All things came to an end.

The man atop his throne, sitting in a darkened room, had realized this too late. His humanity was gone, not an ounce of it left. Even when he tore out the throats of his victims or razed their villages to the ground, he did not feel remorse. He had his goals and they stood in his way. What else was he supposed to do?

There was a time when he feared the monster inside of him. When the human on the surface believed it was in control and kept the atrocity within him at bay. It had been a long time since then…

His cape trailed along the ground as he walked to his veranda, opening the grand doors and letting in the howl of the midnight wind. The skies were dark, swirling with red, demonic clouds as they always were.

He had no choice but to become what he was. The world wouldn’t let him stay the same, unchanging. Too many betrayals. Too many deaths. Too many sacrifices.

This world swallowed justice.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Three dragons flew on the horizon, breathing blue flames down upon a mountaintop. The man could hear the pained screams from here.

“It was all necessary…” he muttered. There was a ring of death in his voice.

An echo of footsteps approached from behind him. “What is it?” the man asked, eyes still locked on the swooping dragons and pillars of red in the distance.

“They’re here, my Lord. They’ve come just as you said they would. Are we…” the young woman that spoke in the dark behind him hesitated.

The man sighed. “We are. If they won’t heed my warnings, then they’ll be made an example of. Ready the undead. Give them a taste of our ranks.”

“Yes!”

The young woman departed, her echoing footsteps carrying her away.

With his eyes still stuck on the distance, the man with a cape darker than the void resolved himself.

“I am only what you’ve made me,” he said, turning back and walking to his throne. There was no place for humanity. What this world needed was not a genteel ruler that rained benevolence down upon their subjects.

What it needed was a King of Monsters.