From heaven to hell

The King

I have lived many years, decades, centuries, perhaps millenniums. Throughout my rule, my kingdom has seen rise and ruin over and over again and I have seen many live, die, and be reborn again and again. Perhaps it is because of this, that the pleasures and activities of man cease to amuse me no more.

I cannot feel surprise from the ambushes on my empire.

I cannot feel the joy of conquering my enemies.

I cannot feel the hatred for the enemies who trampled upon my soil.

I watch my people, man, go through their daily lives, repeating the same actions, their same mistakes over and over, repeatedly as if in a cycle. Right now, this seems to be the only entertainment that I can find a slight pleasure in. While humans foolishly repeat their mistakes, I for some reason still find interest in them, still find some degree of interest. It is quite a peculiar thing. Watching these ants scurry about on their business is no different from watching a stage play with different actors being performed over, over and over again. Yet somehow, I feel as if this is different from the average stage play, something different that drives me to want to watch more.

I cannot understand why I'm amused.

I cannot understand why these ants repeatedly make these foolish mistakes

I simply can't understand why I feel different watching them.

I ponder on this matter, but dismiss it soon after. Such thoughts shall be discovered naturally. No use wasting time on something that will happen sooner or later. I put my focus back on the humans, even if I already know what they are doing. It's always the same. A portion of them praising "God", in hopes of one day entering a non existent paradise, though of only be delusional and foolish humans just like them. Some others walk here and there, scurrying to places like rats, all just to sit down, work, and earn a meagre amount of pay to support their own insignificant lives. And there are those who just simply stay out in the comfort of their own homes, unable to conform with societies rules and therefore choosing the path where they can still abide by it, yet not needing to overwork themselves.  All humans have this so called "rationale". They have a set of "morals". As a group slowly confirms to these rationales and morals, other around them are forever to follow. There is no freedom of expression, no individuality in this process. It's just simple instruction following and following rules. This is exactly what makes this process so boring, and yet... why do I feel so amused by this?

I cannot comprehend why humans choose to conform with social norms.

I cannot comprehend why humans choose to give up their individuality.

I cannot comprehend why they must do all this, while doing it all for human vices.

My head falls back into a state of pondering again. Though this is something that I will eventually find the answer to, something that is useless to think of now, I don't fight it, I don't want to fight it. For some reason, I want to find the answer to this age old question right here, right now. I can feel my chest thumping. My head hurts. Trickles of sweat drip from my chin.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

The words of a servant snap me back into reality. It seems that the servant is comforting a slave who I just recently bought. I remember the voice of that slave well. His pained voices for help, his sorrowful cries of despair. For some reason, I felt pity for that child, and on a moments impulse, I purchased him for quite the expensive price. However, it seems like his pain and despair still remains to some extent, even though I've been doing the best I could have.

"You've done nothing wrong. It's the kings fault."

I stiffen. What did that women just say?

"Things may be tough as a slave, even if the king bought you, and put you into a more well off living environment, this is a bit cruel. But it's ok, I'm here to support you, and you will never feel alone again. One day, we will be set free, so don't worry."

I grip my hands into a fist.

"I'm here for you, and you can always talk to me privately in my room if you wish."

I slam my fist in anger.

What does that servant mean? She provided no way to solve the problem, only adding on more lies and dreams onto the child's mind, all for the sake of making him feel better. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. These false hopes and dreams, these promises of being there for you. I can only feel anger and disgust from these words. If you truly want to change your life, make it better, then there is no one to rely on but yourself! You can not rely on the false hopes and dreams given by others, the false claim that they will be with you no matter what! Humans are selfish. That much is true, this servant, in order to satisfy her own desires of  being a "good person", someone who is perfect according to the rationales and morals put forward by humans, entices people at their weakest points, give them a false hope, only to say to find her later. If someone truly wanted you to help, you need not say that! A human, acting upon his own selfish desires, will find you naturally if he believes you can help. There is no need to ask for more!

I cannot see why humans are so disgusting.

I cannot see why humans don't understand how disgusting they are.

I cannot see why humans even bother to hide their selfish intentions behind a rose mask.

Anger seethes through my body. Rage causes the torches to waver, the floor to quiver. If anyone saw my eyes now, they would most probably run away in fear immediately.  I cannot control my anger, for some reason, I have lost all rationale and reason.

Rationale?

Reason?

The same two things that I scoffed at humans for?

My anger quells. For the first time in such a long time, I am genuinely surprised. I showed signs of a human trait, no I've been showing signs of these traits for a long time. I just haven't noticed. The throne room is silent. Not even the sound of an insect can be heard.

Then I laugh.

A hearty, amused laugh. How ironic, to think that the question that I have had on my mind for so long, for all this time was right under my nose. Oh how ironic this situation is.

I've finally realised. I myself am no different from those humans. I work selfishly in the pretense of my mask, I do everything according a set of rules, and I know only to repeat, repeat, and repeat.  I truly am no different than the humans! Oh how long it took me to realise this!

My laughter abruptly stops.

But now that I know I am just like those foolish humans, the first thing to do would be to change my foolhardy nature...

I ponder hard on this. I must come up with a solution now.

Humans act on a set of morals and rationale. That means... as long as I don't follow these, I would be able to surprise humans! I will be able to reach new heights, never though of before! Yes, there's only one way to describe it.

I shall become god!

Authors note:
The story of the king tells us a lot about human nature.

The king is indeed right on most of his deductions, deductions like how humans operate on a set of morals or rules, or how humans tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

However, this does not change the fact that the king himself is human. At the end, he is blinded by his own views on everything, that he interprets everything as how he wishes it to be. Naturally, such foolish nature is that of a human, and like all humans, he foolishly decides at the end of the story to become a tyrant like other leaders in history.

Power is not what corrupts a king.
It is human nature, that corrupts us all.