The Absolute Chair
Omnipotence Is Not Freedom
Chapter 12 — Reflections- and the Man in the Snow
Siel sat alone on a broken slab of concrete, legs dangling over the edge of a ruined skyscraper. Below him stretched the destroyed city—collapsed towers, twisted streets, endless gray dust drifting like ash.
Karl-Jay approached quietly, hands in his pockets. His steps were light, careful, as if the city itself might hear him.
Siel looked up and smiled. "Hey, Karl-Jay."
Karl-Jay returned the smile and sat beside him.
"Tell me," Siel said, eyes fixed on the horizon, "what do you see before you?"
Karl-Jay followed his gaze. "A broken city."
Siel chuckled softly. "Nope. That's just what your eyes want you to see."
Karl-Jay frowned slightly.
"All I see," Siel continued, "is a beautiful world."
Karl-Jay turned to him, confused. "Beautiful?"
Siel leaned back, resting on his hands, staring at the unmoving sky. "You ever ask yourself why we're here?"
Karl-Jay shook his head. "No."
Siel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Because human beings are full of betrayal. Jealousy. Lies. False truths. This place—this world—is a reflection of what humans do to each other."
Karl-Jay listened closely, not interrupting.
"Humans hate their own kind," Siel said calmly. "They fight each other endlessly. And yet…" He gestured toward the distant ruins. "You notice something strange?"
Karl-Jay thought for a moment. "The monsters don't fight each other."
Siel smiled. "Exactly. They know there's another species worse than them. A species that never truly works together."
He picked up a small pink flower 🌸 growing between cracks in the concrete.
"Humans are like this," Siel said. "A flower that blooms, blows away, then grows again. Fragile. Temporary."
He crushed the flower gently between his fingers.
"But monsters?" he continued. "They understand something humans don't. They don't think about dying. They don't fear being erased. They evolve. For them, life exists in the mind and spirit."
Siel turned to Karl-Jay. "For humans, life is a fight just to survive."
Karl-Jay absorbed every word.
"We are the rock," Siel said softly. "And the monsters… are the hands crashing down on us."
There was a pause. Then Siel smiled again.
"But still," he said, "I believe some humans can work together. Like we do."
Karl-Jay finally smiled back. "You're right."
He looked down at his hands. "For me, life has two paths. One is the true path. The other is the wrong one."
Siel listened.
"If I walk the true path," Karl-Jay continued, "I can resolve myself in that truth. If I walk the wrong one… I'll endure the pain that comes with it. Either way, I accept what I choose."
Siel stood up and stretched. "You're a good guy, man."
Karl-Jay nodded.
Siel walked away, hands behind his head, smiling to himself.
Karl-Jay remained alone.
He placed a hand over his chest. The scar throbbed faintly.
"I feel like pain is coming," he whispered. "But they always say… enjoy life as much as possible."
He opened his arms wide. Closed his eyes.
The wind brushed through his hair.
A faint smile formed on his face.
"The Absolute Chair," he said softly. "Omnipotence… is not freedom."
The wind carried his words far away.
Far.
Far beyond the city.
Snow fell silently. ❄️
A man walked through a white wasteland, face partially covered, a sword strapped to his back. A long scar ran beside his mouth. His short black hair was dusted with frost.
He stopped. Exhaled slowly.
Ahead of him stood a humanoid snake, scales glistening, eyes sharp with cruelty.
"I guess you're the one who destroyed the Temples of Death," the snake hissed, smiling.
The man's eyes were cold. Empty.
He took one step forward.
"You're just a mindless beast," he said quietly, "who thinks this is easy."
In an instant, he vanished.
The snake barely had time to blink before the man appeared in front of it—eyes dead, sword flashing.
The snake twisted, barely dodging.
The man was already gone.
He reappeared behind it.
Slash.
Blood sprayed across the snow.
The man kicked the snake's neck upward. The creature's eyes widened in confusion.
The man charged and slammed a kick into its chest—
BOOM 💥
The ground shattered. Snow exploded outward.
The snake lay broken, coughing blood. "W-who… are you…?"
The man looked down at it.
"You want to know who I am?" he said calmly.
"My name is Hin-Jay."
He drew his blade fully.
"A fifty-six-year-old man searching for his wife, daughter… and son."
His eyes hardened.
"My son—Karl-Jay."
"I will kill anything that stands in my way."
The blade fell.
The snake's head rolled across the snow.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
And the smell of blood echoed in the cold air.