“I can’t believe it,” the king stammered as he glanced over the parchment in his old frail hands. The king glared down at the messenger with contempt, almost as if it was his fault.

“My brother. After all these years he's finally done it.” The king was filled with rage as he ripped the parchment into pieces. The messenger was shaking and on their knees fearing how the king would respond. He was known for his outburst and he knew his life was at stake.

“Hunt down the traitor, and bring them back to me alive. I will be one to separate his skull from his body. But first, he will know the depth of his actions. Do it. Now!” The king was furious and the messenger quickly left his presence. The king stormed back to his throne and sat stewing thinking of his brother. They had been at odds for years. “He’s always been jealous, ” the king muttered to himself. His fingers were thumping on the throne as his anger grew. The more he thought the angrier he got. Until finally it was too much. He jumped from his seat and stormed to the dungeon. He screamed through the cells, “who wants to die today?” A distant voice from one of the cells shores back, “I’ll go” the voice said quietly. You almost couldn't hear it. It was a voice of emptiness.

The King approached a broken, dirty, and awful-smelling man behind the bars. “Ha. Figures. You're so pathetic. How long have you been down in this dungeon? Twenty, thirty years?”

The man almost smiled. This may have been the closest thing to a human interaction he had been a part of in years. “I would-” a loud blast of firey red energy shot out from the king's hand. The man fell to the ground clutching his chest as his body began to disintegrate into dust. A very faint whisper could be heard. “Thanks,” the man said as he left the world, moving on to whatever comes next.

The king was not satisfied. He had a disgruntled look on his face. A scowl almost. He walked back to his throne and fell into it. That didn't satisfy his thirst for blood. Suddenly, the messenger burst back into the room, “my king he's coming for -” his voice fell silent as an arrow emerged from the messenger's throat. Blood gushing down his body as he collapsed to the ground. The king's brother stood behind.

“Your an evil man your highness” the bother spoke mockingly. “Your time has come.” The King smirked. That was all he needed. He fired a blast of firey energy directly at his brother. Without even flinching the brother brought up a shield, deflecting the blast to the celing causing a chunk of it to fall. Without a word, the brother looked at the king. “It is over” he muttered. He brought his hand up and a cold blast of ice shot towards the king. The King fell as his body froze. The brother walked forward. Stepping over his kingly brother. As he watched his king take his final breath, he sat on the throne. He smiled.

“And to think I loved you brother, ” he said as he sat back in his newly claimed throne.