In an opulent palace built of black stone veined with gold, as the ceilings are painted with the victories of wars forgotten in the annals of history, a handsome man with golden-blonde hair and sickly green eyes sat upon a throne made from obsidian and bones of many beasts, from dragons to birds.
The throne was placed high above the marble steps, its back carved into the likeness of a crowned dragon devouring the sun. He sat with one hand resting against the armrest, fingers unmoving, his posture immaculate, as though the passing of two thousand years meant nothing.
His green eyes drifted downward, which looked like a Black Panther looking at prey.
At the foot of the steps stood a young man with black hair and eyes so ordinary they drew no attention from a passing glance. He bore no noble bearing and no remarkable features. He was the best definition of normal. His robes were simple, his body language was rigid with a slight tremble in his fingers and eyes, but one would have to look closely to notice it.
He forced himself to look up. He met the emperor's gaze, and the emperor's eyes were cold, hollow, devoid of any emotion, and looked like it was piercing right through him and to his very soul.
The young man swallowed, forcing himself to speak. "My emperor, it's a joyous occasion, it is your 2000th birthday, aren't you happy to live to see your empire grow to this level all under your rule?"
His voice boomed through the room; it was loud, but filled with equal amounts of fear and respect, echoing throughout the throne room.
The emperor did not move, he did not blink, he didn't even breathe. Only that sickly green stare, unimpressed and distant, as if the words had fallen short of reaching him.
The silence stretched, making the young man nervous as he waited for the emperor's response. He kept his head lowered now, eyes fixed on the black floor veined with gold. He waited for approval, some sort of acknowledgment, for anything really.
What came instead was heat.
A beam of blazing black flames erupted from the emperor's hand without warning, tearing through the air beside the young man's face. The flames did not glow; they absorbed the light around them, making it even stronger. They made crackling sounds as they scorched past him and struck a distant pillar, melting stone into liquid stone.
The young man did not scream, he did not move, but sweat ran down his temple.
The emperor rose slightly from his throne, his aura expanding, engulfing the room with his suffocating presence. When he spoke, his voice sounded like it came right out of the very depths of hell, where even the devil would not want to go.
"You know what this day means, worm, all my wives have died, and I have no heirs, no family, I am alone, so why the FUCK. IS. THIS. A. JOYOUS. OCCASION!!!" His voice grew deeper and louder with each word he spoke till he was roaring.
The roar shattered glass along the upper balconies, windows, and broke the decor, and rattled the iron-bound doors at the end of the hall. The sound echoed outward beyond the walls of the palace, stretching throughout the capital like a storm.
Citizens in markets froze, and the soldiers on the walls and throughout the city stiffened. Even the clouds parted as the sun's rays cast down onto the emperor.
On the throne stood a being who had ruled for one thousand, five hundred years. And beneath him stood a man who had now understood that his survival was becoming very distant, and the jaws of death closed over his body.
But just as those jaws were about to close, as if the moment had been stretched into eternity, the emperor let out a long sigh and leaned back into the throne, the obsidian and gold beneath him cold yet familiar. "Kai, I'm not going to do this with you this time," he said, his voice carrying a strange mixture of command and restraint, holding a smile that bore hints of fondness, remembrance, and old grudges all at once.
His eyes, sickly green, met Kai's, and if one looked closer than before, one could see a pentagram hidden within them, a mark of something strange, something wrong. On the other side, sitting in his chair, was Kai, a demon who had witnessed the rise of this empire, a man who had seen every battle, every betrayal, damn near every moment of the emperor's ascent, and now faced the man who had ruled so long.
Yet in that instant, Kai could not see the fierce, hot-blooded, impetuous young man the emperor once had been, a man who, cold on the outside but burning inside, had taken two girls by his side and carved an entire continent under his banner in only five hundred years, gaining 3 more beautiful yet helpful women.
No, all he could see now was a decrepit, lost, soulless, dead-inside old man, hollowed by time and grief, who had lost everything he had ever loved. He had conquered the continent, yes, but his wives were gone, his family destroyed or scattered, his friends turned to dust or memory, leaving him utterly and truly alone.
"Ok, Adam, I'll stop. I am truly sorry for the loss of Isabel," Kai began, his voice careful, softening slightly as he spoke the name that still lingered with sorrow. "She always brought the best out of you, and it was sad to see her go with no kids, even though that was what she wan—"
Before he could finish the words, Adam, the emperor, moved with terrifying swiftness, grabbing Kai's vessels by the throat. His grip was iron, unyielding, and his eyes bore into Kai's like he was staring into the very soul hidden beneath the demon's form.
"I swear, if you finish that, I'll go to all those continents you all hide in and destroy them, every living thing, every blade and stem of flora, every breath of life I can find. So finish it. I FUCK DARE YOU!!!"
"I swear if you finish that ill go to all thouse continent you all hide in and destroy them with all the life, all the flora, and everything I could think of, so finish it, I dare you!!!" His voice boomed not like before, but it was loud enough to make a point, and Kai's vessel raised its hands in surrender
His voice boomed, not like before, but with a deeper, more deadly tone. Kai's vessel raised its hands slowly, a universal meaning of surrender, as the force of the emperor's presence pressed down on him, with the promise of destruction and the reminder that even throughout the centuries, some fires never truly die out.
"I give, Kai, I'm not living like this," he said, his voice flat but empty, as he walked back up the steps and sat once more on his throne for the last time. As the golden rays from the sun that seeped through the high windows fell across him like a final light.
"I know that you will find a suitable, if not greater, successor to the throne than I can. I'm leaving this world to join my wives," he continued, his words softening yet filled with the tone of a man who is going to die.
Adam looked deeply into Kai's eyes, eyes that first held confusion, swirling with disbelief, hesitation, and fear, but then slowly came to an understanding, as the emperor's decision had clearly been understood, but a little hint of doubt built up, looking into Adam's eyes, seeing only a man who wanted to die, that doubt was burnt away.
"Consider it done, my last act as your friend, and a repayment for all the lovely women of yours who would want me to do this," he said, his tone a mixture of solemnity and quiet remorse. He turned slowly, beginning to walk away with his back to Adam.
Adam, hearing that last part, wanted to respond, to argue, to protest, but restrained himself, leaving only a subtle twitch of his eyebrow, a fleeting gesture of his suppressed emotions.
Kai began walking toward the massive double doors at the end of the hall, the echo of his steps the only sound through the silence. Just as he reached the threshold, he spoke, his voice carrying a mixture of respect and lingering camaraderie:
"Goodbye, Adam. You were one of the few interesting people who got to such strength but gave it up, and I respect you for that. And for all its worth, I think you would make a great father."
Adam's expression shifted to confusion, his lips parting slightly as he tried to respond, words forming but failing to find their place. Before Kai could leave, Adam raised a hand, and a force manifested, strong and invisible, trapping Kai in place. Kai turned his head, annoyed, a single tear slowly running down his vessel's face.
"I am not giving up due to any bullshit like heroism or a desire for a better future," Adam said, his voice firm yet filled with pain, thinking of his wives. "I'm doing it because I'm weak. I can't live without them. If they were still alive, I would have conquered all the other continents, and for what it's worth… You are a shitty guy…"
He paused, letting the words sink in, watching as Kai's expression twisted into fury, his strength straining against the invisible bonds. Kai tried harder to break free, fists clenching, veins standing out on his temple. Adam continued, softer now, almost tenderly, "…but a good friend, and I am glad I'm able to call you one."
After saying that, Adam waved his hand once more, sending Kai's vessel floating gently, almost reverently, right in front of Kai's true body.
'Hahaha, you fucking kid… had to show your power even at your deathbed or whatever you're going to do. Have a good next life, Adam,' Kai thought, his voice echoing in his mind as he looked into his own red eyes from his vessel's black ones.
It seemed as though the balance of the world had shifted, the air vibrating with the aura of blazing and frost contradictory powers of fire and ice.
A tremendous burst of energy erupted from the capital of Blackholt, a silent testament to the life and legacy of the man who had ruled for over a millennium.
And so the life of Adam Kaiser, the lover, the husband, the son, the brother, the friend, the adoptive father, and the greatest emperor known to the whole world of Arid, came to an end.
But with that ending came a new beginning, a passage into a world unknown, while a legacy that would ripple across continents and through the hearts of those who remembered him.
[Author's Note: If you're confused about anything, stick with me, I'm making this as we go! I will most likely have 5-10 chapters ahead of this one saved up on Patreon for those who want to read ahead.
Disclaimer: I have a rough idea of where this is going, but I haven't mapped out every single detail or an overarching idea. So if you have suggestions to make the story better or who you might want to see, please leave a comment and review! Oh, I will be posting one chapter a week until I have ten or more chapters saved up, so something like my other fanfics won't happen. I hope you like the story.
Next time: It will show Adam in the womb, and his True Death, as well as showing how shitty Joffrey is even unborn, then the birth naming, and that's it. See you then!
Support me on Patreon, and if you're reading from here, thank you for the support. Have a great( if you're not religious) and or blessed day, and check out my other account where I publish Og novels. It's called FictionDragon! :)]