The ministers looked up.
Their faces were filled with astonishment.
Some opened their mouths.
They wanted to say something.
But in the end, none dared speak.
The Grand Historian was the first to crawl half a step forward on his knees.
The jade tablet in his hands trembled violently.
"Your Majesty...
"The founding sovereign chose our kingdom's name.
"Changing it... may harm the foundations of the realm."
The king did not look at him.
His head remained tilted back.
He watched the great cart slowly turning in the sky.
"The foundations of the realm?"
He repeated the phrase.
Then he suddenly laughed.
"Grand Historian.
"Tell me.
"In that moment just now.
"Did my realm still exist?"
The Grand Historian froze.
"Yes..."
The king shook his head.
"No.
"In that moment just now.
"The city walls were gone.
"The palace was gone.
"The dragon throne was gone.
"Your hands were gone.
"Your face was gone.
"You were not dead.
"You had never existed at all.
"That is what it means to harm the foundations of the realm."
The Grand Historian prostrated himself.
His forehead pressed against the cold stone slabs.
He could not utter a word.
Because he remembered.
He remembered that feeling with perfect clarity.
The king of Chechi Kingdom finally lowered his head.
He looked at the assembled civil and military officials.
He spoke.
"How many years did the three State Preceptors stand in this court?"
No one answered.
There was no need.
Everyone knew.
"They prayed for rain.
"And rain came.
"They prayed for wind.
"And wind came.
"They summoned clouds.
"And clouds came.
"Because the wheel had stopped."
The king's voice was very soft.
Yet it carried immense weight.
"Che, the cart, refers to the River Cart.
"River Cart Circulation should never pause, not even for a