1 The King

Nearly a few thousand years ago:

In a huge palace, a man could be seen sitting on a throne made of wood and leather. Intricate designs could be seen on the throne. Magnificent jewels adorned the throne. The man had an aura of the ultimate ruler. His gaze seemed to look down upon all the mortals.

A carpet covered the entire palace. An artisan could be seen sitting by his feet, crafting a glass case with various runes around them, and the man could be seen watching it carefully without batting an eyelid. He sat there the entire time watching the craftsman craft the case.

There were no courtiers present in the palace. Only an old man of about 100 years of age stood beside the man on the throne. Seeing him, one could only think of a single phrase, "Age is just a number." He stood upright beside the man on the throne who was busy watching the glass case being made. The old man was reminiscing the old days when he suddenly said out loud, "My king, don't you feel sad?"

"No." The king answered briefly, but the old man knew that the king was sadder than him.

"Should we do something to them?"

"No. But keep an eye on them. The old man must be in the Black City. Inform him about the matter.", the king spoke with his eyes still on the glass case.

"He will be sad, and would want to come here.", the old man replied.

"It's not safe here anymore.", the king said in a grave tone, and for the first time lifted his head after he started to watch the glass-case making. He looked at the ceiling, his gaze penetrating through everything to the skies above. He could see the stars. The omen was not good. He knew that the time was up. He would have to settle things as fast as he could.

The old man looked at the king and said nothing. He knew that the king was very stubborn. Once he decided on something, that thing cannot be changed. So, he did not try to advise him anymore. He said, "King, please grant me one wish before dying." Yes, the king was going to die, and he was making arrangements.

"Ask.", the king said.

"Let this old man accompany you till that time. Let this old man take care of you. Please don't say no!", he pleaded to the king.

The king gazed at him calmly, and with a smile said, "Granted."

"Then this old man shall take my leave." The king nodded and with that the old man went away to arrange other things. He knew that the king has his considerations in doing things and so, he went to the Black City to meet his friend.

"How are you my friend? This disguise is pretty unusual. Even I did not seem to recognize you previously. Ha ha." The other old man guffawed looking at the former, but upon seeing him serious, he scowled. He knew that something must be the matter for him to scowl, so he asked, "What's the matter my friend?"

"The king will die soon."

"What?!!" He was shocked. "Take me to see the king."

"I came to take you to the king. Come with me." The two old men journeyed together to the palace and they saw a rare sight. A glass case adorned with various runes was lit by various colors. The aura surrounding the case made them unable to approach. They saw that the king was faltering in his steps. They ran towards the king and asked, "What happened, King?"

"Keep it safe." The king said as he died in the old man's hands. The slight smile on the king's face pricked his heart. They arranged for a funeral which only the two of them attended. The glass case lay forgotten on the ground.

The next day when they went to fetch the glass case, they saw that there was a seal in place, and could not approach it no matter how much they tried to. So, they built a chamber around it to protect the king's words.