The Formal Challenge
Minister Alaron was not satisfied with King Hayate's answer regarding the Core's stability. Over the next few weeks, as Hayate endured the crushing solitude and maintained the flawless Eternal Rule through his private, sorrowful rituals, Alaron gathered allies.
Alaron represented the old guard who believed only pure logic could rule. He used the concept of Consort Neshuda's spiritual sacrifice to argue that the Code itself now contained an unpredictable, illogical element—love and devotion—that only a dual authority could manage.
He presented a formal, public challenge to Hayate: a petition demanding the immediate formation of a temporary Spiritual Oversight Committee with the power to audit the King's interface with the Core.
Hayate received the petition in the main throne room, the empty chair beside him a constant, stinging reminder of his loss. He read the challenge, recognizing Alaron's intent: to undermine the authority of the solitary King and expose the illogic that secured their peace.
They fear what they cannot calculate, Hayate. They fear the power of my love, which is now the very stability of the Core, Neshuda's strategic voice seemed to whisper in the chambers of Hayate's memory. You must counter with logic they cannot refute, using the plans I laid for this eventuality.
Hayate had to stop Alaron without revealing the absolute truth of Neshuda's death or the necessity of his own solitary Vow. He had to use the sheer brilliance of his lost Consort's strategy.
The Final Blueprint
Hayate retreated immediately to the small office adjacent to the sanctuary—the place where he felt marginally less grief. He retrieved the encrypted files Neshuda had included with his final Command to Live.
The files contained several highly complex strategic blueprints, each labeled for a specific potential crisis. One was marked: Contingency 7: Solitary Rule Challenge – Political Exposure.
Hayate activated it. The blueprint laid out a perfect, three-step counter-strategy. Neshuda had anticipated Alaron's move years ago.
The strategy was devastatingly simple in its execution:
Public Demonstration of Spiritual Logic: Hayate must prove that Neshuda's spiritual presence still guided the Core through logical means.
Kinetic Overload Lock: Hayate must initiate a system test that only his overwhelming kinetic signature could stabilize, thus proving the King's physical necessity.
The Consort's Seal: Hayate must use a specific, pre-programmed Code phrase that Neshuda had embedded deep within the Citadel's sub-systems, one that only Neshuda would know, to shut down the challenge.
Hayate felt a fresh wave of crushing sorrow and fierce devotion. Neshuda had thought of everything, even the pain of Hayate having to execute this defense alone.
"You left me the weapons, my love," Hayate whispered, tears blurring his vision as he stared at the holographic diagram. "But you didn't leave me the strength to use them."
The Agonizing Proof
To execute the plan, Hayate needed absolute, focused kinetic power—power he could only generate through his agonizing, lonely Vow ritual. He needed to channel his deepest sorrow into the pure energy Neshuda's blueprint demanded.
He returned to the sanctuary, the immense room that was now his private hell. He took the relic he now relied upon—Neshuda's ceremonial shawl—and initiated the ritual of self-dominance.
Hayate drove the physical act with desperate, focused intent, channeling his intense emotional pain into kinetic output. He forced his body to remember the absolute Submission Neshuda always offered, trying to trick his energy field into the perfect stability Neshuda's presence always ensured.
As he reached the peak, the intense physical ecstasy mixed with the crushing sorrow. He deliberately brought the memory of Neshuda's final, serene face into his mind. This is for your peace, my love.
He felt the intense, raw energy of his grief surge, momentarily overwhelming the Code itself. He achieved the necessary kinetic focus—raw, perfect power born of pure, distilled despair. The core stabilized instantly, ready for the political battle ahead.
He lay spent, utterly desolate. He was the most powerful King who had ever lived, and he was being powered by the ghost of the man he lost.
The Political Decimation
Hayate immediately convened an emergency session of the Council to address Alaron's petition.
"Minister Alaron," Hayate stated, standing alone before the Council, "you demand proof of the Code's spiritual stability. I will provide it."
Hayate initiated Step 1 and 2: He projected a live feed of the Core's operations, showing the flawless logic of Neshuda's Code at work. Then, he initiated the Kinetic Overload Lock—a pulse of energy that briefly exceeded the safe operational limits of the Core.
The Council gasped. The stability dropped instantly. But Hayate poured his sorrow-fueled kinetic power into the system, stabilizing it flawlessly and instantaneously, demonstrating that only his absolute physical strength could maintain control.
Alaron stood, defiant. "Your Majesty, kinetic power is not spiritual integrity! We require access to the Code's core protocols!"
Hayate delivered Step 3: He looked directly at Alaron and spoke the final, secret command phrase Neshuda had embedded. It was a phrase only Neshuda and Hayate knew, a private declaration of love that Neshuda had woven into the Core's defense.
"The Consort's spiritual integrity is real. My pain is your peace."
The Core system reacted instantly. Neshuda's embedded protocol took over Alaron's console, locking him out of the network and flashing a single, non-overrideable message across his screen: Protocol Violation: The Vow of Absolute Devotion is Secured.
The Council was stunned into silence. The Code had spoken, confirming the existence of a sacred, secret Vow that validated the King's absolute power. Alaron, realizing he had been countered by a dead man's genius, paled.
Hayate's eyes, heavy with sorrow, rested on the defeated Minister. "The Eternal Rule is non-negotiable, Minister. The Consort's devotion is your security. I command you to stand down."
The challenge was crushed. Hayate had successfully used Neshuda's love and his own heartbreak to save his reign.