I'm In Charge of SCP

Chapter 45 "The Truth about The Hanged King"

Zhang Jue knows little about the Hanged King. Only knew that he was once a tyrant, greedy for pleasure, exploiting his people, and killing his people. After being hanged by the angry mobs, he was resurrected into a God, destroyed his own Kingdom, and through SCP-701, he was immortalized so that he could continue his murder spree. The place where he ruled was called the Kingdom of Alagadda.

Zhang Jue wondered why this King, who had been hanged to death, had brought him here. Zhang Jue floated in the air, unable to speak and move his body. Only his mind could move. He was like a camera, passively remembering everything he saw.

The time seemed to have rewound for a long time, and the Kingdom of Alagadda was still thriving. Contrary to his imagination, instead of being hell, the Lost Kingdom of Alagadda was very rich, with merchants and politicians, including peasants living a prosperous life.

He saw the Hanged King who was alive, working night and day diligently to govern Alagadda in an orderly manner.

What is going on?

Zhang Jue's mind hit a big question mark.

This was not like the story he knew. But he immediately understood - the information he had learned before was not the truth. Someone had tampered with history.

Time flew by as a scene played out before Zhang Jue's eyes. The most important scene came. The Hanged King's son had plotted a rebellion. He bought the army, bribed the ministers, and together with his own mother, imprisoned the Hanged King.

They falsely claimed that the Hanged King had a disease and was possessed by ghosts and gods that needed to be killed. Those brain-damaged folk believed their words. They burned his palace and killed all the people who were loyal to him.

The Hanged King was knocked off his jaw, put in chains, and was brought to the Kingdom's market. He was forced to crawl through the streets of Kingdom, mocked by his former servant, kicked him, bashed him with filthy objects, and cheered loudly.

It seemed to be a festival that belonged to everyone. Eventually, the Hanged King was hanged on a deserted hill outside the city. Until his death, he muttered that he could not forgive his son, much less his foolish servants.

He was dead, but not quite dead. A man of unreadable appearance - perhaps not a man? It didn't matter - made a deal with him. The Hanged King offered his soul in exchange for great power and eternal life. He returned to his palace.

The next day, the rivers flowing through the Kingdom turned red and smelled like human blood. Many of the Kingdom's citizens became ill, began to bleed and tremble. Those who were involved in the rebellion suffered the most, and their strength gradually decayed. They became weaker and weaker and eventually died.

By the third day, the disease was lifted. But people began to commit suicide, cut their own faces and throat. Their blood flowed in the Kingdom through the Red River, spreading wildly, and most of the animals, except the crows, fled away from the Kingdom.

The whole city of Alagada turned into a hell on earth. But even this could not quell the raging fire in the Hanged King's heart.

He wanted revenge. He let the scholars and artists go and gave them nightmares every day. He made them see the tragic images of the Kingdom of Alagada and forced them to create plays or literary works from them.

As soon as these scenes were materialized, he could use them to manifest himself and take revenge on those he considered foolish on their act.

-----

So that's how it is. Surprisingly, it was always like this.

Zhang Jue could not help but smile bitterly. History is always written by the victors, and there was no telling how much truth has been buried. On top of the stage, the lines he said to keep the plot going turned out to be the closest to the truth.