'What? Years?'
Just how long had he been under?! Aurel struggled to listen, but ultimately, the darkness pulled him under. He could not stay awake for too long. He wasn't even aware of the extent of his healed injuries.
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"...no choice…"
"...ov… nothing…"
'...'
Aurel no longer focused on the fragmented voices. He could not understand what was happening, and trying yielded no results. He might as well save his energy until he woke from his slumber.
'Years…'
That word, however, stuck with him. He was beginning to get anxious. His kingdom was most likely on the verge of being destroyed by those greedy rulers. No matter. He would wake up soon…
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"Go…!"
"...time!!"
'Hm?'
Stirring from his intermittent coma, Aurel picked up the panic in the voices. They were loud. Desperate. Rushed. They were in danger. A sudden wave of anger rippled through his body, but as expected, he could not move.
'Soon…'
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"...safe…"
"...no choice…"
"Sir…"
"...over…"
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"...Liege…"
'Sebastian?'
Aurel heard his trusted caretaker's voice as his consciousness rose to the surface. He could still not open his eyes, nor make any moves. He, however, did sense the change in his subordinate's tone.
"...tried… best."
"...failed…"
'What's going on?'
Curiosity and helplessness clawed at the edge of his consciousness. He could sense it. Something was different about his caretaker. Sebastian sounded broken. Drained. Like he was carrying a heavy burden. Just how long has he been under?
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"...apologies, my liege."
'Sebastian?'
"...leave you."
'Leave me? What are you talking about?'
Once again, Aurel could tell his caretaker sounded drained, more so than he had before. Had he been in the darkness for such a long time? And why couldn't he hear the voices of others as he had before?
Aurel could not make sense of anything anymore. Despite trying to focus on what Sebastian said, he felt the darkness pulling him under once more. He had no way of resisting, so he gave in.
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"...wrong!"
"...come from?!"
"...punished!!"
Hearing the fragmented voices no longer piqued his interest. Why bother? He could not make heads or tails of what the voices said. Recalling how his caretaker sounded, Aurel felt worry tug at him. He was getting anxious.
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"...run!"
"...ruins… gho…"
"...here…"
'My people…hang in there.'
With no way of telling how bad things had gotten, he could only hope. How had things gotten this bad? Helplessness clawed at his conscience. Everything was falling apart. If only he had been more cautious. If only he had paid more attention…
'There's no point regretting. I-I'll fix…'
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"...overrun… monsters."
"...cut through…"
"...easy."
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"...cursed…"
"...Edora…"
'My kingdom?'
And what did they mean cursed? Had things gotten that bad? A wave of terror ran through his paralysed body. Had he failed? No, there was still a lot of time. Even if he had been slumbering for years, things couldn't have gotten that bad.
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'...'
Aurel wondered if he was awake like before. There were no ambient voices this time around. Everything was deadly quiet. He couldn't even recall the last time he heard the familiar voices of his retainers.
'Maybe things have settled down…'
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'...'
Once again, Aurel woke up to absolute silence, leaving him wondering. With this level of quietness, he felt more restless than calmed. Something felt off. Like he was running out of time. He tried to move his body, but his body did not respond.
'This is bad… I have no idea how long I've been under, and I can no longer hear the cries or voices of the people. Just what is happening?'
While he waited for the darkness to pull him under, he thought back to the fragmented voices and screams, trying to piece them together and make sense out of them. And from what he gathered, things had been bad. Very bad.
He had heard words like treason, mercy, leave, go, run… He realised that some of his retainers had planned on betraying him. They betrayed the Edora Kingdom. Had he failed as a leader? Had he not given them everything?
But then, recalling some of the decisions he had made, some of the punishments he had given his people, and the fear in their eyes when they stood before him, Aurel questioned whether they were truly loyal.
They only followed him because they had no choice. They were terrified of his powers. Aurel was not a fool. He knew. But with the paradise he created, his people should have been happy. Fulfilled.
They were living lives others could only imagine. It was a small price to pay to submit and enjoy the benefits he gave them. But was he that terrifying? Was that why the other kingdoms felt threatened when he didn't even make a move against them?
'How would you feel…'
The question gnawed at the back of his mind. But he didn't want to admit it. His reign was a necessity that could not be argued. Those kingdoms were simply greedy for what was not theirs. Who wouldn't?
Even so, the question clawed at his conscience, forced into the light. 'How would you feel if a tyrant sat above you, micromanaging every affair?' The answer, as it turned out, was an easy one.
Despite the benefits and life he brought, people did not like being suppressed. They barely had room to make their own decisions. Was it so surprising that some would seek their freedom? They would feel helpless… powerless.
They would be terrified.
Aurel was entirely convinced by his own thoughts. Why would you fight paradise for suffering? Why would they choose instability over peace? It made no sense. They did not have to suffer to eat. They did not have to struggle for shelter.
So why couldn't they make that choice?
'But I still failed…'
The thought hit him like an avalanche. Everything moved on his word. No major decisions could be made without his express say so. Aurel was the pillar that held everything together.
He wasn't dead… he was healing. He would return soon enough. He would set things right. He would put contingencies in place, even if they wouldn't be needed. He could not bear to hear the suffering of his people.
'Soon…'
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"...found something!"