ID: 284

Outcome: Narrow Victory

Open After Story: Yes

Manual Prompt: Yes

Text:

You wield a Conquest Card to legitimize your rule, yet as you reveal it, suspicion and contempt fill the faces of all present. Even Zazie, whom you have raised to the throne, schemes to overthrow you. She believes that your motive for placing her on the throne lies solely in the late Sultan's bloodline carried by the child within her womb. Thus, once she secures her position as the mother of the new Sultan, she intends to eliminate you, the Regent, deeming you no longer necessary.



However, be it Zazie, the courtiers, or the soldiers, they all perceive only your earthly form. They remain blind to your true essence, your elevated identity: an enlightened one.



For one who has attained the pinnacle of spiritual achievement, what methods would you use to govern an untamed kingdom...? If your subjects show no gratitude while awake, they might be more obedient in their dreams...



Thus, you build a palace of dreams. Every night, you delve deep into your spiritual domain, observing its vast expanse. You relentlessly extend its boundaries... witnessing its growth, with blooms sprouting one after the other across its lawns.



Each flower embodies a living dream, an unguarded entity within the dream realm. You reign as the king, while all others are but flowers in your garden at best. As you stroll through the garden, plucking at whim, you crush the dreams of others. Disobedient courtiers awaken with their eyes wide, startled from their dreams—they all dream of your colossal figure towering above, gazing down upon them, casually trampling them underfoot. The shattering of their dreams results in maddening agony...



Then, they come to realize that the battleground extends far beyond the confines of the court. They might see political maneuvering as the primary arena in this game of thrones, yet driving a dagger into their core is also a facet of this game, not to mention the torments within their dreams. Amidst these struggles, all they have achieved is the most insignificant victories, while you... you reign as the master. You hold sway over both bodies and spirits.



Zazie remains skeptical of your methods until you personally visit her dream, delicately caressing the golden camellia that represents her before tearing off its petals one after another... The next morning, for the first time, you see Zazie without her usual makeup, rushing to you with disheveled hair, her voice sharp with accusation. "What did you do to me in my dream?!" Undoubtedly, she displays remarkable resilience; other courtiers, after enduring such torment, often remain bedridden for an entire day.



She yields—how could she resist an unseen, supreme power? And so, you, the Regent by her side, emerge as the true ruler of this kingdom.



Henceforth, the days remain much as they did under the previous Sultan. The populace continues their familiar routines, and all accolades and admiration merely require a shift in recipient. As night falls, you wander in your garden, scanning for any burgeoning weeds, encroaching vines, and thorny plants, uprooting every dream unfit for your empire...

References

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