Not all battles were with beasts or broken systems. The Quiet War, as it came to be known, was one of ideas and influence. A foreign power attempted to spread fear through manipulation and doubt.

The Kaiser convened a gathering on the city’s rooftop gardens. Leaders, thinkers, and skeptics came. Through metaphors, riddles, and silent glances, he taught them to discern truth from noise.

The threat dissolved not in fire, but in understanding.