Prophecy of Power

02

'He, who claims weaknesses, achieves sovereignty.'

Someone mumbled the words repeatedly, as if he was reading a magic spell. His brain was wracked for being forced to rake through its memory and knowledge related to the words since three days ago, right after the hidden prophecy was accidentally revealed and created havoc in his empire.

Kongpob was left speechless whenever he tried asking himself why his parents never said anything about any prophecy when they were both alive. During those three confusing days, he had visited his father's grave for about five times, regretfully expressing his distaste in front of the gate about why the said father didn't even have little decency to let him know the slightest thing about it before he died. He was in fact beside his father all the time, from when his father could still speak and recognize people, until his breath staggered, and then he closed his eyes and left for good — but, never did the father tell him about any prophecy.

Now, Kongpob was left all alone, with only little information about whom he could trust and to whom he needed to come to solve this problem. It was bewildering, if not freaking him out.

Don't get him wrong, he knew since he was still five years old that he would someday be the Emperor — although at that time he couldn't really grasp what an Emperor does. Being the only child of both the late Emperor and Empress, his teenage life was full of him being prepared to rule an empire. He went to the best schools, learned about wisdom, practiced his army skill, and being told about the bureaucracy that prevailed in his empire, as well as in other empires. And at the age of twenty-one, witnessed by the whole citizens, he was finally anointed as the legitimate Crown Prince.

But, despite the fact of him bearing that crown for seven years already and had observed the way his father ruled, he couldn't hold absolute sovereignty over the empire as long as he was only a Crown Prince. He ought to be anointed as the Emperor first and bear the ultimate crown to ensure his citizens unconditionally listen to his words.

That was the way it was in his universe.

Nevertheless, there were still another two years for him to be anointed when, in that duration, many things were possible to happen. Hence, this prophecy didn't help him in any way for he knew many people wanted to bear the ultimate crown.

Who wouldn't really, when being an Emperor might mean one could get anything he wanted? And, this prophecy just provoked an almost non-existent dream which was barely thought about before, inflaming it to manifest something scarier than just another wild ambition.

If you think about it, it's actually really funny when people's rationality and hospitality got so easily enslaved by desire for power in hope that very power could free them from any manacle. They didn't even realize that being so, they were chained by a thing hundred times more destroying instead. They might have thought it would give them indescribable control upon others, yet in all honesty, it just made them like an empty ship being blown and tossed away by the wind.

Utterly meaningless.

But, for the whole royal's blood that ran within him and for the sake of his people's life, the moment when he needed to stand up and face the cruel entity named power is inevitable. However, Kongpob also realized that the prophecy didn't only signify his battle with others for the empire's throne — it also indicated another inner battle between him and the desire for power to win the throne of his own conscience.

***