Chapter 23: Come Back |
A struggle for the throne, a father and son at each other’s throats.
It was unclear when it all began. Perhaps it started from the moment when Ense, as a child, was joyfully led by his father Redlichia to the temple of God, only to see his father gazing at him with immense disappointment.
Or perhaps the fate of fratricidal bloodshed had already been sealed when Yesael awakened his innate talents.
But at this point, there was no need to dwell on it anymore.
The curtain had finally fallen on this farce.
“Thud!”
Redlichia withdrew his scepter and threw it to the ground, the bony staff making a muffled sound.
For a moment, he swayed, and the guards beside him immediately rushed to his side in panic.
“King!”
He had to firmly grasp the guards beside him to prevent himself from falling. After taking a few breaths, he regained his strength and waved his hand, ordering them to take away Ense’s corpse.
Turning around, he looked at the Queen sitting on the ground, her mouth open but unable to make a sound of crying. Redlichia’s eyes were filled with remorse.
Forcing a mother to witness her child’s death before her very eyes was simply too cruel, and the one who killed her child was her husband, the child’s biological father.
“I’m sorry!”
“I’m truly… so sorry.”
Redlichia kept apologizing, even though he was not much better off than her.
He picked up the Queen and left the ruins.
He walked with some difficulty, but his hands held her tightly with all his might.
He even stooped, which would have been considered a loss of kingly demeanor for the usual Redlichia, but at this moment, he no longer cared.
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s return!”
All the Trilobite Men inside and outside knelt on the ground. Everyone could feel Redlichia’s sorrow, even though there was no expression on his face, nor did he show any sign of weakness.
The Queen began to refuse all food and could not even drink water. She started to fall into a coma and lose consciousness.
“Ense.”
“Where have you gone? Why haven’t you come home yet?”
“Did you run off to play in the sea again? I told you not to go.”
“Boon.”
“You’re misbehaving with your older brother again. I won’t let you off today.”
In her dreams, she kept calling out the words she had said to her children when they were young, her expectations for them when they were born, and her admonishments when they were mischievous as they grew up.
Back then, she was still young, with her children gathered around her, innocent and adorable.
Redlichia stayed by her side the entire time, listening to her words and holding her hand.
Until a few days later, the Queen suddenly woke up, her consciousness regaining clarity.
This was the final flicker of life before death.
Redlichia also understood that she had reached the final moments of her life.
Redlichia’s face instantly turned extremely unsightly, as if he was about to shed tears, but when the Queen opened her eyes and looked at him, he forced a smile while holding back his emotions.
“You’re awake.”
The Queen also sensed that her days were numbered. Her mind was exceptionally clear. She looked at Redlichia and then at his hand holding hers.
“There’s no need to apologize. I don’t blame you.”
“I just… can’t accept…”
“Why did Ense turn out this way?”
“How did everything come to this?”
The Queen’s voice grew fainter as she spoke, “When Yesael returns, pass the throne to him!”
“You’re tired too!”
“It’s time… to rest.”
Redlichia nodded, his voice choked with emotion.
“Alright!”
“Alright!”
The Queen’s pupils flickered with a faint light, but one could see the light gradually extinguishing.
Her bright eyes slowly turned to a stone-like gray.
Redlichia watched as the Queen lying on the stone bed gradually stiffened, turning into a stone statue from the inside out.
The Queen was dead.
This dealt another huge blow to Redlichia.
Having just lost two sons, he now lost his most beloved person.
At this moment, urgent shouts came from outside, and someone rushed in with great urgency, accompanied by the sound of noisy arguments as the guards blocked those trying to enter.
“Great King of Wisdom!”
“Are you alright?”
“How could Ense do such a thing? How could he kill Boon and betray his father?”
“How did this happen? Has Ense gone mad?”
Some were sincere, while others took the opportunity to probe.
The remaining two sons and two daughters had finally returned, and with them came their children and even grandchildren.
Without turning around, Redlichia uttered a single command:
“Let them in.”
The entire family poured in, only to see the deceased Queen. The noisy voices instantly fell silent.
After a long while, someone finally spoke, “Mother Queen?”
Redlichia’s eyes were filled with the color of dusk as he said to his children.
“You’ve all come back.”
“Take one last look at your mother!”
“Bid her farewell properly.”
He himself slowly walked out of the room, bypassing the collapsed Wisdom Palace and entering a secret chamber behind it, with the walls carved with murals.
The stone door of the chamber closed, and he sat alone in the darkness.
Redlichia once again removed his crown of wisdom and began engraving the covenant on the crown, continuing from the sentence he had not finished carving.
But at this moment, his state of mind was completely different. When he engraved the previous words, he was proud and pleased.
But now, he felt desolation.
His life was not as perfect as he had boasted, and he was not as great as he thought. He had neglected many things and lost many things.
He just had not noticed it before.
“God said:”
“Redlichia!”
“The chasm of desire…”
“Will not be satisfied just because you give enough.”
“The mountain of resentment… the mountain… will not disappear just because you bestow kindness.”
After carving this sentence, he could no longer hold back.
Tears streamed down his face as he covered it with his hands.
“Oh, God!”
“Did You already know at that time?”
“What a pity, I did not heed Your guidance.”
In fact, he had vaguely understood God’s meaning at the time but was unwilling to believe it.
Perhaps God also knew, which was why He sighed and spoke such a sentence.
After a long while, he recovered from his sorrow.
His face was devoid of any expression as he continued engraving the crown of wisdom bit by bit. He did not want to hear what was happening in the outside world anymore, nor did he want to deal with anything else.
He only wanted to complete the covenant between himself and God.
Many days later.
Redlichia finally emerged from the secret chamber. The person beside him handed him the scepter and informed him that the funeral arrangements had been made.
However, Redlichia said, “Wait a little longer.”
He raised the crown of wisdom high, his voice traversing the ocean.
“Yesael!”
“Have you found the place of origin? If you have, come back!”
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