On June 28, 1914, as the Archduke and his wife, Duchess Sophie, embarked on a visit to Sarajevo, their journey took an unexpected turn when a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, fired shots that claimed the life of Duchess Sophie but spared the Archduke's.

Amid the shock and grief of losing his beloved wife, the Archduke's response to the act of violence against his territory and family sets off a chain of events that reshapes the geopolitical landscape of Europe. Fueled by revenge and a desire to assert his authority, the Archduke launches a series of retaliatory measures aimed at punishing those responsible for the attack. Military forces are mobilized, diplomatic channels are strained to their limits, and ultimatums are issued with chilling resolve.

With the Archduke's survival seen as a direct challenge to Serbian nationalism, Austria-Hungary adopts a more aggressive stance, leading to a swift and decisive response against Serbia. The retaliatory actions of Archduke Franz Ferdinand escalate the crisis into a full-blown world war, as the conflict spills beyond the borders of the Balkans and engulfs the entire continent.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire emerges as the successor state in Central and Eastern Europe. The preservation of some territories or the establishment of new arrangements under Austro-Hungarian rule have lasting implications for the region's political dynamics and ethnic tensions.

In this alternate timeline, while the survival of Archduke Franz Ferdinand averts the immediate crisis, the underlying tensions and rivalries that pervaded Europe at the time ensure that war remained inevitable. His survival therefore does little to completely change these underlying causes of conflict.

However, it is how this conflict starts where changes begin to occur. With the Archdukes survival, altered conditions such as personal revenge and the Austria-Hungary Empire change the rest of history. How will this new version of events shape history?