Death to the emperor

Did I truly deserve such treatment? I never did anything but help all humans overcome oppression against the beast, now I'm the one paying, but why?

The dungeon cellar is a dark, damp chamber hidden beneath the palace. Cold stone walls, rusted chains, and low ceilings. A solitary iron cage, remnants of straw, and faint moonlight filtering through a barred window hint at its former use for confinement, a place Shoji built for villains and betrayers. 

And now he finds himself inside it, accused by his own people of treason, accused of conspiring with the past monster monarchs. "I didn't do it." He whispers, collapsing his head between his knees as tears stream down his face. "Why is this happening to me?" 

"Because your time of reigning over the human nation is over." A familiar voice trumpets over his tears and clouded minds, for a moment, bringing him solace. 

"Cassin?" He moves to the gates, clinging to them. As the person emerges from the shadows, the sparkle in his amethyst eyes sends dread coursing throughout his body; even his hands tremble around the bars. "Did…Did they change their minds?" He questions, hoping that they found out it was all a mistake and that he didn't do what they proclaimed he did. 

"Shoji, emperor, sovereign, and founder of Varderra the human nation, is sentenced to death." Shoji's eyes would widen, his breath catching for a moment. 

The weight of the words settled heavily in his chest, almost like a physical blow. He had built Varderra from the ground up, every stone, every law, every triumph. And now, they dare sentence him to death?

He's sentencing me to death…me? 

"Yes, shoji, you're gonna die tomorrow and sadly it wasn't even hard to accuse you." Cassin stoops down to his level, his pink hair seeming to be of a dark color and his eyes now blood red.

He's not human. 

"It's…" He tries to say something but the words won't come out. 

"The no-name monarch, the nonexistent." His facial features flicker, turning into darkness, as he trails his fingers along Shoji's seal on his left arm, stopping me from using my magic. "Humans trust too easily." He comes close to his ears and whispers. "After your death, taking over this little nation shall be easy." Then he's gone before Shoji can say anything, leaving him with his thoughts. 

The next day comes and like Cassin says, everything plays out the same, he is sentenced to death no matter how many times he tries to warn them, he's people scream out the dreaded words he had never thought they would ever mutter. 

"Death to the emperor."

And there is nothing he can do but listen to them, with his head down, too ashamed to face them, because he failed them, they won't last a day with that thing out there, the monarch he had no idea existed until now. 

He couldn't pass on his skills or help them, he was betrayed by his own right-hand man and his people who wouldn't hear him out after he heard them out countless times, all he does is cry, the tears like an unstoppable wave, until the final second when he's head is between two pieces of wood and a sword comes down on his neck. 

Shoji jolted awake, his chest heaving as he gasped for air, his heart pounding like a war drum. The acrid stench of gunpowder filled his lungs, burning his throat as dust and debris from the battlefield swirled around him. 

"Max!" A person runs up from the side of him, slides on the dust, and stops right next to him. Their body is cladded with the traditional army uniform as he lifts his mask, to look him in the eyes. "Are you ok?" He scans his body for injuries. 

"Yeah... Yeah." He shakes it off, glancing around. "Sorry, I just had a weird dream while I was passed out." He moves his hands behind his head, finding himself bleeding. 

Was that truly a dream? 

"Sleeping on during war!" He says disbelief washing over his features. 

"No." He mutters, as his friend Alex, moves behind him and pats his head clean using a worn-out cloth. "I tried to avoid a bullet after hearing something crackling, but lost my footing and ended up banging my head on a rock" He remembers parts of the events before the dream. 

"Oh I see, it seems that reconsents mission has turned into an all-out war for some reason." He says his voice light behind him, unlike his more serious eyes. "Do you remember everything before you passed out?" 

"No," Shoji muttered, his voice barely audible over the distant rumble of explosions and gunfire. "Only parts."

His gaze swept over the battlefield before him, now a wasteland consumed by smoke, craters left from the relentless bombardment, and the gleam of spent bullet shells scattered across the ground.

But it was the bodies—lifeless and broken—that gripped his attention the most. They were strewn everywhere, twisted in unnatural positions, scratched and scarred by the brutality of war. Blood soaked the earth, mingling with the dust and grime. 

Even in that dream, that person had to fight for his life to survive and still end up dead. This world and that world are not so different, other than magic and monsters. It's just the fantasy aspect that changes it and the new lands and wonders, but they're both grim and dark, the only goal is survival. 

"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Alex questions him, curious to know as he comes back in front of him. "We should be more focused on the war right now." 

That's right. We are to report back but if all of us are dead how can we? We are supposed to observe them from afar as they transport resources to their aircraft but somehow we ended up in this brawl, as if they knew. But how could they know that?

"Max." He waves at him trying to get his attention, but he doesn't get it.

The only person I noticed acting weird was Alex. In the dorms before we came, he said he needed to pee but ended up inside of the communication room, and gave me the typical response that he had gotten lost, yet I didn't pay any mind to it. 

"Max!" He repeats again but still nothing Max is deep in thought. 

Then…

It finally clicks as all of his memories come rushing back. 

Then while I was shooting someone came up behind me and I heard the crackling and dogged just in time and while I was losing consciousness I saw him…Alex is holding the gun