There was this unbearable sound of liquid dripping down on the floor. This disgustingly rhythmic sound burned into my brain. Nothing else, just this liquid hitting the stone floor beneath my feet. 

What was I doing here again? My mind was empty so so empty. It was as if I lost myself. My name, my age, who I was. Everything was buried by this skin crawling sound.

“For the hero of this story you are pretty pathetic. I cannot even go around bragging about a victory like this one."

It felt like the person talking to me had a thick blanket in front of their mouth. I was almost unable to grasp the words they spoke to me. But focusing on it with my drifting consciousness was worth it, since finally this emptiness became a little clearer. It was comparable to a puzzle piece, just that I had to uncover them in this thick fog in my mind.

"I mean just take a look at yourself. It's such a pitiful view."

Oh right I remembered now at least a tiny bit. This liquid that dripped down. It was my own blood staining the carpet in front of the throne. 

Right…

I was the 'hero' of this story. I had no other options, everyone told me it was my destiny. Wasn't it always like this? The hero gets the 'honour' of being the chosen one, but does not really have any other choice anyways.

My body was aching as I tried to move into an upright position. I did not plan to fight the guy in front of me anymore. 

To be exact I never actually intended to fight him.

"How are you going to sacrifice yourself in front of the future king, if you already die here."

I watched as the faint silhouette shook its head in disappointment.

Right—dying was my destiny. It was what I was supposed to do. So why not do it right here and right now.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The only reason against it was that the people I was supposed to save with my 'official' sacrifice, would die.

Why would I care about the people of this god forsaken world? They can die for all I care. If they view me as a tool, then I am allowed to see them as nothing more than insects. 

Those prophecies—I would defy them, probably in the most horrific way possible, but who cares. Life did not mean shit to me anyways, even if I officially declined the role of the hero.

Guilt tripping was nothing new for the people in this country and force was no problem either.

I was weak, cause why the hell would I train, when my plan was to die right here on the spot. It was not destined to be that way, but I had my ways to force this guy to kill me.

After all, if I did nothing he would just leave, this guy wants a challenge and probably didn't deem me worthy yet. Maybe he had the faint hopes of me getting stronger and opposing him like a true rival would.

"Such a disappointment, not even a fight worth mentioning. I have fought trainees worth more than whatever you tried to pull off here", he scoffed and turned away from me. It was not that he didn’t have the heart to finish this, but rather that he wasn't allowed to.

Just like I was bound by destiny he was as well.

However, I will not appease this plan, today marks the end of my hero's journey and I would make sure of it.

I felt an excruciating pain just to move my body, but still I managed to get into a more upright position on the throne. 

The taste of iron stained my tongue, which was obviously my own blood, however this was not important right now.

My right hand rested on my thigh, while my left one rested on the proper arm rest. My head slightly leaned against the side of the throne and I gazed down at the back of the guy.

For a split second it felt like I was the king…how ironic considering the action I was about to take. One final act of defiance, yet one worthy of a king at least my words would have the authority of one. 

I felt a familiar warm sensation in my throat and my exhausted glance once again hit the back of the guy, who was about to leave me here. The area in front of me lit up though the change was barely noticeable, but I knew it was going to happen. Every time I would use my trump card my eyes began to glow, which felt a little too clicheé in my humble opinion. But oh well I was not the author of this story.

Like a ruler on his throne I gave my last command:

"Kill me! Spill my blood in these sacred old halls!"

It was my own loud voice echoing through the hall. This was my last trump card 'Absolute Authority', a simple power to control my enemy in their moment of weakness. There was much more behind it than just that, but there was no need for me to explain, after all I would meet my end soon.

Abruptly after he heard my command the enemy turned around and his eyes met mine. His stare was cold and nonchalant as it has always been the case for the victims of my unique power.

However, a feeling in my guts told me something was wrong. After all this sudden glimpse of hope I saw in his eyes…this…this was not supposed to happen.

He was supposed to charge at me, kill me without hesitation, but he didn't.

This guy just stood there looking up to me and much worse seemed like he was about to tear up.

"Fuck!", I screamed in my mind. “This fucking world“,my for now last words left my mouth as I gave in to the black, which was my drifting consciousness.