"Hold my hand!" said the man with a stern tone toward the woman.
The woman decided to hold the man's hand, a deep thought stirring in her heart. Her thoughts raced in her mind: "What is he thinking, us holding hands after reading the contract?""What is he plotting?" Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she had stopped her right hand from reaching the man's right hand hanging in the air.
The man, still waiting for her to reach him, lost his patience and shouted, demanding her hand. Finally, they held hands. The woman didn't understand what was happening, but she noticed something strange—the darkness surrounding them like a fortress began to radiate with light. When she looked at the man, she was left speechless. His face held an expression of pure pleasure, as though he had found the greatest joy in life.
Suddenly, the woman pulled her hand back and stepped away from him. Yet, the man's expression did not change. He continued to revel in his mysterious pleasure. The woman, still confused, looked left and right, trying to understand. Then she saw it—strings of light emerging from the man's back. It looked like roots growing deeper and deeper into the soil. The strings encircled him, making him appear like a giant sphere of light.
She was frightened. And in a moment of what she called her "attained time," she blinked—and the next thing she saw was a massive explosion. The strings of light had shattered and scattered into the surrounding darkness. In the center of it all, the man stood with his arms stretched wide and his head lifted upward, eyes closed. It was as if the strings that had emerged from him had finally detached completely.
A brief silence followed.
Scared and shocked, the woman asked, "What is all this?"
The man, laughing like someone who had achieved the impossible, replied, "I created us a world to rule."
The woman, still unable to comprehend any of it, responded, "What are you talking about?"
"You don't need to worry, I promise," the man said, his voice suddenly carrying a hint of kindness.
"Worry? I don't even understand what any of this is. Why should I be worried when I don't understand a thing?"
"Fine," he said. "I'll tell you the reason behind all this. I read a prophecy about myself in the River of Book that lies in the Dark Realm. I almost risked my life to read it."
"You read a prophecy about yourself? Is there really something out there meant for you?" the woman replied mockingly.
Though the man was serious, he ignored the mockery and continued.
"Yes, a prophecy. Although I can't even say it's my prophecy because it contained everything—my birth, my life, my death…" He paused for a moment, then laughed loudly. "My death!" He kept laughing. "My death!"
"That's enough," she interrupted.
"Alright. Listen. The prophecy said I would be killed by a creature's tears."
The woman, confused, asked, "What are you even talking about?"
"Woman, you know what they call me in both realms, don't you?"
"Yes," she said hesitantly.
"Say it out loud," he commanded.
Reluctantly, she answered, "The King Without a Throne."
The man's eyes widened and turned dark—so dark they looked like the very origin of darkness itself.
"That is why I told you to hold my hand."
The woman, now collapsing in despair, fell to the ground and said in a tone of disgust, "Don't tell me you used me… for 'that'. "
Watching her writhe on the ground, the man replied, "Yes, I used you for 'that' cause. And see the fruit of it—the strings of light that came out of me were not ordinary light. They were the strings of life. And that life is now spreading in all directions. I've created a world. No… not just a world, but worlds."
When he said worlds, his expression was just as it had been when she first held his hand.
The woman lay on the ground, crying. Her tears welled up but didn't fall. And for a brief moment, she thought…
...Then, she stood up.
The man said, "Now, I won't be called the King Without a Throne. I will be called the King of Thrones. But how can I truly be called that? Only when I sit upon the Eternal Throne, which lies within the Galactic Gates."
He laughed like a madman.