I Leash Emperors: The Dead Shout. I Smile

“Richard Sterling said he wanted to acquire my company. I told him every intern in my office has razed a civilization.” This is the 88th floor of the Infinite Tower—the final tribunal of humanity. I leash beasts called “The Greats.” Caesar is the viper coiled in my legal department. Napoleon is the war-hammer crushing my supply chains. Wu Zetian kneels to plead for her HR legacy, and Cleopatra wears a bio-shell I designed just to lick intelligence from the shadows. I stripped them of everything that made them “human.” No taste. No pain. No dopamine. Their heartbeats are merely lines of code I simulate. In this vault, empire is a scrap of paper, ambition is an algorithm, and the legacy of ages is calculated in pure ROI (Return on Investment). The rules are simple, and they are depraved: The Winner: Earns 24 hours of “Sensory Sync.” They get to taste, to bleed, to feel the warmth of the sun—shivering on the marble floor like dogs for a single day of “life.” The Loser: Earns a “Hell Start.” I will shatter your soul and reincarnate you as a eunuch, a sacrificial lamb, or a maggot in the next cycle. Every full moon, the Tavern opens. The millions slaughtered by these twelve tyrants gather as my fuel. The Jury screams behind the glass, casting blood-stained ballots to decide who walks the earth and who rots in the deep. Arsinoe is forging evidence. Cao Cao is hiding a blade in his sleeve. They think this is a game of corporate intrigue. They think they can stab my heart with their petty schemes. The fools have no idea: I only have 17 months left. Progress: 0.011%. If the needle doesn’t hit 1.000% in 17 months, I will drag these twelve monarchs and this rotting planet into the void with me. I am stitching the wounds of civilization with the flesh of tyrants. The dead are shouting. The emperors are clawing. And I smile. I have to. [Author's Note] “No redemption. Only performance. If you want a hero, look elsewhere. Here, Caesar is a tool, Cleopatra is a ghost, and the greatest emperors in history are just 0.00x% on my dashboard. Welcome to the 88th floor. The clock is ticking. The Jury is watching. Are you?”