Salvation... To be free from the shackles of an agonizing experience, but what if existence is agony itself?"

A man dressed finely with high quality garments, as he wore a crown not of gold but made out of silver walked along the castle yard, pondering every time he took a step, the cold breath of the earth grazing off his skin as his head tilted upwards to the skies above and seeing the clouds covering the sun.

"Ah... The Silver Family, how many were offered upon for this peace?" he clenched his fist as a tear strides down his face. "this crown is a curse that was built from the blood of my people, how can I bear the guilt of despair that I was the one who sent them to their deaths?" His thoughts overwhelmed him, and he trembled with emotion.

Suddenly, in the middle of his trance, the clouds cleared up and the sun shone again, its rays of light pierced his eyes, snapping him back to reality. He then fixed himself and stood tool once again as he hurriedly exited the castle yard and made haste to enter the throne room.

He passed through inside the castle and he was encountered by a hallway full of the Silver Empire's past emperors that was honored through countless paintings throughout the hallways.

"They were glorified as they sat on the throne while their warriors of war died to protect their reign... And I was no different from them" He thought.

Arriving at his destination, his throne room, he was greeted by the ambiance of nobility as his attendants in fine clothing and his warriors in clad armor bowed down in respect to his authority while he walked on a path in the form of a red carpet connecting to a magnificent throne, that was pale as silver akin to his crown. He sat down as he reached the throne, his piercing gaze embodied the silver element scanned over his subordinates.

He reminisced about himself, as he pondered once more, undergoing yet another trance about his origins, thoughts slowly flooded his head

"I, Lucius Kaiser Alastair Salvacion Silver, known as Emperor Lucius of the Silver Empire, and I am sitting down on a throne that my people paved for in the foundation of their blood and the structure of their silver will.

And this Empire that was rebuilt from scratch as I held my ground and rebelled against the darkness of tyranny from my predecessor, my father, Agnacious Kaiser Silberglanz Silver. He fell into the darkness as malice consumed him after the passing of Luciana, my mother, in which he ruled his citizens with an iron fist and pointed the blade of tradition, the silver blade against his people.

Countless lives were sacrificed and erased from the plane of existence, all in order to secure a future for the others that remained. My people fought for me, I led the war but they were the brave souls who were ready to lay down their lives for me to ascend to the throne, and I was afraid the whole time, being rescued, saved, and protected throughout the entire war, people died for me while I cowered for death. Then I-"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Lucius' trance was interrupted once again, this time it was an announcement from one of his attendants while overhearing a shout of grief, which originated from the hall before entering the throne room.

“Devious Von Graiser, Traitor of the Silver Empire by trying to revolt against the current emperor! You have been caught slandering the honor of the royal family, and thus due to having committed treason and leading a current revolutionary group, the silver emperor will withhold the empire’s law against you!”

The doors of the room opened revealing a man being dragged by two royal guards looking very.. pitiful. The man’s muffled shouts drew closer and closer and soon it was on a range where he could comprehend what he was saying and the first thing he heard was his name.

"Lucius! You bastard!! You are just similar to your father! The Silver Family is nothing but a puppeteer that controls and uses its people! My father and brother met their demise because of your goddamn suicidal orders!"

The man shouted it all at the top of his lungs as he detested Lucius' existence, his face displaying a wrath-like expression as a stream of tears ran down from his blade-like eyes down his face.

Desperately the man yelled, "Just DIE you bastard! A fool that sees people as nothing more than just tools, should not be fit as an emperor and sit on a throne!"

The words that were uttered by the man struck Lucius' heart which made him think about death, and sees it in a new light. He then analyzed and looked at the man, he wore clothing akin to a beggar, his face was blemished by dirt yet his eyes were so sharp that his gaze materialized his wrath along with the burden of despair he held through the window of his soul, the look of someone that lost everything.

Lucius built up his courage and stood up and foolishly walked towards the man who wanted him dead, at the wave of his hands a command was issued immediately for the guards to cease the apprehension of the man and was ordered to just stand still.

The man, confused as he is, staggered as he raised his view and saw Lucius drawing closer to him. The man grabbed this opportunity to grab the battered dagger that he stuck into his pants’ rear to conceal it, he lunged at Lucius immediately.

As the man approached Lucius, he opened his arms wide and took one deep breath as he was expecting his impending doom. Life flashed through his memories.

"The Empire would just function without me, right? I'm sure my son will grow up nicely to govern all of these... much far better than his own father."

The man reached Lucius and stabbed him in the chest, it slowly pierced as the dagger was getting blunter due to it being battered. Lucius could feel the pain building up and the place where he was stabbed was burning and swelling, but it didn't stop him from closing his arms and hugging the man tight, and as he hugged tighter the blade went even deeper.

“I'm. Sorry..." Lucius uttered his final words to the man as his body fell to the floor, he could feel the slow death creeping up onto him, he was in agony with the pain but he looked peaceful as his eyes slowly closed and his vision faded black, silence and darkness overwhelmed his whole existence.

He was the man who cowered before death, who would've known he embraced it with such calmness?

Lucius was drifting in nothingness as his soul had been separated from the mortal plane, but in the pitch darkness, he discovered something that was not supposed to be there.

"Light..?" he muttered softly. He then approached the fragment of light and as soon as he touched it, his soul was distorted in space and before he could comprehend anything, a figure that was twice his height materialized in front of him and held a glaive-like weapon that symbolizes the probability symbol.

“Who... are you..?”

The mysterious figure unraveled themselves exerting a divine aura that shone brightly, and the figure spoke to Lucius

"I am your chance in life and you are brought here by chance.”