Alex 

I was nothing. Well, I wasn’t exactly nothing, I still had my conscience, I could still think... hell, I could still see and hear if that’s what you could call it... though it was different than the usual. It was like I could hear colours and see sounds. None of it made sense, but I guess it was better than nothing. But the real question was... how did I get here? Why was I here? 

Come on Alex think, think. How did I get here... the last thing that I remember is... taking the throne and becoming the king of Aroa, the human continent of Ahana. 

No, that wasn’t right... there was more. Surely there was more after that. Come on Alex think, think. What happened after that? There was more, I’m sure of it. There was a reason that I took the throne. There was a reason to become king... but what was it again? 

God, why was I finding it so hard to remember my own life? Think back to the beginning. Far back to when I was a child... Yes, that’s it, the church of Atlas. I was raised in a church as an orphan. I never knew my parents... but I didn’t care. There I made friends... close friends, close enough to be considered real family and then... 

I received that crystal. The crystal that put me in the running to become king... but I wasn’t the only one. There was another kid, a girl, who also received the same thing. She was... a close friend of mine. 

What happened next... I had no desire for the throne, unlike her...what was her name again? For some reason I can’t remember it... nor her face. Forget about that for now Alex think. What happened next. 

For a long time, there was peace. We had received the crystal, but without a need for a new monarch it was nothing more than a pretty gem to flaunt about... well, that was the case until the current monarch and his family were all mysteriously slaughtered... who was it again? Ah yes. A supposed evil organisation, named KEEL, that turned out to be in possession of a candidate for the throne and was working meticulously to seat their candidate on the throne and take control of the human nation.  

Their plan was to drive the nation to war against the Elves, Dwarves, Beast folk and giants. Taking dominion over the entire world and enslaving the other races. They truly had such high hopes for themselves... and of course to do so, they needed to guarantee that their candidate, which they had groomed and brainwashed sat the throne. And to do that. They needed to eliminate the competition... 

And so, they attacked the church. Of course they would. After all, the church harboured two young candidates who were practically unprotected. They were prime targets. One attack... two potential threats down.  

At that time, I was still weak. All I had wanted to do with my life was live a small, comfortable life. Help at the church, help raise fellow kids like me and protect them. Back then, training and increasing my spiritual power was just a hobby. Sure, I had a talent for it. Sure, I was stronger than the average... but it was nothing groundbreaking. It was merely a hobby for me. Unlike for her. 

Compared to her... I was nothing. I was weak willed and unambitious. I had been gifted with great potential and a chance for greatness, and yet... all I wanted was to live a quiet and lazy life. Devoid of turmoil or challenge. I was happy to be unremarkable and normal. Whereas she... I could tell that she was born for greatness. She was nowhere near as talented as me. With the small amount of training, I did compared to her immense amount. I always took the upper hand in spars. And yet she never gave up. Where I would have been discouraged... she seemed to find a whole new motivation to get stronger and surpass me. 

She was kind, honest, ambitious... she truly deserved to be queen, and I honestly believed that she would... so why... why on that day did she have to die? Why was it her who died and me who survived? Why. Why did the loving girl, who had dreams to make this kingdom... this world a better place... have to be taken away instead of a lazy and unambitious no one like me. 

At the time, I had no idea who had been behind the attack on the church. I had no idea who had been responsible for the slaughter of all those children, nuns and priests... but even so... I had been filled with such anger... such sorrow... that I vowed to myself that I would get my revenge on those who had done this... no matter what. 

It's funny really, I can’t remember that girls name or how she looked. But I remember her final words. 

“Live Alex... Live a good, long life. Stay safe. Survive for us... and remember us. We'll be looking over you and protecting you. Stay alive... for me... please... I-I love you... Alex...” 

Those were her last words. I remember them like it was yesterday. And I carried them with me for the rest of my life. Her words begged me to stay safe and live the quiet, peaceful life that I had always dreamed and talked about… but those words… her last words. They were like the nail in the coffin for me.  

And so, I grew stronger and fought and grew even stronger and fought some more and I kept doing that over and over again. Looking, searching for the people who were responsible for that incident all those years ago. With one goal in mind. To kill them all.  

Over the years I grew colder, angrier and untrusting. I vowed to never get closer to people again, to never let my walls down and open up my heart to such damage again. I had one goal and one goal only. Revenge. And I’d do anything to achieve that. And I did. After hitting a wall in gathering information I knew there was only one final way. To become King. That way I’d gain access to more information. Information that not even the underground world could access. 

Later on, I had found out that that evil organisation had in-fact erased any evidence of their evil doings. Whether that meant killing people off or paying them large amounts of hush money. If they hadn’t, I might have gotten to them sooner… though, if I had confronted them in my early years… I surely would have been killed. 

In the meantime, whilst I was searching everywhere in the underground. Interrogating, torturing and killing anyone I found suspicious or may have had information. That so called organisation had been slaughtering and collecting the crystals of all the candidates. After all, you needed all of them to take the throne. However, they soon ran into a brick wall when they realised, they were missing a crystal. Mine. 

Later on, I had found out that they had sent people after me. To find me. Some I probably killed without knowing their true purpose. Others just never found me. After all, I had become quite talented at keeping a low profile. 

And then, it all came to a head. A trap to lure me in. I had finally received information on a suspect and, blindsided by rage and tired after years of nothing. I bit.  

That evil organisation had set up a final battle stage for their candidate. I was alone and in enemy territory. I really should have died that day. My opponent was a tough one, I was sure that I was going to lose. But by a sheer miracle… I landed the deciding blow.  

After the final battle and without their puppet and ticket to the throne, the evil organisation had gone back into hiding. No doubt preparing another brilliant idea to achieve their plan of world domination. However, my revenge was only just getting started.  

After I took the throne, I learned everything I possibly could about that night. I learnt everything about the ties between the candidate to the throne and the evil organisation and then. I obliterated them. I made sure not one member of the organisation, not even their families, lived. 

I had finally gotten my revenge. Justice had been served. And yet… what was left was just a dark, empty pit in my very core. Revenge had been my only purpose, my only goal for the last seven years. And now, what was left, was a king… with no purpose. 

For the next five years I did my best to live the life that she would have lived as queen. But I wasn’t like her. I wasn’t cut out for this role. All those years of violence and isolation had turned me into a ruthless man. A man who resorted to cruelty and violence. 

Yes, that was my life’s story… no, that wasn’t all. I’m missing something… a key thing… to end this tale.  

Wait… the end… why? How was it the end?  

Ah… yes… I remember now. I had died. I wasn’t alive anymore. But how? How did I die? 

Funny… I can’t seem to remember a single thing relating to my death… but I didn’t really care. After all, I was dead. There was no point in tormenting myself over it.  

But if I was in fact dead… was this… the afterlife?  

If so, it was rather strange. A whole see of nothing but vibrant colours and strange vibrating sounds. Though, I guess it wasn’t too bad. The nothingness felt oddly calming and relaxing. It’s like my mind was being dragged along by a calm yet fast-moving river.  

I felt nothing both mentally nor physically. There was no pain, no anger… just nothingness. A sense of lethargy really.