Imperator: Resurrection of an Empire

The shrine no longer breathed with mystery.

Not for Julius.

He had seen the bones beneath its skin, unearthed what even the Saint's faithful had not known existed.

As he stepped from the circular vault chamber, the blue-flamed torches dimmed one by one behind him, sealing the past like a tomb gently closing its eyes.

In his arms: a lacquered case of relics, specially packed by Root operatives the moment he had cataloged them.

The Codex Solaris sat pressed to his chest, veiled in black silk.

He hadn't let them touch it.

Wouldn't.

Not until the right place was found.

Not until it could speak its hidden knowledge across the breadth of his empire.

The ascent through the shrine's spiral was faster this time.

Light from the surface bled downward with every step, gilding the stone with the gold of a waning sun.

And when Julius emerged at last from the subterranean hall, blinking against the sudden glare of day, the full breadth of his empire's reach greeted him.

The temple above had been secured — utterly.

Praetorians stood at precise intervals along the shrine's ridge, black armor unmarred by even a hint of dust, blades still unsheathed.

A small encampment had been erected along the hillside, housing a pair of Root analysts, an excavation crew, and half a dozen officers from the 7th Legion on rotational guard.

One of the temple bannerments fluttered now with the eagle-and-sun sigil of Romanus.

The shrine had been claimed.

And none in the region would dare contest it without significant bloodshed.

A lieutenant stepped forward as Julius reached the top of the stairs, saluting with palm over heart.

"Your Majesty. The perimeter remains clear. No enemy movement for twelve leagues. Sabellus reports successful progress in the northeast. All targets resisting under Joan's banner have retreated further into the interior."

Julius nodded once, eyes scanning the horizon.

"I'll review Sabellus's dispatches en route."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Shall I summon your mount?"

"No need."

He strode down the steps without pause, his cloak sweeping behind him like the tide drawn by a divine pull.

Veyne met him at the base, silent as ever, a single brow raised beneath her porcelain mask.

"Will the Codex remain here?"

she asked softly, motioning to the shrine.

"No."

He glanced back once, letting his gaze linger on the archway.

"A house of saints does not deserve a king's voice."

Veyne's nod was slight, but approving.

She could see that her Emperor knew the power of this tool even if she did not.

And with how he held it, it was clearly a weapon and she would much rather see a weapon in the hands of her emperor rather than in the hands of their enemies.

~

The ride back to the forward command was quiet.

Julius rode at the center of the column, the Codex strapped to his side beneath a reinforced cloak of midnight silk.

He had told no one of its full function.

Not yet.

Let them believe he had found a crown.

A blade.

Symbols of a fading sun cult.

The true sun would rise when he chose it.

Along the road, villagers knelt by the roadside — peasant families and displaced Francian refugees alike.

Some in subservience at the invaders who'd forcibly taken their lands from them, others kneeling in regret over the loss of their young men sent to war against Romanus.

Some wept as the Praetorians passed.

Others murmured prayers.

~

By the time Julius returned to the 7th Legion's central warcamp, the world had already changed.

His generals had sensed it.

Not from the shrine — but from the slow, unmistakable shift in Julius himself.

He moved like a man no longer at war with nations, but with time itself.

Gallius greeted him first.

"Our scouts returned. Saint Joan has vanished again. She's no longer in Valricon. We believe she's withdrawn toward the Halebrun Valley. Old ruins. Good for hiding. Or martyrdom."

"She's consolidating,"

Julius said.

"She needs time."

"She's buying time,"

Sabellus corrected, approaching from the eastern tents.

"The last three towns surrendered without a fight. They knew we were coming and chose silence over arms. That's her effect. They burn for her with belief."

"Let them believe whatever they want so long as they live peaceful lives with nothing but hope in their gilded saint being able to repulse us and reclaim the lands we've taken from the Francian crown, we'll leave them in peace as future citizens of the Empire of Romanus."

"Imperial rules as usual, understood your majesty."

With that the simple war council broke up and Julius was able to return to his own tent.

Once inside he unbound the codex and sat himself down at his desk before flipping through the dozens of thick pages.

As old as the book was it still looked like it was brand new, though the pages within the codex were blank.

Of course this was the items feature.

This codex was a collection of hidden knowledge, and just like how a lightbulb cannot function without electricity, this codex would not function without a location to be socketed within.

Once Julius had interred the codex somewhere he could them flip through the pages and select the contents most useful to apply to his empire at large.

Though thanks to his previous playthroughs Julius memorized the books contents, and to anyone watching their emperor would appear to be going insane as he read through a blank book as if he could see images and words scrawled all across its pages.

When his joy at finding this codex finally started to wane as physical exhaustion began to set itself in, Julius sealed the tome up before safely storing it away once more.

As he settled into his camp bed, the emperors mind traced to the thoughts of the current war.

Greecia was his longest campaign to date, but the cold of the north made it feel like this conflict which had only last for a few months now had already been going on for years.

The more his mind dwelled on it the more, Julius wondered if his presence here would mean anything, or if it would be better for him to return temporarily to setup the codex properly before he returned with his new buffs applied across his forces.

As these competing thoughts raced through his mind Julius finally slipped into slumber even with the ongoing sounds of man and beast moving about the camp outside his tent.