The Sole Prince of the Fallen Kingdom

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...What just happened?

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...What ...did I see?

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Ha... haha... There's no way...

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...There's no way all of that is true...

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Ha... haha... Yes...

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Yes...

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"...There's no way that's true." My lips quivered in fear, trying to hold on to the last of hope that it was some lie or prank, Mortivis trying to pull on me to obey him.

"...C'mon, do you really have my impression of someone that cruel?" He said with slight mischievousness, seemingly thinking nothing of people dying but that tone in which he said it...

...It broke any last thread that was holding my sanity together.

My mind stopped reasoning, my chaotic emotions overtook me, and I...

"...THEN WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS AFTER I DIED?"

...I lost it.

"ARE YOU ENJOYING MY SUFFERING?" 

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring every bit of my vision and sliding down my cheeks and...

DRIP

"No, Listen-..."

"...WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'NO'?"

DRIP

"ARE YOU TRYING TO DENY THAT?"

"IF YOU DON'T FANCY SEEING SOULS GRIEVE, THEN WHY DID YOU SHOW ME THAT..."

DRIP

"...Sob IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER FOR ME TO BE OBLIVIOUS TO WHAT HAD TRANSPIRED IN IRIN AFTER MY DEATH!"

DRIP

"But you were already sinking in guilt-"

"THEN LET HAVE ME DROWNED COMPLETELY! ...AT LEAST..."

Drip

"Sob... At least, that way... Sob..."

 Drip

"...That way, I might... Sniff... might've been able to forgive myself..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

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For the next few minutes, hours, or maybe even days, the only sound in the ever-expanding or contracting darkness was my occasional sobs and tears sliding down my cheeks.

I was ...devastated? Broken? Traumatized? Overwhelmed?

...I didn't know if any of those words could ever even come close to describing what I was feeling. 

It was a feeling that made me prefer dying a million times if given a choice over it.

Just the thought of something happening to Father and Mother which seemed like a nightmare to me days before had transpired into something far more gruesome and crueler than I could have ever imagined. 

'...And all because of me.'

I; who was so foolish to think I died like a hero saving the lives of Citizens of the Kingdom of Everhart; had unwantedly brought a tragedy that might have killed thousands of people and ruined the lives of more than I could count, and moreover...

...It was I who made Mother betray the Kingdom; I was the one because of whom Elsie couldn't fight to protect the Kingdom they all so cherished, and even if all of that wasn't enough, I also... also pushed my Father to his Death.

'...Was it my existence which brought the Calamity upon the Kingdom?'

'...It all was because of me, wasn't it?'

'...If I hadn't been there maybe-'

"There's no use thinking about the reason and whether it was possible to avoid it if you weren't there." My thoughts were cut short when I felt Mortivis's hands on my shoulder, and his words entered my ears.

"After all, what has happened cannot be reversed."

"...Then what else can I even do?" Having tears dried up and losing hope, I muttered these words in the air in helplessness.

I bit my lip in frustration and realized how impotent I am now.

'If only there were something I could do...'

'If only...'

"You can do one thing, Liam. That's the reason I revealed myself in front of you." Mortivis said with slight desperation and urgency, grabbing both of my shoulders.

And though, Instinctively, I felt something ominous as his tone shifted but...

"...W-What can I do?"

I was way more desperate than him, assuming he really was desperate at all.

**********

"...D-Destroy the Empire and Kill the Emperor Norbury?" I was discombobulated yet terrified by the task that Mortivis asked me to accomplish.

"Yes, if you manage to complete it successfully, I give you my words that I..." Mortivis flicked his finger, making a snap sound, as a glowing ...orb? Appeared at his fingertips, "...I would make Aziel von Everhart alive again."

Shrill

A metaphorical shrill sound pierced my ears, and a shock rendered through my spine as his words fell onto my ears.

My Eyes were drawn to that Glowing and flickering Orb on his fingertips. It felt strangely yet comfortably familiar, as if...

'...Wait, don't tell me that is-' Before I could have finished my thoughts, Mortivis's lips lifted slightly in a smile as he continued.

"Yes, this orb..." Mortivis looked at the Glowing orb at his fingertips, and continued, "...It is his soul."

"...So, what do you think? Are you going to accept my condition?" With a confident yet sly smile, Mortivis proposed his offer.

It was a tempting offer, an extremely tempting one.

He had promised me the treasure that I had lost because of my stupidity.

'If I destroy the empire and kill the emperor, maybe we can return to how we were...' A selfish thought erupted in my consciousness, but quickly, I shook my head denying it.

'N-No. No matter, how desperate you are, Aiden. You can't kill innocent people. It would bring more tarnish to Father's legacy than uplifting his name.'

'You can't do that. You can't-'

"Who cares about that, ...Liam?" Mortivis interrupted my train of thought, bending his knees to look directly into my eyes. 

"Your body might have been that of Aiden von Everhart, but Your soul? It is still of Liam. That Liam, who didn't care about other's loss as long as it benefits him, isn't it? ...It's a selfish soul, not a noble one."

"A Selfish Soul who didn't give any second thought when stealing other's hard-earned money to feed himself."

"A Selfish Soul who when falling from to your death was serene. You never even thought about the impact that your Death would have on your fellow schoolmates' mental health seeing your dead body."

"A Selfish Soul who even after reincarnating as the child of someone as selfless as Aziel just lived for himself and wished to continue living peacefully, surrounded by the people whom he loves and who love him."

"Even when you were dying on Melux you didn't think of what would happen to others who were close to you, you were just thinking that 'Maybe it would make your father proud of you?' ...That's how selfish you are, Liam."

"So why not just embrace your selfishness and accept my offer? It's in the good regards of both of you and me." 

His words felt like a stab to the heart to me. Every word that came out of his mouth was true.

I was not someone as noble and selfless as Father.

I was not someone who could abandon his loved ones for the sake of "the greater good".

I was not someone who would shy away from stealing from someone who had excess already.

I was not a Noble, forget about being a Royalty.

I was a Selfish person and an extreme one at that. But still...

"...Why do I have to destroy the empire? It would affect the lives of many people and cause them to die."

I was not a cruel person and...

"...It shouldn't concern you, should it, Liam? Moreover, I only asked you to 'destroy the Empire' not to 'Annihilate its entire population.' If you managed to only kill a couple of thousand people, it should shake the empire's roots, no?"

Neither do I...

"You know, these so-called 'innocent people' might even be celebrating the downfall of Everhart kingdom, depending on the narrative created by the emperor, without paying any heed to the deceased."

...intend to-

"They should, at least, get to know how it feels to lose someone precious to them, right?" Mortivis continued without letting his smile falter even one bit, and my thoughts stopped trying to keep my humanity and morals in place as his words started to swirl inside my head.

...Do I really need to play the good guy?

They all might even be celebrating our kingdom's fall, and death of the countless people as a joyous occasion.

...Do I really need to care for the lives of such people? I thought, trying to focus on his words, and the more I did combined with the thought of living with Father again was making me lose sight of my morals and teachings. ...Yet, that same thought of living with Father again and telling him what I did to bring him back was horrifying.

'...He would despise me, wouldn't he?'

'And not to forget, I would have to kill Humans and Become a murderer as well-'

"Ah!" Mortivis exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts yet again. "...Please hurry and accept my condition, Liam, because I don't think that vampire has much Blood left in her body to keep your corpse in a healthy enough condition that I could revive you." 

As his next words fell onto my ears, my mind went ...blank.

'...Vampire? ...Not much Blood left?' 

These were the only two phrases my mind seemed to focus on, as Elsie's Image of beheading that Demon while holding daggers in both hands shining in a crimson hue flashed before my eyes, making me imagine the worst.

"...By Vampire, D-Do you mean Es-Elsie?" I asked him, stuttering in fear of the worst.

"Yes, who else would it be?" 

"...What happened to her? WHAT DID YOUR WORDS MEANT?" As he was sitting down to my eye level, I grabbed his collar in anger, seeing the same sly grin on his face as he mentioned the last person that I thought I hadn't ruined the life of.

Snap

"Well, ...Why don't you see it for yourself?" 

And thus, with a snap of his fingers, another screen appeared in front of me in the Void.

**********

"I'm Sorry, Elsie..." As Aiden muttered these words just before closing his eyes, Elsie felt her heart had stopped beating.

A bubble of tears formed in the corner of her eyes sliding down her cheeks before falling onto Aiden as she realized that she had failed to protect Aiden, a child she had nurtured as her own from the moment she was assigned to be his Maid.

'No, It's still not too late. I can save him. I must save him!' Elsie continued to try to heal Aiden with her Crimson Aura and rushed as fast as she could towards the Mansion of Royal Doctor, but...

CRACKLE

...As she saw the thunder rumbling in the sky, her feet halted as she discerned that the Capital wouldn't be safe for long, especially for someone whose breath had already stopped, and his heart only beating because of her continuously converting her blood into Mana particles that could keep him alive.

Her [Unique Skill: Bloodborne Oath] which she gained after receiving the [Blessing of the Scarlet Queen] was the sole reason Aiden's heart was still beating, and he wasn't completely dead.

...But just by looking at the crackling thunder in the sky, her instincts told her that if even she found the Royal Doctor, under the vast amount of violent Mana that was going to be dispersed in the soon-to-happen battle would overpower her Blood Mana particles and kill Aiden instantly, considering the fragile condition he was in.

'It's no good staying in the Capital. I should hurry and take his highness somewhere else... but where?' As she tried to think calmly, amidst her slowly increasing anxiety, a single place came into her mind.

'Frostveil Thicket...' As the name of that place crossed her mind, an Uneasy feeling crept on her.

Frostveil Thicket, a forest situated on the eastern steps of the Zephyriss Crest the seeming sky-piercing mountain that separates the Border of Kingdom of Everhart from the Border of Empire and the Kingdom of Terasmania.

A Place that no one had ever managed to explore completely or if anyone did so, they hadn't returned alive.

The Forest which is always covered in a thick layer of Frost, is believed to be the home of the Ice Phoenix, Zephiryx, a divine being who is said to be the Manifestation of the Purest form of Mana in the entirety of Melux, once trusted partner of the Hero of Water, Alfred Everhart, and the Deity which symbolizes the pride and legacy of the Everharts.

Although no one had ever seen Zephiryx with their own eyes, the documents she once read in the Castle mentioned the Frostveil Thicket to be the home of the Zephiryx after Hero Alfred passed away.

Moreover, In the legend of the millennia-old Mortals-Demon War, Zephiryx was said to be able to heal anyone to perfect health unless they were dead, which unsurprisingly played a crucial role in turning the tides of the War in favor of the Mortals and Heroes.

That's why it was the place that came to her mind quickest when thinking of a divine place that held some miracle that could heal Aiden. 

'...But I am closer to Demons in race than Humans, would he even heed my words any attention if I somehow managed to find him before completely running out of Blood?' Though there was doubt in her mind, she was already moving towards the Frostveil Thicket hoping to save "her child".

**********

"She would die..." My grip on Mortivis's collar loosened murmuring in helplessness under my breath, as I saw the scene of Elsie trying to figure her way in the extremely harsh terrain of the "Frostveil Thicket" with my Body in her hands.

Her pupils were dilated as if her vision was getting worse with the moment, her crimson Aura was so thin that it was barely visible and her skin... it had gone as white as the snow covering the entire forest.

Her breaths were ragged and thin which was a sign that her life wasn't gonna go for much longer.

"Why would she do this? ...I haven't done anything to deserve something like that." Words coming out of my mouth were barely audible and though I wanted to cry, my tears had dried up already.

I was confused as to why she was willing to die for someone she wasn't related to.

Yes, she had taken care of me from when I was a baby and that does make a special connection between me and her but was it such a connection you could sacrifice your life for?

...Would I have done something like that if I was in her place?

I didn't have any answers to any of those questions that were confusing me yet just the visual of her skin losing its natural color and the gaps between her breaths becoming longer and more unnatural, had me terrified.

Terrified of ruining the life of the last person I was close to.

"So, I haven't heard your answer, Liam?" Mortivis asked, as my morals and teachings started to perish under the weight of guilt and self-hatred for myself and my actions.

"..."

"Oh C'mon, Liam, You still haven't decided if you want a chance to relive with those people who loved you that much?"

"You know, even a God like me is feeling a little envious of how much those people loved you, A selfish person who didn't even tell them the truth about himself?"

"If I were you, I would never have thought twice about-"

"...I agree." It crumbled.

The Wall of Morals that I had been hiding behind, ...it crumbled.

Wasn't I already, technically, a 'murderer' of Elsie and Father, so...

"I agree to kill the Emperor and Destroy the Empire."

...It shouldn't matter if I become a 'murderer' literally.

"...Oh? Well, then-"

"But-"

"But?"

"I have a condition as well."

**********