TBATE : A Lunatic Monster

Chapter 1 : Rebirth

I found myself in a tunnel, facing towards a bright light. I don't know how I got here or why. The last thing I remember, I was sleeping in the royal chamber.

The most logical conclusion I could come up with in the moment was that someone who held a grudge towards me, put me here. Being a public figure of power, I had many enemies. But, there were only few people who could have kidnapped me from the castle.

Who put me in this situation however, does not matter right now. A more important question would be 'Where am I ?'.

This tunnel was too narrow to even allow me to move my muscles, given I was even capable of doing that now. The thing is, I could not feel any Ki inside of me. It was easy to come to the conclusion that someone poisoned me.

That means, even if I escaped this place, I was not sure how much more life I would have left to look forward to.

Who am I kidding. I do not look forward to living anymore. I abandoned that hope long ago. The only reason I continued living till now was due to my  responsibilities as the King.

In this uncertain predicament I found myself in, I was sure of only one thing. I would not, could not be a King anymore. The poison that is currently running through my veins has ended my life as the King. Obviously, one could not be a King without even a drop of Ki in their body. If I somehow miraculously manage to escape this place, the council would dispose me and appoint a new King.

A sad reality.

An unfortunate way for my reign to end.

A depressing end to my depressing story.

Giving in to my fate, I relaxed and closed my eyes, waiting for my inevitable death. Either by hunger or by this poison.

Awaiting death, I could not help.but reflect on the life I have lived till now.

A life full of sadness and regrets.

Even if I lived on, I doubt I could have lived happily or overturned my regrets. It simply was not possible at this stage.

Only if there were a second chance at life...

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In due time I realised that I was gradually gravitating towards this bright light ahead of me. Someone, somehow was trying to save me.

Futile.

There was no meaning in saving me now. I could not function as a King in this state. Without my strength, I was practically worthless as a human being.

Nothing will change by saving me at this point. Well, except one thing. My death would be at the hands of the council instead of hunger or poison.

Suddenly, my vision of everything around turned into a blur of a bright red while sounds assaulted my ears. I tried to say something, but couldn't. The only sound I could pronounce right now was a cry.

The intense visual stimuli I was receiving, was painful to my eyes, so I closed them.

I hear muffled sounds becoming clearer but I could not make out the words. This means I was hearing a foreign language.  In the best case, I was currently in one of our colonies, in the worst case scenario, I was in enemy territory.

I need to know just where I am.

I slowly and painfully opened my eyes. My retinas were bombarded with different colors and figures. It took a bit of time for my eyes to adjust to the lighting.

The first thing I saw after opening my eyes was the face of an old man with long greying hair on both head and chin, wearing thick eyeglasses.

Unexpected.

Also the perspective feels a bit skewed.

I quickly tried moving my head to observe my surroundings.

'Tried'

My body was slow in reacting to my commands. I also had very limited mobility. It felt as if my body wasn't my own. This must be the work of the poison.

From my limited movement though, I could deduce that I was in some sort of cult's summoning ritual room, because of the placement of candles on the floor.

I didn't exactly know where I was, but I knew one thing for sure. I need to escape from this creepy place as soon as possible.

I tried to push the old man in front of me to make a run for the door.

Wait, what ?

Baby hands !?!?!?!?