Night fell over Moscow, the capital of Bear Nation.
Inside a brightly lit conference room in the Kremlin, people filled both sides of a long table. Documents and electronic screens lay across its surface, while a projector cast continuously updated satellite images onto the wall.
The president of Bear Nation sat at the head of the table, his hands folded on its surface. Before him stood a cup of black coffee that had long since gone cold.
The emergency video conference with the Western allies had just ended.
On the other side of the screen, the leaders of John Bull Nation, the Gallic Rooster, Italy, Germany, Kangaroo, and other nations had taken turns speaking, their voices filled with barely suppressed anxiety and anger.
The meeting had one clear purpose-how to stop Rabbit Nation from unifying the world.
After yesterday's explosion, the global order had been completely rewritten. Bald Eagle Nation had fallen from the world's top tier overnight.
The entire federation had descended into fragmented chaos, and at the center of that chaos, Rabbit Nation's presence stood out with particular clarity.
This time, they had demonstrated power far beyond anything existing military theory could explain, along with that dark red sphere that had vanished into thin air within Rabbit Nation and appeared just as abruptly above the Bald Eagle Capital.
John Bull's voice sounded again from the recording, carrying that characteristic diplomatic tone-carefully chosen words delivered with unmistakable force.
"Rabbit Nation must give the entire world an explanation for this incident. That immensely powerful sphere was transported from within Rabbit Nation to the skies above the Bald Eagle Capital, ten thousand kilometers away.
"Whatever their intentions, the outcome has drastically altered the global security landscape.
"We have every reason to demand that Rabbit Nation disclose the source of its methods