Chris POV
I watched from the palace—my throne looming above the Blackstone Court as two of my most powerful weapons turned their fangs inward.
It started with a budget line.
Petty, some would say.
But nothing in an empire like mine is just paperwork.
Christiana—Dictator of the Blackwood Empire—had moved decisively. Without consulting Xavier, she froze a portion of the military's operational budget. Claimed it was being misused, mismanaged, redirected to fronts that weren't aligned with the Empire's "core strategies."
But Xavier wasn't just anyone.
He was The Caniner.
Equal in rank. Equal in reach. Equal in bloodlust.
And he wasn't about to be undermined.
---
Xavier POV
I stormed into the treasury annex, coat fluttering behind me like a banner of war. My generals followed, boots thudding against marble. Eyes everywhere. Watching.
"Why is the Northern Front unfunded?" I asked.
The clerk stammered.
I knew the answer before she opened her mouth.
"Dictator Christiana issued the freeze order herself… she said it was Executive Priority 1."
Executive. Priority. One.
That meant even my seal couldn't undo it. Only one other existed above it—mine. And the one above that?
Chris.
But he was silent.
Watching.
Testing.
Letting us war in shadows to see who'd come out with blood still on their blade.
---
Christiana POV
He came to my office—no knock, no courtesy.
I was waiting.
"I reinstated the budget freeze," I said calmly before he could speak.
"You overstepped," he snapped. "That front is ours to handle. You don't cut the sword while it's swinging."
I stood. "You bled the treasury dry funding shadow raids and honor displays. Troop morale is dropping in the inner sectors. I will not let your theatrics collapse the infrastructure I built."
His jaw clenched.
I walked past him. "This Empire isn't a battlefield. It's a system. If you want to bleed something, bleed the enemies beyond our walls—not the people within it."
He grabbed my arm.
I turned sharply.
Eyes locked.
We both knew… we had crossed a line.
---
Chris POV
I received the reports minutes later.
Two units of Black Axe Men—one loyal to the Caniner, the other assigned to the Dictator's security—had clashed in Sector 14.
Fifty-seven casualties.
No outside enemy.
Just us.
My empire was bleeding from within.
And it was time to decide—
Do I let them tear each other apart to reveal the stronger?
Or do I step in… and remind them that the only absolute power in this Empire… is me?