Note: This work is entirely fictional and belongs to the Alternate History genre, utilizing historical characters and events in a fictional context. All content is a product of imagination and does not reflect reality or any political or military stance.

The story contains sensitive elements such as violence, large-scale warfare, tense political conflicts, and alternative historical depictions. It is not suitable for readers under 16 years of age or those who may be psychologically affected.
Continuing to read implies acceptance of all controversial elements within the work.

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January 5, 2020/4017, Fourth Era.

Russian Federation, Sevastopol Port.

After a while of moving, the Astral, along with the Russian patrol team, entered the Black Sea. Indeed, the name often does not lie; the entire sea area was shrouded in darkness, although the blue of the water could still be seen, it was a negligible fraction.

As they approached the internal waters of Russia, in front of them was the port city of Sevastopol - home to the Black Sea Fleet's base. This is a strategically important port city for Russia.

As they got closer to the port, she could see many other Russian ships. There were many vessels, but most were smaller than the Astral, indicating that the combat capability of this fleet was not high, due to the unusually small turrets. The strength of a fleet usually depends on the number of cannons and their size; even the warships themselves must be large enough to be equipped.

The Russian ships were quite small, and even the turrets were rather pathetic. However, there were some details that made them very special.

"All of these ships have no magical power, meaning they are like the warships of Mu - they all use fossil fuel instead of magical stone."

The confirmation from a sailor reinforced her argument. Along with other strange structures, some had squares on the deck, right behind the turrets, with pipes protruding from both sides of the hull. The most notable thing since encountering the Russian navy was that their signal towers were very low. If compared in proportion, they seemed to have a shorter range. But out there, they had communicated over a very long distance, which was illogical for a ship with the characteristics of a light cruiser.

And there were also things protruding from the water. What were they, some kind of bizarre Russian vessels? She was unsure and certain about it, but thinking about all these things was overloading her brain. Even if she racked her brain about the function of this fleet, it wouldn't give her more insight into Russia.

Setting aside military issues, the architecture here was very interesting. From her perspective, this place was prosperous enough, but Russia was in crisis. Was this prosperity in front of her fake, or was it hiding something?

As soon as they docked and the way down below was established, as she stepped down, Seraphina encountered a rather young man - just a little over twenty-eight. It was Stalin, who was waiting here to welcome this special VIP guest. A significant figure from the Milishial Holy Empire from civilization zone 1 had come to Russia without any prior notice. This event forced the government to hastily prepare for the reception.

Next to Stalin were two agents from the FSB, here to monitor the dialogue. He didn't really pay attention because he knew he wouldn't do anything to harm his country, especially at this very sensitive time. The government was rushing to implement infrastructure projects for the Far East and foreign partners. Although he knew Milishial was a superpower and a powerful magical empire, he didn't really know what magic was here; it seemed that it still needed to be studied further to be understood by everyone.

He looked at the woman in front of him, Seraphina Flameheart Blaze - the Saintess, a position that was hard to comprehend, but seemed similar to a pope - a representative of a religion. Russia had not yet deeply understood Milishial in every aspect, including religion, only knowing that the state religion of Milishial and many places was Rubrum Stella, translated as the Red Star. Following the woman were three people: a rather dignified man, dressed quite flamboyantly, who could be mistaken for someone from royalty, followed by two soldiers holding firearms. Judging by their appearance, they were likely semi-automatic weapons.

He swallowed hard, nervously stepping forward to speak. "I am diplomat Roboknov, here to meet the representative from Milishial, ma'am."

"It is I, Seraphina Flameheart Blaze, just call me Blaze," she added. "I am the Saintess, representing the Church of the Red Star - the state religion of Milishial."

"Yes, thank you for the introduction," Stalin said. "May I know the purpose of your visit to our country?"

Stalin's serious gaze met Seraphina's. Whatever the reason, this sudden appearance was not a good sign for the homeland, especially when all information about the country was being controlled to avoid unnecessary troubles, including military conflicts.

"It is to establish relations with Russia," she said, signaling to Willer. "Here are some gifts we would like to present to your king."

"Thank you, we will..."

"Wait," Stalin interrupted, his face showing confusion. "What do you mean, ma'am Blaze?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's about your mention of us having a king," he replied.

"Is there a problem?"

"That is the problem," he explained. "We do not have a king, and our system is not a monarchy. We follow a federal system with an elected head to lead the country."

Hearing this, she understood. So Russia, or the Russian Federation as they called it, was essentially a democratic country with a system similar to Mu. To clarify, everything about this country was almost like Mu, just a copy without magic. She realized she had misspoken; thus, the leader of a country with a system similar to Mu would be the president, who would represent the nation.

She quickly apologized, "My mistake, I did not expect Russia to be a democratic country. Such a system is not common here; I hope this does not hinder the dialogue between our two sides for trivial reasons."

"I understand," he replied gently. "We have prepared a place for both sides to converse. First, let's get in the car, and we will leave right away."

He pointed to two prepared vehicles, one for him and the representative of Milishial, and one for their guards and agents. But everything must have its own standards. Stalin sternly turned to the two soldiers behind the Saintess.

"First, I must say that Russia does not allow armed forces to appear in a dialogue between two nations," he said. "We regret to inform you that they are not permitted to bring them into the room with both sides, but handguns are allowed for self-defense purposes."

Seraphina nodded, as a guest, she should not make the host uncomfortable, especially when the host had shown hospitality. She turned to them, signaling, and they quickly understood and disarmed. She continued speaking to Stalin.

"Mr. Roboknov, I would like to ask one thing."

"Please speak freely," he replied.

"It is about where we will be going," she asked, "where will it be?"

Stalin responded gently, "It is our capital - Moscow."

"Is it far from here?"

"It will take about a day to get there from here. But we can assure you that everything will be prepared as well as possible," he affirmed.

"Just one day?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"No, nothing at all," she replied. "Now let's go, no need to waste more time."

Stalin nodded in agreement. As they entered, Seraphina was surprised by the interior of the vehicle. It was very comfortable and luxurious, even more so than many other famous car brands. But this was a vehicle for a higher entity, so she was not too surprised by it.

"This car is impressive; it doesn't jolt like the ones I've been in before."

"Yes, the Aurus Senat is a high-end limousine model from Aurora Company. This is a premium car brand in Russia, with unquestionable quality; it is always a popular item," he explained. "Moreover, since the capital is quite far from Sevastopol - nearly 1000 km, we will be flying."

"Flying?" Seraphina was surprised, not expecting Russia to have developed to this extent.

"Yes, but since we usually do not publicize it, it may be mistaken for a Mu aircraft, but we do not care about that," he coughed a few times. "Alright, let's go there and continue talking."

She fell silent, not saying anything in response to that information. 'I need to reassess this. Especially the information I have known before.'

She was trying to determine the level of technology that Russia possessed. If Russia was on par with or surpassed Milishial, it would be a formidable counterbalance on various fronts, which would seriously threaten the position of the Holy Empire. She decided to engage in direct dialogue with Russia - the leader or representative who came to welcome her.

After a while, the two vehicles arrived at Belbek Airport, which was currently being used by the military due to the need to focus on the western region after losing the land buffer zone, as well as due to a decline in international and domestic trade activities.

Stalin stepped out of the car, followed by the Saintess. He walked to the reception desk - where the attendant was also paying attention to Seraphina's unique appearance, as well as the FSB agents and the Saintess's bodyguards. He quickly pulled the attendant back to work, completing the procedures as quickly as possible. Fortunately, this place was very sparsely populated, with almost no one around, just a few people at a distance.

The procedures were quickly completed, and Stalin led everyone outside, to a special aircraft prepared for certain cases. A Tu-134 was waiting, and they all boarded the plane.

Seraphina looked at the interior of the aircraft; it was very different. Many places were unoccupied - clearly prepared in advance. If compared, this alone made this Russian-origin aircraft more valuable than commercial planes from Mu. She and the others took their seats.

As the plane began to move, she also looked at the other aircraft here - they were all very large, even larger than the models available in Milishial. Just based on aircraft production capacity alone, it could create fierce competition in the market.

Up in the air, the scenery of Russia was not particularly special. It only had large roads and some settlements along the way. It felt like the level of urbanization in Russia was not on par with countries in the region and Milishial. But it was certainly not that simple; with aircraft and warships, and with non-magical technology like Russia, the potential she could see in a displaced country was very high.

The benefits that Milishial could achieve would be very significant. She wondered what Russia would need in trade; clearly, Russia, like many other countries, held strategic resources. She sighed, realizing that the information she had gathered about Russia so far was too little, making it difficult to gain an advantage at the diplomatic table to achieve certain benefits.

She glanced out the window - a golden hue of wheat hit her face, nothing too special, but it still persisted. She looked more closely below; a vast area was covered in the yellow of various grains. Seraphina gazed in amazement through the glass; it was an incredibly stunning sight. She turned to ask Stalin.

"Mr. Roboknov, may I ask about what's below? How do you have such a vast wheat field? Are you blessed?"

Before Seraphina's astonished gaze, he simply calmly explained to the woman who might be older than him.

"No, no, that is the result of science," he explained. "To be specific, this is black soil - the best agricultural soil for food crops. This is the source of our food production and quality."

"Thank you, I understand now," she replied. Now she had more extremely valuable information, just this alone showed her the agricultural economic structure of Russia. Although relatively complex, it was not impossible; just paying attention to the reactions of the people was enough to know.

After an hour, the plane landed at Khimki Airport and continued to move by the same type of vehicle as in Sevastopol. The final stop was the White House in the Arbat District. This is the headquarters of the Government of the Russian Federation, where the Prime Minister and government members work. This building is the operational center of the Russian government.

On the way, both sides were silent. Stalin was sure that this woman had knowledge of politics, so all his attempts to strike up a conversation would be in vain. It was better to let it unfold according to the Saintess's wishes; after all, the ugly side of Russia could not be hidden, and there was nothing shameful to conceal.

"The scenery is quite gloomy," she whispered.

Looking outside, the residents here were all human - there were no other races. The people all wore sad expressions, as if they had lost something significant. It also lacked vitality; the road was not too busy, a gray scene of concrete structures combined with green trees. This time in a cycle was very important because almost everyone was busy preparing for a harvest.

But here, she saw something different. Although lacking the vitality of a large city, it was very peaceful, unlike some areas in the capital Aeternus - which were not peaceful at all. She sighed, gazing at a spacious, lush, and incredibly beautiful capital.

She glanced at a group of people talking to each other, joyfully laughing, helping to lighten the gloomy atmosphere she was feeling. Then she noticed something else, a statue of a man with a hammer and sickle symbol. She wondered who he was and how important he was to Russia to have a statue erected?

Thinking that, she turned to ask. "Sir, I have a question about that statue; who is it of?"

Stalin pondered upon hearing Seraphina's question. He looked and saw that it was indeed the statue of Lenin - the great father of modern Russia; the one who laid the foundation for the strength of the Soviet Union.

He took a deep breath and began to explain. "That is Vladimir Ilyich Lenin - the leader of the Russian proletarian revolutionary movement, one of the most influential figures in Russian history and the old world. He led the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, an event that overthrew the monarchy in Russia and laid the foundation for the Soviet Union."

"Revolution... That is a powerful word. In Milishial, change is a frightening thing, always guided by the hand of the divine and the church. But why was a revolution necessary? Was there something so wrong in Russia?"

Stalin checked his wristwatch - there was still time, so he nodded and continued, "At that time, Russia was mired in poverty and injustice. The monarchy, or Tsar, ruled the country but did not care much for the common people. World War and scarcity had pushed the people to the brink. Lenin saw this, and he believed that only radical change could free the workers from the shackles of the old regime."

"So what did Lenin do? Did he use power or belief in any god?"

Stalin sighed and shook his head. "Lenin did not believe in deities. He believed in the ideals of Marxism, a political ideology that emphasized the rights of workers and equality in society. Lenin organized the Bolshevik movement, leading the Russian people to overthrow the Tsar. The revolution succeeded, and from there, the Soviet Union was established, becoming the nation of workers and peasants."

"Not believing in deities? A society without the guidance of gods? Then, what helped him maintain the people's faith?" Seraphina was astonished.

"Lenin did not promise a paradise, but he promised change. He said that everyone had the right to equality, that one day, they would no longer suffer under the yoke of kings and nobles," he smiled, his voice calm. "That was more than enough for the people at that time."

Seraphina pondered, her gaze softening as she looked at Stalin. "But do you think that without deities, how can people find the right path? Here, we live under the guidance of the gods; every important decision has the church's approval."

"We find our path within ourselves. For Lenin, the strength of humanity does not come from deities, but from unity and the determination to change their lives. It is indeed not easy, and it is not without sacrifices. But that is the path that Russia has chosen."

"I cannot imagine a world without the presence of deities, but I understand that each nation has its own path," she replied gently. "I am curious about the strength from your belief, not in deities, but in humanity itself."

Stalin smiled lightly at Seraphina's words. "Indeed, we believe in the power of will and resilience. That is also why our Russia can overcome all difficulties and stand strong until today."

He looked outside once more; they had arrived - the White House, and now the next task was truly complex.