Chapter 63: A Pain Unknown To Man
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"My name is Nilus Vanhyden. Your vampire puppets had killed my wife and my newborn child."
"I'm sorry...."
Slash!
"My name is Keya Korianthil. My husband had been infected by vampirism, attacking my ailing mother who tried to nurse him."
"I'm sorry...."
Slash!
"M-My name is Heltsil. My friend Tulsei had to be put to sleep by his dad because he turned into a m-monster.... And they said it was because of you! I hate you!"
"I'm sorry.... I'm sorry.... "
Slash!
One by one, the people introduced themselves and their grievances to Vladstin. Old or young, man or woman, poor or rich.... They fall in line at random, first come first serve. Blood splattered on the ground like rain, and they basked in it for it was, at least for them, the justice they had long been searching for.
This is Vladstin's Judgement Day. A one-sided 'war' where the pepetrator remains undead, merely receiving the punishment fo all his crimes.
Rothfir and the Noble Hunstmen provided them any weapon to choose from to torture his undying body. They can hit him with a sword, burn him with a torch, spray him with acid. But he never dies, and so does the endless pain he feels, crushing his now beating heart.
"I never lost a loved one, but I am a doctor who had spent days and nights caring for the sick since the fall of Ilvedia. I've seen death, smelled death, lived with constant death.... How can someone like you become immortal while the rest of us would fear death every day?" The doctor pried Vladstin's mouth open, holding heated tongs. "If I take your fangs, would new ones grow back? Or would they reattach themselves like your head did? Some snakes die a few days after you defang them."
Vladstin shook his head, large drops of tears falling down his tired, swollen eyes. "I want to die too.... Please help me...."
The doctor raised his eyebrow apathetically. "Then you would donate all your organs for us to study how to kill you, would you not?"
The doctor pulled the fangs out!
It grew back.
Vladstin fell unconscious from so much pain, head lolling to the side.
"Fascinating. You're still not dead." The doctor said, examining Vladstin's vitals. "And what if we pulled out your guts and intestines? Cut off your limbs? It may be unethical but you may be an endless supply of meat—"
"That's enough, give the others a turn." Rothfir told him. "Next."
"Please stop hurting him!" Leron pleaded as he and Sangfroid were tied by the people on a pole using the Enchanted Knot. Verise and Lillian guarded them, hands crossed.
"You will gain nothing if you continue harming him. It will not bring any of your loved ones to life." Sangfroid tried to reason with them.
"Oh, but we do gain something." Verise told him. "Gratification, fulfillment, justice for the loved ones that will not return to life... It is only the two of you who would gain nothing. Because you chose to be on his side, and he had never wronged the both of you that's why you can easily defend and forgive his atrocities."
Sangfroid didn't answer for a long while, and Leron continued to plead for them to let Vladstin go. The former Chief Huntsman seem to be thinking of something. Something in him seem to be slowly churning in the back of his mind. Then, he said in a firm voice:
"You think neither of us was wronged. We both care for all of you. You are our people."
"I gave up my blood to satiate his thirst and prolong your days of survival. If not for that, you would never find the missing pages for you to attack. I had the prince I loved and served be taken from me and infected by vampirism. My father, OUR father, The Bishop, died giving blessings to the dead that was caused by the long starvation and suffering from our travels. I saw all of this, and lost sleep for it. Even a doctor who didn't lose a loved one can claim he was wronged because he have spent all his days caring for the sick that the Vampire Lord has caused."
He looked up, his scarred face in full view, those amethyst eyes piercing anyone it sees. "So, could you say that I was never wronged? Could you say that I never harbored the same amount of rage and resentment for the one you are torturing now?"
Leron's mouth hung open, disbelieving that Sangfroid had harbored such feelings inside him. He had always thought that he was like him, that he feel guilt and compassion for Vladstin's predicament that is why they are on the same side to help him.
But could he have been wrong? After all, Sangfroid had never been the cause of Vladstin turning into a heartless monster.
Like everyone here, he was merely a victim of the aftermath. He was one of the innocents. Why would he not feel any resentment for Vladstin at all? He had many reasons to.
So.... He only helped Vladstin thinking of everyone else's sake, and more importantly, Leron. If Vladstin turned into human, his people wouldn't suffer anymore. Even when he parted with the Ilvedians, their welfare had always been in his mind.
Vladstin had warned him about this, had prophecized this kind of outcome. No matter where his personal feelings lay..... duty comes first to Sangfroid.
"Which side are you on, really?" Lillian asked.
"Everything that I do.... I do it on the side of what is right for everyone. I have something to reveal to all of you, if you would just untie me."
The people were hesitant, and some were ready to give their complaints, but Rothfir held up a hand.
He approached Sangfroid but with a stern look. "Let us hear it then. Chief. You took a blow from my ax for this..... immortal. Yet you claim to be on the side of the people?"
Sangfroid took out something from his neck. "This is the Amulet of the Dracon. It is....."
Various lightning bolts suddenly struck to the ground as Sangfroid revealed the Amulet to the people, forming an image..... of a dragon.
-------------------
Vladstin felt like he was floating on an endless rage of fire. The fires stretched their hands and burned him and showed images of people that seems somewhat familiar to him. Their mouths open wide to speak in disjointed words, some with screams, and some with pleads.
As a vampire lord, all the blood that he had consumed brought those people's memories, fears, and anguish. Now that his apathy for them was gone, it brought him a torrent of pain that no human could imagine.
Who can carry with them the pain of thousands and thousands, and the knowledge that they were the one who cause all those pain?
Flashing quicker than one could blink was every person's gruesome death. Each strike, each bite, each illness, and malady..... Vladstin felt them all at the same time. Every sadness, every trauma, and suffering they had even before Vladstin came to further ruin their lives..... He felt it all, and it consumed him.
"It was too much. Too much. No more. Please, no more! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can feel it! I know all of it! I don't want this! I never wanted all of this! Please, no more! Just let me perish with them! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
Hell is not a place below the ground. It is in the depths of our mind, the eternal damnation that has been constructed the more these fires of torment and agony consume us. It burns and burns but it never ends, no matter how much we plead, no matter how much we repent for it.
There was no one to save him.
----------------------
Like a miracle, everyone bowed to their feet, realizing immediately what this Amulet and apparition of the Dragon meant. It was like an innate spirit of unity and wholeness took over the people of Ilvedia, and they looked up to the man holding out the blue gem.
"Your Majesty!" They all called out at the same time.
Sangfroid never expected this. It was never his plan to claim his birthright.
He was meaning to use it as a distraction and toss the Amulet to someone, then scoop up the unconscious Vladstin and the tied-up Leron to run away with the wolves and his horse.
But now this brings much complications to that plan.
The people soon realized what just happened and what they had said. They look at Sangfroid, waiting for an explanation. "You are our true king..... How is that possible?"
Sangfroid had no choice but to give an outstanding, magnificent speech similar to those of the legends. But all he wants to do is to get away from here with those two.
"The true heir to the throne was King Casserome's older twin, Prince Vinsen. Casserome framed him with the murder of the duke's son, and so he had to be exiled. But since he was the rightful heir, he was the one who received the Amulet of the Dracon---"
Thunder boomed again once he said the name of the Amulet. Sangfroid was incredulous of the Amulet's hidden power, but kept talking.
"When Prince Vinsen was exiled, he met my biological father Gaug'in, and a tribe living in seclusion in the woods. The two of them raised me, and he claims me as his adopted son. When King Casserome came to kill Prince Vinsen, he wrote the parchment which Vladstin used as part of the deal. That is how I came to know the truth. I also saw how my two fathers' death came to be through this glass, and how the Amulet of the Dracon---"
BOOOOOM!!!!
"Was passed to me." Sangfroid remained indifferent to the incessant thunders and lightning. "The Bishop had kept it safe from the King's clutches and placed it on the journal that he had given to me. I took it from there, and now wore it on my neck. Anyone who holds the Amulet of the Dracon---"
BOOOOOOOM!
"Is the true heir, and it must not come into the wrong hands. I assume this must mean it must not come to the hands of someone who the predecessor did not intend to pass it to. And so, at the moment, this Amulet gives me the right of the true king. I am now the King of Ilvedia."
The people hang on to every word with great amazement and after the last statement, they cheered! The lightning strike had caused luscious fields to grow from the long scorched land, and wild goats and sheep suddenly came in huge flocks, along with cows and chickens and all things necessary for life to prosper. The people were awestruck by this miracle, and rain poured on their heads, washing away their passive anger and clearing up their blackened spirits.
This is all too much for Sangfroid that he almost let go of the Amulet.
"ALL HAIL KING SANGFROID! ALL HAIL ILVEDIA REBORN!"
They soon began to chant, and while they're busy bowing up and down by his feet, he untied Leron who also have no idea what is going on. The former crowned prince really thought Sangfroid would side with the people and lynch him and Vladstin,taking over as the new lking of Ilvedia.
But instead, Sangfroid put his cloak over the Leron and said. "Please go and fetch the wolves, Your Highness. I will bring Vladstin over while they're distracted and rejoicing."
Leron nodded, and quickly ran feeling a huge weight lifted off his chest. There is no need to be anxious. He knows Sangfroid since they were young, he knows where his heart lies, what he truly desires than anything else. It is not power.
Sangfroid only wants peace.
"KING SANGFROID SHALL HELP REBUILD A NEW ILVEDIA! HE SHALL BE OUR KING FOREVERMORE!"
The advisers who had brought the royal scepter, the crowns, and all the royal ornaments with them prepared to place them over to Sangfroid along with a long blue cape, officially crowning him at this moment but he shook his head.
"Wait!" Sangfroid said. "Everyone... I may be the King now because the Amulet was passed to me but...."
"I don't want to be your king."
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"My name is Nilus Vanhyden. Your vampire puppets had killed my wife and my newborn child."
"I'm sorry...."
Slash!
"My name is Keya Korianthil. My husband had been infected by vampirism, attacking my ailing mother who tried to nurse him."
"I'm sorry...."
Slash!
"M-My name is Heltsil. My friend Tulsei had to be put to sleep by his dad because he turned into a m-monster.... And they said it was because of you! I hate you!"
"I'm sorry.... I'm sorry.... "
Slash!
One by one, the people introduced themselves and their grievances to Vladstin. Old or young, man or woman, poor or rich.... They fall in line at random, first come first serve. Blood splattered on the ground like rain, and they basked in it for it was, at least for them, the justice they had long been searching for.
This is Vladstin's Judgement Day. A one-sided 'war' where the pepetrator remains undead, merely receiving the punishment fo all his crimes.
Rothfir and the Noble Hunstmen provided them any weapon to choose from to torture his undying body. They can hit him with a sword, burn him with a torch, spray him with acid. But he never dies, and so does the endless pain he feels, crushing his now beating heart.
"I never lost a loved one, but I am a doctor who had spent days and nights caring for the sick since the fall of Ilvedia. I've seen death, smelled death, lived with constant death.... How can someone like you become immortal while the rest of us would fear death every day?" The doctor pried Vladstin's mouth open, holding heated tongs. "If I take your fangs, would new ones grow back? Or would they reattach themselves like your head did? Some snakes die a few days after you defang them."
Vladstin shook his head, large drops of tears falling down his tired, swollen eyes. "I want to die too.... Please help me...."
The doctor raised his eyebrow apathetically. "Then you would donate all your organs for us to study how to kill you, would you not?"
The doctor pulled the fangs out!
It grew back.
Vladstin fell unconscious from so much pain, head lolling to the side.
"Fascinating. You're still not dead." The doctor said, examining Vladstin's vitals. "And what if we pulled out your guts and intestines? Cut off your limbs? It may be unethical but you may be an endless supply of meat—"
"That's enough, give the others a turn." Rothfir told him. "Next."
"Please stop hurting him!" Leron pleaded as he and Sangfroid were tied by the people on a pole using the Enchanted Knot. Verise and Lillian guarded them, hands crossed.
"You will gain nothing if you continue harming him. It will not bring any of your loved ones to life." Sangfroid tried to reason with them.
"Oh, but we do gain something." Verise told him. "Gratification, fulfillment, justice for the loved ones that will not return to life... It is only the two of you who would gain nothing. Because you chose to be on his side, and he had never wronged the both of you that's why you can easily defend and forgive his atrocities."
Sangfroid didn't answer for a long while, and Leron continued to plead for them to let Vladstin go. The former Chief Huntsman seem to be thinking of something. Something in him seem to be slowly churning in the back of his mind. Then, he said in a firm voice:
"You think neither of us was wronged. We both care for all of you. You are our people."
"I gave up my blood to satiate his thirst and prolong your days of survival. If not for that, you would never find the missing pages for you to attack. I had the prince I loved and served be taken from me and infected by vampirism. My father, OUR father, The Bishop, died giving blessings to the dead that was caused by the long starvation and suffering from our travels. I saw all of this, and lost sleep for it. Even a doctor who didn't lose a loved one can claim he was wronged because he have spent all his days caring for the sick that the Vampire Lord has caused."
He looked up, his scarred face in full view, those amethyst eyes piercing anyone it sees. "So, could you say that I was never wronged? Could you say that I never harbored the same amount of rage and resentment for the one you are torturing now?"
Leron's mouth hung open, disbelieving that Sangfroid had harbored such feelings inside him. He had always thought that he was like him, that he feel guilt and compassion for Vladstin's predicament that is why they are on the same side to help him.
But could he have been wrong? After all, Sangfroid had never been the cause of Vladstin turning into a heartless monster.
Like everyone here, he was merely a victim of the aftermath. He was one of the innocents. Why would he not feel any resentment for Vladstin at all? He had many reasons to.
So.... He only helped Vladstin thinking of everyone else's sake, and more importantly, Leron. If Vladstin turned into human, his people wouldn't suffer anymore. Even when he parted with the Ilvedians, their welfare had always been in his mind.
Vladstin had warned him about this, had prophecized this kind of outcome. No matter where his personal feelings lay..... duty comes first to Sangfroid.
"Which side are you on, really?" Lillian asked.
"Everything that I do.... I do it on the side of what is right for everyone. I have something to reveal to all of you, if you would just untie me."
The people were hesitant, and some were ready to give their complaints, but Rothfir held up a hand.
He approached Sangfroid but with a stern look. "Let us hear it then. Chief. You took a blow from my ax for this..... immortal. Yet you claim to be on the side of the people?"
Sangfroid took out something from his neck. "This is the Amulet of the Dracon. It is....."
Various lightning bolts suddenly struck to the ground as Sangfroid revealed the Amulet to the people, forming an image..... of a dragon.
-------------------
Vladstin felt like he was floating on an endless rage of fire. The fires stretched their hands and burned him and showed images of people that seems somewhat familiar to him. Their mouths open wide to speak in disjointed words, some with screams, and some with pleads.
As a vampire lord, all the blood that he had consumed brought those people's memories, fears, and anguish. Now that his apathy for them was gone, it brought him a torrent of pain that no human could imagine.
Who can carry with them the pain of thousands and thousands, and the knowledge that they were the one who cause all those pain?
Flashing quicker than one could blink was every person's gruesome death. Each strike, each bite, each illness, and malady..... Vladstin felt them all at the same time. Every sadness, every trauma, and suffering they had even before Vladstin came to further ruin their lives..... He felt it all, and it consumed him.
"It was too much. Too much. No more. Please, no more! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can feel it! I know all of it! I don't want this! I never wanted all of this! Please, no more! Just let me perish with them! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
Hell is not a place below the ground. It is in the depths of our mind, the eternal damnation that has been constructed the more these fires of torment and agony consume us. It burns and burns but it never ends, no matter how much we plead, no matter how much we repent for it.
There was no one to save him.
----------------------
Like a miracle, everyone bowed to their feet, realizing immediately what this Amulet and apparition of the Dragon meant. It was like an innate spirit of unity and wholeness took over the people of Ilvedia, and they looked up to the man holding out the blue gem.
"Your Majesty!" They all called out at the same time.
Sangfroid never expected this. It was never his plan to claim his birthright.
He was meaning to use it as a distraction and toss the Amulet to someone, then scoop up the unconscious Vladstin and the tied-up Leron to run away with the wolves and his horse.
But now this brings much complications to that plan.
The people soon realized what just happened and what they had said. They look at Sangfroid, waiting for an explanation. "You are our true king..... How is that possible?"
Sangfroid had no choice but to give an outstanding, magnificent speech similar to those of the legends. But all he wants to do is to get away from here with those two.
"The true heir to the throne was King Casserome's older twin, Prince Vinsen. Casserome framed him with the murder of the duke's son, and so he had to be exiled. But since he was the rightful heir, he was the one who received the Amulet of the Dracon---"
Thunder boomed again once he said the name of the Amulet. Sangfroid was incredulous of the Amulet's hidden power, but kept talking.
"When Prince Vinsen was exiled, he met my biological father Gaug'in, and a tribe living in seclusion in the woods. The two of them raised me, and he claims me as his adopted son. When King Casserome came to kill Prince Vinsen, he wrote the parchment which Vladstin used as part of the deal. That is how I came to know the truth. I also saw how my two fathers' death came to be through this glass, and how the Amulet of the Dracon---"
BOOOOOM!!!!
"Was passed to me." Sangfroid remained indifferent to the incessant thunders and lightning. "The Bishop had kept it safe from the King's clutches and placed it on the journal that he had given to me. I took it from there, and now wore it on my neck. Anyone who holds the Amulet of the Dracon---"
BOOOOOOOM!
"Is the true heir, and it must not come into the wrong hands. I assume this must mean it must not come to the hands of someone who the predecessor did not intend to pass it to. And so, at the moment, this Amulet gives me the right of the true king. I am now the King of Ilvedia."
The people hang on to every word with great amazement and after the last statement, they cheered! The lightning strike had caused luscious fields to grow from the long scorched land, and wild goats and sheep suddenly came in huge flocks, along with cows and chickens and all things necessary for life to prosper. The people were awestruck by this miracle, and rain poured on their heads, washing away their passive anger and clearing up their blackened spirits.
This is all too much for Sangfroid that he almost let go of the Amulet.
"ALL HAIL KING SANGFROID! ALL HAIL ILVEDIA REBORN!"
They soon began to chant, and while they're busy bowing up and down by his feet, he untied Leron who also have no idea what is going on. The former crowned prince really thought Sangfroid would side with the people and lynch him and Vladstin,taking over as the new lking of Ilvedia.
But instead, Sangfroid put his cloak over the Leron and said. "Please go and fetch the wolves, Your Highness. I will bring Vladstin over while they're distracted and rejoicing."
Leron nodded, and quickly ran feeling a huge weight lifted off his chest. There is no need to be anxious. He knows Sangfroid since they were young, he knows where his heart lies, what he truly desires than anything else. It is not power.
Sangfroid only wants peace.
"KING SANGFROID SHALL HELP REBUILD A NEW ILVEDIA! HE SHALL BE OUR KING FOREVERMORE!"
The advisers who had brought the royal scepter, the crowns, and all the royal ornaments with them prepared to place them over to Sangfroid along with a long blue cape, officially crowning him at this moment but he shook his head.
"Wait!" Sangfroid said. "Everyone... I may be the King now because the Amulet was passed to me but...."
"I don't want to be your king."
"My name is Nilus Vanhyden. Your vampire puppets had killed my wife and my newborn child.""I'm sorry...."Slash!"My name is Keya Korianthil. My husband had been infected by vampirism, attacking my ailing mother who tried to nurse him.""I'm sorry...."Slash!"M-My name is Heltsil. My friend Tulsei had to be put to sleep by his dad because he turned into a m-monster.... And they said it was because of you! I hate you!""I'm sorry.... I'm sorry.... "Slash!One by one, the people introduced themselves and their grievances to Vladstin. Old or young, man or woman, poor or rich.... They fall in line at random, first come first serve. Blood splattered on the ground like rain, and they basked in it for it was, at least for them, the justice they had long been searching for.This is Vladstin's Judgement Day. A one-sided 'war' where the pepetrator remains undead, merely receiving the punishment fo all his crimes.Rothfir and the Noble Hunstmen provided them any weapon to choose from to torture his undying body. They can hit him with a sword, burn him with a torch, spray him with acid. But he never dies, and so does the endless pain he feels, crushing his now beating heart. "I never lost a loved one, but I am a doctor who had spent days and nights caring for the sick since the fall of Ilvedia. I've seen death, smelled death, lived with constant death.... How can someone like you become immortal while the rest of us would fear death every day?" The doctor pried Vladstin's mouth open, holding heated tongs. "If I take your fangs, would new ones grow back? Or would they reattach themselves like your head did? Some snakes die a few days after you defang them."Vladstin shook his head, large drops of tears falling down his tired, swollen eyes. "I want to die too.... Please help me...." The doctor raised his eyebrow apathetically. "Then you would donate all your organs for us to study how to kill you, would you not?"The doctor pulled the fangs out!It grew back. Vladstin fell unconscious from so much pain, head lolling to the side."Fascinating. You're still not dead." The doctor said, examining Vladstin's vitals. "And what if we pulled out your guts and intestines? Cut off your limbs? It may be unethical but you may be an endless supply of meat""That's enough, give the others a turn." Rothfir told him. "Next.""Please stop hurting him!" Leron pleaded as he and Sangfroid were tied by the people on a pole using the Enchanted Knot. Verise and Lillian guarded them, hands crossed."You will gain nothing if you continue harming him. It will not bring any of your loved ones to life." Sangfroid tried to reason with them."Oh, but we do gain something." Verise told him. "Gratification, fulfillment, justice for the loved ones that will not return to life... It is only the two of you who would gain nothing. Because you chose to be on his side, and he had never wronged the both of you that's why you can easily defend and forgive his atrocities."Sangfroid didn't answer for a long while, and Leron continued to plead for them to let Vladstin go. The former Chief Huntsman seem to be thinking of something. Something in him seem to be slowly churning in the back of his mind. Then, he said in a firm voice:"You think neither of us was wronged. We both care for all of you. You are our people." "I gave up my blood to satiate his thirst and prolong your days of survival. If not for that, you would never find the missing pages for you to attack. I had the prince I loved and served be taken from me and infected by vampirism. My father, OUR father, The Bishop, died giving blessings to the dead that was caused by the long starvation and suffering from our travels. I saw all of this, and lost sleep for it. Even a doctor who didn't lose a loved one can claim he was wronged because he have spent all his days caring for the sick that the Vampire Lord has caused."He looked up, his scarred face in full view, those amethyst eyes piercing anyone it sees. "So, could you say that I was never wronged? Could you say that I never harbored the same amount of rage and resentment for the one you are torturing now?"Leron's mouth hung open, disbelieving that Sangfroid had harbored such feelings inside him. He had always thought that he was like him, that he feel guilt and compassion for Vladstin's predicament that is why they are on the same side to help him. But could he have been wrong? After all, Sangfroid had never been the cause of Vladstin turning into a heartless monster. Like everyone here, he was merely a victim of the aftermath. He was one of the innocents. Why would he not feel any resentment for Vladstin at all? He had many reasons to.So.... He only helped Vladstin thinking of everyone else's sake, and more importantly, Leron. If Vladstin turned into human, his people wouldn't suffer anymore. Even when he parted with the Ilvedians, their welfare had always been in his mind.Vladstin had warned him about this, had prophecized this kind of outcome. No matter where his personal feelings lay..... duty comes first to Sangfroid."Which side are you on, really?" Lillian asked."Everything that I do.... I do it on the side of what is right for everyone. I have something to reveal to all of you, if you would just untie me."The people were hesitant, and some were ready to give their complaints, but Rothfir held up a hand.He approached Sangfroid but with a stern look. "Let us hear it then. Chief. You took a blow from my ax for this..... immortal. Yet you claim to be on the side of the people?"Sangfroid took out something from his neck. "This is the Amulet of the Dracon. It is....."Various lightning bolts suddenly struck to the ground as Sangfroid revealed the Amulet to the people, forming an image..... of a dragon.-------------------Vladstin felt like he was floating on an endless rage of fire. The fires stretched their hands and burned him and showed images of people that seems somewhat familiar to him. Their mouths open wide to speak in disjointed words, some with screams, and some with pleads.As a vampire lord, all the blood that he had consumed brought those people's memories, fears, and anguish. Now that his apathy for them was gone, it brought him a torrent of pain that no human could imagine.Who can carry with them the pain of thousands and thousands, and the knowledge that they were the one who cause all those pain?Flashing quicker than one could blink was every person's gruesome death. Each strike, each bite, each illness, and malady..... Vladstin felt them all at the same time. Every sadness, every trauma, and suffering they had even before Vladstin came to further ruin their lives..... He felt it all, and it consumed him. "It was too much. Too much. No more. Please, no more! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can feel it! I know all of it! I don't want this! I never wanted all of this! Please, no more! Just let me perish with them! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"Hell is not a place below the ground. It is in the depths of our mind, the eternal damnation that has been constructed the more these fires of torment and agony consume us. It burns and burns but it never ends, no matter how much we plead, no matter how much we repent for it.There was no one to save him.----------------------Like a miracle, everyone bowed to their feet, realizing immediately what this Amulet and apparition of the Dragon meant. It was like an innate spirit of unity and wholeness took over the people of Ilvedia, and they looked up to the man holding out the blue gem."Your Majesty!" They all called out at the same time.Sangfroid never expected this. It was never his plan to claim his birthright.He was meaning to use it as a distraction and toss the Amulet to someone, then scoop up the unconscious Vladstin and the tied-up Leron to run away with the wolves and his horse.But now this brings much complications to that plan.The people soon realized what just happened and what they had said. They look at Sangfroid, waiting for an explanation. "You are our true king..... How is that possible?"Sangfroid had no choice but to give an outstanding, magnificent speech similar to those of the legends. But all he wants to do is to get away from here with those two."The true heir to the throne was King Casserome's older twin, Prince Vinsen. Casserome framed him with the murder of the duke's son, and so he had to be exiled. But since he was the rightful heir, he was the one who received the Amulet of the Dracon---"Thunder boomed again once he said the name of the Amulet. Sangfroid was incredulous of the Amulet's hidden power, but kept talking."When Prince Vinsen was exiled, he met my biological father Gaug'in, and a tribe living in seclusion in the woods. The two of them raised me, and he claims me as his adopted son. When King Casserome came to kill Prince Vinsen, he wrote the parchment which Vladstin used as part of the deal. That is how I came to know the truth. I also saw how my two fathers' death came to be through this glass, and how the Amulet of the Dracon---"BOOOOOM!!!!"Was passed to me." Sangfroid remained indifferent to the incessant thunders and lightning. "The Bishop had kept it safe from the King's clutches and placed it on the journal that he had given to me. I took it from there, and now wore it on my neck. Anyone who holds the Amulet of the Dracon---"BOOOOOOOM!"Is the true heir, and it must not come into the wrong hands. I assume this must mean it must not come to the hands of someone who the predecessor did not intend to pass it to. And so, at the moment, this Amulet gives me the right of the true king. I am now the King of Ilvedia."The people hang on to every word with great amazement and after the last statement, they cheered! The lightning strike had caused luscious fields to grow from the long scorched land, and wild goats and sheep suddenly came in huge flocks, along with cows and chickens and all things necessary for life to prosper. The people were awestruck by this miracle, and rain poured on their heads, washing away their passive anger and clearing up their blackened spirits.This is all too much for Sangfroid that he almost let go of the Amulet. "ALL HAIL KING SANGFROID! ALL HAIL ILVEDIA REBORN!"They soon began to chant, and while they're busy bowing up and down by his feet, he untied Leron who also have no idea what is going on. The former crowned prince really thought Sangfroid would side with the people and lynch him and Vladstin,taking over as the new lking of Ilvedia.But instead, Sangfroid put his cloak over the Leron and said. "Please go and fetch the wolves, Your Highness. I will bring Vladstin over while they're distracted and rejoicing."Leron nodded, and quickly ran feeling a huge weight lifted off his chest. There is no need to be anxious. He knows Sangfroid since they were young, he knows where his heart lies, what he truly desires than anything else. It is not power.Sangfroid only wants peace."KING SANGFROID SHALL HELP REBUILD A NEW ILVEDIA! HE SHALL BE OUR KING FOREVERMORE!"The advisers who had brought the royal scepter, the crowns, and all the royal ornaments with them prepared to place them over to Sangfroid along with a long blue cape, officially crowning him at this moment but he shook his head."Wait!" Sangfroid said. "Everyone... I may be the King now because the Amulet was passed to me but....""I don't want to be your king."
