1 Prologue: Artorius Castus

Artorius Castus often had this thought.

Was being a King worth it?

This man had abandoned everything, his family, his friends, his sanity. All for the sake of being King.

But despite that, there was a time when he had no such ambitions, a time during his youth.

A time when the world wasn't bleak for Artorius, when he would come home to his mother with a smile on his face.

Artorius Castus, a member of the branch family of King Lucius Castus.

In his family, there were only two, his mother and himself.

Every day of his youth was memorable for Artorius, their small branch family did not participate in the battle for succession of the Castus Royal Family.

But for some reason, tragedy had struck the mother and son.

On a rainy day, Artorius had arrived home from school, only to find the front door of their small estate open.

Curious, Artorius beckoned inside, only to find the lifeless body of his mother, sprawled on the floor.

For Artorius, his mother was all he had, and with her gone, the little boy had nothing left.

It was only until later did the boy find out that the perpetrators were another branch family of Castus.

They had fallen victim in the battle for succession, a collateral damage.

It was unfair.

They tried their best to not get involved, yet in the end, it was all for naught.

Despair had loomed over the poor boy, unable to make a difference.

Until he was given an opportunity.

He had left the Castus Family, joined the military, made allies to support his cause.

And honed his strength in order to seek revenge on the perpetrators responsible for his mother's death.

And once he had enough power, there was only one thing left to do.

Total annihilation of the Castus Royal Family, a rebellion.

Artorius had succeeded, but at the expense of the bonds he forged.

The friends he made, allies, no one was spared during the rebellion.

But in the end, Artorius emerged victorious, avenging his mother's injustice.

The man had ascended to Kingship, yet he had nothing left.

Artorius closed off his heart, afraid of losing more people he held dear if he opened it up.

He had become a mere shadow of his former self. 

Once a carefree youth, now a cold, calculating ruler.

And in the end, he fell victim to a coup. 

The very subjects to whom he had dedicated his services to had ultimately betrayed him.

Where did it all go wrong for Artorius?

Cough!

The man spat out a mouthful of blood. He was bleeding everywhere.

Death was looming over him.

'Haha, how ironic, the man who staged a coup in the past, ultimately ends up a victim in one himself.'

The man sat on his throne, spears thrusted all over his body.

He was on death's door, and nobody was by his side.

Not his late mother, not the allies he had lost, not a single person.

"Why… Why did the heavens bother to let me reach the summit, only to find nothing at the peak?'

And so, Artorius Castus closed his eyes.

Though he harbored no lingering feelings, he carried numerous regrets about his life.