With eyes that held emptiness similar to space, he had stared at the scenery. It all seemed so superficial now. It didn’t make any sense at all. He had everything he wanted so why? Why did he feel as though a hole had been thoroughly carved in his soul? Why did he not feel….. gratified? He sat on the throne, conquered his enemies, and solidified his place in history.

    So why did he wish that he could take it all back? Why did he want to change what he did? Closing his eyes, he pondered for a short while. Never once did he feel that…. anything was as important as power. Why would he take a wife when all the women in the kingdom were at his beck and call? What was left to do now that everything had been taken? Who could stand by his side when all held fear towards him?

    It wasn’t like this in the past, it shouldn’t have been like this now. He thought that just maybe, he would have enjoyed life more if he had taken the job given to him by his father. By now, he should have had a wife, kids, and a stable income. He should have had happiness. So why was he led astray by his greed? Why did he perceive that his family held him back? Why did he take them for granted and discard them?

    As usual though, no answers presented themselves. he had gone through this many times but he couldn’t understand his younger self. He was now sifting through the memories he had stored. The feelings he had drawn and actions he had taken. It was sad really, an old man on his deathbed regretted most every choice he made. If only he could go back in time and redo everything.

    He couldn’t obviously. This wasn’t some fantasy novel. This was real life and when you acted, you must deal with the consequences. As a young man, he was filled with vigor, passion even. A promising young lad that wanted to forge his way into the history books. With a sword in one hand, a shield in the other, and an army at his beck and call. It was nigh-impossible to foresee this ending.

    An ending filled with the smoke of war and the blood of the innocent. An ending where happiness was not the common thing it once was. An ending where the normal thing to do was struggle. He hadn’t made anything better. He had only destroyed everything he strived to perfect. His reign was near it’s end and he could only hope that the next ruler would fix his mistakes.

    Breathing deeply, his eyes bulged momentarily as he broke into a coughing fit. His condition was rapidly deteriorating, he didn’t have much time left. Even considering that though, he felt the same as always. No one was around to care for him as usual. The quiet was his only company. He laid not as a king, but as an old man, decrepit and calm.

    Too many, he could be considered ancient. He had been lucky to survive so long. With that lifespan however, came endless remorse. Once, he was a young man that felt unkillable. No one could suppress him, he was undefeated. Now though, he was only an old man with enough regrets to fill a sea. No children to take over, no wife to stand by his side.

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    Nothing but a remnant of what he used to be. With one last breath, he closed his eyes for the last time and thus, the reign under the Tragic King had ended.

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In another world

    A resounding cry split through the air. Through the pain, you could distinctly tell that the sound came from a woman. Another voice continued to reassure her, tell her that she was doing good. That was followed by another scream from the woman and quick gasps that came in shortened intervals.

    Soon enough, the cry of a baby was heard. However, it sounded reluctant. As if it didn’t like the prospect of crying but, it was a newborn. How would it not want to cry? The answer to that seemingly impossible question, lied within the soul. Within the child, there laid a soul of great age. It was not yet fully aware or sentient but his or her core values stuck with it.

    It would seem as if not crying was one of the leading principals. However, that seemed to be a drop in the ocean. The soul carried with it, all the memories of it’s past. Unfortunately, without the body being up to speed, the brain couldn’t hold that much information. Thus, the newborn was simply that, a newborn.

    Not long after it started, the newborn quieted down. Quickly falling asleep, it’s senses dwindled away until finally, it was unconscious. That did not mean that the people around it were idle though. In fact, most were overjoyed at the baby’s birth. Celebrating as the mother held her child in her arms.

    In particular, the father of the child was beaming in joy. Through the sweat coated hair though, despite her pale pallor, the mother held a shine in her eyes as she looked at the child. A shine that could brighten stars. A shine so bright, that the sun paled in comparison. However, this shine went unnoticed by anyone, hidden within the eyes of the mother.

    A deep voice cut through the cheers and the origin came from the joyful father who was standing on the sidelines. “What should we name him?” With a bright smile, the woman cradling the baby looked at him and spoke quietly, as if out of breath. “Before, I was set on Cassius but now I have no clue.”

“What about Alexander or Bentley?” The woman stared at the man incredulously. “Bentley? You might as well just tell the children to tease him!” The man gave an exasperated laugh before trying to salvage the situation. “Then what about Elliot? Or some others like Mason or Landon?” Seeing the look in her eye get better, he quickly headed towards the older names.

“What about Orion or Matthias?” An appraising eye quickly overtook the woman’s eye as she examined the two names. “Son of fire or Gift of god?” To her, both would be quite accurate as their surname being ‘Aogan’ literally meant ‘fire’ and how could this little bundle of love be anything but a gift?

It took a long time before anyone spoke but eventually, the woman broke the ice. “I can’t decide.” The man, with a bright smile on his face, clapped his hands and responded to her outburst. “Then go with both, Matthias Orion Aogan. Quite an interesting name to have.” The woman seemed pleased at the proclamation and quickly accepted. “Then the firstborn of house Aogan shall be named as such.” The son of fire and the gift of god, how ironic those names would turn out to be.