"In an official decree released earlier today, the King of El Malais stated that the recent global broadcast concerning the so-called 'secrets of Eli's Staff' was a deliberate act intended to sow chaos. According to the royal statement, the broadcast was designed to destabilize international order and incite racial discrimination among the world's peoples. The Crown has urged the public to remain calm and to treat any unverified claims regarding Eli's Staff with caution as investigations continue."
The news anchor said, but it fell on deaf ears for the people at the diner.
The mood was heavy and charged as everyone was discussing the very videos released by unknown parties, later traced to a coordinated network of offshore media shells, leaked research archives, and encrypted data dumps whose funding sources were deliberately obscured, that had basically exposed the entire secret of how the El Malais Kingdom had managed to remain as the world's strongest nation for centuries.
Ranging from selective biological optimization programs, controlled access to rare resources, and a state doctrine that fused scientific advancement with long-term population planning.
The mood was so heavy that even if society still ran as it used to, voices of discontent, jealousy, and anger had begun pooling all over the media.
The general public, who were once blissfully ignorant, had their eyes peeled open. Evidence and proofs of the El Malais bioengineered supremacy ran deep, even in sports. From statistically impossible recovery times, consistent Olympic dominance across generations, to leaked genetic performance baselines far exceeding global human averages.
That was not counting science and technology development, medical, including disease eradication decades ahead of world standards, regenerative medicine, once thought theoretical, and civilian technologies derived from military-grade research.
The very fact of their flawless and domineering history stood undeniable.
Many nations had independence today because of the El Malais Kingdom's pacifist nature, having repeatedly intervened to halt regional wars, enforce ceasefires, or withdraw forces at decisive moments where conquest would have been effortless.
The general public, the citizens of the world, now looked at the El Malais people with unkind and discriminating eyes, envious of their heritage, yet disgusted at their perceived selfishness, all while utterly dismissing the good that the El Malais people had brought to world civilization.
Many among the El Malais people themselves, the majority of them, were also in the dark about the truth behind Eli's Staff. As per the dispensed broadcasts strewn all over media channels, it was, in fact, not a spice.
Not entirely, but a bio-reactive compound capable of interfacing with human physiology on a cellular level. It was a miracle substance able to enhance physical resilience, cognitive clarity, and long-term health when processed correctly, while also possessing the secondary trait of enhancing flavor when diluted into food.
The Royal Clan didn't have much trouble calming their own citizens, but the backlash from nations across the world was mounting. It was, in fact, on the verge of exploding.
Moral high ground was no longer the realm of the El Malais Kingdom. Global media narratives, political rhetoric, and selective leaks had already rendered their explanations suspect before they were even spoken.
The broadcasts had painted them as nothing more than a group of lucky people obsessed with power, determined to keep it regardless of consequence.
Aside from some compensating words here and there, the Royal Clan had otherwise kept their silence, which only led to the flames being fanned into a raging inferno.
Several nations that had signed peace treaties with the El Malais Kingdom had also shown signs of coldness through delayed communications, frozen joint projects, suspended trade routes, and silent absences from diplomatic summits. Stepping away from the line of fire and quietly joining the larger side.
Demonstrations raged across the world, from mass marches in capital cities to violent clashes outside embassies bearing the El Malais crest, with people calling for their governments to do something about this so-called tyrant named the El Malais Kingdom.
Political leaders were torn, split between economic dependence on El Malais systems and the overwhelming pressure of public outrage. Order chains were shaken, and these were the results Malrick wanted.
Malrick Hunt, whose ambitions were long concealed beneath the rhetoric of liberation, had engineered the timing with precision.
Paint El Malais as an evil, power-hungry tyrant. The importance of Eli's Staff for the entirety of humankind was reason enough for people to go to war.
It was also enough of a reason for Malrick and his allies to begin moving their campaigns and armies.
The World Congress, where leaders converged, had now turned into the Arctic. Delegates avoided eye contact, emergency sessions collapsed into stalemates, and long-standing alliances fractured in silence.
Many countries chose to revoke their treaties or deals with the El Malais Kingdom and established new coalitions and alliances in an effort to exclude them entirely.
Suddenly, prices of goods across the world surged as supply chains faltered, trade sanctions cascaded, and panic markets reacted faster than governments could respond. Economic stability steadily eroded.
The Malais Kingdom barely had allies anymore, yet the kingdom kept its silence. Aside from their own people, the royals of El Malais cared for no one else. They had prepared for such a situation ever since the incident in East Malais, where an internal breach had resulted in deaths and forced the Royal Clan to tighten its secrecy. They were now ready to reveal the truth and the history long hidden from the masses.
Across generations, the El Malais Kingdom had always held onto the creed of traditions. A doctrine repeated across generations: strength is meaningless without restraint. Always be prepared, even during an era of peace.
The people of El Malais had always been calm and knowledgeable, disciplined from a young age. For generations, they taught their children the art of self-defense. Not merely as combat training, but as education in control, awareness, and proportional response, but also to instill a thirst for knowledge.
Growing up, they were taught moral values. What mattered, who was crucial, what deserved attention, and how one could thrive without excess.
Since their people were taught how to think instead of blind faith, they knew better than to act blindly.
The eyes of the world were now on them. Ultimately, it came down to what actions they would take. Whether to follow the same regime that had hidden the truth even from their own people, or to join them in ushering in a new era for the betterment of world civilization.
On the morning of the 16th of the 8th month, Year 410 AR.
After years of silence, the current ruler of El Malais, King Aldon Adamas Malais, finally addressed his people to clear the doubts and shed truth upon troubled hearts.
"Citizens of El Malais. Hear my word.
Today, I speak not only as your King, but as a son of this land who shares your unease, your anger, and your questions.
You have seen the broadcasts. You have heard the accusations. You have felt the weight of the world's gaze turn cold and sharp upon our people. I will not insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise.
The so-called revelation of Eli's Staff was not an act of truth-seeking. It was an act of weaponization. It was released not to enlighten mankind, but to fracture it. To turn nations against one another and envy into hatred.
Yes, Eli's Staff is more than a spice.
Yes, it has properties the world has not fully understood.
And yes, our Kingdom has benefited from it.
And hear me clearly: it was never used to enslave the world, nor to dominate it.
For centuries, El Malais possessed the strength to conquer, to dictate, to rule by force. As proven during the Northern Coalition Crisis.
Instead, we chose restraint. We chose diplomacy. We chose peace, even when it came at a cost to ourselves. Many nations standing today as independent states do so because El Malais stayed its hand.
Yet now, those same centuries of restraint are rewritten as selfishness. Our discipline is called arrogance. Our preparation is called tyranny. Our silence is mistaken for guilt.
To the people of El Malais!
I will not deny you the truth any longer. The era of ruling through secrecy has ended. What was once guarded for survival has become a catalyst for global instability. Continuing down that path would betray the very principles our ancestors lived by.
To the people of the world!
We are not your enemy, nor will we accept being cast as villains to justify conquest and war!
Eli's Staff was never meant to be a prize fought over. It was safeguarded because history taught us a hard lesson learned through civilizations that collapsed after unveiling powers their societies were not prepared to govern. And today, that lesson proves itself once more.
El Malais will not act in fear!
We will not act in haste!
And we will not kneel under slander!
Instead, we will act as we always have.
With resolve!
In the coming days, the Royal Clan will begin the full disclosure of Eli's Staff: its origins, its limits, and its true history, including why it cannot be replicated safely, why uncontrolled distribution would be catastrophic, and why El Malais alone bore the burden of restraint. And give mankind the chance to choose reason over hysteria!
Citizens of El Malais, stand firm. Do not answer hatred with hatred, nor ignorance with violence. You were taught to think, not to follow blindly. Now is the moment that teaching matters most!
The world is watching us. Let them see not monsters, but a people who refuse to abandon their principles under pressure. This Kingdom was built to endure storms far greater than this!
And it shall."
Regardless. A war will plunge this world into chaos once again. However, this time, the stakes had risen to the extreme.