got myself into this time…?”

“That’s an interesting philosophy, brother. You see every hurdle as a mission to finish.”

“Uh, no, I don’t…”

“Good, it’s settled. Your things will be returned to you today. Prepare to look the part.”

“This can’t be happening…”

The Beggar King stood up and held Alus’s shoulder, “I know, right? This will rewrite all data in this world, and you’re going to be an integral part of it! You should be proud!”

The overwhelmed soldier looked up, and then fainted. His body falls to the floor full of scrolls and books which surrounded the table. The Beggar King called for his medics to treat his brother.

“How is he doing?”, the Eminence Noire asked as he peered from his table.

One of the medics feeling Alus’s pulse answered, “There’s nothing to worry, Eminence Noire. We’ll just let him lie on the bench for a while. He’s going to wake up in a couple of minutes.”

Whether or not the beggar healers are trained in the discipline, they still went on with their own medical techniques, some of which they even named after themselves. As the medics do everything they can for the soldier to regain consciousness soon, the Beggar King returns to his reading. It was as if he has full confidence with the capacity of his healers. Nonetheless, Kisira remains unobservable for any of the people there. From her viewpoint, they placed Alus’s head on her lap, but from their viewpoint, the faint lies down on the bench by himself.

How come a foreign soldier turns out to be the only person able to observe Kisira at this moment? How can her existential crisis be resolved? What does the Beggar King plan to do with testing the precarious relations between Bayan and Dalreida, two of the great powers competing for the world?