1 [Prologue] - The Great King
「Year 852, day 254, Keazen territory, Central Palace, 12 am.」
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In the royal palace in the ancient country of Glorieus, a young man with red hair down to his neck was sitting on a huge golden throne, meticulously decorated with many precious stones. The blue-eyed young man was dressed in a colorful robe as luxurious as his throne.
This man stretches his delicate, soft hand forward to receive a kiss from the brown-eyed woman kneeling before him. The movement of his arms was followed by the sound of his jewels hitting each other.
The young man asked in a deep, velvety voice.
"So, Strider ... Do you swear total loyalty to me, your new king?"
The kneeling woman leaned forward and with sad tears streaming from her eyes, she kissed the hand stretched out in front of her.
"Me, Commander Strider," She gets up. - "I swear total loyalty to the beloved and glorious new king, Keazen."
The young man on his throne showed a simple and unforgettable smile. He stood up and signaled for Commander Strider to leave the throne room. The guards in front of the huge round marble pilasters watched their commander leave.
A light breeze of wind had been felt in the lighted hall and at the same time, in a few moments, the woman's body parts simply disappeared next to her dark gray metal armor, gushing blood everywhere.
Some guards took a small step forward with one leg, worried and deafened by Commander Strider's shouts, but quickly changed their minds and returned to their positions.
"I am very sorry. I could not help but notice a glint of hatred in his gaze toward me. I cannot risk having a traitor before I even assume my reign to my population."
The woman, who kept screaming, now began to make less and less noise. Her breathing became short and rapid; the agony on her face was touchable.
The new king put his hand on his face and said:
"It's not that I want to let her suffer. Unfortunately, I accidentally destroyed only your limbs instead of the whole body, so sorry. I will fix this right now.
Once again, a slight breeze of wind had been sensed coming from Keazen's direction. Along with this, the blood that had been gushing on the ground slowly disappeared.
"Oops, I must be quick if I don't want to make a mess again." - said the king.
Instantly, Strider ceased to exist. His armor, his blood, his body, vanished. Like ashes thrown into the sea.
The only trace of his death was the large hole in the floor that had formed in the place where it all happened. This hole, shallower than a plate, was almost imperceptible.
"I've barely become king and I've already ruined the floor, great."
Most of the guards were trembling with dread. Not even their heavy, bulky dark steel armor hid this.
As he sat on the throne, the great gate opened and from it, a few dozen peasants entered the great hall. A teenager with curly hair, short on the sides and full on top, dressed in standard beige overalls for growing wheat, used his sword as an elbow rest and addressed the king.
"What's up, Keazen! Has it sunk in for you yet? When I visited my room in this big fucking palace, I almost fainted! Hahahaha..."
The king laughed upon hearing the young peasant's question. He stands up and walks down the stairs of the throne stepping on his white carpet. He opened his arms and said:
"Stop this nonsense and just give me a hug, Arthur!"
The two embraced and the young boy cried with his face on his king's chest.
"I can't believe you actually did it!"
Keazen stroked the boy's head and replied:
"We can." - He pushed the boy away with his arms and said loudly to everyone in the hall. – "Yesterday we were exploited, today we are the nobility! I count on you for a just and prosperous reign. Come to my public coronation and shout for me!"
"May your reign be forever!" - Peasants shouted.
"You are now no longer peasants." - He pointed to a pudgy old woman with white hair and brown eyes who was standing in the middle of the small crowd. – "Aunt Hope, you will be my counselor. You have always been a great elder in the village and you will be no different now. Friends, go to your quarters, change your clothes and go to the main square to wait for my speech!
A few hours passed and the main square was already crowded. Seen from above, its beautiful fountain in the center of the square was the only visible part of the ground. The population was restless, anxious, afraid and hopeful. Everyone looked up, where the balcony behind the throne of the royal palace was.
"Look there! He's coming!" - Said someone in the crowd.
At this moment, the approximately forty friends of the present king shouted and celebrated. Their joy began to influence the more neutral and hopeful people to do the same, and, discouraged those dissatisfied. The few tens of people celebrating became hundreds, and then thousands.
He emerges on the balcony, with the silver crown on his head and the white cloak on his back. Along with the raising of his arms, hundreds of hooded people appeared at strategic points around the crowd, on little platforms that made them higher than the people.
The glorious king began to speak at the exact moment he closed his hands, and along with that, the mysterious people on the platforms repeated exactly what he was saying as loudly as possible.
"My people! Nobles and commoners! Men and women! Churchgoers and Protestants! Who speaks to you is your new king!"
The people were astonished to see that the hooded men repeated exactly the same words as the king.
The great king raised his arms and continued his speech:
"Before I try to win you over, I must first rid you of a curse! The church tells you that it controls the country! The church condemns those who believe in other gods and massacre innocents! For those who believe in this god, do not worry, belief is free for any and all entities, as long as they don't disturb society! However, I cannot allow an organization to exist that claims to rule my people! That kills my people! That manipulates my people!" The population began to get restless. – "So, it is with a heavy heart that I sentence everyone in this evil organization to death!"
As he lowered his hands, a strong but short gust of wind was felt by all coming from the king.
"Look! The cathedral!" — Some people said.
The people turned in droves backwards. The imposing cathedral, made up of bricks and colored semicircular windows, was gradually falling apart before the eyes of the population. Its walls, pillars and glass windows started to come loose and turned to dust. Priests ran out of the place and were sliced little by little, with small pieces of their bodies disappearing and spurting blood until the entire body was gone. People close to the cathedral who were listening to the speech, ran to the opposite side, away from the tragedy. A single woman advanced to the church headquarters in an attempt to help her beloved priests, but she gradually disappeared from head to toe. After everyone was relatively distant from the site, the majestic huge building that almost matches the royal palace, collapsed.
The dust thrown into the air recedes, and then the rubble itself gradually disappears. Then they felt a strong gale coming from the opposite direction of where that glorious cathedral stood, as if the air reoccupied that place again.
Again, the king speaks again as he closes his hands.
"My people! I want you to know that this act of cruelty was extremely necessary! The church has mistreated and exploited everyone for too long! Perhaps some noblemen will show their dissatisfaction, but I would like to state that... My kingdom will be egalitarian! Fair to all, and not only to the powerful! Celebrate and enjoy the beginning of a new era!"
The shouts in celebration were deafening. The mighty king took off his robe, threw it to the people, and walked away from the balcony, back to his throne.
In the light-filled room through the large balcony window behind the throne, Keazen was sitting with his advisor at his side.
"What's your plan now, little Keazen?" - The old lady asked. - "Probably the other eight countries will not be happy with the way you have taken power." - She said, worried.
He looked at her face and said smiling:
"We will dominate everything, of course!"
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「Year 864, day 039, Keazen territory, Royal graveyard, 12 am.」
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In a flowery cemetery, surrounded by the brick towers of the royal palace, a priest blessed a grave while dozens of well-dressed people in black waited for the king's speech. A handsome, red-haired man.
"I knew this day was coming, but I refused to think about it until it happened. You left us only 120 years old. You helped me make my dreams come true and you were always there with me, Aunt Hope. Rather, Counselor Hope. The great counselor of dubious humor, responsible for the genius creation of my spy squads. Dying on the 10th anniversary of our great empire was really a boring joke even for you. More than anyone, you always believed that I would be able to unify all countries and I really managed to dominate everything, thanks to you! Thank you Aunt Hope. Rest in peace..."
