It had been a few days since Emperor Cyrus’s burial ceremony ended. Screams could be heard throughout the capital of Imperia. This once majestic city was now completely shrouded in a thick blanket of smoke and the sound the metal clashing could be heard throughout. Soldiers ran amok fighting each other, killing everything in sight, unable to differentiate between friend and foe. Citizens were cut down left and right and the whole city was burning a crimson red.

Through the chaos, a group of men in metal armor could be seen walking through the city, slaughtering everything in sight. At the front of this group, a man wearing extravagant armor with gold engravings could be seen. Around him, a noble arrogance could be felt as he swaggered towards the castle at the center of the city.

This man was the former royal knight captain of the emperor and a man of high position, though his purpose currently was unknown.

As they neared the castle, multiple soldiers could be seen making their way out of the gates trying to alleviate the situation outside. A soldier who spotted the group quickly made his way over.

“Sir, we are so glad you are here! It’s terrible! There’s a rebellion afoot and the majority of the city guards are in on it! The castle is in utter chaos and we can’t get anything under control. We would greatly appreciate it if you could lend us your stre-.”

Before the soldier could finish, his head was sent rolling on the ground. The rest of the soldiers all stopped what they were doing. They were stunned and gave confused stares towards the royal knight captain as if not believing what had just happened in front of them.

At this, the knight captain just gave an extremely malicious sneer as he ordered the rest of his group, “Leave no survivors except the current emperor! I want you all to find him and bring him to me. I wish to speak with him.”

The rest of his group immediately complied and started killing all the soldiers that were now desperately trying to defend from the onslaught, but were ultimately overwhelmed.

As the remnants of the castle’s guards were being hunted down, an old man could be seen being dragged from the front gates of the castle towards the knight captain. The old man had severe wounds across his face and body and yet was still struggling to get free. From the looks of it the old man had put up a considerable fight as the people who were dragging him also had severe wounds, although not as bad.

As he was dumped in front of the knight captain and held down on the ground, he glared angrily at the amused face of the perpetrator.

“YOU! YOU, HOW DARE YOU DO THIS.” Bellowed the old man as he responded with angry vigor despite his position. His voice was so loud that it felt as if the ground itself shook in resonance.

A swift kick to the old man’s stomach quickly silenced him as he laid there seething in rage. At this moment, the old man’s face was completely red and it was as if his veins were about to pop out of his head.

“Hahaha, I’ve always wanted to do that, you shitty bag of bones.” Taunted the knight captain as he gave an evil grin. The knight captain then proceeded to crouch in front of the old man and pulled his hair up so that both their faces were level.

“I’ve always hated your guts and that attitude of yours.” Stated the knight captain. “And now that Emperor Cyrus is finally dead, I can finally do something about it.”

“All those years that I’ve had to follow your orders like a dog. All the humiliation I’ve had to go through while pretending to care about the people. Now is finally time to pay it all back.” The knight captain now had a grin so wide it was as if his face split in half. “This precious empire of yours from this day on is now MINE. Oh, how I’ve waited for this day to come and now it’s finally here.” The knight captain started shivering in ecstasy as he gave out a maniacal laugh.

“Your death will be my ticket to power. How does it feel? For everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish to end up in my hands? For everything that you’ve ever held dear to be stomped underfoot by me? Despair, old man! Hate the world for everything happening today. And when you’ve finally given up all hope, I will swoop in and take your life in the grandest way possible. Feel honored to be my stepping-stone.”

All throughout this mad speech, the old man just hatefully stared. Once it was over, he just spat in the knight captain’s face.

“You think I’ll yield to the likes of you? You must be delirious. You will never have this empire. It’s something that Emperor Cyrus and I built up through our sweat and tears. You may call yourself emperor. You may control the capital. But the people of this country will NEVER accept you.” Snarled the old man.

“On the contrary, I don’t need the people to accept me.” The knight captain replied coldly as he wiped the saliva off his face. “I intend to RULE. Whether through brute force or fear, one way or another, I will control the population. You see, unlike you and Cyrus who merely ‘guided’ the populous, I fully intend to rule with an iron fist. The need to take into consideration those trash you call citizens is absolutely absurd. Giving ANY choice to the people is foolish and will only result in what you are seeing right now. It’s the reason why both you and Cyrus are weak rulers and it’s the reason the empire will soon be under my control.”

“You bastard. Your actions are an insult to everything Emperor Cyrus and I have worked to accomplish. You, who has done nothing but senseless slaughter have no right to speak ill of Cyrus or the citizens. What is it you seek from this? Satisfaction for your greed? Your ego? For what you’ve done, I’ll make you rue the day you ever spoke of Emperor Cyrus’s name through that dirty mouth of yours. YOU HEAR ME? I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR TH-…”

As the old man was about to finish he was once again kicked in the stomach. This time, an extreme amount of blood spluttered out of his bruised mouth.

“Make me pay you say? Haha, unfortunately for you, you won’t be living for that much longer. In any case, you are an eyesore and I have nothing more to say to you. Enjoy the rest of the time living while you still can.”

The knight captain then turned to his nearby ally. “Take him to the dungeon. His execution, as well as my coronation, will be held in two days. Make sure he doesn’t die until then.”

As the old man was gagged and dragged away, the knight captain just held an evil smile before turning away.

‘Good riddance, you old fool. It’s now my turn to take the stage. I will make this empire far greater than what both you and Cyrus could ever accomplish with me sitting at the very top. My reign begins now.’ He thought as he walked towards the castle.