If the Shuriman Empire's first millennium celebration marked the beginning of its glory, and the second its glorious peak, then by the third millennium, the ancient empire had finally reached its twilight.
Shurima City was still Shurima City.
The millennium celebration was still as grand as ever.
But Nasus had only heard of the first millennium celebration and personally lived through the second. He could clearly feel how much more subdued this one was.
Countless people still gathered in Shurima City to celebrate the great empire's three-thousandth birthday.
The weight on Nasus's shoulders was immense, pressing down on him until he could hardly breathe.
Even though the Shuriman Empire had shrunk by at least two-thirds compared with its heyday, it was still a vast empire. But the Ascended who had once supported it had dwindled by more than ninety percent. As one of the few remaining Ascended, Nasus had been forced to leave his genteel work as a recorder and take up administrative duties.
Fortunately, his years working in the imperial library had not only given him a wealth of knowledge, but also taught him patience. Even with Shurima's tangled affairs overwhelming enough to make anyone's head spin, Nasus continued to work through every problem and carefully balance the interests of all sides.
There was no doubt that Nasus was loyal to the Shuriman Empire. He had grown up during its most prosperous age. Though that prosperity had become an irretrievable shadow of the past after Icathia's cataclysm and the empire's repeated fragmentation, even now, the flame of hope still burned in Nasus's heart.
At the very least... at the very least, His Majesty the Emperor was reliable.
Many people said that His Majesty Azir was a copy of Karya. They were equally refined and handsome, equally elegant, equally wise