From what it looks like, the Emperor has long give up all hope already. He is someone that doesn't have anything to lose anymore
That is the reason why he just let the Church do whatever they want. He didn't try stopping them as he is completely aware that that is a useless thing to do
Even if he were to exert all of his effort and power into maintaining his sovereignty, he is still not the protagonist of this world
He was the Emperor but his power would be eclipsed by the church as what fate dictates
Instead of fighting against the impossible, he just let things be and the gears of fate work on their own
However, Reif is sure that the Emperor is a person that was once arrogant, prideful, and confident
The type of person that is extremely ambitious and wants his fate to be in his hands
The Emperor rebelled countless times but all of his attempts all ended up as a big failure
However, Reif is currently with him. If he were to stand with Reif, he would have the tiniest bit of hope
The Emperor has nothing to lose anymore and whether he try again or not doesn't matter
If that is the case, then wouldn't it be better to side with Reif for that little hit of hope
If they were to succeed, they would both get whatever they want. It was a win-win situation for the both of them
Even if they were to lose, so that? It's not like that was the Emperor's first failure. It would only be an additional failed attempt on his part and nothing special
"Think about it! You are an Emperor, the one that stood above the masses. Isn't it really humiliating when your life is actually controlled by fate?"
"It doesn't matter whether you try or not but at least try again when you still have a chance!"
"Be what an Emperor really is and help me rebel against our fate!" Reif continued trying to persuade the Emperor and this time, the latter gave more reaction than usual
Reif's words seems to have moved him a bit. After all, in the Emperor's blood, a hint of his former self should still remain
The blood of the ruler that radiates confidence and arrogance. Completely different from the current him that is only an empty husk
"You still think that there is hope" the Emperor said before sitting upright. "If you think like that then fine, I'll help but I'm sure that you would end up drowning in despair just like what happened to me" he said firmly as if something that is already set in stone but Reif shook his head
"No. Even if I failed, I wouldn't despair. If I can, I would continue trying no matter how many times I need to"
"However, there is someone that could only appear in this life in this exact lifetime and timeline. I don't want to fail him nor would he want me to fail. I promise that failure is not an option"
"We will win! We will succeed! We will change our fate!"
The way Reif spoke made it so that people would think that he could do anything in this world. Too bad that he was speaking to an already broken man and the Emperor although gave some reaction is still not overly enthusiastic
"I see" the Emperor said before looking straight to Reif
"That someone important, it's that person that came from another world, right?" He questioned and although Reif doesn't know how the Emperor knows about it, he still don't think that it was too weird
After all, the Emperor sensed the gears of fate much earlier than Reif does. It wasn't exactly surprising that he knows of Rhash's origin
"With the help of that person, there might be hope for you"
Reif raises his brows at that. What he desperately need now is a hope and way to succeed
He can go and damage the church but the gears of fate would surely just make things go in the intended path forcefully
Reif is sure of that although he doesn't know what exactly would happen
"How could my big brother help us?" Reif questioned. If it is something that would harm his big brother, he would never do it. As such, he has to know what exactly is in the Emperor's mind
"Your precious person is from another world. His soul should still have the aura and connection of that world. Hypothetically it's possible to.... with your power you can.... the chances of victory is not high but only by doing that could I see a hint of chance"
The Emperor went on to explain what is in his mind and Reif was stunned. He never thought of it in that way
Although Reif is forcing himself to have faith that he would win, he is actually anxious inside as he doesn't know what to do exactly
However, the Emperor gave him a solid plan. He doesn't know if it was possible but he at least finally knows what to do
Seeking the Emperor for help is indeed the right thing to do. Reif has an unexpected harvest
"Okay! I will do that and we can fuck this world up. But for now, we have to—" before Reif could even finish his words, the Emperor already cut him off
"I have countless experience of trying to destroy the church. There are many times when I almost succeeded. I know what to do" the Emperor said and with that, Reif excuses himself
————
With the cooperation of the Emperor, things have become better than before for Reif
In the past, the church steadily expanded their influence with little to no resistencr but everything has changes
With the Emperor leading the nation, he starts suppressing and cutting the church's power
If the church's influence still hasn't reached almost its peak, the Emperor still have tons of plans he could use to stop their influence from spreading
However, the church has integrated themselves too much already and the Emperor could only be quite forcful
He started off by pushing the church away from the Imperial Capital. The churches that refuses were destroyed on the spot
Forceful move against would make the Emperor receive a lot of backlash but it doesn't matrer
The Emperor doesn't care whether his prestige and rule suffered. Even if the whole world was destroyed, he wouldn't care about it
The only thing he cared for us the success of rebelling against fate. For that, even if he were to sacrifice his throne, he would not care
In the past, the Emperor was already a broken and empty husk. But with Reif's persuasion, something inside him changes
Reif didn't return him from his normal self but he still has a great effect
If the Emperor cannot rebel successfully then he would just do everything he can to destroy what the fate wants to become the new ruler of the world
It was like the philosophy of if something cannot be mine, I wouldn't let anyone else have it even if I have to destroy it
If the Emperor cannot rule the whole world forever just like what he wants his fate to be, he would then destroy it with his own hands so that no one else could rule it
The friction between the Church and the Emperor causes a lot of bloodshed. It was something that affected the entire world and everyone is fearful of what the outcome would be
However, in this fight, it was the Emperor that seems to be in the losing end
His means were too cruel and forceful. As long as the clerics entered the Capital, he would immediately sent people to kill them
If a person in the Capital was found out to be worshipping the God of Light, they would be sent to the Palace and be executed
Everyday, thousands of people were drag into the Palace to be executed
Even the corpses of citizens and clerics that died in the Capital was sent to the Palace to be burn down and be labeled as a sinner
The Imperial Palace suddenly became a place where corpses would enter every second
This made people think that the Emperor has started to gone mad. If not for his overwhelming power, his subjects would have rebelled and take him away from the throne already
He thinks that he is too foolish. Even if he wants to remove the church's influence in the workd and become the Supreme Ruler again, this is far from being the right thing!
He has many ways to do so but he chose to be so violent he would surely be written down in the History as a ruthless tyrant
No one knows why the Emperor was choosing this kind of path that is filled with flaws and just causes countless desths aside from two people
It was only Reif and the Emperor himself that knows why moving in this path is needed