In the aftermath of the global broadcast, chaos gripped the seas. Uprisings bloomed like wildfire — but so did desperation. Supply lines collapsed, allegiances shifted, and whispers of civil war echoed even among the rebels.
It was then that an unexpected invitation arrived.
Lord Salvius D'Reyne, a former World Noble cast out after rejecting the Celestial Code, extended an olive branch: asylum for Raizen and his crew at his private citadel — The Gilded Haven, a luxurious stronghold nestled between impassable reefs and storm-walls.
"I have no love for the World Government," D'Reyne said, smiling beneath a curtain of white-gold hair. "But I have the means to protect you — and the wisdom to know your revolution needs more than fire. It needs polish."
At first glance, the haven seemed idyllic. Marble halls, endless feasts, scholars discussing a new constitution, and rebel leaders arriving in droves, seeking counsel. For the first time in months, Raizen's crew rested. He bathed without looking over his shoulder. Lyra smiled again. Rook repaired the ship without fear of missiles or monsters.
But beneath the chandeliers and garden parties, something festered.
Whispers. Locked rooms. Missing guests.
Raizen's unease grew when he discovered a hidden corridor — and behind it, a prison filled with political dissidents and failed rebels. Some of them were people he'd seen at the feasts just days before.
Lord D'Reyne's philosophy soon became clear: reshape the world not through revolution, but through selection. Power redistributed not to the people, but to a better elite — one guided by "reason," and forged in his image.
"You fight to burn the throne," D'Reyne told Raizen, sipping vintage wine in a gilded atrium. "I intend to build a better one. And you, Raizen, will be its crown."
The offer was clear: peace, power, and legacy — if Raizen abandoned the chaos of rebellion and let the noble's vision prevail.
But Raizen saw the truth.
This haven was no sanctuary.
It was a gilded cage.
And its master wanted not a partner, but a puppet.
As the moon rose, Raizen gathered his crew. Eyes clear. Purpose renewed.
"We're not here to trade one tyrant for another," he said. "Burn the cage. All of it."
The night ended in fire.
And as the haven crumbled behind them, Raizen sailed into the storm once more — hunted now not only by enemies of the old world… but by those who wished to forge a new one in gold-plated chains.
END OF CHAPTER 12