The First Video

Preparations for the MeTube shoot came together in the blink of an eye. The U.S. government, realizing it could not control her actions, had at least decided that holding the reins would bring some peace of mind—and so they had scoured the country for every expert they could find.

The man behind the camera alone was a cinematographer whose name was known from major films, and the editing team was nothing less than a celebrated Hollywood unit transplanted wholesale into the room.

At this point one almost had to wonder why they were going to such lengths. Still, good was good. Astria offered the crew a light smile and greeted them.

"I am Astria. It is an honor to stand alongside warriors such as yourselves."

"N-no, not at all! The honor is entirely ours!"

"Th-that's right! There's no need for someone like you to speak so highly of mere staff!"

The editing team, however, remained rigidly tense, as though someone had threatened them before they ever set foot here. To loosen the atmosphere, Astria cast a simple spell—one meant to clear the air and soothe the heart.

Tiny motes of mana scattered through the room in a soft, prismatic dance. Anyone struck by them should have felt a gentle calm. Instead the staff began to tremble like aspen leaves in a gale.

I-it was true—!

Please spare us please spare us please spare us.

Crazy crazy crazy.

Before arriving they had undergone intensive psychological conditioning from the CIA and every other government agency imaginable. There were things one absolutely had to know before meeting an existence from As named Astria, they had been told. The content of that briefing had been utterly absurd.

"From this moment on, the being you are about to meet is a god."

"A god? Jesus Christ? Something like that?"

"No. Think more along the lines of Thor or Loki—the divine figures you see in movies. That will get you closer."

"I'm not religious, so I'm fine."

"You still don't understand… Let us explain again."

They had been drilled until the lesson sank in, and in the process a natural terror of Astria had taken root. According to the training, if she so much as wished it, she could kill anyone where they sat. Whether it was a president ringed by countless bodyguards and security systems or a homeless man sprawled on the sidewalk, both were equally insignificant insects to her.

Government analysts further speculated that she could freely manipulate human minds, create or erase natural disasters at will, and travel from the North Pole to the South in an instant.

And just now they had felt it for themselves: the sensation of their hearts being forcibly steered. A profound calm had settled over them for no reason at all—and that very lack of reason was what made their skin crawl.

In her presence, one had to wonder whether free will even existed for humans!

"Hmm. Everyone looks rather unwell."

"……"

"Could it be that working with me is not to your liking? If so—"

"N-no, not at all!"

"Working with you has been my dream since childhood!"

To their ears, her words had sounded like this:

—If you do not wish to work with me, I will simply kill you.

After all, she enjoyed the full protection of the United States government. Even if she wiped out everyone in the room out of pique, the incident would likely be quietly buried as though nothing had happened.

"Since childhood, you say. How old are you, then?"

Even when she tossed out a joke, none of them dared laugh; they could only force awkward, thin smiles. And so the staff stepped into their first shoot with the Dragon King of As.

Before filming began, Astria explained the purpose of the video to the crew—the direction of the channel itself.

"I desire harmony between As and Earth. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want the people of Earth to look upon the people of As not with fear or dread, but as good friends."

"…Th-then we'll work it toward idolization."

The professionals immediately grasped how best to present her. If her wish was to be realized, two approaches existed. The first was the "my buddy" method: making an existence feel like a close personal friend. That approach could weather most scandals with a laugh, yet it risked turning the subject into a joke.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

So the team chose the second path—the idolization technique long favored by dictators of the past and modern entertainment conglomerates alike. It elevated the subject into an object of reverence, someone the audience would instinctively look up to and exalt. The method was difficult and usually required powerful connections, but none of that mattered here.

Through the lens, Astria was already a queen radiating pure charisma simply by existing.

Work began at once.

"Hey! What kind of props are these? Get something more impressive—"

"Lady Astria? If you would change into something a little more splendid, we would be grateful…"

"Lights one through seventeen! Move it, move it!"

Fortunately they were professionals—pros among pros who could still function on pure instinct even while half-paralyzed by fear. Props were set, Astria was adorned, and every light and camera was arranged to display her at her most beautiful.

The barren studio transformed in moments into a magnificent hall. At its center stood a throne bathed in every spotlight.

Click, click—

Just as she had been instructed, Astria approached with the measured click of heels. She settled naturally onto the throne, propped an arm on the rest, crossed her legs, and looked down upon the camera that filmed her. Everything followed the direction team's prior guidance.

"—People of Earth."

What Astria had wanted was a friendly neighbor who would win the affection of Earth's people. Your friendly neighborhood dragon king.

What Earth's people actually wanted was nothing of the sort. They craved a superhuman who would rule them—an übermensch straight out of drama and film whom they could follow with blind devotion.

She gave them exactly that.

"This body is the Dragon King of As."

Something began to shimmer, visible even through the lens. The cameraman swallowed hard and focused so as not to miss a single frame.

"I have come to meet you."

And so a brief one-minute-thirty-second video was completed.

That day, the people of Earth instinctively understood that a new ruler might be about to appear among them.

As had been said many times before, MeTube was not a market where mere fame guaranteed success. Even established celebrities regularly shed tears of blood after being betrayed by the algorithm.

At first the U.S. government considered simply manipulating that algorithm to bury Astria's video forever. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠They ultimately decided the risk of discovery was too great and left it alone.

In the end they could only pray the video would sink and leave the rest to chance. Unfortunately, a bloodless steel can possessed no human heart.

The nameless video began to spread among people.

A one-minute-thirty-second clip. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No thumbnail—just a pitch-black screen. People left hate comments before they even watched it. Common sense said a video like this had no business appearing in anyone's feed.

But those who watched the full ninety seconds? No—those who only needed the first ten seconds of production quality?

The short clip of a queen walking to her throne, crossing her legs, and looking down upon humanity as she greeted them dropped an anchor deep into every viewer's heart.

Even reduced to mere zeros and ones, residual mana that the data could not fully filter rode the video and enchanted everyone who watched.

Of course, even without the mana the outcome would hardly have been different.

Anyone who watched even once replayed the video ten times, a hundred times, without leaving their seat.

The pace only accelerated.

It conquered the market.